Is this actually cyberpunk? I had watched the trailer back when it came out and thought it was just ninjas in modern day Tokyo. If it actually takes place future Tokyo then I might have to check it out. I'd love to have a new cyberpunk anime to watch.
Thanks for all your help keeping this community active!
You're right, the remake did a fantastic job of updating the visuals.
Yeah, I think Ready Player One's Oasis is the one that'd be the most fun to actually use. And I agree that's probably because it was written after the internet, VR, and multiplayer games showed that "going online" isn't enough, you'd actually want something to do online.
I thought Dennou Coil only had augmented reality, do they also have cyberspace? I've never watched it.
I've never heard of those! Cool!
When you need the best hacker, you just need to find a cybernetic dolphin. 👍
"Enjoyed" might be a strong word, but it was definitely an interesting curiosity. I was actually thinking about watching Electric Dragon next since it seems the least "body horror" out of the others, so thanks for that recommendation.
And thanks for the article!
That's two recommendations for 2XS, I guess I've found my next book. Thanks!
Those are all available on kindle, thanks!
Including any movies, video games, books, anime, etc. What's your favorite cyberpunk horror?
I'm thinking maybe movies like Hardware or video games like Observer, BloodNet, or maybe System Shock. I should admit I haven't seen any of the weird body horror japanese cyberpunk like Tetsuo: The Iron Man though.
What else? Is Videodrome considered cyberpunk?
2047: Virtual Revolution is about a cyberpunk world where 75% of humanity spends all their time in virtual reality. A group of terrorists are killing people who are logged in, so a giant corporation hires a trench-coat wearing private investigator to put a stop to it.
This is definitely a low-budget movie with a bunch of no-name actors, but as a cyberpunk movie, I thoroughly enjoy it. They know they're making a cyberpunk movie and lean into it.
Here's a trailer. It's streaming on Amazon Prime.
I know the Watch_Dogs series has always received mediocre scores and reviews, but I've always enjoyed them. Sure, hacking a CCTV camera by looking at it from another CCTV camera makes no sense, but hacking is never realistic in movies or video games. At least this series makes hacking fun without being a bunch of mini-games. And you use your cellphone to hack everything, which is also fun.
I do think it's funny that when the first Watch_Dogs came out, everyone complained about how bland the main character was. So with Watch_Dogs 2, they changed the main character to be a fast-talking wise-cracking kid. And people complained about that too. So then when Watch_Dogs Legion finally came out, it's almost as if you could hear the company say "Fine! You think it's so easy to come up with a main character? You pick one!" and they spent a lot of effort introducing an entire game mechanic where you can recruit and play as any NPC you see walking down the street.
For what it's worth, my favorite character has always been Aiden Pearce, from the first Watch_Dogs game. He was the closest to a hard-boiled detective and it made the game feel more cyberpunk, even though the setting for Watch Dogs Legion was actually more of a cyberpunk world.
It's possible I enjoyed the games so much because I always went the pacifist route and played it like a stealth game. I liked when Watch_Dogs 2 introduced a remote-controlled car you could use to hack things remotely, even though it wasn't capable of opening doors. But then in Watch Dogs Legion they expanded it so you had a remote-controlled drone and it could open doors. I was basically able to play the entire game by walking to the edge of a hostile area, deploying my drone, and playing the entire mission that way. If my drone was ever caught, it'd blow up and control would return to my character, who was safely standing outside the hostile area. I'd just deploy another drone and try again.
Anyway, if you haven't played any of the games, I recommend them. While I think the first one is the most cyberpunk, it also has the most dated game mechanics. Also, you can start with any of the games. There really isn't any connecting plot between the three games, just minor references here and there. So pick whichever one looks the most interesting and give it a try.
In the 90s, Marvel created the 2099 storyline which re-introduced a couple existing characters in the year 2099 (like Dr. Doom 2099 and Spider-man 2099). Of those characters, I think Ghost Rider 2099 was the most cyberpunk.
In this version, the main character is a hacker who is murdered for stealing something he shouldn't. As he's dying, he uploads his consciousness into cyberspace. While in cyberspace, he finds a group of rogue AIs who are willing to bring him back to life if he becomes their agent in the real world. He accepts, and the AIs build a new robot body for him to download his consciousness into. This lets him track down his killers and the (of course) evil corporation behind it all.
The series ran for 25 issues in 1994-1996 but was also brought back for a one-shot in 2019. The image on this post is from the 2019 comic.
What kids movies would you consider to be cyberpunk? That is, not cyberpunk movies that happen to lack adult themes (like maybe Tron) but movies that are intentionally marketed towards kids and happen to be cyberpunk?
The best I can think of would be Astro Boy, Next Gen, or maybe Ron's Gone Wrong. Obviously I'm using a broad definition of "cyberpunk" here considering these are kids movies. The hero really has to "win" in a kids movie so you can't have some nihilistic world where the evil corporations can't be stopped.
Astro Boy spends a lot of time in the floating city above the clouds, but he also spends some time in the wasteland on the ground. The setting seems pretty cyberpunk, but the plot involves the military trying to capture Astro Boy, which isn't as cyberpunk in my opinion.
