Feel the effects of all that chrome

If you've ever wanted to experience cyberpsychosis inside the world of Cyberpunk 2077, now there's a mod for that. A new Cyberpunk 2077 mod adds a new meter ??that can, potentially?, lead to V going cyberpsycho.

A mod developed by NexusMods user djkovrik called "Wannabe Edgerunner" adds a Humanity stat, much like one in the original tabletop Cyberpunk. This stat changes dependin??g on thing??s like installed cyberware, Berserk mode and Sandevistan usage, and kills.

At different thresholds, V will start to experience different effects. Glitches, at first. But then visual glitches, a critical chance debuff, and finally cyberpsychosis. While this gives the player a nice set of buffs, it also ?insta-spawns the police if you're in public.

To bala??nce it out, this mod also adds Neuroblockers. You can buy them at Ripperdocs and use them to remove side-effects and freeze Humanity point loss while active??.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvMY1uzSC1E

Running to the edge

Cyberpsychosis has been a mechanic dating back to the Cyberpunk tabletop RPGs from Mike Pondsmith and R. Talsorian Games. And it actually ends up being a pretty significant piece of the recent Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime, as a looming threat over the increasingly chromed-out run?ners.

While Edgerunners features it, CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 took a different route with it. While cyberpsychos are a recurring side-quest the player can complete, the player character V never runs the risk of cyberpsychosis. Granted, V has some larger problems, like the Johnny Silverhand engram stuck in their head. Pondsmith has also publicly discussed how cyberpsychosis affects characters like Edgerunner's David and 2077's V a bit differently than most.

But if you're aching to see some really wild cyberpsycho effects for yourself, this mod seems like it will do the trick. Cyberpunk 2077 PC players can pick it up on NexusMods here. And check out some other mods, inspired by the popular Edgerunners series, in our round-up here.

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To prove the "full power and potential" of the Cyberpunk universe

CD Projekt has announced its upcoming slate of projects today, and part of it includes Cyberpunk. The publisher confirms today that it's working on Project Orion, a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077.

In a slide, CD Projekt confirms the CD Projekt Red team will develop the sequel. The company says it will be a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel that will "prove the full power and potential" of the Cyberpunk universe.

//twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED_IR/status/157731745552492?9538

There is also an update on Phantom Liberty, the upcoming story-driven expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 currently slotted for 2023. The CDPR team has the DLC in the fina??l production phase,? as a crew of over 350 developers are reportedly involved in it.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVKBoDuhZ0

A new dawn

Cyberpunk 2077's launch is a notoriously rocky one, with the game being taken off the PlayStation Store for a spell due to the state of its release. Those bugs, al??ongside larger issues with the game, cause?d it to be a fairly contentious release.

Still, CD Projekt Red has continued issuing updates. And those patches, alongside the excellent Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime made in collaboration with Studio Tri?gger, have been shifting the narrative.

CD Projekt already stated it plans to continue supporting the Cyberpunk IP in some way. But now it looks like the crew will try to capture some of?? t??he lightning it was looking for the first time around.

In other CD Projekt news, the company also confirmed a bevy of new Witcher projects. This includes a new Witcher trilogy, starting with the previously teased Project Polaris. This is in pre-production, and all three games will aim to deliver within a ?si??x-year period following Polaris' release.

The Molasses Flood, which CD Projekt Red acquired last year, is also working on an "innovative" take on The Witcher that's in pre-production as Project Sirius. And a third game, a single-player open-world RPG set in The Witcher universe, is in development under a third-party studio led by ex-Witcher veterans as Project Canis Majoris.

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Get some new style and crank the tunes

It's no secret that a lot of people are logging back into Cyberpunk 2077 right now, thanks to Edgerunners. And for those who maybe want a little more of that series in their game, there are already some solid Cyberpunk: Edgerunners mods for 2077.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners debuted on Netflix a few weeks ago, and the Studio Trigger anime is absolutely stellar. And it, alongside several big patches, is likely the reason behind 2077's sudden spike in player count.

Whether you'll find more of Edgerunners in Cyberpunk 2077 is a different topic entirely, as the two are mostly separate stories. You can find some cameos of 2077 characters in Edgerunners, and 2077 has a tie-in quest line and some tidbits for Edgerunners. And obviously, both spring out from the tabletop s??eries.

PC mods are tying Edgeunners and 2077 even closer together, though. So here's a selection of some mods to tinge your virtual Night City adventures with some Studio Trigger style. (All via NexusMods.)

Switch up your style

A common pick for mods is to add the actual style of the Edgerunners characters as options for Cyberpunk 2077. Rebecca, for example, has her twin-tails and body tattoos both available as mod-in options for V, the protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077.

Maybe Lucy is more your style, and you'd like to pick up her signature suit and jacket. Or just go all-out with a face preset mod. Just play Lucy in the world of 2077.

David might already have his jacket in-game through the Edgerunners tie-in quest, but this mod re-crops it for female V if you want a different fit, and adds an alternate color option. Or use this one to get David's hairstyle as an option.

Pick up some arms

Patch 1.6 for Cyberpunk 2077 also added an Edgerunners weapon, in Rebecca's shotgun. (No spoilers on where to find it, but you'll have a pretty good id??ea of wher??e it might have dropped if you've seen the whole series.)

If you want Rebecca's pistols, though, there's a mod for that. As well as one for Lucy's pistol and David's pistol, too. I couldn't find anything else as of the time of this writing, but I wouldn't be surprised to see som?e more pop u??p.

Set the Edgerunners vibes

If you want something to just add a smidge of flavor, there are plenty of little add-ons too. One lets you put some Edgerunners posters in V's apartment. A few can replace menu music with tunes from the show, like "I Really Want To Stay At Your House" and "This Fire", or put Lucy on your load-in screen.

My personal favorite out of all these is Edgerunners Radio, which adds a new radio station that just plays music from Cyberpunk Edgerunners. While many of those songs are actually songs that were already in Cyberpunk 2077, the anime series gave them a bit of new life. This PC mod lets you just put those on as you cruise around Night City in Cyberpunk 2077.

Seeing as CD Projekt Red has rolled out some official mod tools with its recent updates too, I wouldn't be surprised to see this scene take off a bit. A rising player count and easy access to tools could hopefully make Cyberpunk 2077, at the very least, a fun game to latch a bunch of mods?? onto and gaze at the beauty and/o?r chaos.

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Studio Trigger and CD Projekt Red's collaboration is a brilliant fresh lens into Cyberpunk

Legacies are not forged in the way a merc lives in Night City, but how they die. This idea permeates through both the game Cyberpunk 2077, and the newly released Netflix anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. 

The runners don’t lead a corpo life. They don’t get Platinum insurance with the Trauma Team. They’re not trying to secure their soul. Everyone is running from, or towards, something. And everyone runs until they can’t anymore. It's this universal pursuit of more that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners dives deep on, to great success.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax5YUmkWf_Y

A long line of Cyberpunk

Comparisons between Cyberpunk 2077 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners feel inevitable. Look at the snaking line of influence leading to Edgerunners; it’s a 10-episode anime series, a collaboration between Studio Trigger of Kill la Kill fame and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD P???rojekt Red. It’s set in Night City, but one that’s adherent to both the video game and its ?roots in the Cyberpunk pen-an??d-paper role-playing game.

What results is a series with the visual flair and cinematography of Studio Trigger; the sights, sounds, and interpretations of imagined concepts into assets that can be rendered and displayed from Cyberpunk 2077; and the world, lore, and drive of Cyberpunk. And like Night City itself, all these disparate pieces?? click together into one whole that is spectacular.

