The Developers of No Law Know Everyone Will Compare It to Cyberpunk 2077, but There Are Important Differences

Fresh from its uncover astatine The Game Awards 2025, first-person unfastened satellite shooter RPG No Law is already raising eyebrows for looking a just spot similar CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077. It turns retired developer Neon Giant expected those comparisons, but are keen to constituent retired important differences.

No Law is the adjacent crippled from the developer of The Ascent, the well-received cyberpunk-themed twin-stick shooter that launched successful 2021. No Law sees Neon Giant displacement position not conscionable successful presumption of the camera but tone, to a much grounded cyberpunk aesthetic that revolves astir a azygous city. And based connected the debut trailer, No Law is giving disconnected large Cyberpunk 2077 vibes.

In an interrogation with IGN up of the announcement, co-founders and co-creative directors Tor Frick and Arcade Berg explained wherefore Neon Giant went with a marque caller crippled alternatively than, say, The Ascent 2, oregon adjacent going for a first-person The Ascent follow-up. We speech astir everything from the consciousness of the metropolis to the combat, the interaction of dialog choices to the fun-looking footwear attack.

IGN: How did you settee connected this arsenic a project, arsenic good arsenic a displacement into first-person?

Tor Frick: Actually some maine and Arcade, but besides a large portion of the team, we really travel from a first-person games background. And for america it was The Ascent that was the caller and uncharted territory wherever we had ne'er made a twin-stick shooter, thing similar that before. So with this crippled we really consciousness similar we are going backmost to our roots and the things that we are much comfy with arsenic developers. So that's a immense portion of it. We wanted to marque thing that the squad is precise passionate astir and thing that fits the individuals successful the team. We person worked connected a batch of first-person franchises done the years, a large chunk of the large ones, and for us, this is thing that we conscionable felt comfy successful trying to instrumentality connected thing much ambitious. We are acquainted with making beauteous precocious fidelity ambitious first-person games, particularly single-player games. So for america it was a earthy step. What bash we privation to bash arsenic a team? It was to instrumentality a first-person, single-player crippled and propulsion that further.

I deliberation besides with the first-person perspective, a large crushed for that arsenic good is that, successful The Ascent we focused a batch connected the world-building and the lore and the mood, and we truly similar gathering games wherever you tin immerse yourself successful the world. That was thing we truly wanted to spell a batch deeper with this game. Because successful first-person you tin really admit each the small storytelling, and there's conscionable a batch much stories to tell. And that's thing that we missed with The Ascent a small bit, to beryllium a small spot much intimate with everything. So that's a large crushed arsenic well.

IGN: I wonderment if you were inspired by the unthinkable modding enactment that went connected with The Ascent. I retrieve seeing footage of the crippled successful first-person, and it looked incredible, astir similar it was calved to beryllium that benignant of thing. And I wonderment if seeing that possibly played a part?

Arcade Berg: I don't deliberation that changed it, but we were precise blessed erstwhile that happened. There was a batch of bully buzz surrounding The Ascent for it. And the bully happening is that erstwhile idiosyncratic connected the net makes something, we don't person to beryllium held responsible. But it was truthful overmuch amusive for us, that and photograph mode are conscionable 2 astonishing things for the crippled and for america the studio, conscionable seeing however overmuch radical attraction and however it got longevity acknowledgment to that. Because The Ascent has a beginning, mediate and end, it's not an ongoing unrecorded work product. So it's a batch of amusive to spot that radical are inactive to this time posting stuff.

IGN: The Ascent was incredibly detailed. Based connected the trailer for No Law, you’re doing the aforesaid happening here.

Tor Frick: Yeah, for sure. I deliberation that's thing we decidedly wanted to propulsion a batch successful this game. We privation the fidelity to beryllium highly precocious and the density to beryllium highly high. For america it's much important to person density than to person size. And that goes for everything, not conscionable creation assets but the crippled itself. We privation to marque thing that feels intimate, some the tiny spaces you're successful but also… it isn't a sprawling thing. It's a precise intimate item and precocious density satellite and game.

Arcade Berg: It's besides amusive due to the fact that whilst there's a batch of worldly that is precise reminiscent of The Ascent and determination are things you'll admit due to the fact that we similar them and it's the aforesaid guys making it, truthful you'll spot a batch of that aforesaid DNA if you will, it's inactive a precise amusive challenge. Because portion The Ascent is axenic sci-fi, everything is designed to beryllium successful this arcology, right? This crippled is overmuch much grounded. It's inactive cyberpunk, it's inactive precocious tech, it's inactive precise cool. It's precise important for america that everything you bash successful our games is inactive grounded wrong the fabrication of that world. It ever makes consciousness successful that world. But successful this metropolis you are connected the ground, determination is vegetation, determination is life, it's a antithetic benignant of cyberpunk world. So there's again, creatively, things we present person to person antithetic solutions for than what we chose to bash successful The Ascent.

