Cyberpunk 2077 is finally here. Are there any good cyberpunk games on Switch?
Cyberpunk 2077 is causing a bit of controversy in the gaming community. The game runs poorly on older consoles (Xbox, PS4) and has no chance of running on Switch. The game is optimized mainly for high-end PCs, which is a frustrating experience for Switch gamers. You can get your futuristic capitalist hellhole fix with these unique cyberpunk games on Switch.
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10. VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender
Take control of a robot bartender, model VA-11 Hall-A, affectionately dubbed Valhalla. Serve up drinks in a small town dive in Glitch City and learn about the residents and their lives. This one is a unique take on the cyberpunk genre because you’re not some netrunner hacking everyone or some street samurai doing battle with corpo gangs.
The game has a branching storyline where your decisions are made based on the drinks you prepare for your customers. Get to know your clients, their favorite drinks, and your attentiveness could change their lives. The game has an amazing techno soundtrack with visuals that are inspired by old Japanese adventure games.
9. Cosmic Star Heroine
Cosmic Star Heroine belongs on this list even though it could also be described as a space opera homage to early JRPGs. The game features three exotic planets to explore, littered with aliens, robots, magic, and other forbidden technology. It’s a mixture of both new and old ideas from JRPGs, with a visual style inspired by the classic 16-bit SNES era of gaming.
The turn-based combat system focuses on establishing a flow to combat and giving yourself advantages. You’ll recruit new agents to help your home base grow and battles take place directly on the screen where you explore. There are some cyberpunk themes in the game, even if it’s not the entire focus of the world.
8. 2064: Read Only Mysteries
The Switch version of 2064: Read Only Memories is the definitive version of this adventure game. It features all content from previous releases, with newly expanded content exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. Turing, the world’s first sapient robot, teams up with a journalist in the belly of Neo-San Francisco. The secrets the player uncovers could rock the very foundations of the city.
The game features classic point and click adventure gameplay, mixed with highly detailed pixel art. It also features a catchy electronic soundtrack and a story that explores the meaning of individuality, freedom, and identity. Each choice you make in the game could have consequences as you explore Neo San Francisco. The game also features outstanding voice acting for an adventure game.
7. Robothorium
Robothorium is a unique take on the roguelite strategy genre, set in a cyberpunk world where robots are fighting for their independence from human overlords. Players lead a team of five robots in a random adventure with battles that rely on positioning and XCOM-like tactics to survive.
The story of Robothorium is set in 2052 in the future when advanced artificial intelligence is implanted in robots across the world. It results in the rapid increase in technology integrated throughout society, but soon robots are protesting for their independence.
Players take on the role of S.A.I.A, an artificial intelligence created to give robots hope. You will make decisions and side with five different factions as you play. The story unravels in missions with nice character artwork. There’s no voice work here which is a shame, it would have done a lot to bring the whole experience together.
6. Observer
Observer (stylized as >observer_) is best described as a cyberpunk noir thriller, where you play as a detective seeking the truth in a very corrupt world. The game takes place in 2084 in Krakow, Poland. The country itself is run by a megacorporation called Chiron. Peace between the citizens of Krakow is maintained by neural policeman called Observers.
The game is a first-person detective adventure, where players assume the role of Daniel Lazarski. Lazarski’s right arm features a ‘Dreameater’ for interrogations, it kind of functions like the Pip Boy from the Fallout series. Lazarski also has two different eye scanners for finding clues.
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5. Astral Chain
Astral Chain is one of the most unique experiences you can have on Nintendo Switch. It’s similar to Nier: Automata, but draws some inspiration from several different game genres. At its core, the game is set in a world of a post-apocalyptic future, ton asunder by chimeras from another realm.
Players assume the role of a special police task force who can take chimeras and take them into battle as Legions. In that vein it borrows a lot from Shin Megami Tensei, where you harness the power of things you encounter to progress. You can use these Legions to aid you during your investigations that are littered throughout the mega-city, Ark.
All of this combined with the action-heavy combat that Platinum Games is famous for designing in games like Bayonetta. Astral Chain should be on any action game lover’s wishlist.
4. Black Future ’88
Black Future ’88 is set in a world where a huge tower is blocking the sun, creating a nuclear rain fallout. Life on earth is short, giving the player only 18 minutes before a heart attack wipes them out. The story lends itself well to the game’s roguelite roots.
Players must ascend the tower and wipe out the programming before they explode. The game is a side-scrolling platformer with plenty of lateral actions, like double jumping and dashing. The player can shoot stuff, fighting their way through hordes of cybernetic enemies. They drop ammo, health, and money to help you continue on your journey.
You have to be quick though, because the tower can absorb the drops and level itself up. Each time the tower levels up, it can choose a new bonus that changes the dynamics of the level. Some of the bonuses it can choose include extra damage from enemies, spawning elite hunters, or summoning devastating nuclear rain.
3. NeoCab
Neo Cab is a narrative adventure game that asks what it would be like to be a ride-share driver in a cyberpunk futuristic world. In a world over run with machines, sometimes you find yourself responding differently to conversations, based on what you know about your customers.
The game is best described as a visual novel mixed with some light survival elements. Players make small decisions that influence the direction of the story with every action they take. That includes choosing which riders to pick up, but managing your fuel, funds, and emotional well-being. Your mood at the time can impact conversations with riders, which further changes the course of the story.
2. Dex
Dex is the closest you will get to a game like Deus Ex or Cyberpunk 2077 on the Nintendo Switch. It’s a 2D side-scrolling game with janky combat, but the cyberpunk setting is second to none. Dex can hack into computer systems with her mind, making her a powerful netrunner in a world controlled by megacorporations.
The game intends the player to use more than just brawn to overcome the challenges faced in Dex. Smooth talkers may be able to worm their way into a situation with just their silver tongue. Hackers can find ways to accomplish their goals without any combat involved at all. The soundtrack is an excellent, cyberpunk inspired number, too.
1. Transistor
Players assume the role of Red, guided by the velvetine voice of the Transistor, a powerful weapon. It helps guide Red through the futuristic city of Cloudbank, where its citizens can vote on the weather. Both the sword and the city star in ways that could only be accomplished in a Supergiant Games title.
The city of Cloudbank is under siege by a malicious group of robotic enemies who call themselves the Process. They have the same sarcastic attitude as GLaDOS and work for Camerata, an AI that is systematically destroying the city. Red has more experience singing into a microphone, but she’s not one to shy away from the challenge.
