5 ms·

Cyberpunk Video Games

57 points by zdw 2mo ago

redbluething 2mo ago
System Shock should be on this list.
- rob74 2mo ago
  I second that - they do write "this list has been truncated to those titles with heavily involved narratives with settings and themes that are decidedly within the genre", but a game about a hacker hired to hack the AI controlling a space station, who gets a neural implant as a reward for completing the task, and then wakes up after the operation to find out that they're the only survivor after the AI ran amok, is as cyberpunk as it gets...
0xbadc0de5 2mo ago
Syndicate (1993) should be on the list.
- macshome 2mo ago
  100% I spent endless hours playing this on my Mac back in the 90s.
- possibleworlds 2mo ago
  I loved Syndicate, but I never beat it. There was a mechanic I couldn’t figure out that caused my whole operation to fall apart after a certain amount of time.
  - flohofwoe 2mo ago
    Try Satellite Reign. It's also almost retro by now (2015), but it's essentially a modernized Syndicate.
pizzaballs 2mo ago
[dead]
teroshan 2mo ago
There is currently (for a week, until 2026-08-10) a Cyberpunk-themed sale going on on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/category/cyberpunk https://store.steampowered.com/category/cyberpunk
geuis 2mo ago
Cyberpunk 2077: > Gameplay Type: First Person Shooter Role Playing Game Summary: A long anticipated release with eight years of development time, the game’s launch has been plagued with bugs and poor performance as well as decidedly mixed reviews. Regardless, the title offers gamers the largest open world cyberpunk universe thus far, so despite the rather uninspired art design and a plot that brings nothing new to the genre, this game is the best available to allow players to immerse themselves in a cyberpunk setting. This is a very dated and seriously opinionated review.
- teroshan 2mo ago
  > this game is the best available to allow players to immerse themselves in a cyberpunk setting Depends what you mean by "immerse". If it means driving through Night City on your bike and enjoying the view, sure. If it means role-playing as a character and building it your position in the city via meaningful choices with consequences, really not.
  - eterm 2mo ago
    I call this genre of game, "Illusion of choice" games, but to be fair to cyberpunk 2077 it still does it better than any other games of its type. If you think of it as a tree and each decision point branching out to millions of possibilities and outcomes then you'll be extremely disappointed, but if you think of it the other way, of a strong narrative that has a funnel of lots of different ways to reach the same outcome you'll find there is an impressive amount of ways to interact with the world. If you suspend your disbelief and never play through a second time, then you may even come away feeling like your choices had severely important consequences. That's about as good as you'll ever get from the genre. If you want full world simulation then you'll ironically end up with a boring game, because if all choices have genuine consequences, then it becomes impossible to tell a narrative, and you end up with something like rimworld or dwarf fortress. Impressive games in their own right, but are story generators not story-tellers.
    - teroshan 2mo ago
      I enjoyed the game for the reasons you mentioned. I'm even able to enjoy the completely scripted and linear railroad shooters just like I'm able to enjoy a Hollywood blockbuster when my mood calls for it. I have some issue with the initial marketing and the discussion surrounding the game though: choose your own backstory? Absolutely no impact at all, except some pre-recorded wingers in dialogues. RPG with a skill-tree? Absolutely 0 impact, you always have a way to get to a closed room, regardless of the perks you pick. And even if you pick non there is a vent open. As long as you are aware that you are getting into what is basically a linear story in an open world, instead of another CD Projekt RED game _à la_ Witcher 3 which involved side stories that are as fleshed out as other full-sized games, yes it can be enjoyable. It still one of the most amazing open-world futuristic games I have personally explored, which is a shame considering the rest of the game.
supermatt 2mo ago
I absolutely loved Burn::Cycle on the Philips CDi, where it was the definitive version (apparently the visuals were much better than the PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoLw7SEmLYk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoLw7SEmLYk The gameplay itself was a bit rough, but the music and immersion I felt while playing it I still recall to this day.
