CD Projekt Red’sCyberpunk 2077has proved enduringly popular, but it’s not without numerous peers and direct influences. The first-person RPG takes its name from a whole subgenre of science fiction, and there are plenty of essential pieces of media both in and immediately adjacent to cyberpunk that any fan of2077should look into, from defining novels to all-time great films.
The list below excludes two obvious points of reference: CDPR’sThe Witcher 3: Wild HuntandCyberpunk: Edgerunners, the popular anime created by Studio Trigger, which just recently had itssecond seasonannounced.The Witcher 3is a must-play for any RPG fan, and shares many of its strengths with2077.Edgerunnersis similarly recommended, but many2077fans have likely already watched the series.
10Cyberpunk Red
Tabletop RPG, 2020
Although it’s another obvious next step,Cyberpunk Reddeserves its own special mention.Cyberpunk 2077borrows its world and many mechanics from theCyberpunktabletop roleplaying game, of whichCyberpunk Redis the latest edition, released right around the time2077came out in 2020. Playing with pen and paper is obviously a very different experience, butvideo roleplaying games are direct descendants of TTRPGs, so even though the medium changes, avid2077fans will find a lot of familiar elements.
Cyberpunk’s various editions take place at specific times in the franchise’s canon timeline.Cyberpunk Redis set in 2045, and serves as something of a prequel to2077, putting players in the aftermath of the Fourth Corporate War, which had its climactic incident in the Night City Holocaust, where Johnny Silverhand helped detonate a nuclear device in Arasaka Towers.
9Neuromancer
Novel, 1984
Put simply:Cyberpunk 2077would not exist in its current form if it weren’t for William Gibson’sNeuromancer. The 1984 novel is widely considereda foundational, massively influential entry in the cyberpunk genre, even going as far as to define some of the terms that crop up inCyberpunk 2077’s slang– Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics (ICE), for instance, is used throughoutCyberpunk 2077when discussing Net security, and was popularized by Gibson’s work.
Neuromanceralso helped pioneer a lot of concepts that are now inextricable from cyberpunk fiction, including cyberspace being navigable by “jacking in,” as Gibson called it. The story follows a hacker known as Case, who is recruited into a heist by an artificial intelligence. Just likeCyberpunk 2077,Neuromancer’s world is filled with unchecked corporate power and a devaluation of human life.Neuromanceris now over 40 years old, but it’s still just as pertinent as it ever was.
8Akira
Film, 1988
Akirais a masterpiece; everyone should watch it. Katsuhiro Otomo’s acclaimed opus takes place in Neo-Tokyo in a dire 2019 where rampant biker gang violence is just the most immediate threat next to massive corruption and vicious government crackdown. The story follows Kaneda and Tetsuo as the latter grapples with telekinetic powers he can’t control. Homage has been paid to Kaneda’s iconic motorcycle slide in an exceptional number of influenced works, fromAdventure TimetoJordan Peele’sNope.
Otomo also wrote the manga of the same name thatAkirais based on.
Akira’s influence onCyberpunk 2077is felt overtly in a version Kaneda’s motorcycle being purchasable in-game, called the Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X (named after the protagonist of another influential anime film,Ghost in the Shell).AkirasharesCyberpunk 2077’s ruminations on transhumanism, but takes those themes to an extreme, ultimately dealing with far larger metaphysical ideas.
7Deus Ex: Human Revolution & Mankind Divided
Video Games, 2011 & 2016
The entireDeus Exseries is a classic cyberpunk tour de force, butits two most recent entries will likely be the most familiar to play forCyberpunk 2077fans. 2011’sDeus Ex: Human Revolutionand 2016’sDeus Ex: Mankind Divided, both developed by Eidos Montreal, have their fair share of RPG elements, but they are also well within the immersive sim genre, giving players a tightly designed sandbox to pursue objectives however they see fit.
The duology follows Adam Jensen, a key member of the security team for a company that creates human augmentations. After he’s nearly killed in an attack on his employer’s headquarters,Jensen is given extensive body modifications so he can investigate those responsible.Human Revolutionbegins in 2027, with both games taking you to various cities and exploring many of the same quandaries thatCyberpunk 2077grasps at.
6The Matrix
Film, 1999
A major component ofCyberpunk 2077is the pervasive performance by Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand, and he stars as Neo inThe Matrix, one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made.Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness existing on a Relic slotted into V’s brain inCyberpunkshares many thematic parallels to the Wachowski sisters' 1999 classic, where humanity has been enslaved by robots and lives a docile, false existence within a simulation known as the Matrix.
Don’t overlookThe Animatrixeither. The collection of animated short films set inThe Matrixuniverse is similarly fantastic.
