Cyberpunk 2077 introduces open-world gameplay with breathtaking visuals scattered throughout the world. From vast stretches of post-apocalyptic deserts to the sprawling, haunting metropolis of Night City, this guide looks at the top scenic locations and photography tips & tricks for players to immerse themselves in the stunning visuals of this futuristic game. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Super Jump Method
Firstly, players need to acquire rare Fortified Ankles. These are available from most Ripperdocs in Night City. Charging and releasing the jump button allows for a much higher jump. Unfortunately, you need more than this to reach all the spots you need to. Secondly, players need to acquire Rebecca’s shotgun named Guts. The shotgun is located in the City Center of Night City. Find the stairs where three monks are sitting on the ground. Go past them, and behind them, in the bushes, is the shotgun.
After acquiring the gun, go to any reasonably high wall. Point your gun at the floor, charge your fortified ankles, and just after releasing the jump button, shoot your gun to get the recoil boost from the gun. Using this method, you can access all the places you couldn’t jump before. This method is necessary to view some of the scenic locations in this guide.
Kerry Eurodyne’s Villa / Arasaka Residence
Players must get to Kerry Eurodyne‘s house in North Oak, Westbrook. Once inside the residence, go outside to the patio, where there are a couple of patio chairs, and to their left, there should be a small boulder with some bushes. Equip the Guts shotgun and Fortified Ankles and stand on the boulder. Use the Super Jump method outlined above, and jump onto the roof of the modern house. The whole of Night City opens up in front of you. You won’t be able to draw any weapons on the roof, as this classifies as Kerry’s house. Go to the farthest corner overlooking Night City, and you’ll be able to draw weapons for a weapons shot, and coincidentally is the best spot for an immersive view.
Alternatively, in the hills behind Kerry’s house sits the Arasaka residence. Daredevils can easily climb the walls of this house to unlock the same views, but with Kerry’s palm trees offering a leafy backdrop to the Night City Skyline.
South-East of Rocky Ridge
There are many spots in the Badlands to look at the Night City’s vibrant neon lights jetting off in the night sky. The best vantage point is southwest of Rocky Ridge. At this location, just beside a derelict Windmill, there’s a towering boulder with a letter A in flames painted on it. You have to climb the boulder, which is easy. Getting up there, you’ll find the sprawling desert and the towering presence of Night City’s skyline.
If you don’t want any Windmills in your view, travel eastwards towards the last of them and climb the last one. Doing this will give you an unobstructed, closer look at Night City. The views from here give out heavy “outsider looking in” Nomad vibes. Protip: Visit this spot at night for the best sights and views.
City Centre
The largest and loudest views in the game are seen from the City Center of Night City. You’ll come across advertising signs, vibrant lights, and gigantic colored fish paddling across the sky to illuminate every part of the frame. It’s one of the fanciest locations in the game and is a great place to take photos. With walking tunnels slithering from across the City Center, it’s a place to take advantage of the photo mode. Walk across the City Center and immerse yourself in the beauty of futuristic engineering and tip your hat off to the game developers for coming out with these stunning, magnificent views on offer.
Muamar Reyes
At the edge of Rancho Coronado, a dam viewpoint looks out the suburbs and the towers of Night City. There’s a spot where Muamar Reyes used to stand, the same spot highlighted in this guide. A road leads directly to this spot, where there’s a derelict bus shelter. Get on top of the bus shelter to look out at the sprawling suburbia, the Sixth district, the Megatowers of Night City, and the constant scrolling neon ads in the Inner City. This spot looks at Night City in its entirety, giving the viewers some perspective about the entirety of Night City.
Kabuki
Another great-looking spot in the Night City is the brightly-lit district of Japan Town. For a good vantage point, players must go to Kabuki, a predominantly slum district just across the water from Japan Town. Once players get to Kabuki, they must climb from the base level to the tippy top for an unobstructed view of Japan Town.
It’s very precarious as there are small ledges, and Fortified Ankles are clunkier than Reinforced Joints, so be careful climbing the various small buildings and makeshift shelters. The views are worth the hassle, and this area has a lot of collectibles and treasures to be found scattered across rooftops and hidden chests. Rummaging for these rare items around these rooftops will make the trip worth the multiple falls. Good luck to all aspiring players.
Penthouse for Regina’s Gig
Next, after climbing the rooftops of Kabuki, head west to Little China. Sooner than later, Regina Jones will offer a gig called “Fixer, Merc, Solider, Spy.” This quest asks you to steal a Datashard from one of the penthouses in the area. The quest is easy, but the views from the penthouse are mesmerizing. A Japanese garden, trimmed and decorated, is on top of the building, giving expansive views of multiple Night City skylines.
