Cyberpunk 2077 could take a page or two from Deus Ex's playbook, especially when it comes to giving players control over the world around them.
On the surface, they both appear to be similar games, but Deus Ex fully embraces the immersive sim genre, while Cyberpunk 2077 merely borrows from it.
Even though it lacks in size compared to CD Projekt RED's sci-fi RPG, Deus Ex is a true genre classic and one that Cyberpunk 2077 was unable to beat.
Deus Ex - often considered a definitive cyberpunk series - is an immersive sim where players take control of the nano-augmented agent JC Denton.
JC is tasked by the global anti-terrorist organization UNATCO to take down terrorist groups across the globe.
This simple mission quickly spirals into a worldwide conspiracy that has JC traveling to several locations to uncover the truth about the world.
Player agency is about giving every player enough interactivity within the game world to affect and change that world.
This usually means the player is dropped into a game, given a general objective, and is free to tackle that objective in any way they wish with the tools provided.