With Cyberpunk 2077 still being ways off after another delay, perhaps it is a good time to think about what we can do in the meantime. After all, despite being named Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the only game in the genre.
Cyberpunk as a genre can be traced back to the early 80’s, and the novel Neuromancer by William Gibson is often cited as the earliest work where the genre’s tropes were established. The movie Blade Runner was also a seminal work that further established the look and themes of the genre.
The genre really started taking off in the late 80’s though. Cyberpunk made its way into mainstream pop culture in the 90’s as well, with movies like The Lawnmower Man, Johnny Mnemonic and The Matrix showing distinct takes on it.
But we’re here to talk about games in the cyberpunk genre. Not limited to just the medium of books and films, cyberpunk has also influenced games. So today we’re gonna discuss the top 10 cyberpunk games to play while waiting for Cyberpunk 2077.
10 – Syndicate (2012 Remake)
The Underrated Remake
As far as cyberpunk games go, the original Syndicate is one of the cooler ones. It’s a very simple tactical game where you lead a squad of mercenaries through corporate missions. It was developed by Bullfrog Productions, who went on to make other classics such as Magic Carpet and Populous. And may be one of the coolest games Peter Molyneux has worked on.
The game got a full on reboot in 2012 as a FPS. The remake is pretty good all things considered, and I’d say it’s even kind of underrated. It’s a more hardcore take on the cyberpunk genre, with one of the game mechanics being to physically rip chips out of people’s brains, which kills them. It also has no penalties for killing innocent people, showing how corporate interests take precedence over human lives.
The most disappointing aspect of the game was its story campaign. It felt rather short, and the amount of chip upgrades you could get was pretty limited. A lot of things about it felt half baked and like it wasn’t explored enough. It might have worked better if the story campaign was fleshed out more and had actual co-op similar to the original game.
The game’s multiplayer was basically separate co-op missions, where you earned points to upgrade your chip abilities. It felt way more fleshed out than in the single player campaign, and I would definitely say the remake’s multiplayer was the highlight. And I still have some really good memories from playing it. Just a shame more people didn’t as the servers are pretty much vacant at this point.
Still, if you wanna check out a cool take on the cyberpunk genre, I recommend checking out Syndicate.
![Hard Reset Redux - Gameplay Trailer [HD 1080P/60FPS]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OZzJuk9FRNw/hqdefault.jpg)
9 – Hard Reset
A Cyberpunk Indie FPS
Hard Reset is one of those games that aren’t that impressive as a big budget title. But as an indie game, it’s something to behold. The game was developed by Flying Wild Hog, the studio behind the recent Shadow Warrior reboot and its sequel. Which should be obvious as in the Redux version of the game, the hero sports a similar katana to Lo Wang.
The game sports gorgeous stylized visuals that draw an obvious inspiration from Blade Runner. As such, it completely nails the cyberpunk aesthetic. With a heavy focus on corporate influence and dystopian decay.
The gameplay is also kinda fun if you like arena style shooters like Doom 2016 and Serious Sam. The gameplay consists mostly of moving from room to room and clearing it of enemies before moving on. It’s essentially a cyberpunk version of Painkiller.
The game has several gun upgrades and character upgrades, and even a New Game + option if you fancy continuing building your character past the final mission. If you’re into these kind of shooters and want something with a gorgeous aesthetic, definitely check this one out.
8 – TRON 2.0
The Groundbreaking Movie
TRON was one of the more interesting cyberpunk movies in the sense it wasn’t really set in any distant future. Rather, it took place in pretty much present time, but explored essentially cyberpunk themes in present day. To put it simply, it was cyberpunk without the dystopia.
It explored the concept of cyberspace, long before this term was even coined. The movie centered around Kevin Flynn, a game programmer who has his work stolen by a corporate executive, who then proceeds to make money off it.
While sneaking into a laboratory to hack his way into the mainframe and retrieve the stolen files, he accidentally attracts the attention of the AI Master Control Program. The AI then sends Flynn into the digital realm of computers via a laser that deconstructs Flynn’s makeup and reconstructs it inside the digital world.
For its time the movie was groundbreaking and was the first feature film to utilize computer animation. Most of it was live action filmed against black backgrounds that were later painted in, but the film’s look and style was very much influenced by early CGI. And the aesthetic of the movie went on to influence a lot of the 80’s cyberpunk aesthetic in general, with a heavy reliance on grids and geometric shapes.
The Game Sequel
The game TRON 2.0 was released in the early 2000’s, coinciding with the movie’s re-release on DVD. The story is a full sequel to the movie, following the son of Alan from the movie, Jet. Jet suffers the same fate as Flynn as while investigating the mysterious disappearance of his father, he gets digitized by Alan’s AI Ma3a.
The game is a first person shooter with some RPG elements. As you play you can pick up various weapons and upgrade routines that gives you different abilities. Some routines you pick up may be corrupted, since the game’s story focuses on the spread of a virus that corrupts systems. Those routines have to be disinfected before you can use them.
The game became really popular, possibly due to the fact it was developed by Monolith Productions. Having already gotten a hit with No One Lives Forever, the studio was more than capable of making a decent FPS for the TRON universe.
