A futuristic dystopia or neon-lit utopia? However you view the cyberpunk genre, there are plenty of awesome cyberpunk games to explore this year. Combining the best in high-tech with criminally cool characters, cyberpunk games offer a sci-fi-infused sense of escapism for those who love to imagine the future. Bring on the brightly-lit collapse of society as we know it with this list of the 10 best cyberpunk games you should be playing this year. While these games will run brilliantly on PC, they’re also available on other platforms, which are listed here for you to choose from.
#15 Ghostrunner 2
Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: October 26, 2023
Steam | PlayStation | Xbox
If you enjoyed Ghostrunner, then a sequel might be well worth the pickup. Players can expect the same style of gameplay as the first installment but with a few additional tweaks. It’s still a very futuristic cyberpunk setup where you’re dropped into this world as essentially a glorified ninja. With that said, the game does take place after the events of the first installment. With the Keymaster taken care of, a new AI cult has emerged outside of the Dharma Tower, and it’s up to you to save humanity. This is a fast-paced game where only one hit is required to either take out your opponent. Unfortunately, the same can be said about you. On the bright side, with several checkpoints throughout the level, you’ll be right back in the action in a matter of seconds.
#14 Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S Switch
Release Date: August 18, 2023
Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo
Well, we all know how the LAST big game to be set in a “Cyberpunk” world went, so we’re all hoping that this one is a bit better at launch, right? Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a unique game that acts as a kind of “spiritual successor” to a cult classic game from ages ago.
Long story short, you’re going to lose your head, literally, get it replaced with a robot head, seriously, and then join a crew to help tag the city and more your claim to it.
You’ll be bounding all over the city so you can graffiti the place up, down, left and right.
#13 Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty
Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: September 26, 2023
Steam | PlayStation | Xbox
Are you ready to go back to Night City? If so, get ready because Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is here and is ready to make up for the misadventures you likely had when the original title came out in 2020.
That’s right. CD Projekt Red has been working for three years to not only fix their past mistakes but give players an expansion that they could truly be proud of. In the DLC, you’ll go to the mysterious section of Night City called Dogtown. You’re tasked with saving the President after their convoy crash-landed there.
Doing so many ensure your future. Or it could get you killed.
#12 Hi-Fi Rush
Platform: PC XSX|S
Release Date: January 25, 2023
Does a game get any more sci-fi than a kid having his heart fused with a music player and it now being the source of his combat style? If it isn’t, we need to seriously rewrite the rulebook.
Anyway, in Hi-Fi Rush, you’ll be thrown into a dystopian future where corporations are more than willing to toss out people they screwed up, including you. But you’re not alone in your fight to take them down. Find unique allies and use their abilities alongside your own to climb the “corporate ladder” and get the payback you deserve!
Plus, with the unique combat system, you’ll have a blast fighting foes.
#11 SIGNALIS
Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One Switch
Release date: October 27, 2022
Fans of classic survival horror games might get some enjoyment out of Signalis. This cyberpunk title throws players into a third-person survival horror game set in the future. Humanity has crafted androids, called Replikas, to aid them, and it’s here where you’ll step into the role of a Replika named Elster. Players awaken on an unfamiliar planet with their partner missing. Now to piece together what’s going on, where you’re located, and what happened to your partner, it’s Elster’s job to set out and explore this world. However, like classic survival horror games, inventory is limited, and resources are scarce. Nevertheless, if you’re up for the challenge, you can try Signalis out today.
#10 The Ascent
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
A shooter RPG game that’s packed full of action, The Ascent takes place in a cyberpunk world that seems to really push the limits of vertical level design. The game’s metropolis is owned and run by The Ascent Group, until the corporation’s sudden collapse, that is. Players will need to survive the ensuing chaos in a world packed with creatures and criminals. This is another one of a number of cyberpunk games that makes use of the low-to-high social stratification concept, meaning players have a vast and towering set of neon-hued locations to explore and loot on their quest to discover why The Ascent Group vanished.
#9 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC
In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, technological advancements will take us to the year 2029. In this version of the future, mechanically augmented humans will absolutely exist and will be deemed to be social pariahs, forced to live as exiles from society. Players will take on the role of Adam Jensen, an augmented human and covert operative who must navigate this hostile world in order to unravel a mysterious conspiracy. It’s fair to say that imagining the state of the world a mere seven years from now possibly doesn’t include cybernetically enhanced human beings, but you never know. Either way, this is a great game that incorporates enjoyable stealth action gameplay with cool cyberpunk vibes.
#8 Observer
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Observer combines cyberpunk with horror to deliver a gruesome hybrid that brings fear to life in a truly futuristic manner. Set in 2084, the action in Observer takes place in a dystopian world where war, plague and poverty have run rife across humanity. Players will find themselves in the role of an elite neural police detective, capable of hacking into the minds of the criminals and lunatics they need to hunt down. Needless to say, this all makes for some pretty disturbing and terrifying experiences. If you tend to envisage the future as being darkly technological where your own thoughts can be used against you, then Observer is the game for you.
