this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2024
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Cyberpunk

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What is Cyberpunk?

Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as “low-life and high tech,” Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks aren’t actively fighting against a megacorp, they’re still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology.

Cyberpunk characteristics include:

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What was the first cyberpunk video game you played? Were you playing the point & click adventure games back on DOS? Shadowrun on SNES? Deus Ex on PC? Or did you just recently discover this thing called "cyberpunk" with Cyberpunk 2077?

I'm curious how long everyone here has been into cyberpunk.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Deus Ex. Give me the GEP gun

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Remember that a nonlethal takedown is always the most silent takedown.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

It's a silent takedown if no one else is alive to hear it 😎

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

"Stick with the prod."

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Syndicate I have fond memories of, seems cyberpunk enough. Deus Ex was also a lot of fun, though my computer at the time could barely run it.

Plenty of anime from the 90s that fit the theme as well.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm ashamed to say the only Syndicate game I've played is the 2012 FPS reboot which was basically Syndicate in name only.

Although, the original Syndicate creator was so mad about the 2012 reboot that he made Satellite Reign as a spiritual successor, and I really enjoyed that one.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

This answer may be a cheat and a stretch, but hear me out...

Star Wars: Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight

Specifically, the opening levels set in Nar Shaddaa, one of my favorite, underappreciated locations in the extended universe.

The whole moon was one giant, grimey, neon-lit city blanketed in night, overrun with sleazy organized criminals and jazz music. Pretty big noir vibes too.

It's the first time I remember experiencing the aesthetic, which felt so sharply different from the colorful, swashbuckling Star Wars I had known. And I knew I loved it.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Shadowrun on SNES. And I'm running Shadowrun tonight for the first time in literal decades (I last GMed it when I was in middle school!), for people who haven't played before; I'm so nervous and unprepared! I hope that even if I mangle the rules I can get across the vibes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Thanks chummer, I'll need it!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Don't get brain-burnt! (Am I doing it right, been too long...)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks, I didn't flatline! One of my players couldn't make this week so I improvised a variant on the classic Food Fight intro scenario so that we could familiarize ourselves with the combat without going off on a run sans street samurai. In retrospect I'm not sure I handled recoil penalties correctly, and we slogged through the rulebook looking for some things like "Why does spell Force matter again?" but in the end only one of the players got mildly shot, and the mage manabolted a guy so hard that he totally fried from the inside out, so I'm calling it a success!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

That sounds awesome, nice job!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Had no idea there was a Neuromancer video game.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer_(video_game)

Anyways, probably System Shock 2 for me.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

If you want to try it out, you can play the Neuromancer game in your browser at the internet archive.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

...i was going to say flashback or mean streets, but no, it was definitely the original tron arcade game; that pre-dated even war games...

...before a certain point in the early eighties, the line between cyberpunk and science fiction gets pretty blurry, so i don't think anything i played in the seventies counts...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

System shock 1. I loved the danger zones and safe zones and hacking the med bay to increase the safe zones.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Syndicate. Control 4 agents doing corporate espionage missions.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Shadowrun on Genesis probably, but memory that far back is pretty hazy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Interphase (Amiga/Atari ST, 1989).

The player moves around in virtual space of a corporate system while their partner infiltrates the actual space of the building. You have to disable electrified doors and reroute security bots etc to create a path through the offices, all while fighting off defensive programs

Unusually for the era you steer with the mouse and it’s all in vector graphics.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Does Jet Set Radio Future count as cyberpunk?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Does Duke Nukem 2D on PC count?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

I think for me it was VA-11 HALL-A

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

I'm not really into that style of gaming, but I did try "Watch Dogs" for a couple hours. I mention this bc I thought the hacking part was the most interesting, and when I mentioned this to a friend they directed me to picoCTF: https://picoctf.org/. Basically this is a training environment aimed at high schoolers to teach them how to do hacking "capture the flag" competitions. So it's realistic in terms of teaching real hacking skills, but back when I did it they had a "game mode" where your character walked through this 2D environment and solved challenges as part of a story. I could only solve some of the challenges, but still it was pretty cool. Anyway, the web page is still up, don't know if they still have the game mode.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Remember Me was probably my first. Neo Paris was gorgeous and I still listen to the soundtrack.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Remember Me deserves a remake, the game got way too little recognition.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Remember Me is a really interesting game.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Deus Ex, on PS2. I can’t even remember if I finished or even enjoyed it. Later, I got it on PC and it’s been one of my favourite games ever since and fully got me into both cyberpunk and the immersive sim genre!