With the game having been re-released on Steam recently, I definitely recommend checking it out. It still holds up visually even, and looks closer to the original movie than the actual movie’s sequel TRON Legacy did.
7 – SiN
The 1998 Classic That Nobody Remembered
SiN is one of those sad cases where a really good FPS was overshadowed by an even better FPS. SiN had the unfortunate misfortune of releasing alongside Half-Life. And needless to say, Half-Life kind of overshadowed everything else when it released. Possibly due to how groundbreaking it was.
Which is a shame because SiN has a lot to offer as well. The game takes place in a dystopian future where the female scientist Elexis Sinclaire, who happens to look like a fetish model, plans to take over the world with her mutants. The game centers around a cop, John R. Blade, who investigates a bank robbery.
One thing leads to another and suddenly you’re caught fighting a mutant in the city’s subway system. As it turns out, it seems the mutation is caused by a new drug in circulation. The drug, called U4, is apparently manufactured at a facility owned by SiNTek. And SiNTek happens to belong to that scientist we mentioned.
In many ways the game can be described as the Duke Nukem Forever we never got. It has a lot of the same interactivity, even down to simulating computer terminals, with some of them even having command prompts you can use. This kind of interactivity at that point was really rare in the industry, and had only been seen in limited titles such as System Shock (which we will get to later).
And the protagonist actually talks a lot and has quips for everything. The banter between him and his hacker sidekick are some of the best moments in the game. And unfortunately, SiN would be one of the last games that had this kind of shit-talking protagonist, before Half-Life kinda ruined everything and suddenly every FPS protagonist had to be mute.
The game was recently re-released on Steam by Nightdive Studios, who are working on a full remaster with 3D Realms. So if you haven’t already played it, now is a good time to check it out.
6 – Ion Fury
Hail To The Queen
Speaking of spiritual sequels to Duke Nukem, Ion Fury might be a good game to talk about. With its aesthetic heavily influenced by 90’s cyberpunk, the game is soaked in the kind of cyberpunk action that fueled games like Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D. It’s even utilizing the same Build engine that those games were created with, giving it a kind of 90’s authenticity that only comes with that engine.
Made by a team of highly skilled people who all have had years of experience with the engine, and featuring music by demoscene artist Jarkko “Roz” Rotsten, the game is spectacularly 90’s. It follows the badass cop Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison on her quest to stop the maniacal Dr. Heskel. The reason? He caused her to spill her drink on her night out.
The game is otherwise a typical oldschool shooter. You hunt down keycards to proceed while killing any enemies in your way. The game stands out a bit for being the biggest Build engine game ever made. Heck, the game’s size even rivals several modern shooters.
If you wanna read more about the game, you can check out my review of the Switch version that recently launched. The game is also available on PC, XBox One and PS4, so definitely check it out if you haven’t.
5 – Shadowrun Returns
Cyberpunk With Magic
Imagine if cyberpunk was mixed with fantasy. That’s pretty much what you get with Shadowrun. The tabletop RPG has been around for a while, and is currently in its 6th edition.
The RPG is set in a cyberpunk dystopian Seattle, though thanks to an event that happened early in the universe’s history, the world is now inhabited by not only humans, but also elves, dwarves, orcs and trolls. This means magic exists in this world, along side technology. And people can choose whether to focus their talents on either, or both.
Shadowrun Returns is a top down turnbased RPG that is based on the tabletop RPG. It’s a pretty fun game all things considered, and allows for any kind of character you can imagine.
It was later followed up by Dragonfall and Hong Kong, both using similar engines and gameplay. It’s worth checking out if you have never played Shadowrun before and need an introduction to it.
4 – Neuromancer
An Official Adaption
Of course, I’d be remiss talking about cyberpunk games without at least putting one of the originals on the list. There was an actual game adaption of the seminal 80’s novel that came out on PC, C-64 and Amiga in the late 80’s.
Neuromancer, the game, is more of a point and click adventure game where you explore the real and cyberspace worlds of the book. The real world plays very much like other point and click adventures of the time. You talk to people, go to different locations and explore the grid space of cyberspace as you gain access to it.
The game allowed you to purchase skills and abilities via skill chips. It also was somewhat forgiving with death, since your character could be resurrected for a price.
The game’s music was based on the song “Some Things Never Change” by Devo from their “Total Devo” album. So if you want a true 80’s cyberpunk game, Neuromancer is the best you’re going to get. If you wanna check it out for yourself, it can be played for free at the Internet Archive.
3 – System Shock
The Birth Of The Immersive Sim
When we play games like Deus Ex, Thief, or even the recently released Prey, all of these games have a thing in common. They were all born from a little game that came out in 1994 called System Shock. Released only a year after a similarly groundbreaking title, Doom, System Shock already feels a generation ahead.
With its incredible visuals that boasted a fully rendered 3D environment, 2 years before Quake, and gameplay that was far more interactive than anything on the market, System Shock still feels remarkably modern to play today. Largely helped by its controls that were extremely forward thinking for a game of its time. The default controls were eerily similar to the WASD setup of modern shooters.