You can see the fingerprints of Studio Trigger on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners everywhere. In obvious cases, that means the studio’s penchant for in??credible action sequences, with emphasized weight and blows that rip apart everything around them. There’s no shortage of action here, and yes, there will be times where characters are practically rubbing foreheads in a v??erbal stand-off.

The look of the future

Trigger also shows some incredible character art and designs,?? though. Particular shots stuck with me because of how gorgeously they were framed, and the details included in the frame. The look of this world is certainly heavily informed by what’s come before, but also pushes to establish its own identity within it. 

Even just the main character’s jacket becomes a visual signifier, an immediately recognizable piece of the character as much as Kamina’s glasses from Gurren Lagann. Studio Trigger is given a host of source material to draw from, but then also the freedom to build their own story up ??and over it.

It’s because of the unique lens that Trigger has been given that it can explore Night City in new and interesting ways. One misunderstanding I’ve seen from those just catching up on Edgerunners is thinking it’s a Cyberpunk 2077 tie-in game. While cameos happen from time-t??o-t?ime, it’s not in any way part of V’s story.

Rather, it follows David Martinez, a young boy whose single mother pulls extra hours and side hustles to put him through Arasaka Academy. Da?vid’s mom dreams of him rising to the top of Arasaka, of escaping the life they h??ave: barely making ends meet in a mega-slum.

Life in Night City

When we see David Martinez’s daily routine in the first episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, it’s a beautiful contrast. He walks out of their apartment and over bodies. He leaps down several flights into garbage tha?t is always? there to catch him.

The further he goes towards the start of his day at the academy, the more we see fast-moving suits replace bodies on the streets. Smog gives way to clean air and falsified atriums. But D?avid is looked down upon in school. To one in particular, he’s someone who brings a sickly reminder of those p?arts of Night City to school every day, to a place where it shouldn’t belong.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners gets a chance to explore these ideas in ways Cyberpunk 2077 never quite did. That story was concerned with V and Johnny Silverhand. It’s a constant race against time, as you deal with various factions who may or may no??t be able to get Keanu ??Reeves out of your head before it destroys your soul.

The edge of the line

For David, we see his life explode in a moment. We see how fast life can change in Night City, and how its systems do nothing to soften the blow. One of the most heart-wrenching moments early is when David is told his health care package doesn?’t allow for visitation. A grim, sympathetic moment.

Edgerunners explores sides of Night Cit??y that V never does. The rise up the ladde?r for David does still get a bit of a montage, but it’s more drawn out. There’s an ensemble cast that interacts with each other. We see them hang out and do crime together. Little changes appear in them over periods of time.

We see cyber-psychosis, an affliction where people with too many artificial machine parts disassociate and go insane, explored in detail. In Cyberpunk 2077, it's just the motivator for a set of ambient combat encounters in the world. It's not something V can succumb to. But in Edgerunners, we see the ever-thinning line between getting more chrome to stay alive, and tha???t chrome pushing one towards their doom. We see it in excruciating detail.

But I really wanna stay

As David falls in with a crew and strives to become an edgerunner, someone who carries out jobs for fixers to make a life for themselves in the city, we get exploration of all of them. Lucy, one of the main focal points of the story, is a netrunner with an unknown past haunting he?r. Maine, Kiwi, Becca, and others all make up a memorable motley crew that fights through hard times together.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners really succeeds in little ways, like how it adapts pieces of Cyberpunk 2077’s interpretations of the world. Studio Trigger incorporates a surprising number of details from the game. It’s not just city visuals and rea?l locales, or the name-dropping (and even came??o appearances) of famous runners from through the years in Night City.

I love the way Edgerunners uses the call noise and icon. In a video game, where the player is in first-person and following a quest or set of events, the calls act as talking heads. But in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, they’re just another means of communication. Calls and texts co??mmunicate story, but also emotio??nal state. 

Night City calling

One character carries on a ??conversation non-verbally, while engaged in some other activities. In an early scene, a stream of aggressive, angry? text serves to ramp up the tension, tightening and tightening the screws until they warp and twist. In a particularly memorable scene, we see Lucy staring at a ??“calling�?icon, waiting for a response. The dial tone we’ve heard throughout the series is the only sound we get.

It’s really neat when you can visually see netrunners flipping through the sequence-matching minigame shown in Cyberpunk 2077, or c??haracters talking about weapons that are common i?n the game. It makes Trigger’s Night City feel even more familiar, especially for those who have already explored this world in the game.

The Cyberpunk future

But Cyberpunk: Edgerunners also makes me hopeful for more stories to come from Night City. After my time with Cyberpunk 2077, I was pretty cool on the idea. CD Projekt has said they plan to keep supporting the IP, and I wasn’t keen on seeing more of it.

Now, seeing what this collaboration manages to pull off in ten episodes, I want to see more. It’s a blast to watch, from start to finish. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has moments of intense, explosive action and quiet remembrance. It can tug at yo??ur heartstrings with sad moments, and then put on an effusively heartwarming pseudo-first date. 

Edgerunners even digs into the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack to back these moments, fi??nding summer love anthems and tense ??firefight tunes I had never found while turning the dial in Night City.

As an anime, an adaptation, and an extension of the Cyberpunk world, I can’t recommend Cyberpunk: Edgerunners enough. It’s turned me around on seeing more of what folks can do with this property. And in a short span, it’s proved that there are still many compellin?g stories to tell in Night City.

_{Images via Netflix}

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Make Night City your own

CD Projekt Red updated Cyberpunk 2077 with patch 1.6 this week, adding crossover content and a host of fixes. But a tool was also tucked into the patch: official mod tools for Cyberpunk 2077.

In patch 1.6 (via Eurogamer), REDmod is set of new modding tools for CD Projekt Red's open-world RPG. It's a free DLC that adds "integrated upport for installing and loading mods" into Cyberpunk 2077.

The REDmod also adds new modding tools which can be used specifically for Cyberpunk 2077. These tools can be used to create things within the world of Cyberpunk, ranging from custom sounds and animations to scripts. CD Projekt Red says it will k??eep REDmod continuously updated alongside game patches,? to ensure compatibility.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVKBoDuhZ0

Making a mod

If you've been following the PC scene for Cyberpunk 2077, you're probably already aware of some pretty good mods out there. I'm personally a big fan of the one that makes the metro a real, rideable metro. Future trains are cool!

So how does this work with CD Projekt's modding tools? Well, NexusMods has a h?elpful page dedicated to this exact situation.

New mods will require a specific format to be compatible with the REDmod application going forward. Cyberpunk 2077 will s??till support loading old mods from the archive folder, but they will not appear in the REDmod menu.

For users, NexusMods says the most crucial thing to know is that old mods still work. And for authors, there is documentation on the Cyberpunk website for the new tools.

I'm interested to see how modders receive this, and what they're able to do with the new tools. That said, more mod support is hopefully a good thing. As much as CD Projekt Red can do in supporting the game short-term, we've seen what mods can do for games like Skyrim.

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The expansion won't be coming to previous-gen consoles though

During today's Night City Wire, CD Projekt Red showed off a tease for what's next in the world of Cyberpunk. Phantom Liberty is the name of the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, arriving sometime next year.

