Among all the genres that leave every single gamer in the world spoiled for choice, cyberpunk remains one of the most popular ones, and rightly so. Its themes of societal divide, environmental degradation, futuristic technology continuing its rampant progress like a juggernaut while society frays at the edges have always allured players, and why wouldn't they?

This juxtaposition of everything 'futuristic and cool' with human suffering is what makes cyberpunk an endlessly compelling genre, and when it comes to exploring those themes, nothing gets the job better than this interactive medium we all love so much. Now, a fantastic RPG like Cyberpunk 2077 may have adopted the genre's name in its title, like a local take-out shop calling itself "Chinese Food near me", but there do exist some immensely enjoyable and unforgettable cyberpunk games that you must play if you love the genre. From tackling themes you won't see in Cyberpunk 2077 to having their own personality through vastly different game mechanics, these games have carved a spot of their own in the hall-of-fame of this genre, and deservedly so.

System Shock Remake (2023)

An intimate and suffocating look at the dangers of technology

The original System Shock, which came out back in 1994, is one of the foundational games in the cyberpunk genre. In fact, it very much had a part in predicting (and dictating) how the future of gaming would have games that allow players to explore environments and interact with the story (not the plot) at their own pace. Nightdive Studios' 2023 remake is one of the greatest examples of a perfect remake, modernizing the entire game while never once missing what made it the masterpiece it is in the first place.

Taking place on a futuristic space station in 2072, System Shock has you navigating through Citadel Station where its central command AI, SHODAN, has gone rogue and is out to seize power by all means necessary. As you fight through the depths of space in System Shock, you encounter all sorts of mutated enemies, all while SHODAN talks to you, omnipresent like a whisper in your ear.

Cyberpunk 2077 thrives on urban chaos in a sprawling open-world, but on the other hand, System Shock delivers a more intimate and suffocating vision of the future. The danger doesn't come from neon-lit streets and billboards, but the very technology you depend on every step along the way.

Cloudpunk (2020)

If you're more for a Cyberpunk x Death Stranding vibe

Set in the futuristic open-world megacity of Nivalis, Cloudpunk is a 2020 cyberpunk game you won't soon forget. You play as Rania, who has just moved to this city controlled and ruled over by corporations, as you take on a new job of delivering packages through this beautiful yet divided city.

The story of Cloudpunk reveals itself slowly through the deliveries you make and the people you meet, and above all, during the quieter moments while you drive between towering skyscrapers. Cyberpunk 2077 has its fair share of bombastic chaos and shootouts and flashy vehicles to pick from, but Cloudpunk thrives on atmosphere, conversation, and observation. It explores the ever-present cyberpunk themes of class divide, AI consciousness, and urban decay, but it never once breaks the hypnotic flow of the gameplay.

Nivalis is a beautiful city you want to be lost in, but sometimes, it can feel just as suffocating. Rania, the protagonist, isn't a hero trying to make big changes to society. Instead, she's just trying to get through each day and survive as a cog in the machine. A slower, more meditative cyberpunk experience unlike anything else on this list, Cloudpunk, with its incredibly unique art style and endlessly wondrous setting, is as relaxing as it is thought-provoking, and that's exactly what makes it unforgettable.

Ghostrunner (2020)

A beautiful cyberpunk dystopia to cut and slice through

Most cyberpunk open-world games will always give you ample time and opportunity to pause for a moment and take in the beautiful, futuristic, neon-lit environment. Ghostrunner, on the other hand, will have you slicing through them at breakneck speeds. Ghostrunner throws you into Dharma Tower, a crumbling megastructure where the last of humanity resides. You're armed with nothing but a katana, cybernetic reflexes, and an iron will to survive and find out who you are.

You won't get the usual RPG sprawl in Ghostrunner, but what you will get instead is razor-focused gameplay. You sprint, slide, wall run, and swing every two seconds in Ghostrunner, facing tactically placed enemy types you must deflect, slice up, or avoid, all while making split-second decisions that will have you dying a hundred times over, if not more. Parkour and combat are what the game is all about, and between bouts of both of those, there's a story woven about authoritarian control and identity, and about the thin, blurred line between what's human and what's machine. It's a brutally difficult game, too — one hit kills you, but one hit kills all your enemies too. With that, every encounter becomes a lethal dance of grapples, hard dashes, and perfect timing. And that is precisely what makes every victory in this largely combat-focused game so rewarding.

