20 Best Cyberpunk Video Games of All Time

Cyberpunk games take place in gritty, near-future worlds where advanced technology clashes with societal problems. They typically showcase powerful corporations, body modifications, artificial intelligence, and constant monitoring. These worlds are brought to life through sprawling city environments filled with bright neon lights, huge crowds, and towering buildings. Players often engage with complex conversations, hack into systems, use stealth, and customize their characters with enhancements like implants and software upgrades.

This collection features a variety of games – from fast-paced action to deep strategy and story-driven experiences – all set in the cyberpunk world. For each game, we’ve included key details like when it was released, how it plays, and what makes it special, so you can easily see what each one offers and how it explores the genre.

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red launched this expansive role-playing game in 2020 for computers and gaming consoles. Since then, they’ve added updates to improve how the game runs and make it more user-friendly. The game takes place in Night City, a large and detailed city broken up into areas like Watson, Westbrook, and Santo Domingo. Players start by choosing a background story that affects the beginning of the game and how they interact with characters.

The game combines fast-paced shooting from a first-person perspective with hacking that lets you control enemies and your surroundings. You improve your character by developing attributes and skills in areas like body, reflexes, tech, intelligence, and cool. Adding cybernetic enhancements – like those that slow time or equip powerful blades – dramatically changes how you move and fight.

Deus Ex

Released in 2000 for PC and later consoles, this immersive sim puts you in the role of agent JC Denton. You’ll travel to cities like New York and Hong Kong, completing missions with a lot of freedom – you can choose to sneak around, talk your way through situations, or go in guns blazing.

You improve your character by finding canisters that give you new abilities, like special vision or the ability to move silently. Skills like lockpicking and hacking let you find different ways to complete objectives, and your choices in conversations will impact who you team up with and how the story ends.

Deus Ex Human Revolution

In 2011, Eidos Montreal launched this earlier story in the series for computers and gaming consoles. It follows Adam Jensen as people increasingly choose to enhance their bodies with mechanical parts, and takes place in the cities of Detroit, Hengsha, and Montreal.

The game blends action-packed third-person shooting with first-person movement and sneaking. Players improve their abilities with upgrades like invisibility and social skills, and can unlock doors, safes, and computers by completing hacking challenges.

System Shock 2

Released in 1999 for PC by Looking Glass Studios and Irrational Games, this game takes place aboard the starship Von Braun. Players will experience a challenging environment focused on survival, with scarce resources and a story revealed through the game’s world.

Players develop their characters through three specializations: marine, navy, and OSA. Improving gear, keeping weapons in good condition, and enhancing cybernetics all affect how players fight and open up new ways to progress.

System Shock

In 2023, Nightdive Studios released an updated version of the game for computers, and later for gaming consoles. It takes place on Citadel Station, which is now under the control of a dangerous, rebellious AI named SHODAN. She’s taken over everything – the security, the robots, and even the crew, twisting them into monstrous forms.

This updated version features modern controls and a refreshed interface, but keeps the original game’s levels and puzzles intact. You’ll advance by improving your equipment, navigating virtual reality challenges, and collecting access cards to unlock new areas of the space station.

Ghostrunner

In 2020, One More Level and 3D Realms launched this fast-paced action game for computers and consoles. Players navigate Dharma Tower, a towering vertical city, by climbing floors using parkour skills and a special blade.

The game is built around fast-paced combat where both players and enemies can be defeated in a single hit, and it’s designed to be forgiving with frequent checkpoints. Players can improve movement, slow down time, and navigate levels using a grid-based system, making it easy to plan routes and quickly get back into the action after failing.

Ghostrunner 2

In 2023, One More Level released an update featuring new levels, motorcycles for outdoor areas, and more diverse enemies. The game maintains its quick pace but now includes bigger arenas and challenges that appear during missions.

Customization options let you modify how much stamina actions use, how quickly you recover from dashes, and your character’s special abilities. Boss battles feature complex patterns that encourage skillful parrying and well-timed attacks.

Shadowrun Dragonfall Director’s Cut

In 2014, Harebrained Schemes launched the Director’s Cut as a separate game on computers, and eventually on gaming consoles. The Berlin portion of the game focuses on managing a team, completing missions for individual crew members to earn their loyalty, and operating from a central location called the Kreuzbasar.

Battles are fought using a turn-based system where characters spend action points and utilize cover for protection. Players choose characters with specialized roles like hackers (Deckers), drone operators (Riggers), magic users (Mages), and skilled fighters (Street Samurai). When infiltrating the digital world (the Matrix), players navigate separate maps, capturing nodes while bypassing security systems.

Invisible Inc.

I first got into this awesome turn-based stealth game back in 2015 when Klei Entertainment released it on PC. It’s all about controlling agents as they sneak into big corporate buildings, but you’re always racing against the clock because security gets tighter and tighter the longer you’re inside. They eventually brought it to consoles too, which was great!

Every mission features randomly created levels, hidden areas revealed as you explore, and hacking elements using a program called Incognita. Throughout campaigns, you’ll face a ticking clock, be able to improve your agency, and unlock new agents, each with their own special equipment and abilities.

