The Cyberpunk Dystopia is upon Us

Militarized police, wage slaves, puppet governments controlled by corporations, income inequality, technology the great equalizer. Sure, I'm talking about the US, but I'm also talking about the Shadowrun tabletop and video games. The tabletop game was released in the early 90s, but the videogames were released in the past few years, and seriously, they've got the cyberpunk dystopia aesthetic down. I can't help but fall in love with the dystopian grungy goth look all over again when I see the character images (the game does not use cheesy voice acting--an image of the character appears along with a text box)

I especially love how realistic the game feels: there are all ages and races represented. I've heard whining from gamer gaters about this, but only from those who haven't played the game--I think everyone agrees these are great games. It's realistic that when it's the populace against the corporations, that everyone should be represented. It's not just the able-bodied white men who would be uprising.

And there's the 90s industrial club guestlist of player characters for you to choose from:

lol i of course choose the bald lady who looks exactly like me. I even had a top like that.

I'm currently playing Shadowrun: Dragonfall (set in Berlin), but Hong Kong is the newest release. Dragonfall is easily the best game I've played this past year. Awesome gameplay and story--really immersive. The tabletop game universe is also cool, but depending on your GM, it might be micromanaging, the game. You might have a GM who will make you keep track of every dollar and bullet. The amount of bookkeeping and inventory management that goes on in this game is insane. I do recommend it, though--the customization for your character is amazing. I played a vampire with cybernetics who can throw things at sniper-rifle damage, who had a steampunk airship drone that could hack things.