The brief teaser video showed some pretty gorgeous locales, including a facility covered in flora. We also get a teaser of V reciting an oat??h to serve the New United States of America, and Johnny Silverhand warning her it was a bad idea.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVKBoDuhZ0

As confirmed by the teaser and today's Night City Wire, Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as rockerboy Johnny Silverhand for the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion. As for other story detail??s, we'll h?ave to wait and see.

The expansion will be coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Stadia s?omet??ime in 2023. But previous generations will not be getting the expansion.

Running along the edge

CD Projekt Red also confirmed today that the 1.6 update, the Edgerunners update, will be the last one for previous generat??ion consoles.

The Edgerunners update is rolling out today, which adds a host of new content to Night City. Some of it centers around Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the Cyberpunk anime from Studio Trigger that debuts on Netflix next week. Cosmetics and a special side mission are arriving in Cyberpunk 2077 to link the series with the game.

Another fun little egg is being added, in the form of playable arcade machines for Roach Race??. So yes, you can finally play the R??oach arcade cabinet.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WZJUxJfo9Y

New features include transmog, allowing players to create a wardrobe to their liking. And Ripperdocs will also let you re-sculpt your V, a little like the mirrors currently allow you to change up some cosmetic features. The Edgerunners update is due to arrive som??etime today, September 6.

During the stream, game director Gabriel Amatangelo also says the team is working on an overhaul to the cops of Night City, as well as vehicle-to-vehicle combat. All future feature updates will be headed to the newer ge??neration platforms, however, and not previous gen.

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Night City is waiting

A new dive into the world of Cyberpunk is just around the corner. Netflix confirms today that its animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will debut on September 13.

The anime, a collaboration with CD Projekt Red and Studio Trigger, also debuted a new and very-NSFW trailer today alongside the announcement.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners follows David Martinez, a street kid who's trying to get by in Night City. He eventually becomes an edgerunner, or essentially a merc, similar to V in Cyberpunk 2077. Hopefully David's big h?e?ists go smoother than V's did.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtqIas3bYhg

David winds up befr?iending oth??er lost souls trying to get by in Night City, it seems. Lucy, one of the main characters of the series, has incredible technical abilities but is seeking a way out of Night City and away from her past.

The series is 10 episodes long, and all 10 will drop on September 13. No waiting around for each week's new episode h???ere.

A high-octane future

I'd normally be a bit lukewarm on the concept of a Cyberpunk anime, seeing how 2077 didn't quite land for me or others. I've gone back since the release of the next-gen update for Pl??ayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and while I dig a lot of the litt??le improvements that have been made since launch, I'm still iffy on the overall game.

What's kept me interested in this has been Studio Trigger's involvement. The animation house behind Kill la Kill and Promare has a well-regarded background in over-the-top action. And today's trailer is a mix of over-the-top action and Studio Trigger style. Edgerunners see??ms like it could at least ?make for a fun watch.

Netflix has landed some solid animated game adaptations in the past, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has the benefit of drawing on both the video game and the tabletop franchise behind it. Of the many, many video game adaptations in the works, this could at least? manage to be a fun, futuristic romp.

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Time to light up Night City

Netflix anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners got a new trailer today, and it looks both gorgeous and full of action. Today's trailer lets us meet some of the main cast and see the set-up for the action, as well as how Night City is being adapted into ?anime form.

Anime fans who didn't already know will probably notice right away that Studio Trigger is at the helm. Trigger is the studio behind productions like Promare and Kill la Kill, and boy, does it show in this new trailer. The fast action, berating line reads, and gorgeous style bleeds through in the new Edgerunners trailer.

It does, also, take some quieter moments. The story looks to follow David as he gets tied up in the back-alley gigs of Night City??.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiR_lMNlJko

Alongside an incredible adaptation of the world and design, based off the tabletop RPG, Studio Trigger also seems to be taking cues from CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077. The call tone, for instance, is the same one used in the video game. And a few of the vistas we see in the trailer are very similar to their 2077 look.

A cyberpunk future

Netflix has had some hits and some misses in the video game adaptation department as of late. On one hand, Castlevania is one of their big series and is currently headed into the Richter Belmont era. And League of Legends series Arcane has been absolutely stellar. But Dragon's Dogma didn't do quite as well on the animated front.

This is Studio Trigger, though, and I think that plus the potential of a good Cyberpunk adaptation is enough reason to tune in. There is still some Cyberpunk 2077 content on the way somewhere down the line, though CD Projekt Red seems like it's mostly moving towards The Witcher for the future?. I'm very much int?o Trigger's take on Night City, though.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners hits Netflix next month, in September 2022.

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New Studio Trigger series launches this fall

Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the brand new anime series set within the neon nightmare universe of CD Projekt RED RPG Cyberpunk 2077. The new video gives us our first look at the animated show in action, following on from its initial announcement back in 2020.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4ztgjvfU60

The minute-plus teaser chooses to go with an "assault on the senses" vibe, foregoing plot details or character introductions for wild visuals, atmospheric vistas, and pulse-pounding music. The anime instinctively carries the vibe of its production team, Studio Trigger, which is known for its acclaimed work on shows such as Kill la Kill, Little Witch Academia, and Star Wars: Visions. In this trailer, we get a lil' of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners violence, a lil' of its romance, a lil' of its crazy tech, and, of course, the obligatory Akira-esque bike chase.

It's a pretty good debut, but we'll have to wait for the first episode to really get a taste of the a??ction.

The rough narrative outline for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners concerns the escapades of a young street punk who, with nothing left to lose, falls in with a band ?of digital mercenaries-for-hire, known in the universe as "Edgerunners." The 10-episode anime will follow the protagonist and their new comrades as they p??ick their way through the oppressive, opulent, and highly hazardous neon nightmare that is Night City.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will launch exclusively on Netflix this ?September.

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Skate or Die

During yesterday's PlayStation State of Play presentation, publisher Private Division gave the world its first look at the exciting new "skater-shooter" title, Rollerdrome. The retro-futuristic title is currently in development for PlayStation and ?PC with an eye to release on both platforms this coming August.

Set against the backdrop of an alternate (or perhaps not) 2030, t??he global public is kept distracted from increasing political unrest by the invention of a dangerous new arena sport �?the titular "Rollerdrome." As civil disruption and governmental corruption creep ever close to the knife's edge, a brand new Rollerdrome player �?Kara Hassan �?is starting to capture the hearts and minds of the home audience. Players will follow Hassan's journey to the top of a sport that is, ultimately, more than just a sport, as the young player's talent, courage, and popularity bring a spark of light in the darkest of times.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mns9HMvREA

Developed by British independent outfit Roll7, (of OlliOlli World fame), Rollerdrome will blend stylish skating gameplay and intense combat mechanics into its intense, politically-minded narrative. The new title sports stylistic visuals highly reminiscent of the iconic French artist Jean Giraud, while musician Electric Dragon offers Rollerdrome its haunting, '70s style electro score.

It is pretty much impossible not to point out that Rollerdrome �?pretty blatantly �?repurposes both the narrative themes and audio aesthetic of Norman Jewison's 1975 classic, Rollerball, and its own People's Champion, Jonathan E. But I don't mean to point this out as any kind of "gotcha," as Rollerdrome clearly wea??rs it?s influence proudly on its sleeve. The State of Play trailer creates the right kind of impact, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of the game as we approach its August release.

Game? This wasn't meant to be a game.

Rollerdrome launche??s on PlayStation and PC platforms August 16.

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Where we're going, we'll definitely need some chainsaw legs

Classically-styled shooters are about to dip into the neon future. Trigger Happy Interactive announced today that its high-speed shooter Turbo Overkill is sliding into Steam Early Access on April 22.