The game wasn’t really a shooter though. Rather it was an immersive sim where the goal wasn’t to kill everything as much as it was to survive. In many ways, it was one of the original survival horror games, as the game’s cyberpunk atmosphere focuses more on the horror elements of the genre.
The game has you surviving on a space station, where a rogue AI has created an army of zombies to hunt down any remaining survivors. And the robots and machinery of the station is going haywire. You have to use all your tools at your disposal, even jacking into cyberspace, to survive and make your way off the station.
A Cult Classic
For its time, System Shock was a terrifyingly realistic game. And even today it has a style to it that hasn’t quite been matched. It later received a sequel in System Shock 2, and the original recently got a source port with the Enhanced Edition. This edition moves the game into the Nightdive Studios Kex engine, allowing it to run in high resolution on modern systems, and even adds mouse look to make the game even more accessible than ever.
The game is very much the definition of a cult classic. As a lot of people haven’t played it, but the ones who do have a strong fondness for it. It was also incredibly instrumental in shaping the immersive sim genre.
It’s worth mentioning that Nightdive Studios are also working on a full on remake of the game in the Unreal Engine. You can already check out the alpha demo for that game.
2 – Blade Runner
Do Androids Dream Of Good Movie Adaptions?
Blade Runner might be one of the best game adaptions of a movie I’ve seen. Released in 1997 by Westwood Studios, Blade Runner is based on the movie of the same name. But rather than attempting to recreate the story from the movie, as many licensed games try to do, the game instead has a standalone story that runs parallel to the movie.
As detective Ray McCoy, you’re tasked with hunting down a group of replicants that have began causing havoc around the streets of Los Angeles A.D. The game is a point and click adventure title with some light action elements. Though it’s mostly centered around gathering clues, talking to people and solving crimes.
It was a rather technically impressive game for its time as well. It used voxels to create 3D models of the game’s characters. And the game had a bit of a random element to it as well, where characters seemingly lead their own lives, and could disappear from scenes if they felt like it.
It unfortunately shows its age now, but for its time, this game was gorgeous and a very faithful adaption of the source material. It recently got re-released on PC, and there’s even talk of a remaster in the works. So it seems Blade Runner is back for good.
1 – Deus Ex
The Best PC Game Of All Time
There’s a saying that goes… yeah you’re already installing Deus Ex. Good. Anyway, Deus Ex is arguably one of the best PC games of all time. And certainly one of the most important. Taking its influence from previous immersive sim titles such as System Shock and Thief, Deus Ex puts you in a near future world where society is collapsing under the weight of a pandemic, and terrorism is all over the media. Sounds familiar?
Yeah, it’s safe to say that Deus Ex was frighteningly prophetic in predicting future events. The game came out in 2000 but notably doesn’t have the twin towers in the New York skyline. Allegedly this was due to texture limitations, but the creators explained this by saying there was a terrorist event that wiped them out. This was a year before 9/11.
Of course, the game’s focus on a worldwide pandemic that’s all over the news is another thing that was prophetic. It’s almost creepy looking back at how much this game predicted. The game, more than most other cyberpunk works, has a connection to reality that adds a layer on top of everything that makes it feel surprisingly meta.
I’d recommend watching the Ross’ Game Dungeon video of the game if you wanna find out more as he dives deep into the game’s meta lore. But needless to say, this game stands out a lot.
God In The Machine
The game is a mix between FPS and RPG, with some action-adventure elements thrown into the mix. For its time it was one of the first FPS games, at least to my memory, that prioritized stealth and non-lethal methods over mindless killing. In fact, the game is a lot harder if you attempt playing it like any typical FPS.
Instead, the game incentivizes stealth and careful planning of how you proceed. It was also all about player choice, and your character build decided how you would approach each mission, as each mission could be solved in multiple ways. In this regard, it was incredibly nuanced for its time. And this approach to giving you multiple solutions carried on through the other games in the series.
The game follows JC Denton as he uncovers a conspiracy within the anti-terrorist corporation he works for. Together with his brother, JC uncovers the truth and begins a worldwide quest to assist the shadowy forces that work behind the curtain.
The game is drenched in 90’s conspiracy theories, with references to everything from the Illuminati to Area 51. Fans of the X-Files will no doubt find a lot to enjoy here.
The game was followed by the sequel Invisible War in 2003, which failed to meet fans expectations for a sequel, and was critically panned for its lackluster story and gameplay. The 2011 prequel Human Revolution fared much better however, and was praised for bringing back a lot of the gameplay mechanics of the original game. Itself was followed by two sequels, the mobile game The Fall and Mankind Divided respectively.
Unfortunately the series has been dead since the release of Mankind Divided, which left the series on a cliffhanger of sorts. But perhaps with the release of Cyberpunk 2077, it is time for the series to return once again. We can only hope.
And that was it for our top 10 games to play before Cyberpunk 2077. The genre has existed for a long time, and we hope our list covered the most important games to check out. If you have more cyberpunk games you’d like to recommend, please leave them in the comments section. And stay tuned for more news regarding the upcoming masterpiece!