In the film, Thomas Anderson, aka Neo, is thought to be the One, a prophesied savior that will save humanity from the machines. Its numerous, technically impressive action set pieces are filled with slo-mo, thin sunglasses, and an incredible number of leather outfits, and while its sequels are frequently derided, I enjoy all four films quite a lot.The Matrixis exceptionally influential, and even though it was made before the turn of the millennium, the special effects still hold up very well.
5Blade Runner & Blade Runner 2049
Films, 1982 & 2017
JoiningAkiraandThe Matrixin the pantheon of legendary science fiction films is Ridley Scott’sBlade Runnerand, arguably, its legacy sequel, Denis Villeneuve’sBlade Runner 2049. The biggest parallel toCyberpunk 2077is theBlade Runnersetting. The first takes place in 2019, with the sequel set in its eponymous year, in and around Los Angeles after much of the world has been ravaged by nuclear war. Amid the widespread societal collapse,megacorporations have risen to dominate society both on Earth and in off-world colonies.
Based on the Philip K. Dick novelDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the original film centers on Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a jaded Blade Runner, a specialist in hunting down and retiring (executing) androids known as Replicants, which are illegal on Earth.2049stars Ryan Gosling as K, a Replicant working for the LAPD as a Blade Runner, who discovers evidence that Replicants could potentially reproduce biologically.Both films ooze an astounding amount of ambianceand wrestle with many of the same transhumanist themes asCyberpunk.
4Citizen Sleeper
Video Game, 2022
Citizen Sleeperis within the wide reach ofThe Matrix’s aforementioned influence. In this dice-rolling RPG,you play as a Sleeper, whose consciousness has been implanted in a robot to serve the Essen-Arp corporation. As opposed toThe Matrix(andCyberpunk 2077), though,Citizen Sleeperis light on action. You interact with a wide cast of characters, rolling dice for vaious activities throughout each day.
Its text-heavy and methodical approach may appeal to those who enjoyDisco Elysium, butits writing shares a lot in common withCyberpunk 2077’s myriad quest lines.Citizen Sleeperwas principally developed by one person, Gareth Damian Martin, who put out a sequel,Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vectorearlier this year.
3Minority Report
Film, 2002
Another adaptation of a Philip K. Dick work, this time a novella, Steven Spielberg’sMinority Reportfollows Tom Cruise as John Anderton, chief of the federal Precrime unit in 2054.Precrime uses three psychics called Precogs to arrest would-be criminalsbefore they’ve actually committed a crime. Anderton finds himself accused of planning to murder a man he doesn’t even know.
Like some ofCyberpunk 2077’s more spine-chilling quests,Minority Reporthas a dizzying number of layers to its story. Power is well under the federal government’s control, rather than held by megacorporations like in Night City, butthe level of surveillance and the voraciousness of the police force is reminiscent of key plot points throughoutCyberpunk.
2Johnny Mnemonic
Film, 1995
I won’t pretendJohnny Mnemonicis a great movie, butit has some fascinating ideas, mainly due to being written byNeuromancerauthor William Gibson. Most importantly to itsCyberpunkconnection, it stars Keanu Reeves in an almost reverse role. He plays the titular Johnny, who uses a brain implant to personally deliver data of the utmost importance to various megacorps, and whose most recent job requires carrying a potentially fatal amount of data.
The parallels toNeuromancerare numerous, from the keen focus on a cyberpunk criminal underworld, to Johnny using a headset and connected gloves to navigate cyberspace. That said,Johnny Mnemonicis fun if you don’t take it incredibly seriously. Reeves' performance is passable, and the concept is interesting, but it won’t strike anyone as top-tier cinema.It’s a really charming look at pre-MatrixReeves-led sci-fi, though, andCyberpunkfans will likely find it entertaining.
1Stray
Finally, after all the dire, dystopic science fiction above,Strayis the pallet cleanser you might be looking for. It took the gaming world by storm with its release in 2022, and remains a must-play for anyone who likes cyberpunk – and cats. The nameless protagonist is separated from his family at the beginning of the game, and must platform and solve puzzles through a robot-populated citybased on Kowloon Walled City.
Strayis exceedingly cute, but doesn’t shy away from the emotion of its premise, nor the melancholic vibe of its setting. BlueTwelve Studio’s charming adventure was a stand-out of 2022 and remains great. It has some aesthetic companionship withCyberpunk 2077, but you won’t find as much violence, makingStraya unique entrant among the cyberpunk genre.
Cyberpunk 2077
Based on the 1988 tabletop game, Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person action RPG game set in a dystopian cyber future developed by CD Projekt Red. Players will tackle the streets of Night City as customizable protagonist V, who struggles to keep their memories intact after receiving a strange cybernetic implant that slowly overrides their memories by a deceased celebrity known as Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves.
