Cyberpunk games

[Kuranesno7]

watchin the Deus Ex hr trailer got me thinkin about the concepts of Cyberpunk (i.e. science fiction wherein the future the internet got even more awesome than it already is, The only classes are the obscenely rich and the destitute with a Berlin wall dividing the two, and that that corporations literally own your ass since they probably made it t some point with some plastic and optic cables) in games.
I know of the System Shocks, the EXes, and shadowrun, but has this genre been this underutilized? There are only handful of games about criminals, computer hackers, and mercenary cops in a corporate and consumerist jungle, as compared to the infinite number of games about space-marines, space-marines, regular marines in space, or just absurdly large people fighting off invasions of some kind. Don't get wrong, I like Halo and instantly fell in love with Warhammer 40,000.
I'm just wondering if there are more cyberpunk games out there that I haven't hear of, or I'd like to know if there are any more coming out, or just general thoughts on these types of games would be sweet.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Steampunk seems so much more popular... but I love cyberpunk and always will. It's definitely underutilized in my opinion and I have wet dreams about the day they announce Shadowrun 2.

And Warhammer 40k is freakin awesome.

 

[MikailCaboose]

Hmm...
Not any others that I can think of.
That's actually depressing.
Actually, come to think of it, there aren't many Steampunk games either. The only one I can really think of are the Bioshock games, and that one section in Metroid Prime 3...

It's funny. Everybody focuses on the military tech of the future but don't really tackle the info side.

 

[psivamp]

Actually, come to think of it, there aren't many Steampunk games either. The only one I can really think of are the Bioshock games, and that one section in Metroid Prime 3...

Arcanum is Steampunk.

I'd like to see more cyberpunk. It seems like something that would be used all the time in video games as it can easily explain having a HUD, or regeneration...

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Dreamweb, Blade Runner, Neocron, Bloodnet, Beneath a Steel Sky, Syndicate, Nomad Soul. There are a few really but it's actually a pretty outdated setting so it's not surprising that most are more than a decade old.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Have you tried the Tropes page?

 

[Akiada]

In addition to others mentioned, if you have a Source game like Half-Life 2, there's a sweet mod for it called "Dystopia" which is a cyberpunk deathmatch type game. Both sides (Corps and Punks) utilize varied, player-chosen loadouts of implants (ranging from things like healing and invisibility to jumping twenty feet into the air and detecting people's heat signatures) and there is a heavy emphasis on both physical combat in meatspace and electronic warfare in cyberspace. The hackers ("deckers") try to steal control of security systems, switching on/off turrets, changing their alliance, opening doors to objectives and so on.

It's definitely not something for story like Deus Ex - but if you want some cyberpunk gunfighting and combat, I'd highly recommend it. It's really fun.

 

[Tallim]

May be blind to the thread here (very early morning) but System Shock 1 & 2 doesn't seem to have been mentioned.

 

[Wayneguard]

Actually, come to think of it, there aren't many Steampunk games either. The only one I can really think of are the Bioshock games, and that one section in Metroid Prime 3...

Arcanum is Steampunk.

I'd like to see more cyberpunk. It seems like something that would be used all the time in video games as it can easily explain having a HUD, or regeneration...

All the thief games are also heavy on the steampunk. The steampunk ambiance adds so much flavor to that series. <3 thief

 

[Caligulove]

Thief is a little bit of cyberpunk and steampunk rolled into one- and medieval.

Even if you disagree theyre great games- play them anyway!

 

[Akiada]

May be blind to the thread here (very early morning) but System Shock 1 & 2 doesn't seem to have been mentioned.

The OP mentioned them directly in his post, actually. See:

I know of the System Shocks, the EXes, and shadowrun

 

[Tallim]

May be blind to the thread here (very early morning) but System Shock 1 & 2 doesn't seem to have been mentioned.

