8 Great Cyberpunk Games
You Can Play Now
After Seeing
Blade Runner 2049
By Matthew Arcilla
Now that Blade Runner 2049 has come and gone from theaters to make way for other movies, you’re probably hankering for some good old cyberpunk. But instead of just waiting for Blade Runner 2049 to hit Blu-Ray, you might consider playing some great video games instead. Here are eight great video games that embrace the unsettling implications of corporatism and near future technology.
8. Va-11 HALL-A
Playable on: PC
This funny, yet thought-provoking game is described by developer Sukeban Games as a “booze em’ up” about technology and post-dystopia life. As a bartender at the titular VA-11 HALL-A, you mix drinks and become privy to interesting stories from some of the most fascinating people. Wonderfully written and stylish as hell.
7. Remember Me
Playable on: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
This forgotten action adventure game from Paris-based Dontnod Entertainmentcasts you as an amnesiac resistance fighter with the power to kick ass, take names and remix memories. Remember Me is an emotionally affecting glance at a world where memories have become the next frontier of social media. It features killer combo-based combat, gorgeous music and stunning art direction.
6. 2064: Read Only Memories
Playable on: PC, PlayStation 4
This point and click adventure game is set in a transhumanist future. You’re a struggling journalist, whose personal and professional life is interrupted when Turing, the world’s first sapient robot is entrusted to your care. Together, you investigate the mysterious disappearance of Turing’s creator and uncover the secrets behind the overlapping futures of technology and humanity in Neo-San Francisco.
5. >Observer_
Playable on: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
This psychological horror story from the creators of Layers of Fear is probably the freakiest item on this list. You are Daniel Lazarski (voiced by Blade Runner’s Rutger Hauer) an elite neural detective known as an Observer. Your latest case takes you to the seedy class C sums of 2084 Krakow, Poland, but as you hack and invades suspects’ minds to gather evidence, you also relive their darkest fears.
4. System Shock 2
Playable on: PC
Okay, I lied. This might be the freakiest item on this list. This legendary survival horror game from the makers of Bioshock. As a cybernetically augmented serviceman who wakes up on an experimental starship in chaos whose crew has gone mad. As you attempt to unravel the mystery of what happened, an AI of pure evil taunts you and mocks you at every move.
3. Shadowrun: Dragonfall
Playable on: PC
Based on Shadowrun, a pen and paper role-playing game with a strong cult following, Dragonfall features a deep and complex plot steeped in dense, intricate lore. Operating from a neutral freetown in the heart of Berlin, you and your colleagues – an ex-military sniper, a washed up rocker mage and a cybernetically augmented medic – work to piece together the mystery of a fallen dragon.
2. Deus Ex
(Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Invisible War | PC)
(Human Revolution | PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
(Mankind Divided| PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
The most recent installments of Deus Ex, Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, focus on the implications of cybernetic augmentations and their impact on class divisions. Deus Ex is also famous for having multiple ways to solve problems, whether through skulduggery, social manipulation or straight up shooting. Honorable mention needs to go out to the 2000 original, Deus Ex, with a plot filled with so many conspiracies it’d make your head explode.
1. Blade Runner
Playable on: PC
Much like the first Blade Runner movie, this game is a long forgotten treasure from a time before the movie had fully ascended into cinematic reverence. It’s a painstakingly faithful recreation of the world of the movie, right down to the noodle shops, the neon umbrellas and bicycles and the police spinners. The game was also famous for randomizing whether important characters were human or replicant. Unfortunately, this game also crazy hard to find. At least, legally. ;)
Have you played any of these? Share with us your favorites below!
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