Syndicate

In 1993, Bullfrog Productions launched this strategy game for PCs and other systems. Players lead a team of four agents as they complete missions for a corporation around the world, managing things like taxes and research along the way.

Players can equip a variety of weapons like miniguns and flamethrowers during missions, which also include realistic crowds and police reactions. Enhancing your character with cybernetic implants boosts speed, accuracy, and resilience, while the Persuadertron lets you turn civilians and guards into allies.

Satellite Reign

Released on PC in 2015 by 5 Lives Studios, this game builds on the style of previous titles. It features a large, open city divided into different areas, each guarded by checkpoints, cameras, and corporate buildings. Players can sneak through these areas using rooftops, air vents, and other hidden pathways.

Real Time with Pause lets you control four different specialists – a soldier, a support unit, an infiltrator, and a hacker. You gain research and new equipment by raiding enemy bases, stealing experimental technology, and rescuing scientists.

Ruiner

Reikon Games launched this fast-paced, overhead-view action game in 2017 on computers and gaming consoles. The game takes place in Rengkok, a city with a mix of industrial areas, lively night markets, and powerful corporate headquarters.

Battles are fast-paced and use a simple control scheme where you move with two sticks, dodge with dashes, and block with shields. You can also quickly change weapons during combat. As you improve, you’ll unlock abilities like faster movement, the ability to temporarily disable enemies with hacking, and deployable drones. Each area features challenging boss battles that require you to learn their attack patterns.

Cloudpunk

Ion Lands first released this story-driven game in 2020 for computers and gaming consoles. The city of Nivalis is built with multiple layers of roads, landing areas, and different sections ranging from where people live to business districts.

Players drive a hovercar, working as couriers for a somewhat questionable company to deliver packages and people. They can improve their vehicle’s performance and resilience with upgrades, and taking on extra jobs unlocks options to decorate their apartment and explore additional stories.

VA-11 Hall-A

Sukeban Games first launched this story-driven bartending game on computers in 2016, and it later became available on gaming consoles. The game takes place in a small bar within a troubled city, where you’ll meet people from different groups who exchange information while they chat.

In this game, making drinks isn’t just about following a recipe – the ingredients and amounts you use actually change how characters react and how scenes play out. Instead of choosing from a list of pre-written responses, the story evolves based on the drinks you create. The game also simulates the passage of time, managing your finances for rent and purchases, all connected to your drink-making decisions.

2064 Read Only Memories

MidBoss launched the full version of this game in 2016 for computers and consoles. It tells the story of a journalist and their robot sidekick as they explore Neo San Francisco, looking into shady corporate research and a series of disappearances.

As a player, I get to explore by clicking around, chat with people, and solve puzzles. The cool thing is, how I build relationships with the characters and the decisions I make in important moments actually change the ending I get – there are multiple possibilities!

Snatcher

Originally released for PCs in Japan in 1988, this adventure game—later available on systems like the Sega CD—tells the story of an investigator who encounters human-like androids in a city inspired by the cyberpunk genre.

The game lets you explore locations, engage in shooting, and collect clues as you move through different city areas. The Sega CD version enhances the experience with voice acting and content tailored to specific regions, and is well-known for its detailed and immersive city environments.

Blade Runner

Westwood Studios released this adventure game for PCs in 1997. It follows a similar story to the film, but each time you play, the identities of the characters change randomly.

The game features investigation through examining clues, performing VK tests, and tracking events that happen over time in places like the police station and Animoid Row. The Enhanced Edition and compatibility with ScummVM ensure it runs smoothly on modern computers with improved settings.

Katana Zero

In 2019, Askiisoft launched this fast-paced action game for computers and consoles. It’s set in a shadowy city filled with sleek corporate buildings and hidden laboratories connected to dangerous drug experiments.

The game revolves around quick playthroughs where a single hit means game over, but players can learn from each attempt by reviewing a timeline of events and tweaking their strategy. Players have access to tools like sword deflections, throwable objects, and the ability to slow down time. Levels are designed to be replayed, encouraging players to find different paths and master precise timing.

The Ascent

Neon Giant’s action RPG came out in 2021 for both computers and gaming consoles. The game takes place in a massive, self-contained city divided into different zones. Players travel between these zones using trains and elevators, but some areas are locked until they reach a certain level or acquire specific gear.

Gunplay features dual-stick shooting, allowing you to aim independently of movement, and utilizes a cover system for strategic battles. You can also target enemies based on their height. Characters improve by earning skill points and upgrading their cyberdecks. The game supports both local and online cooperative play, and progress is shared between players.

Observer

Bloober Team first released this mind-bending cyberpunk game for computers and consoles in 2017, and later updated it with a ‘System Redux’ version. The game takes place in an apartment building in Krakow controlled by corporations, and players solve mysteries by exploring dreamlike scenes to find clues.

The game features two scan types – one for biological signatures and another for electromagnetic energy – and players can hack into neural implants to piece together lost memories. The recent Redux update enhances the game’s lighting and introduces more detailed investigation options for important cases.

Share your favorite cyberpunk game worlds and the systems that make them stand out in the comments.

2025-10-08 06:51