So it's not that we are rehashing The Ascent’s satellite but present successful first-person. It's a wholly caller setting. I deliberation it's a precise breathtaking setting. Hopefully players volition hold erstwhile the crippled is out! But it's a batch of amusive to conscionable research and immerse yourself in. So we've truly gone to municipality with that one. So for example, we bash the things you'd expect, we bash person time nighttime cycles, weather, surviving world, each of that. So you truly tin immerse yourself successful the metropolis and locomotion astir and beryllium amazed with the chiseled quality of it being connected a parkland thoroughfare astatine nighttime oregon possibly successful a much lush, calmer country successful the daytime, but that they're 2 antithetic worlds but everything's hosted successful this city.

IGN: Were you tempted to enactment the camera successful first-person and marque The Ascent 2 arsenic a first-person game? Was it ever a statement internally?

Tor Frick: Not really. I deliberation we settled connected that we privation to marque thing caller beauteous quickly, and that's due to the fact that we are precise keen that the satellite we make should acceptable the benignant of crippled we make, and the benignant of crippled we privation to marque did not a 100 percent align with the satellite of The ascent. So alternatively of trying to propulsion The Ascent’s satellite into thing it wasn't before, we similar to marque thing caller wherever we tin bash things, for example, that are much grounded successful immoderate cases, and mechanics that conscionable wouldn't work. It needs to each enactment together. So we didn't privation to alteration The Ascent into thing else, truthful that's why.

Arcade Berg: Having said that, of people we loved The Ascent, and we did person a very, precise little treatment which fundamentally was, if our extremity is conscionable to tally a financially palmy business, we should conscionable commencement moving connected The Ascent 2 now. That's guaranteed success, wealth successful the bank, that's what we should do. But again, that's not wherefore we started the studio, right? It's like, no, we're present due to the fact that we're originative radical and close present we were astir apt a spot creatively spent connected The Ascent. That's not the adjacent happening we privation to do. So we started with thing wholly different, which again is simply a risk. I deliberation it's going to beryllium a smash hit. I deliberation radical are going to emotion the game. I'm precise arrogant of the game, but there's ne'er immoderate certainty. But what I deliberation is besides the champion honestly for the fans and for adjacent the non fans players retired determination is that we effort and present a fun, originative and inspired game. One of the things that I truly appreciated with the feedback that we got for The Ascent, which I haven't truly seen successful the aforesaid benignant of vein with each the games we worked connected antecedently successful our career, was however radical truly work into determination being immoderate property successful the game, successful the product. And that makes maine precise lukewarm inside. I truly anticipation we negociate to bash that present with this crippled arsenic well, that radical tin say, I tin consciousness this was created by radical who cared. That's very, precise important. And I deliberation that sometimes tin disappear, right?

IGN: It’s a cyberpunk game, but I’m definite radical volition comparison it to Cyberpunk 2077. You indispensable beryllium bracing yourselves for that. That's a pugnacious comparison. CD Projekt is hundreds of radical spending years and years and years making a monolithic game. So however is it antithetic not conscionable successful presumption of mechanics and gameplay, but successful presumption of scope and tone?

Tor Frick: I deliberation evidently each time we person to bash that internally arsenic well. Because we cognize what Cyberpunk is and we cognize radical volition comparison us. But the crippled is precise antithetic and the satellite is precise different. A batch of it is, it's conscionable the temper and the tone. Cyberpunk is simply a big, sprawling experience. It's a mega city. And our crippled is simply a batch much intimate some erstwhile it comes to the gameplay mechanics but besides the world. I deliberation arsenic radical spot much of the crippled that volition beryllium much apparent. It's hard to bash successful a abbreviated trailer similar that. I deliberation you request to spot and consciousness the crippled more. It is much of an intimate experience, similar the satellite is heavy but not truthful grand. And the aforesaid happening with mechanics and the aforesaid happening with the story. It is very, precise idiosyncratic and very, precise reactive astir you arsenic a player, alternatively than being acceptable successful this expansive backdrop.

Arcade Berg: And I deliberation also, we person been precise conscious astir what references we're utilizing from fiction, whether that beryllium books, comic books, movies, shows. We precise seldom notation games due to the fact that those games already exist. Of people we're alert of what's retired successful the market, we support an oculus connected it. But creatively we are looking a batch astatine eighties, nineties enactment movies, oregon a definite temper there. We're looking astatine Hong Kong enactment scenes. We're looking astatine inspiring comic books, it could beryllium American, it could beryllium manga. Of people we person anime successful there. But we're conscionable looking astatine a batch of antithetic pieces of fabrication arsenic acold arsenic inspiration goes and we're conscionable trying to enactment each of that successful here.

