Since this comparison is made constantly, either in jest or in perfect seriousness, I have a question.
How would CDPR go about putting vehicles/driving in the game and NOT invite countless GTA references? It's a rhetorical question as far as I know, because I think the answer is actually that there isn't a way, but if someone has any real insight I'd like to hear it.
Or it is people's opinion that in a major urban setting everyone should just walk?
Simple, CDPR will make those persistent, in GTA all you had to do is look briefly somewhere else for the cars to disappear or change completely
There have been a few other games with cars, such as Mafia, Watch Dogs, Sleeping Dogs, Half-Life 2 (I know, that's a stretch), Far Cry, the Arma series, … Others had mounts, like Skyrim, The Witcher, … And not all of them were as desperate as a Rockstar product, it's linked to the open-world nature of the game. Too much walking could put some players off, see the frequent remarks in ATOM, for example. The alternative is a magical portal that brings you instantaneously in another part of the world, like in D:OS 2, BG3, or The Witcher 3. But it's a bit disruptive for the immersion, so I guess there will always be something to be said when a game becomes too big, because it brings more grind to the players.
Personally I'm not a big fan of vehicles when they don't behave realistically (due to my sim or RL background), and I find them arcadish even with an XBox controller. On the other hand, using a wheel would be so awkward and would upset many users who don't own one. A horse is fine, but not in Cyberpunk obviously
So walking would be perfectly fine for me, they could also implement a subway, it's quite appropriate in a city
Or taxi drivers, after all the trend is steering away from owned vehicles in the future.
EDIT: scratch that, I hadn't watched the first video. It's not how I was imagining Cyberpunk 2077, they way they presented it does look like a GTA V rip-off. Such a shame
Or perhaps it's humour on their part?