It’s been one heck of a ride for Cyberpunk 2077, having launched in such a state that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation store. But then a whole lotta work from CD Projekt Red, the big 2.0 update, and the stellar addition of the Phantom Liberty DLC (downloadable content), saw the game emerge from the reviews ashes like some neon virtual phoenix.
And, I for one, loved Cyberpunk 2077 in its renewed state, finally rolling the credits on it and the DLC after more than 100 hours in Night City. Sure, I still don’t think it quite hit the high notes of The Witcher 3 — one of my favourite games of all time — but I loved the somewhat immersive sim systems, the action, the character arcs, and a decent chunk of the story.
I also dived into the lore and watched Netflix’s Edgerunners, all of which made me dive deep into Cyberpunk 2077 across 2024 and 2025.
So now I’m left waiting for what’s next, with a Cyberpunk sequel surely to be some years out; The Witcher 4 is likely to be CDPR’s next big project.
If you’re like me, looking for downright cyber punk to fill the Cyberpunk gap, I’ve got a recommendation for you…
Enter the matrix… but different
Now, big fans of a cyberpunk setting will likely be familiar with William Gibson’s 1984 book, which arguably turbocharged the genre. But while I heard the name in passing, I was a little ignorant about Neuromancer.
Then, when looking for something to keep my imagination busy while I’m walking or using the excellent Hydrow smart rowing machine, I stumbled across the audiobook version of Neuromancer on Spotify (it’s also available on Audible).
After tuning into a myriad of terms and in-universe slang, much like I did with Cyberpunk 2077, I was hooked.
Neuromancer quickly immersed me in a world of middle-future earth, where humans sport cybernetics, corporations have enormous power, cities sprawl across states, and pollution is rife, all framed against neon lights and visual descriptions of cyberspace.
For someone who’s watched Blade Runner, The Matrix movies, played all the Deus Ex games, Neuromancer could almost seem tropey, until you realise how much it inspired the genre; cyberspace in Neuromancer is literally called the matrix.
But its influence on Cyberpunk 2077 was clearly enormous. There are cybernetics and tech that allow one to ‘jack into’ cyberspace or hack electronics, there’s the option to have retractable blades in one’s hands, there’s a Night City (only in this case it’s part of a wider urban area), and there are corporations that have near-immortal leaders. And of course, there’s AI.
Thanks to the time I spent with Cyberpunk 2077, I could imagine with more vividness the scenes and tech being described by English actor Jason Flemyng on the audiobook version, making it easier to get immersed in the setting and the rather twisting story that progresses at quite a pace.
As pure imagination fuel, it’s great. But the narrative is also gripping, told from the perspective of washed-up hacker Case, who could easily be a compelling side character in a Cyberpunk mission.
So allow me to wholeheartedly recommend Neuromancer as a great stopgap between Cyberpunk 2077 and its sequel, or even the very cyberpunk-themed 2.5D game Replaced, due for release on April 14.
From cyberspace to actual space?
I also think Neuromancer gives us a hint at where Cyberpunk could go next.
Ok, spoiler warning for the ending of Cyberpunk 2077 and a chunk of Neuromancer.
If you choose not to let Johnny Silverhand take over V’s mind and body in one of the endings of Cyberpunk 2077, V will end up taking a shuttle up to the Crystal Palace, an enormous orbital space station, with what appears to be the goal of conducting a form of data heist.
In Neuromancer, the major action of the story happens in the large orbital space station of Freeside, where Case and a team are aiming to release an AI from the virtual shackles of the powerful Tessier-Ashpool family/organization.
With that in mind, I can totally see a portion of Cyberpunk 2 taking place in the Crystal Palace, even though it’s been strongly indicated that the game will have a main city to explore.
I feel CD Projekt Red has the creative chops and level design to make a really intriguing space station with all manner of systems to mess with and low-gravity to be played with; perhaps in the vein of some of Starfield‘s space stations, only a lot more interesting and with more dynamic interactivity.
Of course, this is just some fun speculation here, albeit enough to pull on a few excitement synapses in my brain.
But even if I’m well off the mark, do go give Neuromancer a read or a listen. And let me know in the comments below if you’re already familiar with it and what you’d like to see from Cyberpunk 2.
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