com2kid 2mo ago
Missing my favorite - Transistor Also missing the classic Dreamweb.
- teroshan 2mo ago
  And we can't mention Transistor without shouting out Darren Korb (and Ashley Barrett on the vocals) for its amazing OST: https://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/album/transistor-original-soundtrack https://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/album/transistor-origin... It plays an important role in the story, so it double the reasons to talk about it :)
  - com2kid 2mo ago
    It is safe to assume anything Darren Korb works on has an amazing OST. Heck even the games that aren't that good (of which there is arguably only 1) have an amazing OST.
    - teroshan 2mo ago
      > of which there is arguably only 1 IYKYK :)
  - markedathome 2mo ago
    Another interesting game missing is NeoTokyo[1], essentially a "Ghost in the Shell" skin as a half-life mod. It had a soundtrack by Ed Harrison that was available to download, though it seems as though the site hosting is down. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeoTokyo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeoTokyo
ghosty141 2mo ago
I love cyberpunk as a genre/style/aesthetic but there are almost no open world videogames that actually nail it. For me the cyberpunk aesthetic basically requires bustling small streets with tons of detail (shops, trash, crowds). That's where most games that try to use an open world fail in my opinion. We just don't have the technology yet to create these dense detail rich scenes without a lot of work on the developers/artists side as well as keeping it performant so it can run on mainstream gaming PCs. Cyberpunk 2077 is a prime example of that in my opinion. Most parts of the city look like it's Covid again and people must stay at home. Some parts of the map come remotely close but the illusion breaks once you inspect your surroundings. I like Cloudpunk (https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/) a fair bit but even that suffers from the walkways and buildings feeling slightly empty. At least the pixel art style helps it from falling in the uncanney valley that cyberpunk constantly dips in.
- Cthulhu_ 2mo ago
  I think Cyberpunk has a good basis but as you say, it's heavy weight; they did increase or tweak crowd density in an update I think, but also it's a PC game so it can be modded and improved as hardware gets better. The challenge - and you already see it on lower crowd density numbers - is getting enough unique and different characters. Cyberpunk seems to have a number (dozens?) of NPC characters making up the crowds, but it gets repetitive and you frequently see identical ones. Procedurally generated characters would already improve that, and some games do have it but they tend to pick from a fixed set of animation and behaviour stereotypes still. More of those stereotypes make it better (think GTA), but it's still fixed. I don't think going all in on procedural generation or even AI would fix it though; especially AI has a tendency to go for a mean / average character quickly. And in video games, you still want predictability. That said, maybe a different visual style (lower fidelity or 2d) would work.
  - freehorse 2mo ago
    > they did increase or tweak crowd density in an update I think I assume something like that to be the case, as I played the game last year and "empty streets like covid" definitely don't describe my experience. But apart from stuff like the NCPD-marked encounters spread around the city, you probably do not want to look too closely at the random npcs, as it does get repetitive fast. But they do give an image of a lively city, at least, as you walk through. But imo it had enough of random encounters, side quests etc around the city to give you reasons to explore and immerse into it outside the main story (which I did not hate anyway, but can def imagine playing the game without it).
zeusly 2mo ago
The list got hugged to death so I can't view but, but shoutout to Neocron!
thewanderer1983 2mo ago
A couple more worth mentioning. Beneath a steel sky, flashback.
DaOne256 2mo ago
Beneath a Steel Sky (1994) should be on this list. It's freeware, available from GOG: https://www.gog.com/en/game/beneath_a_steel_sky https://www.gog.com/en/game/beneath_a_steel_sky
- kcaseg 2mo ago
  Even worth playing through with a guide for the story, pretty trippy.
- rob74 2mo ago
  I started playing that at least three times along the years (if for nothing else, then for the dialogue: "You need a rad suit to go in there! -- What do you mean?! This suit is totally rad!"), but somehow never got very far...
