A new mod for Cyberpunk 2077 makes the in-game fashion an actual asset. According to its description, it “adds depth and more meaning to clothing by introducing a brand new system that makes your fashion choices affect skill checks in both dialogues and device interactions.” It may be new, but it already sounds like a must-download to me.
The mod is called “StreetStyle – Immersive Fashion System,” by TilW, and you can find it on NexusMods. The creator called it a mod that “makes your personal stylistic fashion choices have an effect on gameplay.” It adds skill bonuses to each piece of clothing that is consistent with which type of clothing it is. The example the mod creator gives is that Netrunning clothes will boost your character’s Intelligence, but not their strength. The creator also assigned each piece of clothing one of the four Styles of Night City, originally shown in a trailer by CD Projekt Red.
So far, so standard for the modding community. But what makes this especially important is that clothing doesn’t really serve too much of a purpose in the vanilla version of the game — at least, not to the extent that this mod allows it to. The mod also implements a formula that adjusts the in-game skill checks such that they won’t be too easy by all the new stat-boosting equipment you’re now wearing.
Cyberpunk 2077 has finally reached a point where it’s playable, if not quite spectacular, but it still seems like modders are going to make it the transcendent experience it was supposed to be. At the moment, even the flashiest clothing doesn’t really change gameplay that much, especially since the game is strictly first-person and you’ll only ever see them in the menu. The StreetStyle mod feels like it’s adding something to the gameplay that was always supposed to be there.