Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (review)

I was floating around on Netflix the other day and got a suggestion for a new TV show, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. I wasted no time watching it, as I'm a big fan of the game.

I had heard about the show, but, didn't really know much about it, other than the fact it was coming out. I have to say it's amazing and well worth watching, it's also done in a way, that you don't have to play the game in order to understand or enjoy the TV Show.

Source

The Show
It's brilliant! It's an anime, which to be honest I'm not a big fan of, in general. There are only about 3 or 4 anime I actually like, such as Akira, Attack on Titan, Ghost in a Shell, and kind of Tokyo Ghoul, although I'm not too into Tokyo Ghoul, but think it's okay.

This Cyberpunk show, however, reminds me of all of the anime I like. I've always loved the anime art style, I think it's great, but the main reason I enjoy the shows listed above is the writing. I love dark storytelling and shows that aren't afraid to cover the dirt of our world. This is why I love Cyberpunk, the game and show cover topics like drug dealing, addiction, organ harvesting, corporate corruption, gore, and the depravity of humanity in general.

I've also loved the ideas posed by the Cyberpunk genre in general, like if you replace all of your organs with cybernetics are you still human? Also, another big thing in the genre is that we're so far into the future and so advanced, yet, life is cheap.

The Story
The opening scene is of a Cyberpsycho killing a load of cops in the center of Night City. Cyberpsychos are people who have enhanced themselves too much with cyber ware, to the point where their mind breaks and they end up losing it completely. The Cyberpsycho is eventually taken down, then we hard cut to our main character David. Who it turns out, was watching this play out in a braindance.

Braindances or BDs are essentially an inner mind experience, which plays out some of your fantasies. So, say you want to rob a bank, someone will go and do it, then afterward, remove their chip which holds the recording, then an editor would work on it and then sell it.

David watches and sells these, but, he is more into the black market version of them, called XBDs, which can be fairly depraved and are illegal. Then we go on a journey with him as he heads to college.

His Character
He's a street kid, which is a nickname for the poor, but, his mum has worked hard to get him into this top tear school. But, he hates it, as he doesn't fit in and is being bullied by some of his more affluent classmates. He's hot-headed and has a problem with authority.

The Story Continues
The story in the first episode plays out in a way that leaves David with no choice but to try and find a way to make some money, in doing this he meets someone who decides to work with him, and from there he goes down a path of no return, getting sucked into a life of crime.

I don't want to spoil it because I think it's well worth watching, especially if you like the Cyberpunk genre and dystopian science fiction in general.

Psyber X
The game being produced here on Hive is of the same genre as this show and the accompanying game Cyberpunk 2077. I work alongside some other writers and together we are expanding on Psyber X's lore, in the form of chapters which are then posted here on Hive.

I think there is so much to explore and so many of the topics that make the Cyberpunk genre what it is, and these topics are covered in the chapters we have produced so far and we have many more chapters to come, so if you enjoy this genre maybe think about reading some of our work for the game. Link To The Psyber X Discord.

Chapter 1 - Origin Story

Chapter 2 - Cleiton and Fritz vs Metalheads

Chapter 3 - Jenna and the Metalheads

End
I really enjoyed the show and after finishing it I just wanted to play Cyberpunk 2077, as I think the writing in the game is just as good, if not better than the show. I really hope they do more seasons of the show because I think there is so much lore to explore in the world the developers of the game have created, that it would be worth continuing on the momentum and expanding on the IP that they've created here.