kreddor 2mo ago
I would add Citizen Sleeper to the list. Board-game inspired narrative cyberpunk RPG with a nice story. I loved it and currently I'm playing the second one. It's a short game. Took me around 10 hours to finish though I didn't go throught all the tasks or the full DLC.
- sunrunner 2mo ago
  Citizen Sleeper portrays exactly the kind of future I have nightmares about. A rented artificial body owned by a megacorporation with a required subscription and planned obsolescence built in. And this was why the game really clicked for me.
- freehorse 2mo ago
  That's one of my favourite games in terms of narrative/characters. I usually have troubling reading through too many dialogues etc in games, but in this one the storytelling was great and it made you really care about the characters and their stories, that it was easy to read through it all with pleasure.
aa-jv 2mo ago
Wat, no SpectreVR? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(1991_video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(1991_video_game) An oversight. This was one of the very first viable multiplayer network games and it definitely belongs in the list ..
magicalhippo 2mo ago
I admit I'm not fully attuned to the cyberpunk genre, but I loved playing Mean Streets[1] as a kid and feels it should get a mention. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Streets_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Streets_(video_game)
try-working 2mo ago
I recommend the Shadowrun series on Steam. Not large games but really fun.
HardwareLust 2mo ago
Shouldn't the Watch Dogs franchise be on this list?
CodesInChaos 2mo ago
A couple of games that might not quite meed the definition, but fit the aesthetic or themes: Tron 2.0, Prey (2017), Ghostwire: Tokyo
anthk 2mo ago
Get Shadowrun 2058 for the Genesis/MegaDrive version ROM plus an IPS patcher and enjoy a much better gameplay experience (and balancing). On Deus Ex (the first one) installing GMDX and playing it with that MOD it's a must. No, forget that crappy HDTP or whatever it's called, it has broken Chinese/Japanase Hanzi/Kanji in Hong Kong and it looks tacky as hell. GMDX it's tons better and it expands the game areas, interaction, objects and such a lot. For instance, the NYC Statue Park looks far more realist this way, with logically (and architecturally speaking) set objects for a more lifelike environment.
scotty79 2mo ago
Gamedec is a cyberpunk story driven , sort of rpg game with a very interesting dialog system that makes reading the dialogs and sometimes picking bad options worth it. What's a fluff text in other games in Gamedec gives you psychological affinity point. With enough points in relevant affinities you can retcon a specific background for your character that lets you to perform cool actions later (basically like a special perk/trait). The story is decent too. Society where messy virtualization of huge chunk of human experience is common.
flohofwoe 2mo ago
Not mentioned, but probably my favourite cyberpunk game of all time: Satellite Reign (2015). It's a modern Syndicate remake in spirit, and a relatively small indie game (to set expectations), but the gameplay loop is tight and rewards experimenting. I still like to do a quick playthrough occassionally and it has aged great.
anthk 2mo ago
Also the author forgot Cataclsym DDA:Bright Nights. Contrary to the former CDDA, here you have a proper ending. If you like something like a blend between a 2D Minecraft, object crafting, zombie/mutant/cyborg survival and tons of Cyberpunk references this is almost the game. It has everything. https://github.com/cataclysmbn/Cataclysm-BN https://github.com/cataclysmbn/Cataclysm-BN
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
programd 2mo ago
Cloudpunk and its sequel City of Ghosts should be on the list. Very laid back games heavy on charming atmosphere with a great soundtrack. The voxel city design is excellent. https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/
shermantanktop 2mo ago
Is the “best” cyberpunk game the game that is most like Blade Runner?
_spduchamp 2mo ago
Uh, have you played in the comedic cyberpunk alternate cold war world of Jazzpunk? https://store.steampowered.com/app/250260/Jazzpunk_Directors_Cut/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/250260/Jazzpunk_Directors...
xyzsparetimexyz 2mo ago
The most instructive thing about this list is the 7 year gap between 2004 and 2011. Why did cyberpunk go out of style during the war on terror? Why did it come back in 2011? Did snowden in 2013 impact its popularity at all?

