Sniper rifles in FPS games tend to fall into 3 categories: Powerful kills in one or two shots with arcade-style mechanics, somewhat plausible long-range shooting with bullet physics, or varying degrees of mil-sim shooting (including one or more of the following: True long-range shots with bullet drop, windage, prone mechanics, etc).
Cyberpunk 2077’s sniper rifles fall into the first. It’s not unexpected in the least; while you can spend a fair amount of time outside the city in the wilds with the Nomads, you’ll rarely be taking any long range shots, and bullet physics are non-existent. Even then, in many cases, you can’t take any real long-range shots due to limitations in the hit detection system.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in Night City, and will be playing through multiple times to craft some tasty guides for the readership here. The sniper rifles, however, are just an arcade-style gimmick.
Most of your shots will be within the 50 meter range (approximately), and even then, you can get smart sniper rifles that have fancy guided bullets to net you that perfect headshot every time.
Overall, the gunplay of Cyberpunk 2077 feels right for a cyberpunk-themed game, but don’t expect detailed mechanics out of shooting in general. In fact, if you want to just own your foes, you’re typically better off focusing on crits and a smart weapon for going loud, or making use of a silenced revolver to stealthily take out enemies from a close-to-moderate distance.
Keep an eye out for later guides on gunplay, stealth, hacking, and more; Cyberpunk 2077 may not have great sniping mechanics, but it does have a lot to offer for gamers!