Inspired by Doom, Duke Nukem, and Quake, Turbo Overkill is part of what I'd call the retro-revival genre of first-person shooter. It's clearly imitating the classic cir??cle-strafing arenas and high framerate firepower of older games, but with many modern adjustments. Yes, there are pixel-y chunks blasting everywhere, but also more modern tools like a grappling hook and chainsaw legs.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht0fbsgtw_4

Upgrade weapons over time, kill bosses for their augments, run on walls and fire mini-rockets from mid-air. Add on a cyberpunk neon sheen, and you've got Turbo Overkill.

I played the demo for Turbo Overkill during the recent Steam Next Fest, and can confirm that I was instantly reminded of classics like Quake. As good as the gunplay is, I had just as much fun running around its arenas, sliding through enemies with my chainsaw legs. It reminded me a bit of sliding and kicking enemies in Bulletstorm, in a very good way.

Turbo Overkill slides onto Steam Early Access with the first of its three planned episodes. That will have eight stages, with the number expected to triple on the way towards launch. As for the full 1.0 version, that's expected sometime later in 2022. When it does launch in full, Turbo Overkill will also be coming to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox ??consoles.

You can wishlist Turbo Overkill ahead of its Early Access release on Steam here.

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The 'other' cyberpunk action-RPG

Publisher Curve Games has announced that its dystopian cyberpunk adventure The Ascent will be making its grand debut on PlayStation platforms next month, following on from its release on Xbox and PC in the summer of 2?021. Pre-orders are live for the PS4 and PS5 editions, which wil?l launch March 24.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzRREaPGhCU

If The Ascent has passed you by, then h?ere's the download: It's an action-RPG set within a corporate and capitalist paradise run amok. After a huge megacomplex of residential, retail, and economical zones fall into complete disarray, the lines of power, wealth, and class blur as the have-nots and the haves engage in all-out warfare. As a worker enslaved by the megacomplex's o?wner "The Ascent Group", it is up to you and your people to seize the opportunity to fight for your freedom �?amplified in the echo of a gun blast.

The Ascent is an isometric shooter that blends typical RPG elements such as questing, class-building, and open-world exploration. Neon Giant's anarchic adventure also boasts a huge cast of characters, inventive aiming mechanics, and one-to-four player co-op modes. While it flew somewhat under the radar on release, The Ascent was positively received by critics, who praised its world, visuals, and devotion to des?truction, though it was suggested that its bomb?astic content waned over time.

The Ascent launches March 24 on PlaySt?ation. It is available right now on PC and Xb?ox platforms.

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Ghostrunner be Ghostwalkin'

Publisher 505 Games has announced that Project_Hel, the incoming expansion to excellent cyberpunk adventure Ghostrunner, will not meet its scheduled release date. The DLC had planned to drop next week on January 28, but will now launch on PC an??d console platforms March 3.

"The global release of the Project_Hel DLC will be delayed to March 3rd," reads a team statement on Twitter. "We appreciate your understanding and want all our fans to know that we will use this bonu?s time to make even more worthwhile improvements while ensuring the health & safety of our team and gl?obal partners."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ9fnH1tvpM

Project_Hel was originally planned as a bite-sized chunk of Ghostrunner DLC, but has since grown into something of a pretty meaty expansion. As the title suggests, the new adventure will focus on Ghostrunner boss character?? Hel as she descends the treacherous Dharma Tower on her own slice 'n' dice mission. As a player character, Hel is more combat-oriented than the Ghostrunner, and also a little hardier in battle, so fans can expect the add-on to feature a helluva lot of bloodletting and limb-chopping.

The Project_Hel expansion not only includes a new character, but also an array of new combat movies, hapless enemies, and mighty bosses pitched across six new stages. All of this cathartic chaos will be backed by six bangin' new tracks composed by artist Daniel Deluxe. So while this extra wait is a little hard on the community, you can rest assured that there will be plenty of action to be had once the Project_Hel DLC finally arrives on March 3.

Ghostrunner is available now?? on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Amaz??on Luna.

The post Gh?ostrunner expansion Pro??ject Hel pushed back to March appeared first on Destructoid.

On the midnight train to Night City

Modders have been working hard on Cyberpunk 2077, doing everything from implementing helpful tools to new visual filters. And others like the Metro System mod add new ways of seeing Cyberpunk 2077. Like from the inside of the Night City Train.

This mod from 'keanuWheeze' adds a fully useable metro system to Cyberpunk 2077, with 19 stations and both first and third-person views while you ride. Just head off to one of the in-game stations, marked by the Metro sign sig?nifier on the map. When you interact with the fast travel gates, you'll enter the station.

Then, text a??t the bottom of the screen informs you where the currently incoming train will be headed, with a map pin to help as well. Entering a train is as simple as walking up and hitting int?eract, and you can swap between seats and viewpoints during the trip. Heck, you can even turn on the radio.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X2kIfS6fb8

Mods can be over the top, like inserting Thomas the Tank Engine or creating a complete, massive overhaul. But I really like the Metro System mod because it adds more of that city life feel I'm looking for in Cyberpunk 2077. Being able to just hop on the train and ride around, taking in the sights, sounds great. Or maybe simulate a little bit of what life is like, especially whe??n you don't have future-bik?es or luxury A.I. cabs to take you everywhere.

Cyberpunk 2077 itself, meanwhile, is still ramping back up from its launch. The next-gen versions of the futuristic RPG are still "on track" for 2022, as CD Projekt has reportedly entered settlement talks ?with investors who sued over Cyberpunk 2077's launch.

It seems like there's been an upwards trend of players going back to Cyberpunk 2077 and now, after many patches and updates, finding things to enjoy. Maybe it's time for another run? And now, one that can include a soothing, ra??dio tunes-filled ride on the Night City metro.

You can download the Metro System mod for Cyberpunk 2077 here.

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Project_Hel will put a new perspective on the first-person free-running action game

Ghostrunner put an interesting first-person spin on cyberpunk action. And it looks like it's getting even more content to free-run across in the future. Publisher 505 Games announced today that Ghostrunner is getting a DLC expansion, Project_Hel, adding a new playable character and campaign to Ghostrunner.

The new expansion, from 505 and developers and partners One More Level, All In! Games, 3D Realms, and Slipgate Ironworks, arrives on Jan. 27, 2022. Those who want to get in early can also sign up for a chance to get into an early private beta here.

Though 505 Games says it was initially planned as a smaller DLC, Project_Hel has become a full-on campaign with its own character. Hel, one of Ghostrunner's boss characters, will be playable. Her take on r??unning is a little more combat-oriented, as she can take one more hit than the Ghostrunner.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ9fnH1tvpM

Six new tracks from musician Daniel Delux?e will be part of the ?expansion, as well as six levels and a special ability progression system for Hel.

Ghostrunner is also getting a free new cosmetic pack to ring in the holidays. On Dec. 7, a festive sword and glove bundle will arrive, letting you ring in the Yuletide cheer in the cyberpunk world of Ghostrunner. Ev?en in a dystopian future, you can't?? forget about the true spirit of the season.

Ghostrunner Project_Hel will launch on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Switch, Amazon Luna, and PC via Steam, Epic, and GOG on Jan. 27, 2022. It'll run $14.99 for the expansion. For those who dug Ghostrunner the first time around, seems like the holid??ays will have a little bit more for you to run, slash, and enjoy in the cyberpunk f??uture.