57 points by zdw 2mo ago

redbluething 2mo ago

System Shock should be on this list.

rob74 2mo ago
I second that - they do write "this list has been truncated to those titles with heavily involved narratives with settings and themes that are decidedly within the genre", but a game about a hacker hired to hack the AI controlling a space station, who gets a neural implant as a reward for completing the task, and then wakes up after the operation to find out that they're the only survivor after the AI ran amok, is as cyberpunk as it gets...

0xbadc0de5 2mo ago

Syndicate (1993) should be on the list.

macshome 2mo ago
100% I spent endless hours playing this on my Mac back in the 90s.
possibleworlds 2mo ago
I loved Syndicate, but I never beat it. There was a mechanic I couldn’t figure out that caused my whole operation to fall apart after a certain amount of time.
- flohofwoe 2mo ago
  Try Satellite Reign. It's also almost retro by now (2015), but it's essentially a modernized Syndicate.

pizzaballs 2mo ago

[dead]

teroshan 2mo ago

There is currently (for a week, until 2026-08-10) a Cyberpunk-themed sale going on on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/category/cyberpunk https://store.steampowered.com/category/cyberpunk

geuis 2mo ago

Cyberpunk 2077: > Gameplay Type: First Person Shooter Role Playing Game Summary: A long anticipated release with eight years of development time, the game’s launch has been plagued with bugs and poor performance as well as decidedly mixed reviews. Regardless, the title offers gamers the largest open world cyberpunk universe thus far, so despite the rather uninspired art design and a plot that brings nothing new to the genre, this game is the best available to allow players to immerse themselves in a cyberpunk setting. This is a very dated and seriously opinionated review.

teroshan 2mo ago
> this game is the best available to allow players to immerse themselves in a cyberpunk setting Depends what you mean by "immerse". If it means driving through Night City on your bike and enjoying the view, sure. If it means role-playing as a character and building it your position in the city via meaningful choices with consequences, really not.
- eterm 2mo ago
  I call this genre of game, "Illusion of choice" games, but to be fair to cyberpunk 2077 it still does it better than any other games of its type. If you think of it as a tree and each decision point branching out to millions of possibilities and outcomes then you'll be extremely disappointed, but if you think of it the other way, of a strong narrative that has a funnel of lots of different ways to reach the same outcome you'll find there is an impressive amount of ways to interact with the world. If you suspend your disbelief and never play through a second time, then you may even come away feeling like your choices had severely important consequences. That's about as good as you'll ever get from the genre. If you want full world simulation then you'll ironically end up with a boring game, because if all choices have genuine consequences, then it becomes impossible to tell a narrative, and you end up with something like rimworld or dwarf fortress. Impressive games in their own right, but are story generators not story-tellers.
  - teroshan 2mo ago
    I enjoyed the game for the reasons you mentioned. I'm even able to enjoy the completely scripted and linear railroad shooters just like I'm able to enjoy a Hollywood blockbuster when my mood calls for it. I have some issue with the initial marketing and the discussion surrounding the game though: choose your own backstory? Absolutely no impact at all, except some pre-recorded wingers in dialogues. RPG with a skill-tree? Absolutely 0 impact, you always have a way to get to a closed room, regardless of the perks you pick. And even if you pick non there is a vent open. As long as you are aware that you are getting into what is basically a linear story in an open world, instead of another CD Projekt RED game _à la_ Witcher 3 which involved side stories that are as fleshed out as other full-sized games, yes it can be enjoyable. It still one of the most amazing open-world futuristic games I have personally explored, which is a shame considering the rest of the game.

supermatt 2mo ago

I absolutely loved Burn::Cycle on the Philips CDi, where it was the definitive version (apparently the visuals were much better than the PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoLw7SEmLYk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoLw7SEmLYk The gameplay itself was a bit rough, but the music and immersion I felt while playing it I still recall to this day.

