What is Cyberpunk?
I have liked cyberpunk ever since I heard the Idea that you aren't saving the world your saving yourself; But recently I feal as though 2077 and edge runners has been straying from that with this idea that it is about classism, the common people vs. the corps. I feal as though having a common enemy ruins the idea of saving yourself not the world.
In my opinion it is a mistake to think only of those at the bottom of the casts as punks I would argue that most characters in cyberpunk is a "Punk" even Saburo Arasaka. After WW2 Saburo saw how Japan lost its pride and it became his life mission to regain that pride even willing to risk his life or at least the only part of his life he cares about his own pride; Every deal he made with a filthy American, every job he gave to an honor less American kills a little bit of him on the inside but to him it was worth it to save Japan. That is what being a punk is risking your life for what you whant.
This is my opinion but you can't save the world of cyberpunk because it doesn't need saving or whant saving. It may look like a living hell but the world of cyberpunk is a reflection of the people who live in it; It is a world filled to the brim with people who would give anything even their life to get what they whant so the world provides them just that.
TLDR: Cyberpunk shouldn't have a Villain just Rivals.
Posted Jun 4, 2025, 3:33 PM UTC