The post Gho??strunner g?ets the Project_Hel expansion in January appeared first on Destructoid.

Hotter than Maria Mercurial tickets

Paradox Interactive has announced that it is bringing Shadowrun Trilogy to the Nintendo Switch platform in 2022. The trilogy will comprise of 2013's Shadowrun Returns, 2014 expansion Shadowrun: Dragonfall: Director's Cut, and finally 2015's Shadowrun: Hong Kong Extended Edition. A specific release date was not announced.

The Shadowrun Trilogy comprises of the recent digital takes on the long-running cyberpunk RPG, blending the hi-tech, lo-moral world of the tabletop RPG with an isometric digital adventure filled with interesting characters, cloak-and-dagger missions, and a hefty dose of brutal and explosive violence. Developer Harebrained Schemes' original release of Shadowrun Returns was long-awaited and much-anticipated, launching to mostly positive reception from critics following a long crowdfunding and development cycle. The release of Shadowrun: Dragonfall and later Shadowrun: Hong Kong would only add to the excessive and violent universe �?expanding i??ts?? world, lore, roster, and weaponry.

A listing on the Nintendo eShop offers little in the way of any new optimization details, but given Shadowrun's incredibly text-heavy storytelling and small-scale visuals, here's hoping that the new port will include some smart scaling options for those choosing to venture the avenues and alleyways in handheld mode. While the modern Shadowrun games were a little polarizing among fans, I enjoyed Shadowrun Returns, a??nd will gladly take another trip into the smog-filled skies?? of this nostalgic series. The Soycaf is on me, chummer.

Shadowrun Trilogy will launch on Nintendo Switch in 2022. It is ??available right now on PC via Ste??am.

The post Hoi chummer, Sha?dowrun Trilogy is coming to Switch in ?2022 appeared first on Destructoid.

Taking old-school Grand Theft Auto into the future

The cyberpunk setting has become pretty popular in games as of late, but a new one is mixing the neon-soaked aesthetic with some older mechanics. Glitchpunk, a top-down shooter in the vein of Grand Theft Auto 2, hit Early Access today.

From developer Dark Lord and published by Daedalic Entertainment, a new trailer today shows what the general setup of Glitchpunk is. In a dystopian, cyberpunk future, you play as a glitching android, taking on different jobs?? throughout the world. And once the bullets start flying, well, it looks like things get chaotic.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rICCme1FI0o

Looks like there are also some factions to deal with, each with their own goals and ambitions. In Early Access, the ?first city—New Baltia—is currently available, with Outpost Texas (yeehaw) arriving in three to four weeks. Two more cities are planned after that for the Early Access period, Neo Tokyo and Moscow, each with their own gangs and characters.

With a hacking system, a bunch of gangs and the promise of multiple cities, a "mature story" that will have several different endings, and lots of firepower, Glitchpunk's Early Access seems worth keeping an eye on. Also, according to a press re??lease we received, there are a bunch of methods for getting around the city, ranging from cars, trucks, and motorbikes to buses and trains, even tanks. Finally, I can hijack a? future-train.

You can find Glitchpunk over here on Steam, where its Early Access is live for $19.99 (with a 20% discount launch bonus). And if you're eager for even more games, check out the slew of them that arrived on the Nintendo Switch eShop today. There is truly no shortage of games to play, but I'd like to?? find some time at some point to see what this mix of old and new is b??ringing to the table.

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It's judgment time

Admittedly, The Ascent starts on a p?retty dull and uninteresting note. You're wading through the deep bowls of the arcology the game is set on, fighting mindless feral mutants, and doing the equivalent of flipping switches to resta?rt a "sentient intelligence" system. All of this leads to a fight with a giant feral that you can beat by simply running in a big circle and shooting at it.

I've gone through this introduction across PC, co-op with some friends, and twice now on Xbox Series X after accidentally nuking my own save file. Combine that with a pretty lackluster character creation system,? I think it gives a bad first impression.

However, every time I took the elevator out of that mess and made my way into Cluster 13 �?and was greeted with hearing the incredible soundtrack that accompanies it �?I kn??ew the real fun was about to? begin.

The Ascent (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S [reviewed])
Developer: Neon Giant
Publisher: Curve Digital
Released: July 29, 2021
MSRP: $29.99 (Also available on Xbox Game Pass)

As great as the soundtrack is, though, the sound design across The Ascent is just excellent all around. The sound effects on the guns are a notable highlight. Every time I blew away ferals or random mercs with the Dread (an excellent gun name by the way), it sounded so incredibly punchy and base heavy through my headphones and it never got old for me. Even smaller details such as?? ambient noises, NPC alien languages, flying vehicles, and robots overhead add to the game's atmosphere perfectly. In fact, smaller details are something The Ascent absolutely nails.

Obviously, the overall visuals in this game are stellar. The Ascent is undoubtedly the best-looking ??isometric viewing experience I've seen to date in a video game.

That attention to detail that I've been praising so much also blends into the mechanics in many ways. From minor aesthetics such as certain armor types straight-up replacing your limbs with full-blown robotic parts to even things like? the fast travel system and getting a short visual of your character riding in a flying taxi with a robotic driver went a long way in selling me on this universe and setting.

As impressive and immersive as those details are, though, the story in The Ascent is a lot more cut and dry by comparison. The gist of the setup is that The Ascent Corporation (the mega-corporation seemingly running the whole show and arcology on the planet of Veles) has mysteriously defaulted and closed up shop?. As a result, things fall into chaos. Pretty much eve??ryone from lowly gangsters to other mega-corporations are now looking to take advantage of the situation.

You end up getting mixed up in all of it, working every angle, but you hardly ever make any choices for yourself along the way. You're ver?y ??much a pawn in the grand scheme of things, both in the narrative and what you'll be doing almost the entire game. Even the dialogue options are super limited as pretty much every bit of dialogue you get to choose between can be summed up as one-word inquiries on different subjects.

The Ascent RPG's mechanics only ev??er revolve ?around character progression: leveling, skill points, gear, weapons, augmentations, and so forth. Thankfully, the twin-stick shooting was just good enough to keep me ?going until the credits?? rolled. I say that because as good as the overall controls feel, and despite some cool depth in the duck and cover mechanics, I felt like I was endlessly encountering different forms of jank across both my experience in single-player and co-op.

The co-o??p itself is an absolute blast. Even the single-player, I'd argue, is worth a separate playthrough if you e??njoy a lot of the world-building, dialogue, and lore to be found within The Ascent. Ho??wever, the number of technical issues I encountered really pulled me out of the game at times �?sometimes literally. From crashing, to downright bizarre moments like multiple instances of the same boss fight appearing (making it an impossible fight to win), to even stranger moments in co-op such as certain enemies just not even reacting to us damaging them.

My biggest issue with The Ascent, though, is simply the downright awful navigation and guidance system. At any moment during a mission, you can press up on? the d-pad (or O on keyboard) to make a red line pop up and go in the direction you need to be going. The problem is this line tends to just give you the quickest beeline and doesn't at all take into consideration whether or not you're even strong enough to survive whatever area it's trying to take you through.

This led me to many frustrating deaths as I wandered into high-level areas with barely any time to react before being killed instantly. The isometric camera angles certainly don't help with this. In most cases, I wasn't even aware I was in a high-level area until it was too late. In one instance, I even noticed some high-level enemies on the other side of a fence with gates I couldn't access yet, but right before leaving, they somehow noticed me and one-shot me right through the fence. So, as a result, I was constantly bringing up the in-game map to make sure I was on the right (and safest) path or just getting straight-up lost.