#7 Cloudpunk
Platforms: Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
In Cloudpunk, players will take on the role of a delivery driver for an illicit company operating in Nivalis, a vast cyberpunk city. This is a game that puts a focus on exploration and NPC interaction and is definitely more of a storyline over action type of experience. With that said, the storyline is fairly intriguing, although it’s arguably more enjoyable to simply explore the verticality of the city in your ‘HOVA’ or flying car. With society segregated into a system of height-based classes, the further up you fly, the more elite your customer or contacts become. This kind of extreme social classification provides an interesting look at a potential future for humanity and gives Cloudpunk a thought-provoking world setting aside from the fascinating cyberpunk aesthetics of the city.
#6 Shadowrun Returns
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
A tactical RPG that features turn-based gameplay, Shadowrun Returns makes use of a cyberpunk setting where machines and magic have collided. The action takes place in the year 2054 and technological advancements and corporate greed have ploughed on, turning the world into a strange and sprawling mega-metropolis. Fantasy also features heavily in Shadowrun Returns though, as the world has also seen a resurgence of magical and mythical creatures such as dwarves, orcs and elves. Players will get to experience the twists and turns of life in this world as they hunt for a mysterious killer. This is an adventure with gorgeous art and a unique take on the cyberpunk genre, which makes it a game well worth playing this year.
#5 Superhot
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Superhot is a unique style of FPS game where time in the game setting only moves when the player does, or when a weapon is used. It’s a game that makes use of minimalism at its core, putting players in control of the ability to manipulate time and weaponry to defeat their enemies. The ability to use such skills gives an inherent cyberpunk feel to this game, the later stages of which allow players to switch into an enemy player’s body to avoid death if needs be. This is a cryptically clever game that challenges players to look at the narrative around playing video games, and ask themselves who is really controlling who in the gameplay scenario.
#4 Ghostrunner
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Ghostrunner sees players stepping into the role of Jack, a technologically enhanced superhuman blade fighter. This game takes platforming action to a new level as it’s in first-person mode. Players will need to use their lightning-fast reflexes to scale the gargantuan Dharma Tower which now houses the remainder of the human race after a massive global catastrophe wiped most of it out. This is a cyberpunk game packed with high-stakes combat and top-speed traversal in a post-apocalyptic world setting that’s all about the dark side of a high-tech dystopia. It’s definitely one to try out if you like your action to be brutally up close and your platforming to be imbued with a hefty dose of science fiction.
#3 Cyberpunk 2077
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Stadia, PC
Cyberpunk 2077 is designed as the epitome of the cyberpunk genre. Its main setting of Night City is a sprawling, neon-hued mega-metropolis that symbolises a dark future for humanity, no matter how luminous it may appear at first glance. Despite a notably rocky launch, Cyberpunk 2077‘s immersive worldbuilding, dystopian view of humanity’s future and engaging overall storyline make it a worthwhile entry on this list. Visually this is a pretty stunning cyberpunk game, with satisfying combat, consequence-laden choices and open-world exploration at its core. This is one of the more recent cyberpunk games and is probably best enjoyed on the current-gen of consoles and on PC. That way, you’ll get the most out of its gorgeous, glowing graphics and fast-paced action.
#2 Stray
Platforms: PS5, PS4, PC
A game that’s currently taking the scene by storm, Stray allows players to become the titular stray cat, deeply lost in a cyberpunk world and trying to find their way out. The feline action takes place in a strange new walled city that’s packed with high-tech futuristic elements like machines, robots and weird, sentient bacteria. The playable cat’s main companion is a little drone, who provides assistance with aspects of world traversal and general operations as the cat need, such as translation, hacking into different tech and providing combat abilities if necessary. The game’s cyberpunk setting gives the cat’s need to escape a sense of greater urgency, as this foreboding city is definitely not always a welcoming environment for a lost kitty, even if it is beautifully lit.
#1 Detroit: Become Human
Platforms: PS4, PC
Detroit: Become Human focuses on three sentient androids and their adventure across Detroit in the year 2038. Players will experience the city through the eyes of Connor, Kara and Markus, and make choices that combine to form a truly gripping narrative experience. While the gorgeously detailed and visually stunning backdrop of Detroit in the not-too-distant future will satisfy a cyberpunk fan easily, the central storyline packs plenty of emotional punches. Considering the world through the lenses of androids that become human is a fundamental cyberpunk concept. This is one of the most fantastic cyberpunk games to sink into if you’re keen to examine moral and ethical questions about the future of humanity.