VA-11 HALL-A (2016)

Bartenders are the true saviors in a dystopia

VA-11 Hall-A is a cyberpunk game through and through, but it's deceptively brilliant, too. Almost a decade old now, it has aged brilliantly, partly because of how enjoyable it remains, and partly because it is a visual novel. That's right — there are no guns, hacking, or open-world cities to explore in VA-11 Hall-A. There's only a tiny bar called Valhalla, and you, the player, just serve drinks to a rotating cast of eccentric, broken, and fascinating characters as Jill, a bartender who mixes cocktails, sure, but listens more than she serves.

Cyberpunk games will always have you being the agent of change, but not VA-11 Hall-A. As Jill, you're going to find the game's magic in merely being a quiet witness to a crumbling world. It's through the customer's stories that you'll experience themes of corporate control, loss of identity, loneliness, and the small acts of kindness that keep people going. The lo-fi synth soundtrack is immensely relaxing, especially at the end of a particularly tiring day. The game offers branching conversations to create an overall atmosphere so intimate that you'll almost forget it's a game and suddenly find yourself invested in all their stories. Of course, none of it would have mattered if the core gameplay, that is, mixing cocktails, would've been weak, but the mixing and matching of drinks to serve up the perfect cocktail is just as enjoyable in VA-11 Hall-A. This is cyberpunk at the ground level, where the revolution is just about getting through the night and showing up at work the next day.

Detroit: Become Human (2018)

Cyberpunk in a future not too distant

What happens when machines become indistinguishable from us? That's one of the cyberpunk genre's most enduring questions, and what Detroit: Become Human focuses squarely on. Quantic Dream hasn't come out with a game since Detroit: Become Human in 2018, and their next should've been Star Wars Eclipse, but it's been radio silence on that front. Become Human, on the other hand, is an interactive drama about three android protagonists told across intertwining stories set in a near-future Detroit. Here, androids are second-class citizens — owned, abused, and discarded.

This game is more concerned with quieter, human moments which can point the way to societal collapse... or revolution. I'd always appreciated the themes of civil rights, free will, and the meaning of life itself in Detroit: Become Human, but a recent revisit did make me realize how the game's writing and messaging is so ham-fisted it gets nauseating at times. Still, it's the kind of game you must play at least once in your life, with every player choice branching into dozens of possible fates.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided

The cost of unchecked progress and how marginalization breeds contempt

Arguably the greatest cyberpunk RPGs we've seen on the side of the century outside of Cyberpunk 2077, Deus Ex: Human Revolution rebooted the famed franchise with a prequel set in 2027. The world hasn't completely gone to the dogs yet, but you can pretty much see it with squinted eyes — a future where technological progress remains unchecked and reaches body modification, while the poor and marginalized eat out of trash cans in the back alleys of cloud-piercing skyscrapers.

The new Deus Ex games put you in the shoes of Adam Jensen, a man who loses half his body to augments against his will. He then sets off to uncover a conspiracy that runs so deep between corporations and the government that the rabbit hole threatens to swallow him up at every turn.

2011's Human Revolution remains one of the most compelling games ever made, especially because of its themes of retaining humanity and environmental degradation. It taught my 13-year-old self a powerful lesson I won't ever forget. In 2016, Eidos and Square Enix followed up with the fantastic Mankind Divided sequel, set two years later after society completely breaks down and augmented citizens like our protagonist are marginalized and disenfranchised.

Both the new Deus Ex games explore far more serious themes than you'd find in Cyberpunk 2077, but they never trade their enjoyability or replayability as wonderful games for that. It will always remain an absolute shame how the finale of this trilogy was canceled, but that will never take away from the unforgettable experiences these two games are.

Cyberpunk is much bigger than just one blockbuster title

Cyberpunk, as a genre, is so much bigger than just one blockbuster title. There are virtually countless ways to explore neon-lit alleys and megacities built between the moral gray zones of the future. The best cyberpunk stories will never be about the cool tech, but always the people living in its shadow, enduring or fighting.

Each new cyberpunk experience can be different and offer a new lens on the same truth — that the future is complicated, messy, and utterly, utterly human.