Cyberpunk: Edge Runners is a perfect example of giving people something they didn’t even know they wanted. While Cyberpunk 2077 had a rough launch, many stuck with it due to the sheer nature of Night City. Each district of the city had a unique atmosphere and it begged players to explore every inch of it. Now, nearly two years later, the game is finally much closer to where it should have been, and the successful launch of Cyberpunk: edge runners proves that Night City is indeed a world worth exploring.
Part of the allure of the cyberpunk brand is that it carries narrative flexibility. In a world of such extreme wealth inequality, there is room for stories from everyone’s perspective. Cyberpunk: edge runners enhances the foundation laid by Cyberpunk 2077 by using Night City as a means of exploring the human condition. By giving substance to the themes from in a creative way Cyberpunk: 2077, Studio Trigger creates a world that is harder, bigger and even more corrupt than in the game. At the same time, this also makes for a Night City that is more human, lifelike and dynamic than in the video game. Night City is truly becoming the relentless rat race it should have always been.
Night city is the main character
Gamers who played Cyberpunk 2077 found Night City with tons of secrets, but secrets don’t make friends. Cyberpunk: edge runners uses the medium of anime to make the city feel less like a dollhouse and more like a real place. The choice to create a story that takes place close by but separate from cyberpunk 2077 allows Cyberpunk: Edge Runners to stand on its own two feet. Rather than playing as a seasoned mercenary already familiar with the Fixers of Night City, the audience is lured into David Martinez’s story. This protagonist is a recently orphaned high school dropout who hijacks a military-grade implant and is thrust forward in a coming-of-age tale of blood, greed, and Night City citizens’ shared desire to make something of themselves.
Viewers can eventually step into Night City’s stilettos by walking in David’s shoes. Night City is a brutal place full of possibilities, where in the blink of an eye a gang shooting can break out and wreak havoc. It’s a place where nobody cares who lives or dies; they only care who has the premium insurance package. Cyberpunk: Edge Runners has its mysteries, but those mysteries feel much more grounded through the lens of multiple characters trying to get their names out and try to get their rent paid.
Night City Family Values
Cyberpunk: Edge Runners also manages to make Night City the main character by exploring how it affects people. At the beginning of the series, David is the victim of a bully at the prestigious Arasaka Academy. Viewers later learn that the bully is the director’s son. Just as his father achieved his position by stepping on others, his son is motivated to do the same. Night City and its dystopian take on family values come to the fore during small moments like this. It is then directly contrasted by studying David’s growing relationships with his crew on his journey to become someone. By making intelligent use of comparisons and contrasts, Studio Trigger shows that everyone’s Night City is skewed and fits their socio-economic circumstances, making for an exciting future for the Cyberpunk 2077 Brand. Night City becomes a playground where even rulers and their children play roles at the whim of their business leaders.
While Cyberpunk 2077 explored life in Night City through the reluctant shoes of a lone wolf, Cyberpunk Edgerunners explores how Night City can influence people’s relationships between chosen and biological families. It gives Night City the extra layer of depth and tangibility that further proves that an anime adaptation of the cyberpunk franchise was the right move. It may have been a rough launch, but now, nearly two years later, the future looks bright for Night City and the people who live there.
Cyberpunk: Edge Runners is now streaming on Netflix.
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