We propose six outstanding games with a cyberpunk theme and aesthetic to make waiting for the CD Projekt game more enjoyable.
Announced 8 years ago, and with numerous delays in between -even having reached the Gold phase-, this coming Thursday one of the most anticipated games of the year arrives in stores, and surely of recent times as is Cyberpunk 2077. Starting off From the base of the popular board game of the 80s and with the credentials of a studio, CD Projekt, earned thanks to its work with The Witcher saga, this title comes not only with the mission of satisfying millions of fans of the RPG for hundreds of hours, but also to be one of the banners of the new consoles once the pertinent update arrives. However, if we cannot wait less than a week until its launch, throughout history a multitude of games with a futuristic aesthetic and theme have appeared more than recommended. Let’s see some of them.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Although Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is more recent – it was included until recently on Xbox Game Pass – and Warren Spector’s classic is precisely that, a true classic of the genre, we believe it is convenient to recommend Deus Ex: Human Revolution not because of its high quality , which also, but because above all playable the type endures exceptionally. Its continuation probably sinned as a continuist, but this title has a great capacity to give the player freedom when it comes to solving different situations, either through stealth, conversation, or directly, through action, being able to customize its protagonist, Adam Jensen, according to our style of play. If we add to this a plot that hooks from the first minute, we understand why this game was so well considered at the time, although unfortunately the franchise is in a hiatus that, unfortunately, seems indefinite.
Observer: System Redux
The creators of both installments of Layers of Fear and Blair Witch, in addition to the future The Medium, offer us a game that we have to talk about in its improved version for PS5 and Xbox Series, since it already appeared in the last generation. This version has not only an improved technical section, obviously, but also with new missions and gameplay adjustments that make it even better. In Observer, Bloober Team combines the terror that has made them famous with an oppressive setting that they already displayed in Layers of Fear, although with a larger and more explorable setting, as the game takes place in a building with a certainly level design intricate. The name of the game is due to the profession of its protagonist, Daniel Lazarski, who has the power to enter the minds of those suspected of having committed a crime, and in this case, he will have to investigate nothing less than the murder of his own son . The best we can find in terms of terror for the new generation.
Snatcher
Before going down in history with Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima took off in 1988 with a futuristic adventure in whose plot he would already leave his personal mark. This part of the Catastrophe, a huge explosion caused by a bomb owned by an alternative version of the USSR that ends the lives of millions of people, for decades later, a species of androids known as “snatchers” appear, which kill to the little human population left in Neo Kobe City. Its protagonist, a member of an organization in charge of investigating the event known as Junker, will have to investigate the origin of these mysterious beings. From this premise we find a narrative adventure with a few doses of action where conversation and research were the main pillars of his proposal, and although it is a curious game, more taking into account who is behind it, we must warn that the end is not as well spun as it should be. This happens because to the two acts present, Kojima had the intention of adding a third, something that Konami – it seems that company and creative always had their pluses and minuses – did not allow him.
Syndicate
After Kojima we have to continue talking about illustrious names, since we have to mention Peter Molyneux and his first golden stage, at the head of Bullfrog, a study that would give birth to other great games such as the Dungeon Keeper or Populous sagas. As is usual in cyberpunk-themed games, we find ourselves in a dystopian future in which large companies have taken control of society, even over governments, and the one we represent, Eurocorp, has devised a kind of “ chip of joy ”, which makes those who possess it more optimistic. This seeds a breeding ground for criminal organizations that gives rise to a plot that falls into the background throughout the game. This was mainly because Bullfrog dared to create a breadth and design of scenarios practically unprecedented in the genre of strategy, with multiple heights, shortcuts, passers-by who wandered unaware of what was happening and many more elements that make him one of the forerunners , without fear of appearing bold in this statement, of the first open worlds. Some negative aspects such as the fixed perspective or the enemy AI have not been able to dazzle the legacy of this key game in its genre.
Ruiner
We have not yet mentioned any title for fans of straightforward action, and that has to be Ruiner, by the small Polish studio Reikon Games and by the hand of Devolver Digital, almost always a guarantee of quality when talking about independent games. Although we are talking about action, we cannot be deceived, since in Ruiner everything related to the setting and the plot is very careful, with a very well designed city of Rengkok, with a lot of personality, and which we can freely visit between each of the missions that the game consists of. At the playable level, seeing a capture of Ruiner shows that it is a shooter with a zenith perspective, heir to the great games of the Finns Housemarque such as Alienation or Nex Machina, but with a peculiarity that we have recently seen in another great indie like Dead Cells : the possibility of changing the build of the character to get out of the different situations that arise. It can become repetitive in the long run, but its tight duration – between 6 and 8 hours – is adequate for the genre.
System Shock
We go back in time, this time to 1994, to find another classic like System Shock, by the now-defunct Looking Glass Productions studio, which featured talents of the caliber of the previously mentioned Warren Spector or Ken Levine, creator of Bioshock. Set in the year 2072, its protagonist will have to deactivate an AI known as SHODAN, throughout a brilliantly designed space station in which, as in Deus Ex, we find different playable mechanics such as first-time shots person, exploration, puzzle solving, etc … although curiously there are no non-playable characters in the game. On the contrary, SHODAN does not stop putting obstacles of all kinds to the main character, so the duel between man and machine is constant throughout the adventure. Another peculiarity is the existence of Cyberspace, a kind of alternative dimension of the real world which must be visited on numerous occasions to open certain doors or find certain objects. Interestingly, there is a remake on the way whose demo is already available on Steam.