com2kid 2mo ago

Missing my favorite - Transistor Also missing the classic Dreamweb.

teroshan 2mo ago
And we can't mention Transistor without shouting out Darren Korb (and Ashley Barrett on the vocals) for its amazing OST: https://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/album/transistor-original-soundtrack https://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/album/transistor-origin... It plays an important role in the story, so it double the reasons to talk about it :)
- com2kid 2mo ago
  It is safe to assume anything Darren Korb works on has an amazing OST. Heck even the games that aren't that good (of which there is arguably only 1) have an amazing OST.
  - teroshan 2mo ago
    > of which there is arguably only 1 IYKYK :)
- markedathome 2mo ago
  Another interesting game missing is NeoTokyo[1], essentially a "Ghost in the Shell" skin as a half-life mod. It had a soundtrack by Ed Harrison that was available to download, though it seems as though the site hosting is down. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeoTokyo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeoTokyo

ghosty141 2mo ago

I love cyberpunk as a genre/style/aesthetic but there are almost no open world videogames that actually nail it. For me the cyberpunk aesthetic basically requires bustling small streets with tons of detail (shops, trash, crowds). That's where most games that try to use an open world fail in my opinion. We just don't have the technology yet to create these dense detail rich scenes without a lot of work on the developers/artists side as well as keeping it performant so it can run on mainstream gaming PCs. Cyberpunk 2077 is a prime example of that in my opinion. Most parts of the city look like it's Covid again and people must stay at home. Some parts of the map come remotely close but the illusion breaks once you inspect your surroundings. I like Cloudpunk (https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/) a fair bit but even that suffers from the walkways and buildings feeling slightly empty. At least the pixel art style helps it from falling in the uncanney valley that cyberpunk constantly dips in.

Cthulhu_ 2mo ago
I think Cyberpunk has a good basis but as you say, it's heavy weight; they did increase or tweak crowd density in an update I think, but also it's a PC game so it can be modded and improved as hardware gets better. The challenge - and you already see it on lower crowd density numbers - is getting enough unique and different characters. Cyberpunk seems to have a number (dozens?) of NPC characters making up the crowds, but it gets repetitive and you frequently see identical ones. Procedurally generated characters would already improve that, and some games do have it but they tend to pick from a fixed set of animation and behaviour stereotypes still. More of those stereotypes make it better (think GTA), but it's still fixed. I don't think going all in on procedural generation or even AI would fix it though; especially AI has a tendency to go for a mean / average character quickly. And in video games, you still want predictability. That said, maybe a different visual style (lower fidelity or 2d) would work.
- freehorse 2mo ago
  > they did increase or tweak crowd density in an update I think I assume something like that to be the case, as I played the game last year and "empty streets like covid" definitely don't describe my experience. But apart from stuff like the NCPD-marked encounters spread around the city, you probably do not want to look too closely at the random npcs, as it does get repetitive fast. But they do give an image of a lively city, at least, as you walk through. But imo it had enough of random encounters, side quests etc around the city to give you reasons to explore and immerse into it outside the main story (which I did not hate anyway, but can def imagine playing the game without it).

zeusly 2mo ago

The list got hugged to death so I can't view but, but shoutout to Neocron!

thewanderer1983 2mo ago

A couple more worth mentioning. Beneath a steel sky, flashback.

DaOne256 2mo ago

Beneath a Steel Sky (1994) should be on this list. It's freeware, available from GOG: https://www.gog.com/en/game/beneath_a_steel_sky https://www.gog.com/en/game/beneath_a_steel_sky

kcaseg 2mo ago
Even worth playing through with a guide for the story, pretty trippy.
rob74 2mo ago
I started playing that at least three times along the years (if for nothing else, then for the dialogue: "You need a rad suit to go in there! -- What do you mean?! This suit is totally rad!"), but somehow never got very far...