Something you saw successful The Ascent arsenic well, determination is simply a flimsy lingua successful cheek, right? We arsenic creatives, we can't constitute grim acheronian angsty. That's not what we want. We privation unit arsenic a spectacle. We privation you to person amusive erstwhile you're playing a game. That's a precise important feeling for us, to conscionable person fun. There's a mood, there's a vibe, there's a definite feeling that hopefully fans of The Ascent volition admit adjacent though the gameplay is wholly different.

IGN: It’s described arsenic first-person and RPG. So what makes it an RPG?

Arcade Berg: You're playing a written character. It's astir a quality named Grey Harker, but you put your XP successful the skills, you unlock the abilities, you kit retired the character’s gear. You person immoderate ocular customization, but inactive it's of that character. We're not giving a blank sheet. So it's a batch astir saying, good my guy, my version, I did this. And 1 of our improvement mantras we person is that if a 100 players play the game, they should person a 100 antithetic idiosyncratic stories. When you and your colleagues conscionable and you speech astir the crippled you were playing yesterday, it's like, oh, you did it that way? Oh, due to the fact that for maine this happened due to the fact that I've done this different happening before. And it volition each necktie backmost into however you've been playing the game, what choices you've been making, some successful axenic gameplay and besides successful dialog choices. And it ties backmost to, good I invested a batch successful fastener picking, that benignant of thing, truthful I conscionable went in. It's like, ohio shit, yeah, no, I blew up the door. Both precise valid. The subordinate tin ne'er play the crippled wrong. That's thing we're ever saying. So it's that benignant of development.

IGN: Can you signifier the communicative done dialog prime oregon is the communicative linear and you conscionable person choices wrong it that affects definite things?

Tor Frick: The scope is simply a spot hard to describe, but yeah, it's a crippled that has a opening and an end. It's not an ongoing thing, right? It's a communicative game. It has a opening and an end. What happens successful betwixt there? The subordinate can't play the crippled wrong. So a batch of what unfolds and however it unfolds is up to the player.

IGN: How impactful are those decisions you marque successful dialogue? How antithetic tin the acquisition beryllium done thing similar that?

Arcade Berg: Extremely. So dialog is not wherever we're putting each the gunpowder. I don't privation to enactment retired mendacious pretenses. It's not dialogues the game. The dialogues are determination to assistance physique character, to assistance acceptable up scenes to assistance you marque definite decisions and choices and consequences oregon reactions. But that's not wherever our strengths lie. But they tin transportation a batch of weight, and determination are things I privation to archer you, but I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, right? There's going to beryllium a batch of speech astir definite things successful this game, which I'm precise excited for. So the consequences tin spell from infinitesimal to very, precise large.

IGN: In the trailer we’re capable to footwear idiosyncratic disconnected a building, which looks similar a batch of fun. How volition the combat work?

Tor Frick: We truly privation to absorption connected the subordinate having a batch of absorbing tools to usage astatine their disposal. So adjacent though we person guns, you sprout them, they dependable great, they consciousness great, we privation determination to beryllium a batch much to it. We similar that dense benignant of action, aforesaid arsenic successful The Ascent wherever things should spell roar successful a precise satisfying and large way. But astatine the aforesaid clip we privation determination to beryllium a batch of tools and a batch of amusive things for the players to experimentation with. We privation it to beryllium precise overmuch a toolbox wherever players can… it's up to the subordinate however to attack things. Some radical volition conscionable spell guns blazing with a revolver and SMG done the beforehand door. Some radical volition bash a precise elaborate program including each kinds of tools and gadgets, but it inactive ends up successful explosions. Some radical volition play it and it'll beryllium quiescent arsenic a mouse. So it is precise overmuch up to the player.

Arcade Berg: When you proceed to play the game, the characters successful the satellite volition remark connected the ways things played out. So if you are the ghost, right, if you are that tactical guy, radical volition say, cleanable work, man, good done! Or they're like, what the F conscionable happened? We heard it from implicit here. We fundamentally measurement the interaction you're having, the playstyle that you're choosing, however that is affecting everything. So we're not saying that 1 is amended oregon worse oregon much close oregon preferred, but we're ever trying to respond to the benignant of quality you're playing. So that is not ever the same, good done worker nary substance what you did, due to the fact that sometimes it wasn't that good done and sometimes you were precise large sometimes like, ohio I didn't adjacent recognize you were done… perfect, due to the fact that I'm stealth. So we truly privation to perceive to that done the crippled to respond to the mode you've been playing. We deliberation that's much amusive than conscionable the dialog option.

IGN: Is kicking enemies a peculiarly important portion of the combat?

Arcade Berg: It's 1 of galore features you tin take to use, but what usually happens erstwhile we fto radical play a physique erstwhile we person playtests, arsenic soon arsenic they find that fastener and they're successful a metropolis quickly, good everyone conscionable goes like, boop! No, you can't play the crippled wrong, but you're kicking a batch of radical close now!

No Law is successful improvement for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].