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.
You must log in or register to comment.
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.
If you want to try it out, you can play the Neuromancer game in your browser at the internet archive.
System shock 1. I loved the danger zones and safe zones and hacking the med bay to increase the safe zones.
Have you tried the remake? I always liked SS2 and thought SS1 was too clunky but I’m not sure if that means I’d want to play a remake of SS1.
I haven’t tried the remake.
I thought the first half of SS2 was amazing. After the bio labs the level design and story felt rushed and uninteresting. Presumably forced to release before they were done.
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.
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!
Speaking of immersive sims, how would you compare the original Deus Ex to System Shock 2? I feel like System Shock 2 probably pushed the genre further but I enjoyed the world of Deus Ex more for some reason.
It’s been a long time since I played System Shock 2 but I have the same feeling as you. There’s something about the near future conspiracy stuff that just drags me in. Space stations are cool and all but I prefer the atmosphere of Deus Ex.
Remember Me was probably my first. Neo Paris was gorgeous and I still listen to the soundtrack.
Remember Me deserves a remake, the game got way too little recognition.
Maybe improve the fighting and get rid of the zombie ghoul things.
Does Duke Nukem 2D on PC count?
I never really considered Duke Nukem to be cyberpunk… but yeah, that screenshot totally looks like it came from a cyberpunk game. Weird.
Yah, maybe it’s more just sci-fi.
In that case, the first Deus Ex game was my first. Great stuff back then. Hard to play now, IMO.
… 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.
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.
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.
If it counts, Shadowrun on Xbox 360, that remake multiplayer game.
If not, it was probably Deus Ex Human Revolution.
I didn’t really know about the cyberpunk genre until years later but DEHR was a blast.
There was a Shadowrun game on Xbox 360?? I might have to go look into that…
People hateeddddd it lol. I really enjoyed it.
It was one of those games where you could play against bots offline but it was meant to be played online. There was no campaign or real story to it. And it was a first person shooter.
But I wasn’t aware of the original so I didn’t know what to expect like others.
Does Perfect Dark count as cyberpunk?
Maybe a little, with a game that wierd it’s hard to tell
Flashback. Still one of my favorites too.
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.
Crazy, I’m the exact opposite. My middle-aged ass doesn’t have time for repetitive roguelite games with no sense of accomplishment. I actually prefer the linear gameplay where no matter how much (or little) I play in one sitting, I’m still further in the game than when I started. Although, I still prefer games with ~10-15 hours of gameplay. I don’t have the time/patience for a 40+ hour epic RPG.
As for William Gibson, if you’re willing to get back into it, I recommend The Peripheral. It’s a more recent book (so Gibson has grown as an author) and it’s a more modern take on the cyberpunk genre. Also, Amazon turned it into a tv series that lasted one season. They renewed it for a second but then decided it was too expensive and cancelled it.
My problem is I forget half of what was going on and lose all momentum. At least with like Darkest Dungeon or Vampire Survivors I get some progression between runs.
But yeah I’ll check that out, thanks!
Tron for the Intellevision.
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.
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.
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.
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.