kreddor 2mo ago

I would add Citizen Sleeper to the list. Board-game inspired narrative cyberpunk RPG with a nice story. I loved it and currently I'm playing the second one. It's a short game. Took me around 10 hours to finish though I didn't go throught all the tasks or the full DLC.

sunrunner 2mo ago
Citizen Sleeper portrays exactly the kind of future I have nightmares about. A rented artificial body owned by a megacorporation with a required subscription and planned obsolescence built in. And this was why the game really clicked for me.
freehorse 2mo ago
That's one of my favourite games in terms of narrative/characters. I usually have troubling reading through too many dialogues etc in games, but in this one the storytelling was great and it made you really care about the characters and their stories, that it was easy to read through it all with pleasure.

aa-jv 2mo ago

Wat, no SpectreVR? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(1991_video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(1991_video_game) An oversight. This was one of the very first viable multiplayer network games and it definitely belongs in the list ..

magicalhippo 2mo ago

I admit I'm not fully attuned to the cyberpunk genre, but I loved playing Mean Streets[1] as a kid and feels it should get a mention. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Streets_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Streets_(video_game)

try-working 2mo ago

I recommend the Shadowrun series on Steam. Not large games but really fun.

HardwareLust 2mo ago

Shouldn't the Watch Dogs franchise be on this list?

CodesInChaos 2mo ago

A couple of games that might not quite meed the definition, but fit the aesthetic or themes: Tron 2.0, Prey (2017), Ghostwire: Tokyo

anthk 2mo ago

Get Shadowrun 2058 for the Genesis/MegaDrive version ROM plus an IPS patcher and enjoy a much better gameplay experience (and balancing). On Deus Ex (the first one) installing GMDX and playing it with that MOD it's a must. No, forget that crappy HDTP or whatever it's called, it has broken Chinese/Japanase Hanzi/Kanji in Hong Kong and it looks tacky as hell. GMDX it's tons better and it expands the game areas, interaction, objects and such a lot. For instance, the NYC Statue Park looks far more realist this way, with logically (and architecturally speaking) set objects for a more lifelike environment.

scotty79 2mo ago

Gamedec is a cyberpunk story driven , sort of rpg game with a very interesting dialog system that makes reading the dialogs and sometimes picking bad options worth it. What's a fluff text in other games in Gamedec gives you psychological affinity point. With enough points in relevant affinities you can retcon a specific background for your character that lets you to perform cool actions later (basically like a special perk/trait). The story is decent too. Society where messy virtualization of huge chunk of human experience is common.

flohofwoe 2mo ago

Not mentioned, but probably my favourite cyberpunk game of all time: Satellite Reign (2015). It's a modern Syndicate remake in spirit, and a relatively small indie game (to set expectations), but the gameplay loop is tight and rewards experimenting. I still like to do a quick playthrough occassionally and it has aged great.

anthk 2mo ago

Also the author forgot Cataclsym DDA:Bright Nights. Contrary to the former CDDA, here you have a proper ending. If you like something like a blend between a 2D Minecraft, object crafting, zombie/mutant/cyborg survival and tons of Cyberpunk references this is almost the game. It has everything. https://github.com/cataclysmbn/Cataclysm-BN https://github.com/cataclysmbn/Cataclysm-BN

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]

programd 2mo ago

Cloudpunk and its sequel City of Ghosts should be on the list. Very laid back games heavy on charming atmosphere with a great soundtrack. The voxel city design is excellent. https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/

shermantanktop 2mo ago

Is the “best” cyberpunk game the game that is most like Blade Runner?

_spduchamp 2mo ago

Uh, have you played in the comedic cyberpunk alternate cold war world of Jazzpunk? https://store.steampowered.com/app/250260/Jazzpunk_Directors_Cut/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/250260/Jazzpunk_Directors...

xyzsparetimexyz 2mo ago

The most instructive thing about this list is the 7 year gap between 2004 and 2011. Why did cyberpunk go out of style during the war on terror? Why did it come back in 2011? Did snowden in 2013 impact its popularity at all?