To the east lies the glimmering and dazzling lights of Japan Town. If you look toward the north, the Northside Megabuildings impose a sense of towering beauty and sprawling metropolis below. To the south lies the City Center, with cascading brightly lit buildings and scrolling ads jetting out on the horizon. The Japanese garden provides an excellent foreground for photos on all three sides, but the pick of them is the eastern view of the penthouse. Japan Town is richly lit and seems alive, with the foreground of Bonsai trees providing a perfect composition for photos.
Night City Lower Gardens
Most of Cyberpunk 2077 is set in one of two environments, desolate deserts far as the eye can see and the sprawling neo-futuristic Night City. But hidden within the Night City is a place of serenity and calm amid the concrete jungle. The Lower Gardens of Night City provide a respite for those looking for some nature and tranquility. Located just north of Embers, the Lower Gardens is an oasis of greenery and flora for those looking to calm their hectic lifestyles.
It alters the perspective of a Night City resident and lets you click photos that bring natural colors and some green to the already cyber-neo palette of Night City. The only other place that rivals this is the Arasaka Jungle inside the Arasaka Tower. But every time you visit the Araska Jungle, it’s nighttime, and feels like an unhospitable place. It can be accessed through one of the endings, and daytime photos of the Arasaka Jungle would be thoroughly enchanting.
Drive-in Movie Theatre
The Drive-In Movie Theatre in North Oak, Westwood, is perfect for date night. Players will remember Johnny taking Rogue here in one of his memories. Apart from being a dating hotspot, this theatre is on a hill overlooking the Night City’s incredible skyline. If you head toward the screen, a fence is behind it. Use the Super-Jump method to get over the fence, and a patch of land overlooks the Night City’s skyline. It is one of the top views in Night City as the skyline is made to be seen from this spot. All the buildings are at a diagonal angle from this view, giving viewers an encompassing look at the technical marvel that is Night city. It seems a shame to put a screen and fence just before this spot, obstructing the surreal and magnificent views of the skyline. The ads seem to scroll endlessly toward the sky, and the vibrant neon lights of the buildings provide a heavy noir aesthetic. Highly recommend this tucked-away spot.
Parque Del Mar
Night City hosts many different landscapes, including the Pacifica district. This district sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, with the beaches hugging the shoreline. The beaches in Pacifica are cold and uninviting; the sand is of a dull-grey color and is mostly deserted. Once touted as a haven-holiday district for the wealthy, it’s far from what was intended. Still, you can’t deny that with the sea, it’s a good place to click some photographs.
Head over to the Parque Del Mar fast travel point and continue down the walkway until you cross the ocean terraces. You might remember the spot where a wedding went wrong. Climb down to the ocean terrace, and you’ll have views of the Pacifica District alongside the ever-moving Pacific Ocean. Use your photographs’ Exposure and Contrast settings to balance lighting and landscapes in low-lighting landscapes.
Vista Del Rey in the Rain
Vista Del Rey is one of the poorest districts in the Night City, eaten alive with poverty and oppression. It’s located in Heywood and right next to Corpo Plaza and North Oak, both wealthy districts that look utterly disdain at the people of Vista Del Rey. Cyberpunk 2077 only rains a little, and changing the days and modifying the weather often results in more waiting. But there’s a way. In a new update, players can trigger rainfall by entering the rooftop of a building in Vista Del Ray. Travel to the Fast Travel point of Congress & MLK on the metro. At the intersection, turn right, and there should be a building door on your right. Enter the building and the lobby; you should see an elevator on your left. Enter the elevator and go up to the roof. Upon entering the roof, the game automatically triggers the weather system to start raining.
This new update is a beautiful homage to the genre-defining Blade Runner. Upon exploring, you should see a blond man like Batty in Blade Runner, sitting on the rails, soaking in the heavy rain. This is a direct reference to a line spoken by Batty in the original Blade Runner 1982 “All those moments will be lost. Like tears in the rain…”. Blade Runner also serves as one of the inspirations behind Cyberpunk 2077, and it’s an endearing homage from the developers.
It will continue to rain when you exit the roof, and the whole Vista Del Rey will be washed and look warm, inviting, and cozy. The orange color of the pavement, with the futuristic landscape, will glitter in the rain, and if you’re lucky, you’ll see cool neo-orange Neon umbrellas used by passers-by. The whole atmosphere of Vista Del Rey is transformed, and players will appreciate the hard work and eye-to-detail that developers put into this update.
That’s all from this guide. Remember to get the Fortified Ankles and the Guts Shotgun for Super Jumps, and use the Exposure and Contrast settings to make your photos seem more realistic and stunning.