There are also several side missio??ns that are either within or below your level range that straight-up take you into these high-level areas. It just left me ques?tioning why the recommended?? level was so low on some of these missions. Throughout the entire game, it felt like I was con??stantly picking up side missions from NPCs, only to come back and do them many hours (if not literal days) later.

Despite my c?omplaints, though, I legitimately love the world Neon Giant has crafted here and would love to see even more of it. There's loads of pote?ntial in this setting for st?raight-up better stories to be told, and I think The Ascent itself is kept from greatness from a lot of jank, technical issues, and weird design decisions. All that said, I think once I get my hands on a Steam Deck, I'm absolutely going to treat?? that as an excuse to go back for more. Hopefully, by then, they'll have a lot of the technical issues addressed.

_{[This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: The Ascent appeared first on Destructoid.

Isometric camera angles ain't ever looked this good before!

Cyberpunk as a genre has a seemingly endless ocean of material out there to consume, and with that comes plenty of games that dip into that sea of inspiration. The Ascent is one of those games.

Big dancing holograms? Check. A rainy atmosphere with flying vehicles and bright neon billboards everywhere? Check. An augmentation that sends o??ut a cloud of charged nanites that rapidly gestate inside yo??ur enemies which, upon death, cause them to violently balloon up and explode, leaving behind just a pool of gib and blood around a skeleton? Check.

The Ascent (PC [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Neon Giant
Publisher: Curve Digital
Released: July 29, 2021
MSRP: $29.99 (Also available on Xbox Game Pass)

I still remember seeing Final Fantasy VII for the first time and being blown away by the background renders and animation effects. As impressive as it was, though, I always wondered what games might look like in the future and if they'd ever top the pre-rendered cutscenes or backgrounds commonly used at the time. So, when I started playing The Ascent for the first time, the immediate thought that popped into my head was: "If only I could show my past ??self just how wild game visua??ls have become."

Screenshots don't do the visuals in this game justice; this is a game you absolutely have to see in motion. From the very moment I started exploring the underbelly of this cyberpunk world, I was instantly reminded of Final Fantasy VII's opening bombing run and the immense interiors of Shinra. Much like I did back then, I spent way longer than anyone should in The Ascent simply gawking at everything. Watching the moving parts and things flying by, the l??ighting, and various vents sp??ewing out god knows what.

Set on the planet of Veles, The Ascent starts as just another ordinary day of clearing out feral mutants from the lower levels of the massive cityscape run by the mega-corporation known as The Ascent Group. However, shit hits the fan fast and hard when The Ascen??t Group pulls the equivalent of putting a cardboard sign on the front door telling all their employees they've gone out of business. Nobody seems to have a clear answer as to why, but everyone and everything from lowly street gangs to rival corporations are now trying to make big plays. Meanwhile, you're tasked with getting to the bottom of it all and turning anyone who gets in your? way into a blood smear.

It's?? that ??latter aspect, though (outside of the visuals), that has kept me hooked, as the all-around gameplay is pure bloody bliss.

To summarize, it's essentially a twin-stick shooter with RPG elements �?leveling?, attribute points, and so forth �?with some added verticality. You can duck and cover behind objects at ??any moment while also aiming your gun at different heights. So, for example, if you're ducking behind cover, you can aim your weapon over it and continue blasting fools or even straight-up aim for their heads while standing out in the open. This mechanic constantly keeps you hyper-aware of your surroundings and looking for objects to get behind before getting into a firefight.

The weapon variety in The Ascent is pretty solid from fun augmentations mentioned earlier, explosives, and a swath of different weapons to pick up ??and upgrad??e. Upgrades are also universal, so for example, if you upgrade your shotgun, but decide to swap it out, only to later regret it and pick up another shotgun �?those upgrades will still be there.

Best yet, all of this can be played alone or with up to three friends in both online and couch co-op. It's that co-op aspect that I'm most excited to check out (as well as just seeing this on my TV, in general, through?? my Series X). Co-op is also my core reason behind not having a full review yet, as I think many folks will play this as a co-op experience, and I want to experience that as well before giving my final words on it.

After ten hours, though, I will say I've run into a fair bit of harmless jank (such as clipping issues),?? and I've also found myself getting lost or straight-up unable to proceed at times. For example, one quest early on had me searching for a specific steroid dealer (to help out a personal trainer get his clients juiced up). A simple enough fetch quest, I figured, so?? I set out. At any moment in the game, if you're lost, you can press the O key (on PC) to have a red navigation line sprout up and lead you in the right direction.

The problem is, this navigation line tends only to give you the quickest b-line route and not exactly the safest way at times. I've had it send me off into high-level areas one too many times that are far too challenging for me to proceed, forcing me to open up the map cons?tantly and figure where I need to go (while also not walk??ing into a death trap).

After finally navigating my way to an elevator I needed to use to reach the higher levels (where the steroid dealer was supposedly at), I ran into my next problem of the said elevator just straight-up not working. I even managed to hack the door open but still couldn't use it. I was stumped and extra frustrated I had to navigate my way back to safety after ?running through some high-level areas.

In the end, I gave up and assumed it was bugged, only to then return to that same elevator during the main quest that earned me access to the higher levels, and it worked fine. Why was that side quest even available to me before the main questline that gives me access to the higher levels? I've found this to be a pretty common trend so far in The Ascent, where if I can't access an area yet or ran into a dead-end, chances are I had main story? stuff I needed to do first. So, keep that in mind if you're stumped on where to go. Hopefully, this is addressed in future patches.

When I'm not getting lost, though, The Ascent is a gorgeous and (so far, anyway) incredibly satisfying twin-stick shooter. I think the deciding factor for me on whether or not this will be one of my favorite games of the year will boil down to what I think of the co-op, how the story fleshes out, and ultimately i?f some of the minor issues mentioned above are addressed in the long term.

_{[This review-in-progress is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review in Progress: The Ascent appeared first on Destructoid.

Try not to slot this up, Omae

I said this last article, but I absolutely love Shadowrun. I look for its pulp novels every time I’m in a used book store, and I read the sour??cebooks, even though I don’t have any tabletop friends. I’m just in love with its world, its marriage of cyberpunk and high fantasy.

My introduction to it was way back as a child, when I was deeply perplexed by the Shadowrun SNES game. That version still holds a place in my heart, but eventually I got down to playing the one on Genesis. Released in 1994, it is completely and entirely distinct from the SNES version. But while I love the SNES version, the Genesis version, to me, is a prominent part of the console’s landscape. If a montage plays through my head whenever someone mentions the system, Shadowrun features prominently.

However, like the SNES version, it’s not perfect. In fact, I’d say it’s even less perfect than the SNES version. At th??e same time,?? it’s more intriguing.

The year is 2058, Seattle UCAS. You play as Joshua, whose brother died in an ambush while on a shadowrun. He vows revenge against whoever did it, because that’s how things go in the cyberpunk future. People just wait around until they have the opportunity for vengeance. Shopkeepers have high overhead because people keep kicking down their door and demanding to know where people are located. The story to the SNES game was technically based on revenge, and so were the three Hairbrained Schemes titles to different extents.

Anyway, where Shadowrun on Genesis differs from the Super Nintendo version is apparent right away; it sticks pretty firmly to the tabletop games. At its core, it’s an open-world game, and it’s pretty ambitious in that regard. You start at the bottom and work your way up until you can take on the? game’s later challenges.

