Review of Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners

How Edgerunners resurrected the Cyberpunk 2077 video game

“Bout Time I Chrome The F Up.” - David Martinez

I have a healthy appetite for Japanese anime. I fell in love with the medium as a teenager and never stopped watching. I probably binge at least one entire season of an anime series per week at this point, considering that the episodes are in the 24-per-season range. This article has a direct correlation with technology and even the metaverse because of the huge success of the Cyberpunk 2077 spin-off anime Edgerunners. The anime series has increased the player base of the video game by 550%.

A major component in the success of the anime is the studio that CD Projekt Red chose to hire for this anime. Studio Trigger is a legend in the anime space, made up of great artists who worked at Gainax anime studio, on projects such as Gurren Lagann. Studio Trigger is known for churning out classics such as Kill La Kill and Promare. The anime studio does an excellent job creating exaggerated poses to communicate suspense and emotion in a scene, they also do a great job crafting philosophy-heavy storylines such as in Kill La Kill and Promare. Thought-provoking metaphorical philosophy in animation is one of the many elements that separates western animation from Japanese anime. Besides maybe Madhouse, Studio Trigger was the best production studio to helm this anime project.

From the same studio that brought anime classics like Kill la Kill

What I love about the Cyberpunk 2077 anime is how closely it references the game. The same gangs, locations, weapons, and cars that are used throughout the video game are directly referenced throughout the anime. A week before the anime launched, the video game was updated to reference key moments from the anime. I am impressed with this interoperable strategy that allows interaction with the brand from different interfaces. The update a week before the anime is known as the 1.6 patch, which continues to fix the millions of bugs that the game launched with. The patch includes overhauls to the car mechanics, weapons system, character creation, and clothing system. The clothing overhaul is interesting because previously, we were only able to dress the avatar based on the strongest clothing items you could find around the game map. This resulted in odd clothing combinations such as a tank top, suit blazer, gold MC Hammer pants, black and red sneakers, and a biker helmet being the chosen outfit because they have the strongest stats. With the latest update, we can dress the avatar to fit our fashion style, then add power-ups to those items.

The anime follows the protagonist David Martinez, who is the son of a hardworking EMT single mother who works to provide David with a better life. I hate spoilers as much as the next guy, so I won’t be doing a minute-to-minute recap of what happened in the series. Instead, I’ll focus on the social commentary and moral of the story. Being a cyberpunk or an edge runner means surpassing the limitations of the organic body with cybernetic upgrades that improve physical strength with gorilla arms, or speed with the reinforced tendons. Some cyberpunks take it way too far and mod every aspect of themselves until they are mostly cyberware, at which point they are vulnerable to a virus that transforms them into cyber psychos. The anime is a warning about one of our possible futures, where mankind’s dependence on technology might become so prevalent that we lose touch with our humanity and become fully chrome. I categorized any anime that expands my thinking and can provide me with good entertainment as a good anime and this is one that I recommend, choom.

The Cyberpunk 2077 Soundtrack is amazing!

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