Next Gen is probably the most cyberpunk of these three. The main character even has an origami unicorn keychain on her backpack. I don't think it's crazy to see that as a Blade Runner reference. Plus, this movie has an evil corporation as the villain, rather than the military.
Ron's Gone Wrong might be a bit of a stretch here. Like Next Gen, it involves an evil corporation that needs to be stopped, but the rest of the world isn't nearly as futuristic/scifi.
What other kids movies do you think might be considered cyberpunk? Big Hero 6 takes place in San Fransokyo which is... kinda cyberpunk. And Ralph Breaks The Internat goes to cyberspace which is... kinda cyberpunk. Any others?
Mr. Robot did an amazing job of making a "modern day" cyberpunk story. It takes place in the real world yet has everything you would want from a cyberpunk show. But even with how amazing it was, I don't know if I could re-visit the show after watching it when it was new.
Part of the problem (for me) is it feels so firmly rooted in the era when it was made. The show went to great lengths to show hacks that were valid at the time of the show, which is amazing attention to detail, but other things make it feel dated to me. I remember it had multiple news reports showing Obama as the current president. Also, when that Ashley Madison hack happened, they were able to fit it into a storyline in that next week's episode. But this many years removed, who even remembers that the Ashley Madison hack was a real event? I feel like parts of the show will be lost by watching it out of context.
Another problem (again, just for me) is the subsequent seasons focused more on Elliot's mental health and other character drama than the cyberpunk world happening around them. Season 1 was incredible, everything I wanted. But by season 4, society falling into a cyberpunk dystopia was just the background for the inter-personal drama happening. I stuck with the show because the writing and acting truly was great, but I also held out hope that there would be more hacking and general cyberpunk "feel" in the next episode. I think I'd struggle through those seasons now, knowing those things don't come back.
Am I being too harsh? The show isn't bad by any means, it's incredible. But I think if I watched it now, wanting a cyberpunk show, I would be disappointed. Because really, only the first season felt cyberpunk to me. All the pieces were there in the later seasons, but the show's focus moved elsewhere.
If you've never seen Mr. Robot, here's a quick trailer. Also, the entire series is streaming on Amazon Prime.
If you've never seen Cyber City Oedo 808, you really need to. It's a classic cyberpunk anime and only 3 episodes long, so it isn't much of a commitment.
It's available on Crunchyroll. Also, someone posted both the subbed and dubbed versions to youtube if you'd rather watch it there.
Steam Next Fest is going on right now and I thought "I should make a list of fun cyberpunk demos to try!" And then I looked at what cyberpunk demos were available. It's weird. I still decided to make a list of at least... interesting games I found.
Dystopika - A cyberpunk city builder. Like, you add giant buildings, cover them in advertisements and neon lights, and... I think that's it. Even the description says "No goals, no stress, no objectives."
DeResolution - There's no way this game makes it to release without a Cease & Desist. It's an attempt to create a Tron game and it's not even trying to hide that fact. The demo isn't listed on the game's steam page but it's available on the next fest page.
Mullet Mad Jack - A ridiculous FPS where you have to kill an enemy every 10 seconds or the game ends. I posted a link to a gameplay video a couple weeks ago. Now the demo is available.
Death Noodle Delivery - A paperboy knock-off set in a cyberpunk world where you deliver noodles on your hoverboard. I'm hopeful about this one, I like the idea.
packet.Breach() - A tower-defense game that uses hacking as the concept. I'm terrible at tower-defense games so it's hard for me to judge this one. I enjoyed the demo though.
Eden Genesis - A weird precision platformer where you just enter a room and have to collect all items and defeat all enemies within some period of time to earn a rank. Then you can walk around the overworld to find a new room where you do it again. It's wrapped up in a cyberpunk package, but it feels more like a series of puzzles than a cohesive game.
Veiled Edge - Another 2d platformer. This one reminded me a lot of Sanabi. Where Sanabi gives you a grappling hook for fun movement mechanics, this game has a teleportation mechanic. You move into "teleportation mode" where there are certain spots you can teleport to and you pick which one to use. Very similar to the "aiming mode" Sanabi had for its grappling hook. I should mention the demo defaulted to Korean language. I had to find the options menu and change it to English to make any sense of what was happening.
Memory Lost - A twin-stick shooter (like Ruiner), except in this one you can posses the body of enemies and use their weapons/abilities.
Also, since I'm listing games anyway, here are a couple demos for games that have already been released:
System Shock remake - A very faithful remake of the original System Shock. Meaning, it isn't as mind-blowing as the recent Dead Space remake. This remake keeps a lot of the rough edges from the original.
Turbo Overkill - A fast-moving boomer shooter with Overwhelmingly Positive reviews. You can slide on the ground and use your chainsaw leg to mow down enemies.
I don't do visual novels or RPGs but hopefully that's a diverse enough list for you to find something interesting.
That's fair, but it's the logo we've got to work with so I'm going to try incorporating it. Also, I don't know if there's any other unique image that would represent the cyberpunk genre without referencing specific works. I'm definitely open to suggestions though.