At the beginning, you’re mostly going to be grinding for better equipment, because almost everyone can kick your ass. Hold on, wha??t’s Shadowrun slang for ass? “Hoop?�?Yeah, that’s terrible. I’m not using that.

Like your standard tabletop setup, you work for a series of “Mr. Johnsons�?who give you random tasks. You begin wi??th low-level tasks like escorting people, delivering packages, and killing zombies, and move up to extracting employees from their megacorporate overlords. Moving up these ranks ?isn’t your primary objective, but it is the best way to gain karma (experience) and nuyen (money). This winds up being one of the title’s biggest weaknesses, but we’ll get to that.

The real objective is to figure out what happened to your brother, and Shadowrun’s approach to narrative progression is rather ambitious for its time. There are, essentially, three plot threads to follow, and while you have to wrap them all up to see the end, you can tackle them in any way you please. You get leads and contacts that pull you along the path, but if you feel like going off and building your character or engaging a different character, it’s up to you.?? You ?set the pace of your progression; well, you and your character’s capabilities.

You can also recruit other runners, which works a lot better than the SNES version’s babysitting simulator. You can hire them for a single run or on a more permanent bas??is, and if the mission goes to drek, you can just apologize and re-hire them. It helps you make up for skills your character doesn’t have, so if you haven’t picked up any decking, you can just hire a decker to cruise the matrix for you.

It’s perhaps because ?the game is so accommodating to different playstyles that it becomes extremely unbalanced. You can start as a shaman, a street samurai, and a decker, and the decker is plainly the worst choice. Gear for surfing the matrix is prohibitively expensive, and working your way up to it while building your skills means grinding. Decking is almost an end-game skill. You can make a tonne of money ripping files out of megacorp databases, but getting to the point where you’re not getting dumpshock each time you jack in takes a lot of time and effort.

Not that you can avoid grinding, which is Shadowrun’s other issue with balance. There are essentially three levels o?f Mr. Johnson available to give jobs; low, mid, high. It’s almost pointless to go with the mid-tier Mr. Johnsons because the risk is not worth the ??reward. Their missions are almost as dangerous as their high-level brethren, but they pay less.

No. Instead, you’re going to grind Gunderson ??in the Redmond Barrens like a pepper mill, sucking in the karma, until you can get in with a high-tier Mr. Johnson. Probably Caleb Brightmore. You do his crappy escort missi??ons, build up your Charisma so he’ll pay you more, then grind them some more, occasionally doing the odd ghoul hunting mission when the pay is right. Rinse, repeat, try not to get bored.

It's not a complete deathblow to Shadowrun, it’s just really easy ?to be either over-powered or under-powered with little wiggle room betwe?en, and getting from one to the other can be a chore.

There’s a couple ways to mitigate this: First, don’t choose decker.? If you want to be a decker, choose street ??samurai. The funds for better decking equipment are easier to come by if you're ready for some wetwork. Secondly, don’t focus entirely on one thing. Tackle bits of the narrative, then pause to build your character, then repeat until you’re finished. It will help keep you from getting bogged down.

If you do this, Shadowrun?? becomes one of the most weirdly engrossing games on the Genesis. It’s an open playground for you to fulfill your cyberpunk fantasies.

While Shadowrun on the SNES could lean on its strengths of its atmosphere and soundtrack, the Genesis version is just compelling in its design. There’s a lot of debate around ??which is the superior version, and while I tend to lean towards the SNES version, I can�?�t help but love what landed in Sega’s salad. The level of freedom and how deftly it translated the tabletop RPG absolutely fascinated me.

It’s hard to get past how uneven it is. Two earnest attempts at completing the game were abandoned; bogged down by grind and character building. We finally consummated and I don’t regret a thing. It’s a unique title that is absolutely worthwhile despite its missteps. Again, I don’t think we’ve seen an absolutely perfect Shadowrun title, but at least most of them are wo?rth a ?look.

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I heard you want more cyber in your punk

One of 2020's coolest, most stylish releases was undoubtedly One More Level's Ghostrunner. That reputation is only set to improve, as the sexy cyberpunk adventure will be getting a souped-up edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X September 28.

Featuring all of the tower-climbing and head-chopping chaos of the original release, the new edition of Ghostrunner will look slicker than ever before. The new editions will feature 4K resolution at 120 FPS, HDR support, ray-tracing, 3D audio, and improved load times. Additionally, PS5 will feature support for Haptic Feedback and Ad?aptive Triggers.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqFj_1ajL_E

Ghostrunner for PS5 and Xbox Series X will features all post-release content, including the time attack-style Kill Run Mode and an in-depth Photo Mode. Best of all, players who already own the PS4 or Xbox One edition of Ghostrunner will be able to upgrade within t?he same console family free-of-charge. For physical media fans, the new edition ?will be receiving a typical retail release. It's good news all round.

Ghostrunner has been a real success story. Praised by critics and fans, the hi-tech adventure recouped its production costs in a single day, leading to publisher 505 Games banging on the developer's door with a cheque for $6 million USD. With new editions on the way and more content in the works, Ghostrunner's stage is only set to get bigger.

//twitter.com/GhostrunnerGame/status/14001367951956??50050?s=20

The post Ghostrunner PS5 & Xbox Series X ports hit the streets in September appeared first on Destructoid.

The world of the Shadowrun tabletop RPG i??s the best, stupidest, most tantalizing mash-up ever. High fantasy meets cyberpunk. Elves, mages, and dragons, all mixed amongst poli??tical turmoil and megacorporate conspiracies. I get goosebumps just describing it.

It’s just a shame that we haven’t gotten what I’d consider the perfect Shadowrun game. I’l?l grant you that the games developed by Hairbrained Schemes are fun on a bun. I love them, but at the same time, I’m not in love with them. They certainly tick a lot of my boxes, but there’s something confining about them.

However, I can always go back to the Shadowrun titles produced around the birth of the tabletop game. Both just titled Shadowrun, there was one on Genesis in 1994 and one on the SNES in 1993. Released about a year apart, these two games were completely and ent?irely different, but both are worth playing. The Super Nintendo title was the one I first played and I hold it a smidge closer to my heart. I first picked it up as a child and was completely and utterly con??fused, yet somehow it made an impact. Now, with adult grey matter at my disposal, I can unwind its unfriendly exterior and eat at its nutritious innards. Have a taste!

On the Super Nintendo, the game puts you in the shoes of Jake Armitage, a f??ormer Shadowrunner who was assassinated (or “geeked�?as it might be said in Shadowrun slang) on the street for some reason. He kicks his way out of his morgue slab with a case of amnesia, and immediately sets to work trying to figure out what the hell happened.

The year is 2050, it’s Seattle, and surprisingly, it isn’t raining. The SNES Shadowrun is pretty unique for the system, resembling a CRPG straight down to the mouse pointer interface. You power up your character through experience and equipment, customizing to your liking. ??Progression requires you to talk to NPCs, and?? as you do, you collect keywords that you can ask others about.

It’s a good flow, if you can ??avoid getting stuck. Which you can??’t.

Getting accustomed to the pointer interface is difficult enough. Every action requires you to select the cursor, including shooting dudes. Even talking to people makes you switch to the cursor and move it over someone that ??is standing directly beside you. An action? button would be more efficient, but here we are.

Take a look at combat, since it’s done with the cursor too. You have to stand perfectly still while you aim your gun or spell, then just whack away at th?e target until enough of the dice rolls land in your favour and the enemy dies. It’s not very lively.

