10 Great Cyberpunk Games (That Aren’t Cyberpunk 2077)

Cyberpunk is one of those genres where you almost know exactly what to expect when you hear it. Originally built from the works of Phillip K. Dick and refined by artists like Ridley Scott and William Gibson (just to name a couple), it frequently presents a future where technology has advanced at the cost of humanity. It’s dark stuff. I recently heard it described as “High Technology, Low Humanity.” Which is why it usually makes for awesome video games.

The current best example of this — at least in the gaming space — is, appropriately, CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Say what you want about that title as a game (I think it’s pretty amazing, myself), it’s a perfect demonstration of the sci-fi genre it’s named after.

That being said, there’s a ton of other games in that style that are worth your time. I’ve found ten from my personal collection, as a matter of fact, that I’d love to share with you all today. So here’s ten great cyberpunk games that aren’t Cyberpunk.

10

Ghostrunner 2

The Best Way Out There To Be a Street Samurai

While the original Ghostrunner is a fantastic game in its own right — and I highly recommend you play it if you haven’t — its sequel expands on everything that game builds to an outrageous degree. Our main man samurai, Jack, isn’t just climbing a tower. He’s got an entire world to dig his katana into.

Luckily, you’re not expected to explore this new world entirely on foot. That would suck. Instead, you have what any open world worth its salt gives you: a kick-ass motorcycle. Just picture yourself zooming down damp, neon-lit streets with a sword in your hand, and you have Ghostrunner 2‘s ambiance in a nutshell. Don’t worry, though — there’s still plenty of leaping, dodging, and wall running to sink your cyborg teeth into, as well.

9

The Ascent

Facing the Future as an Everyman

Even the most in-the-weeds cyberpunk game is a bit of a power fantasy. Not so in The Ascent. Instead, you start the game as what’s essentially an indentured servant, working your way into a better life through implanted technology. Or, you know… ascending to one. Is that what this game’s title means? Nah, not really. Probably not, anyway.

Still, it’s a beautifully disgusting world you’ll find yourself trying to thrive in, and the game’s zoomed-out isometric perspective shows you just how tiny you are compared to everything else. It actually gives a weird, demented message of hope, showing that even in a world that’s seemingly built to tear everyone down for the benefit of the few, you can still make something of yourself.

8

Lacuna

The Quieter Side of Cyberpunk. Sort of

Considering its obsession with rainy city streets and the seedy underbelly of society, it’s no wonder that noir and cyberpunk go together so well. Just look at Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher and, for the purposes of this list, Lacuna from DigiTales. Much like the classic noir tales of old, Lacuna puts you in the street-worn shoes of detective Neil Conrad (which is such a great name for a private eye) as he attempts to solve a murder. Of course, it’s a murder that goes all the way to the top. Probably.

Lacuna really leans into the noir aspect by replacing the usual synthwave tunes you’ve come to expect with the kind of jazzy soundtrack you’d expect to come with a pack of unfiltered cigarettes. There’s also a heightened sense of danger, but in an appropriately meta way that fits in perfectly with a cyberpunk game. Namely, there’s no manual saves — which means no save scumming. Your choices stick.

7

Beyond a Steel Sky

Talk About a Legacy Sequel

I grew up playing a lot of point-and-click adventure titles on the PC. I have a lot of fond memories of playing the King’s Quest and LucasArts games with my sister. Beneath a Steel Sky was another one of those titles, and also one of my first experiences of cyberpunk as a genre overall. I don’t doubt it was for a lot of you, as well. Needless to say, I highly recommend it. I just don’t currently own it.

What I do own, and also highly recommend, is its sequel, the incredibly entertaining Beyond a Steel Sky. While it brings the series into 3D, it still keeps the same style and tone of the original — two things that hooked me into Beneath in the first place. Is it a better game? I can’t honestly answer that, as I have a strong nostalgia for the first and, full disclosure, I’m still working my way through the sequel. But, I can tell you that, either way, you should really play both.

6

Ruiner

Welcome to Rengkok. Kill the Boss

One of the reasons cyberpunk is such a beloved genre is because it inspires a lot of thinking about our current world. Ruiner does that, too… to a point. It certainly paints a picture of where our civilization might be heading, and it does so in a pretty entertaining fashion. But, at the end of the day, it serves one main purpose: it lets you indulge in some really fun mindless violence.