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

... Crystal caves?
Or Beneath a steel sky?

Also Wolfenstein had that cyberdolf.
And Doom had cyberdemon.

But my memory def goes to System Shocks and Deus Ex. Love them. Actually I love all of the mentioned.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Have you tried playing Beyond a Steel Sky? I haven't played it but I can't imagine a sequel released so many years after the original would be any good. I could be wrong though, maybe it's fun.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Didn't know about the sequel, it doesn't look horrible tbh (I got past the modern-design-shock that hit me at first in 20 or 30 seconds as the trailer played).

But yeah, if I get around to play it I'll def manage my expectations.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Does Perfect Dark count as cyberpunk?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Syndicate wars. I think they was cyberpunk.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

For me it was the original Syndicate. Quite an awesome game.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Shadowrun: Returns from Hair Brained Schemes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Pretty sure it was the SNES Shadowrun for me. I was already familiar with Shadowrun from books and the tabletop RPG and I got a Swedish copy of it because the english version wasn't available yet. I eventually got a used copy of the English version as well.

I did play Deus Ex at some point after and I had great time with it, but I don't think I ever played the second game for some reason.

I recall trying the OG Syndicate game at some point as well, but I'm pretty sure that well after I had exhausted the first 2 X-com games, and I was looking for more strategy stuff. No idea really when that was, but definetely after Shadowrun.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Have you tried playing the Shadowrun game for Genesis? For someone with fond memories of the SNES game, I wonder how the Genesis game would compare.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

No, I didn't have a Genesis/Mega Drive and the only friend who had it never got the game either. I did look into playing it with an emulator, but never had the time.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

So far? Cloud Punk.

Most games that claim to be cyberpunk don't really delve too much into the politics or do it in a really bad way.

Cyberpunk 2077 is based on a very ableist TTRPG, for example that claims that the more modifications you make to your body, the less 'human' you are and thus the more likely you are to get 'cyberpsychosis'. However, that isn't necessarily true and if it is those folks that get it should be taken care of in a medical sense. Also, 'humanness' is not synonymous with ethical or moral etc as much as folks like to believe it is.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

2077 basically breaks from its source material over this. There's a series of side quests where you are asked to non-lethally subdue people suffering from "cyberpsychosis" in order to facilitate independent research on rehabilitation, and it turns out that basically all of them are either a) suffering from medical side effects that (according to some other in-game documents) are known to cyberware manufacturers, but being swept under the rug to keep sales and profits flowing, and/or b) suffering from untreated psychological trauma, and it just turns out lashing out is a lot more destructive when you happen to have a ton of built in weapon systems that are always with you and ready to engage at a moment's notice. The "humanness" angle is sometimes seen being pushed by the media, but it's basically an excuse the corps use to shift blame away from their faulty products.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Tron for the Intellevision.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Flashback. Still one of my favorites too.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

For me it was Cops 2170 I had a human sized rat policing the streets and ahooting up bad guys

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Pen and paper Shadowrun was my first and still main cyberpunk game. And I really haven't played it much.

I'm a fan of the genre in general but cyberpunk games tend to be expansive dialogue-driven RPGs that my middle-aged ass ain't got time for. It's a shame, I'd probably love the writing for Disco Elysium and Cyberpunk 2077, but if I've only got so many gaming hours in a week, imma likely spend it on a roguelite or action game instead for the excitement and dopamine. Just being real.

I did go on a nice Philip K Dick spree for a while and enjoy his stories. William Gibson was difficult when I first gave Neuromancer a read and I didn't look into him farther, but I'm probably due. Another backlog for the fire.

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