The latest release from the studio that brought the world The Witcher is a colorful open-world game called Cyberpunk 2077. There are gang wars, corporation wars, and robotics have merged with every aspect of daily life. But this game was, by no means, the first to show off this kind of setting. In fact, a few franchises might already be coming to mind for fans of the cyberpunk genre as a whole.
From Deus Ex to Shadowrun, there are plenty of games out there that trade in futurism, neurotechnology, and capitalist intrigue. Other cyberpunk games include titles like E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy, which Warhammer 40K fans are sure to love thanks to its great ambiance and character.
Then there are cyberpunk adjacent games like Metal Gear Solid or Killzone. While these titles include elements of cyberpunk, they don’t give gamers the full experience. They don’t call into question how corporations treat human life as commodities or if a person becomes company property if they get eye implants to better edit financial spreadsheets.
What are the games that Cyberpunk 2077 fans need to play after they beat the CD Projekt Red game?
10 Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Despite a lukewarm response to recent Far Cry games, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon broke the mold in terms of visuals. The game offers a simple plot: “get the girl, kill the baddies, and save the world.” And the game delivers frenzied combat action and pretty-to-look-at lasers to boot.
Though it doesn’t pose questions about corporations or robotics, it does make players feel like a hero out of a cheesy ’80s flick. The game is a bit on the short side which might be a nice refresher after Cyberpunk 2077 and its 40+ hours of gameplay.
9 The Red Strings Club
The Red Strings Club serves as part cyberpunk game and part pottery and bartending simulator. The game takes a more philosophical approach to cyberpunk, asking questions about fate and what makes people happy. The main motif here among pottery, the game setting, and bartending is manipulation.
Though short, The Red Strings Club has beautiful backgrounds with mood-setting rain, skyscrapers, and down-on-their-luck NPCs. Everyone feels like a real person in this very visceral yet two-dimensional world. Unfortunately and similarly to Cyberpunk 2077, the representation of trans people in The Red Strings Club was divisive.
8 System Shock 2
This game and its predecessor are basically cyberpunk royalty. The 1999 ARPG incorporated horror elements into its cyberpunk setting abord a starship in 2114. System Shock featured elements such as hacking, FPS combat, and puzzles. The game also makes use of implants and upgrades to unlock different abilities including psionics.
Players will never forget the murderous AI SHODAN, who wanted to kill everyone from the first game. The second game has a Russian oligarch resurrect the company that led to SHODAN’s creation and is now testing an FTL starship. Unsurprisingly, SHODAN makes a comeback despite the presence of aliens(?), as well. Though old, System Shock 2 is a must-play for fans of the cyberpunk genre, especially since there is a remake of the original game in the works.
7 Cloudpunk
Cloudpunk has two rules: don’t deliver late and DO NOT ask what’s in the box (insert Brad Pitt meme here). While the game is more like a walking simulator, the setting, voice acting, and sound design are top-notch. Cloudpunk also offers customization options for the HOVA on top of improvements like bumpers.
The city construction is a perfect example of how a cyberpunk future might be conceived. The only downside is that the story is an inch deep and a mile wide. Gamers who want a more in-depth or dynamic experience should look elsewhere.
6 Shadowrun Returns
This is another series that holds a place in the cyberpunk video game hall of fame. Though any game in the franchise is great, Shadowrun Returns stands out as a highly-rated fan-favorite. This game delivers a single-player turn-based RPG experience that fuses fantasy elements with cyberpunk traits. The player works as a shadowrunner or a mercenary working amongst fantasy creatures and bloodthirsty corporations.
Fans of JRPGS and XCOM style games alike will find Shadowrun Returns‘ gameplay challenging and fun. The cyberpunk meets fantasy setting is also pretty novel and well-executed.
5 Transistor
Though Supergiant Games’ latest hit, Hades, is Greek-inspired, Transistor was the studio’s next release after Bastion. It follows a vocalist who lost her voice and a talking sword as they traverse Cloudbank city. The game features a unique turn-based combo combat system, but the setting is also distinctly cyberpunk.
Everywhere Red goes, these robotic droids hound and impede her. She finds former comrades and enemies who have been “integrated” into The Process. Transistor‘s backgrounds are gorgeous with a cohesive color palette and Art-Deco stylings. Though the narrative doesn’t involve cybernetics, the game wrestles with the same questions that any good cyberpunk story needs to address.
4 Invisible, Inc.
Invisible, Inc. is another title for XCOM fans as it has players create infiltration squads. Gameplay includes hacking and roguelike elements, as well. As usual with a cyberpunk game, megacorporations control everything and the player’s private intelligence firm has been breached. In three days, the player must prepare to get into the enemy headquarters to implant an AI.
There are tons of opportunities to engage in emergent gameplay as missions increase in difficulty the longer players stay on them. This title, from the studio that created Don’t Starve, encourages replays with its duality of a dire scenario and infinite combat options.
3 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
While the last game in this series was a bit polarizing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution stands out as perhaps the pinnacle of cyberpunk games. It gets as close to a Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex plot as a game can get. There are corrupt corporations, genetic manipulation, cybernetics, and, of course, a human revolution.
This entry builds on the events and gameplay of the first game in the series, 2000’s Deus Ex. Players take on the role of Adam Jensen in a prequel to the original game that explains how Jensen became augmented. Despite its age, Deus Ex: Human Revolution holds up and offers players many choices that truly have an impact on its story.
2 Dex
Open world games offer great opportunities to explore, but a more on-rails experience can still offer incredible world-building and visuals. Dex offers such an experience with its detailed backgrounds and 2.5D gameplay. It also features hacking mini-games and other puzzles like vault picking.
Players can enhance their cybernetics as they work to unlock the conspiracy behind Dex’s augmentations. It is a definite win for fans of the Metroidvania style of game.
1 Technobabylon
Wadjet Eye Games released Technobabylon in 2015, a title that has a great heart compared to other entries in the genre. The game incorporates a serious surveillance state on top of aggressive genetic engineering and overseer AIs. Technobabylon goes as far as to serve cloned human flesh in some restaurants.
The more traditional and pixelated design style belies how modern the game really is. The story switches between a home-body hacker and two secret police members with opposing loyalties. Fans of point-and-click games and the cyberpunk genre will find Technobabylon to be engrossing and earnest, if brutal.
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