Ruiner puts you behind the glowing LCD mask of an unnamed killer who has one main goal: KILL THE BOSS. It even says so on his mask. By the way, they make those masks in real life and they’re incredible. Unlike most cyberpunk worlds, which are normally bathed in various colors of neon light, Ruiner soaks everything in red and orange. It’s an interesting change of pace, and one worth experiencing.

5

Cloudpunk

Welcome to Cloudpunk, Rookie

Let’s make a 180-degree turn for a moment and look at a game with no combat. Cloudpunk is all about the setting — and the people who live there. Your character is charged with making deliveries — legal and otherwise — across the city of Nivalis. As you do, you learn what, and who, makes the city tick. And, sometimes, you do not want to know what’s on the other end of that ticking.

One of the brilliant design choices made for this game was the decision to use Voxel art — essentially 3D pixels. Think of the aesthetic in early cyberpunk media, like The Lawnmower Man or Virtuosity (a highly underrated movie you should go watch right now). Rather than feel dated, it gives the game an almost timeless feel that really balances well with the game’s narrative.

4

Citizen Sleeper

Don’t Sleep On This Tabletop Simulation

There’s a growing trend in the RPG genre — not just cyberpunk, but RPG video games in general — that I really like, and it’s recreating the in-person tabletop game experience. Of course, nothing will ever be able to recreate the pure imagination of playing a game in person with friends, but it’s a great guiding star for developers to follow. Just look how great games like Disco Elysium, Baldur’s Gate III, and as we’ll see, Citizen Sleeper, turned out.

I’ll be honest — I haven’t played Citizen Sleeper 2, so I have no idea how it compares to this original title. But, if it’s even half as fun as this first game, I’m in for a fun time once I do. Yes, it’s a slower pace than most of the other games listed here (which is clearly by design), but it’s deeper and more involved and, in a weird way, kind of beautiful.

3

Neon Abyss 2

Take Out the New Gods (and Not the Jack Kirby Kind)

The original Neon Abyss is great — one of my all-time cyberpunk favorites — but its sequel is an absolute blast. Think a side-scroller mixed with a twin stick shooter mixed with a looter shooter. Lots of shooting going on here. The sequel mixes things up by incorporating melee weapons into the mix, but the overall action stays the same.

Like in the previous game, you’ll be sent out to defeat the “new gods” of our modern world, such as Hyperion, the God of Entertainment; Apollo, the God of EDM; or Jeff, the God of Biscuits (no, wait, that last one is from something else.) It’s a really fun bit of satire that doesn’t take away from the overall atmosphere of the game. Highly recommended.

2

Neon Chrome

Another 2D Shooter, but With a Different Edge

What are the odds we have two 2D twin stick-style shooters with “Neon” in their name? I dunno, this is cyberpunk we’re talking about, so… pretty good, I imagine. Despite the similarities, Neon Chrome certainly sets itself apart, and in some dark ways. There’s less humor here, although it’s not totally bereft of it.

Neon Chrome puts players in the role of a nameless hacker (they probably does have an actual name, they just don’t tell us what it is. It’s probably, like, Tony or something) who battles their way through a high-rise building of your typical cyberpunk megacorporation by possessing one of, like, a few thousand bodies, each with different skills and weapons. It’s intense, and it’s addictive, and there are even multiplayer options as well. It’s a no-frills cyberpunk shooter and a great value, to boot.

1

Shadowrun: Dragonfall

One of the OGs

I remember loving the original Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis as a kid, and how frustrated I was after. Not at the game itself — though it was friggin’ frustrating at times — but at the fact that, for the longest time, there just weren’t any more Shadowrun games. I had my version, I played the SNES version at my friend’s house, and… that was it for the longest time.

Now, there are more Shadowrun games than you can shake a datastick (or some other cyberpunky item that’s shaped like a stick, I dunno) at. Dragonfall is one of my absolute favorites. It’s set in Berlin where, in the game’s universe, there are no corporations running everything. I didn’t even think that was allowed in cyberpunk stories, but here we are. It’s loaded with fun characters, and a fun, tactical combat system (think like XCOM or the Mario + Rabbids games) to put them in. It also has all the Shadowrun elements you come to expect from, well, a Shadowrun game. It would be kind of weird if it didn’t.

These are just ten of a multitude of cyberpunk games out there. I’d love to hear about your favorites, so post ’em up in the comments. Also, let us know if you’d like to see a Part 2 of this list. Because I’ll do it. Just see if I don’t.