Despite its strange interface, it doesn’t help the game with its translation of its source material. Certainly, there are lots of themes that carry over, but there’s more that’s abandoned than implemented. The narrative is somewhat based off the pulp Shadowrun novel, Never Deal with a Dragon,?? but without any of the characters, situations, or much of anything else aside from concept. You gain karma instead of XP, you can augment yourself, and there are three c??ategories to focus on: decking, combat, and magic.

The biggest divergence from the source material is that Jake can profess in everything and augment himself up to the eyeballs which flies in the face of Shadowrun’s mechanics. In the tabletop RPG, you have to specialize.?? You can’t augment and still use magic, because augmentation takes from your essence, which dictates the efficacy of your magic. Likewise, if you want to be a novahot decker, you’re going to be focusing your skills there instead of your fighting abil?ities.

I get why these changes were made since your party members are useless, but it’s important to note that it’s not ?a very direct translation.

I have my misgivings about this particular iteration of Shadowrun to the point where I’m not sure ?if I actually enjoy playing it. However, I still take it off the shelf with some regularity, and I know exactly why.

It’s the atmosphere.

Shadowrun has this amazing ability to captu?re the feeling of deserted city streets at night. A confusing loneliness, a cool break from the summer heat.

Its gritty grey and dirty browns bring out the ugliness of its world. The empty train stations and the noisy clubs. It’s weird to have a 16-bit game able to communicate these feelings (I know, I know; Super Metroid). Some of the best moments are just when you’re running around investiga??ting where to go next. Then you get attacked from a hole in the wall and the combat music kicks in.

Yeah, the music. It underlines the atmosphere wonderfully. Marshall Parker knew exactly what he was doing, creating a series of amazing tracks. It’s not exactly what I think of when I think cyberpunk music, but it has a style that fits on its own. I will lay my cards down and say that Shadowrun ha??s one of the best soundtracks on the SNES. Top 10. May??be. Probably.

It’s something I enjoy listening to outside the context of the game, which isn’t a claim I'd make for many titles. Every song is wonderful, from energetic to moody. Even if you don’t want to try the ?game, give the OST a listen.

Shadowrun is no?t a friendly game. Its puzzles can be slightly obtuse and important objects have a habit of getting hidden in the backgrounds. The cursor interface is so poorly thought out, and going through a tonne of keywords to find the one a particular NPC will respond to can b??e a chore.

But there’s nothing like Shadowrun; this weird mix of console and CRPG. It’s a? bizarre, unique experience with amazing atmosphere and a splendiferous soundtrack. It makes you feel like a cool cyberpunker when you’re not even doing anything that cool. ?Its plot may not be anything too outstanding, but the pacing is just right �?until you get stuck running in circles trying to figure out how to open a door.

It’s not the perfect interpretation of the Shadowrun source material, but instead stumbles drunkenly into its own successes. It’s a game I hold dear to my heart, like a child that doesn’t do well in school but has a good attitude, so I haven’t abandoned it at the side of the road. And yeah, I’m listening to the soundtrack right now, and so sh?ould you!

The post Beam Software’s Shadowrun is a hot summer night you can stick in your SNES appeared first on Destructoid.

No plans for Retirement

[Update: The newest patch for Cyberpunk 2077 - Version 1.21 - dropped this morning on PC and consoles. You can read the patch notes right here.]

CD Projekt RED has reiterated that it is fully committed to fixing, improving, and growing its ambitious RPG Cyberpunk 2077 over the coming years, ?adamantly stating that the idea of shelving the troub?led title and moving on is not even on the table.

"I don't see an option to shelve Cyberpunk 2077," CDPR executive Adam Kicinski sai?d in a recent dialogue with Reuters. "We are convinced that we can bring the game to such a ?state that we can be proud of it and therefore successfully sell it for years to come."

After years of hype and development, Cyberpunk 2077 finally launched in disastrous fashion in December 2020. In increasingly volatile launch weeks, the PS4 and Xbox One editions of the futuristic adventure were plagued with technical issues - slaughtering the title's reputation, birthing an array of mocking memes, and raising the ire of players, shareholders, and publishers alike. Cyberpunk 2077 would see itself be pulled from various digital stores, as platform holders such as PlayStation refused to be part of the incendiary backlash towa?rd the release.

With PS5 and Xbox Series X editions currently in the works, years worth of plans for DLC and expansions, and millions of dollars of development investment, CDPR has no choice but to regain full control of this situation - repairing Cyberpunk 2077, polish?ing the next-gen ports, and hoping that a pseudo-relaunch will go some way toward fixing the reputation of both the brand and its developer.

It's completely doable - there have been numerous major releases that finally found their feet after a poor launch. For CDPR, a studio with a near-pristine reputation for developing excellent titles, Cyberpunk 2077 was expected to be its magnum opus - a release that truly launched a new generation of gaming. There's no denying that moment has long passed. But it doesn't mean that CDPR can't ensure that future iterations of Cyberpunk 2077 do deliver on audience expectations of its audie??nce, w?hich might go some way to salvaging the franchise lest it becomes completely lost in time... Like tears in rain.

CD Projekt has no plans to shelve Cyberpunk 2077 [GamesIndustry.biz]

The post Abandoning Cyberpunk 2077 ‘not an option’ says CDPR, latest patch now live on all platforms appeared first on Destructoid.

The long road ahead

CD Projekt published a series of informational slides on Twitter today, alongside a YouTube video, outlining its future plans for the company and its brands, including The Witcher and Cyberpunk.

At the outset, CD Projekt says it plans to expand its online presence and build out both The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises through "core gaming extensions" (like mobile) and partnerships, including TV series and merchandise. The publisher also says it plans to move into parallel AAA game development starting in 2022. The company has also invested in Digital Scrapes, a Vancouver-based s???tudio that will bolster its other studios.

pic.twitter.com/1AEja0sOI5

— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) March 30, 2021

"We are planning to build cross-functional teams to work on both IPs," said Pawl Zawodny, Head of Production and CTO at CD Projekt, in one slide. "These teams will blend disciplines and expertise, so?? we have closer communication and skill sharing going on from the beginning. Cross-functional teams allow different aspects of development to run in tandem without comp?lication."

As for 2021, CD Projekt is planning on patches, updates, and free DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, alongside the forthcoming next-gen update. On The Witcher side, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will receive a next-gen update, Gwent will continue to receive development, and there's also The Witcher: Monster Slayer in the pipeline.

CD Projekt also seems to be responding to some of the critcisms surrounding the development and launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Reports of crunch circled around Cyberpunk 2077's launch, as did? grievances ov?er the state of the game at launch.

In the video update, CD Projekt highlighted further support for employees, including mental health. "We want to continuously improve the working environment for every team member," said CD Projekt boss Adam KiciÅ„ski. "We want a sharper focus on how we work together to make great games."

Executive Michal Nowakowski also said that the company has learned from its marketing and PR campaigns for Cyberpunk 2077. "Going forward,?? our campaigns will be much shorter," said Nowakowski. "We will wait until much closer to a game's launch before we start showing t??hings like trailers, demos, or going in-depth about mechanics, etc."

Whether all of this can right the ship after the still-lingering backlash over Cyberpunk 2077, it certainly looks like CD Projekt is forging ahead either way. Hopefully a pause and reasses??sment can curtail some of the reported issues at th?e company. 

The post CD Projekt outlines future plans, including parallel game ??developm??ent appeared first on Destructoid.