Cyberpunk 2077?
Not so much
I think the Cyberpunk genre needs updating, it borrows a lot of it's aesthetics from Blade Runner nowadays, which just seems like a hopeful view of the future from the 80's.
We all know the future is going to suck, and the advancements in technology will only go towards selling us products until it reaches a point where it gets too costly so they stop spending money.. So it'll probably be like small holographic bus stop ads, but they're poorly maintained so the shit's broken half the time, cities feel like dying malls. Neon signs used to mean a hip, ritzy place, but have been around so long that they no longer have that sort of appeal, trends changed and now you have the flickering neon sign look cause shit's broken and there's no money to fix shit.
So cyberpunk assumed shit was gonna suck in a specific way, it just has to be updated.
compared to today?
Edit: I'll elaborate, the aesthetics are hopeful, the technology seems more developed than what we have today. With capitalism at the helm, pushes on tech only come if there's profit in them, like for example, cell phones. Future tech worlds has advanced technology because it's just believed they should.
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idk in 2041 it seems like most of the west coast is a dusty barren waste, and in the OG the natural world is so fucked real snakes are insanely rare. sure we may not get sickass holograms and hovercars, but otherwise it seems fairly grounded
the bad stuff is spot on, but the dress up of the world is where i think the aesthetic needs updating. We kinda already see capitalism shift from outspending to extracting every dollar back to the point where it gets in the way of it's own profit generation. That dysfunction, without the prettiness of neon 'miami nights' light.
Maybe it's because i still see that as a part of that 80s nostalgia.
yeah but that's way more fun than, you know; the truth. it still holds the glitz and glamour of the old internet.
counterpoint: the a e s t h e t i c s kind of a vibe tho.
But yeah I think they could synthesize some more modern influence in the genre, beyond superficial shit like cp2077's dead mall where it's like "ha ha see? its a dead mall, they didn't consider dead malls in the 80s but we know in the 2010s/20. Dead mall!"
MGS, especially 2 has a lot in common with cyberpunk, yes, but also shares none of the aesthetics and also the "simulation in simulation" thing is pretty exclusive to MGS2.
I guess you have a point with the VR business, though the cyborg ninjas and the mechas is also kind of shared across a lot of anime which is not necessarily cyberpunk. It's hard to draw the distinction, though I guess the litmus test is that MGS doesn't take place in a future dystopia. If cyberpunk explores what the future might be, and thus is implicitly optimistic about the present, MGS implies this is all happening now, and is more cynical about the present.
It's honestly a pretty good game, speaking as someone who didn't follow any of the hype or coverage before release and went in blind, with no expectations other than it being a crpg (I should also note that I'm playing on PC). The main quests are good. On the other hand, I fully agree that it should have been delayed a few more months. The traffic AI is the biggest issue imo.
I GM both CP2020 and Red. 2077 is a pretty good adaption of the tabletop game (the combat has become super videogamey and simplified though). Cyberpunk as ttrpg isnt for everyone, it very thoroughly rebukes the idea that history is shaped by individuals and a lot of people dont like playing games like that.
2077 also has the weirdness of trying to be like the ttrpgs and also being a modern openworld game. The best parts of the game are the half hour conversations you have with people, but then you drive around and get screamed at constantly as you zip past the million gang hideouts. The game thrives in subtlety, characters hands shaking when they're nervous or having a rough time of things, subtle eye contact.
It sucks because C2077 clearly has the potential to be a fantastic game but it's just not even remotely finished. I really want to play the game that it was supposed to be.
It is basically the modern day Daikatana and was going to be that with all the delays and needing 7 years to develop, all to rush out a game with a bunch of glitches and problems. Will be interesting to see if it ages well in time. Daikatana some how aged incredibly well (assuming you are playing it with all the patches and fan engine that removes the side kicks and allows you to play the game solo)
i'm all for hyperbole but Daikatana was an unplayable mess on release. maybe you could say this for ps4/xbone releases but for PC it's just kind of underwhelming not unplayable
I didn't deny that. Hence why I said it aged well due to playing with patches and the fan made engine that had options to turn off the AI sidekicks. There's a good game in Daikatana, but only if you are playing it that way.
Daikatana was endlessly compared to Quake 2 when it was finally released. No one would say it 20 years ago, but Daikatana turned out to be the better game of the two. Quake 2 is the most generic bland game Id ever released and has not aged well at all. It plays well and has an impressive engine (which became Id's staple after Quake 1, hence why people love to say their later games are glorified tech demos), but there is nothing memorable about it whatsoever. Outside of the rail gun that is fun to use, the other weapons are generic; no memorable level design, enemies, game play features (they managed to make Quad Damage forgettable) or anything that really stands out. What Quake 2 did well, they ended up doing better in Doom 3 and that game turned out to be the most polarizing game they ever released.
Under the surface, there is a good game in Daikatana. The first level is a slog and can easily turn players off (probably why reviewers didn't give it much of a chance), but after you get the sword and go to Greece, the game suddenly opens up and becomes fun. There's a lot more uniqueness and passion poured into Daikatana than what went into Quake 2. I highly recommend playing it though with the patches and the fan made engine that allows you to turn off the side kicks.
