@a7 @BlinkRape @LukeAlmighty @beardalaxy i saw a little bit of developer commentary about that. apparently someone in the studio got the idea to bring reeves in and when he agreed the producers completely changed the tone of the game. prior to that it really was a character drama about V--which is probably why the early development looked more open RPG and post-reeves doesn't.

i think i commented before about there is something poetic about the player character just being skinsuited for a celebrity. it is peak cyberpunk capitalism. (even if we'd have really rather had the original design.)