I’ve started Cyberpunk 2077 again.

This is a thing I do. I pick up games, fall in love with the world, get hopelessly lost in side quests, lose track of what’s actually happening in the main story, drift away, and then years later think “I should really finish that.” And so the cycle begins anew.

I first played it during the pandemic, like a lot of people. Got deep enough into Night City that I couldn’t tell you what the main plot was anymore. Something about a chip? Keanu Reeves yelling at me? I genuinely don’t remember how far I got, which is why I’m starting fresh instead of trying to pick up a save file full of context I’ve lost.

The Aesthetic Has Me

Here’s the thing: I’m a sucker for cyberpunk. Always have been. My gateway drug was actually Shadowrun - the neon-soaked dystopian future where megacorps rule everything and hackers jack into the matrix. I played the hell out of that tabletop game. Later I got into Cyberpunk 2020, which strips away the magic and elves but keeps all the chrome and attitude.

And until someone makes a Shadowrun game with this level of visual fidelity and open-world ambition, Cyberpunk 2077 is the closest I can get to walking around inside that aesthetic. The neon. The rain. The towering megabuildings and cluttered street markets. The chrome limbs and glowing optics. It’s everything teenage me dreamed about when reading sourcebooks at the gaming table.

Will I Finish It This Time?

Honestly? I don’t know. My track record isn’t great. The pile of games I’ve started and never finished could fill a landfill. But I’m going to try, because Night City deserves better than being another abandoned save file.

And if I get lost in side quests again? Well. At least the view is pretty.