As a dedicated denizen of Night City, I've spent countless hours perfecting V's appearance, only to be perpetually frustrated by one seemingly simple limitation: the inability to wear long-sleeved shirts properly. Every time I'd exit the inventory screen, my carefully chosen sleeves would magically roll up, revealing V's forearms as if preparing for a street brawl at a moment's notice. For years, the community, myself included, chalked this up to a persistent bug—a graphical glitch that would surely be patched in one of CD Projekt Red's many updates. After all, viewing V in the menu showed the sleeves perfectly intact. It felt like a sartorial ghost haunting my character's wardrobe, a phantom feature just out of reach. However, a recent theory from a sharp-eyed player has illuminated what might be the true, brilliantly pragmatic reason behind this fashion faux pas, and it's all tied to one of Night City's most iconic cyberware implants.
The Mantis Blade Conundrum: Fashion vs. Function
The theory, originally posited by a Reddit user, suggests that long sleeves and certain gloves are permanently disabled on V's model in first-person view to seamlessly accommodate the Mantis Blades. These lethal, saw-like combat augmentations fold directly out of the forearms. The working hypothesis is that a long-sleeved shirt would either restrict their violent deployment or, more likely, end up looking like a shredded party streamer every time V decided to unleash them. Having sleeves clip grotesquely through the blades or requiring a dedicated, time-consuming animation to push them back would break immersion faster than a glitchy braindance. This design choice, while initially perplexing, is a masterstroke in practical game development—a necessary sacrifice for fluid gameplay. It’s like a surgeon keeping their scrubs rolled up; the tools of the trade demand immediate, unimpeded access.
Community Consensus: A Defensible Design Decision
The revelation sparked fascinating discussions across the community. While some players lamented the loss of a gothic or corporate long-sleeved aesthetic, many quickly rallied to defend CD Projekt Red's likely reasoning. In the intricate dance of game development, the studio faced limited, imperfect options:
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Option A: Let sleeves clip through the Mantis Blades (visually jarring and immersion-breaking).
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Option B: Add an animation where V manually rolls up sleeves (cool initially, but tedious over hundreds of activations).
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Option C: The chosen solution—standardize bare forearms (clean, efficient, and always ready for action).
Choosing bare forearms as the default state was a design decision made out of necessity, prioritizing seamless gameplay mechanics over cosmetic variety. It’s a testament to the studio's focus on the player's moment-to-moment experience. As one community member humorously added, given the climate catastrophe of the Cyberpunk universe, maybe Night City is just perpetually too hot for sleeves anyway!
The Unique Value of Mantis Blades
Despite the sartorial sacrifice, Mantis Blades remain one of the most unique and thrilling augmentations available in 2026. They aren't just weapons; they are a statement and a versatile tool. Here’s why they are worth the trade-off:
| Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Inherent Stealth | Bypass weapon scanners in secure areas, making them perfect for covert ops. |
| Gap-Closing Lunge | Launch V across the battlefield for a devastating initiating strike. |
| Integrated Design | Always armed, without needing to switch or draw a weapon. |
| Visual Intimidation | Few things say "back off" like blades sprouting from your arms. |
While a well-crafted katana might output higher damage numbers, the Mantis Blades offer unparalleled utility and style. Their deployment is as instinctive as flexing a muscle, turning V's body into a weaponized exoskeleton. For players like me who favor agile, close-quarters combat, they are indispensable. They transform V from a mere mercenary into a predator, a mantis poised to strike. The trade-off for never wearing long sleeves feels, in the end, like a small price for such a powerful and iconic ability.
A Legacy of Pragmatic Design
It's worth noting that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't the first title to grapple with the "forearm sword" dilemma. Games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution faced similar challenges with their arm blades. CD Projekt Red's solution, while initially mistaken for a bug, is arguably one of the most elegant. It avoids visual chaos and mechanical friction, ensuring that when the action heats up, players aren't fighting their own clothing. This attention to underlying systemic harmony is what separates good games from great ones. The rolled-up sleeve isn't a glitch; it's a uniform, a subtle visual cue that V is always ready for the violence that defines Night City. It’s the digital equivalent of a fighter pilot's flight suit—every element streamlined for peak performance.
In the neon-drenched, hyper-detailed world of Cyberpunk 2077, every detail has weight. What we once perceived as an oversight is, in fact, a carefully considered pillar supporting the game's visceral combat feel. My V may never get to sport that sleek, long-sleeved corpo jacket the way I envisioned, but I now understand it’s for a worthy cause. Those bare forearms are a canvas, perpetually prepared for the art of metal and mayhem that the Mantis Blades bring. In a city where style and substance violently collide, this design choice ensures that when the blades snap out, the only thing that gets cut is the enemy.