The OP mentioned them directly in his post, actually. See:

I know of the System Shocks, the EXes, and shadowrun

Early morning blindness it is then

 

[Therumancer]

Well, Cyberpunk actually has little to do with the computer network/virtual reality aspects that are oftentimes woven into it. It's more about the cyberware, and the usage of technology for individual expression. Hence the "punk" aspect. The corperations and such largely entering into it as something for the punks to rebel against.

That said it's a fairly difficult genere to do because it involves a lot of world building, and especially when it comes to an RPG it's actually a bit easier to come up with a magic system than work out a cyberware system.

That said, there are a few other examples that I can think of that were not mentioned including: Bloodnet, Neuromancer, and Syndicate (as what would traditionally be the bad guys of a cyberpunk novel). The first two do use computer networks as a key part of the theme. Bloodnet features Vampires as a key element as well (the protaganist being infected and searching for a cure, his transformation over a period of time representing a game time limit, which influances things like how much time you can use to tweak your companions with cyberware since it puts them out for surgery, etc...).

If you count BBS door games, there was a simplistic Max Headroom RPG around for a while as well.

For MMORPGs you had Neocron (which seemed to fail), and Anarchy Online which is still holding on, and has everything in it from cyberware, to computers, to nano manipulation replacing spells, and even (later) mecha.


As far as Shadowrun goes, the liscence has been bouncing around quite a bit, and truthfully I don't think the last couple of editions have been all that successful. I'd love to see the setting re-visited in computer games, but at the same time I can't see the current liscence holders financing the game, or producers being in a hurry to buy the rights to make a game given it's current status. Perhaps I'll be proven wrong and we'll see something eventually.

Honestly I also always figured Cyberpunk 2020 was a liscence rife for exploitation but even at it's height R. Talislorian never seemed very interested.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Steampunk seems so much more popular... but I love cyberpunk and always will. It's definitely underutilized in my opinion and I have wet dreams about the day they announce Shadowrun 2.

And Warhammer 40k is freakin awesome.

Shadowrun is probably the epitome of the Cyberpunk game, but unforunately other than an uninteresting counter-strike clone I am not aware of any example of the game since the days of the SNES.

Unfortunately, few games pursue the cyberpunk philosopy or set pieces. Other than the obvious examples such as Deus Ex and System Shock, the only I can think of are somewhat obscure. Restricted Area was a cyberpunk diablo clone though it wasn't actually any good. Flashback would almost certainly qualify but it's probably older than the old Shadowrun game. The various matrix games would qualify simply because the source material is generally considered cyberpunk.

Also, WH40K most certainly does not qualify as cyberpunk. The genre itself is probably best described as "High tech, low life" and is common enough in movies (Tank Girl, Barbed Wire, Johunny Mnemonic and so forth) or in literature (Neuromancer being the most famous example).

 

[CloggedDonkey]

Movies dive deeper into it than games. I know the BBC is playing Blade Runner this Sunday. And it's not only a good movie, but also a prime example of Cyber Punk.

Off Topic:
I still want an open world game set in a Steam punk or clock work universe. I also would like one that get's it's art influences from the Art Deco paintings of the twenties and thirties.

 

[Diligent]

The older adventure games hit it pretty well. I never played it, but there was "I have no mouth, and I must scream" based on a short story by Harlan Ellison.
Somebody already mentioned it but PLAY BENEATH A STEEL SKY!!!
Best of all, its gone completely freeware and is legal to download.
http://www.scummvm.org/downloads/
In case you haven't used it before, just download scummvm which is a platform to play games using that old-fangled engine.
And scroll down the page a bit to find the download for Beneath a Steel Sky.
It's one of my favourite old adventure games.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Shadowrun is probably the epitome of the Cyberpunk game

Actually, I would call Shadowrun a cyberpunk and fantasy hybrid. Deus Ex fits the mould better.

 

[Tallim]

B.A.T. and B.A.T. 2? I remember playing them all that time ago. I forget if they were any good though, they certainly weren't awful.

Not sure if Anachronox counts.

Probably easier to just dig out the William Gibson back catalogue and get reading. Also Snow Crash