Is Cyperpunk 2077 a political game?

[LUDEO]

Even before the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 people started to discuss what this game might be about and whether it reflects upon current political and social issues. Based on an interview with the game´s lead quest designer Pawel Sasko, various websites stated in 2020 that it would not be a “political game”.

As the Cyberpunk genre has historically embraced politics this statement was unexpected and raised the question whether CD Project Red was shying away from one of the genre’s core traits.

With the game released we are now able to find out what Sasko meant with his quote and we might also answer the question:

What do the developers want to tell us with their game?

And Is Cyberpunk 2077 political?

 

[Darkibone]

Depends on your definition of political...

Like the genre it's named after, this game definitely covers a lot of sociological topics.
It's essentially about how human society adapts to change, and how different individuals in that society deal with that.

Now, politics usually deals in offering solutions to (perceived) problems.
And Cyberpunk really doesn't do that.
The world is there to tell thought provoking stories, and the stories are something you as a player can reflect on.
It doesn't really try to offer you a solution, it even actively shys away from that, to keep you thinking.

So I would say no.

 

[SpookyFX]

Definitely not very pollical, however extreme structuralism and human ecology!

Government has been mostly removed from this presentation of society. The police never arrest you for stealing, running red lights or even tossing bombs in the street as long as you do not kill anyone. Instead it is more wild west than overbearing rules and politics. The corporations are like global version of early American crime lords that "keep peace" in their dominions in order to and as long as they make their money.

The one politician they feature in the game is a amalgamation of modern pollical traits in order to haze any clear compassion to RL.

 

[Guest 3847602]

Well, you clearly have people with different expectations of what "political game" is.
Good examples are Deus Ex 1 and Mankind Divided.
One game tries to predict the future based on current trends and builds its world stories from there. Other is simply combining futuristic aesthetics with obvious allegories to present day and past events.
Cyberpunk 2077 is doing the former and I'm happy with that.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

Oh how I miss the days when games could provide compelling stories without it being painted as some grandiose political statement.

 

[LUDEO]

Oh how I miss the days when games could provide compelling stories without it being painted as some grandiose political statement.

When was that?

 

[Restlessdingo32]

When was that?

The 80's and 90's? Early 2000's? Then it kinda transformed. A game might have specific Humans being racist toward all the Elves and Dwarves so the game is suddenly trying to promote views of racial superiority. Yes, that's why it happened. The corps are bad in NC. Queue the, "You hate capitalism.", pitchfork bandwagon.

It's like watching Stargate reruns and determining they hate religion because certain humans were enslaved by "the gods" and the show dare suggests the gods are actually parasitic snake-like aliens. Can't it just be a show with parasitic snake-like aliens enslaving these sorta kinda humans then convincing them they're gods?

 

[LUDEO]

The 80's and 90's? Early 2000's? Then it kinda transformed. A game might have specific Humans being racist toward all the Elves and Dwarves so the game is suddenly trying to promote views of racial superiority. Yes, that's why it happened. The corps are bad in NC. Queue the, "You hate capitalism.", pitchfork bandwagon.

It's like watching Stargate reruns and determining they hate religion because certain humans were enslaved by "the gods" and the show dare suggests the gods are actually parasitic snake-like aliens. Can't it just be a show with parasitic snake-like aliens enslaving these sorta kinda humans then convincing them they're gods?

The question is if that was the artists intention. As art is a form of communication it always tells or illustrates the receiver something. In the case of Stargate the shows creates might have experienced the influence of religion or cults on people and they express this experience by creating this "illustration". I think it is way more interesting and also more persuasive as to use words.

 

[Jetro30087]

I can't say. I don't know about Polish politics.

 

[hulkman2456]

The question is if that was the artists intention. As art is a form of communication it always tells or illustrates the receiver something. In the case of Stargate the shows creates might have experienced the influence of religion or cults on people and they express this experience by creating this "illustration". I think it is way more interesting and also more persuasive as to use words.

The show just used the elements of Egypt gods as a background. They could have just made up the bad guys and their backstories. But they wanted to use real elements. As a way to give them less work in coming up with their origins. And at the same time. Using these basic elements, to come up with much more in depth stories. In-fact the original movie intended this. But they thought this was boring. So at the last minute, made them parasite aliens taking over human bodies.

What he really is arguing, is if the character/story was ruined X by a political aspect. A simple example of this would be if Claire was ruined. The writers for CP wrote a good character that's trans. If they wrote it in the style of say the Batwoman series. All her dialog would just be about her being trans. Being hated because of that. While this would make NO SENSE. In the setting of the game.

 

[simon_brooke]

Of course it's (very) political, it cannot help being. It is a dystopian vision of a future which is the consequence of recognisable trends in our current society. Therefore, it is a critique of those trends; and a critique of the economic and political doctrines which enable and protect them.

Excellent video, by the way.

 

[SpookyFX]

In the early days of PC games I heard complaints from my more liberal/progressive friends in the industry that game DEV studios and their CEOs in general were Libertarian.

Kind of makes sense as they (the Rockstar's of PC games in 80s and 90s) were often pre marriage and pre kids pre mortgage had exceptional intellectual ability and creative productivity at something that would normally be sought after by corporations or the military (such as John Carmack and Gabe Newell ).

But they did not want to work in those industries (Gabe cashed out of his Microsoft position while in his prime) and computer game PROCUCTS were not regulated (early days remember) as many other products are(heavily). So they were left alone to make money and do what they loved as they saw fit.

That may be a big part of why the games seemed less pollical back then.

edit: I wonder how far this thread will get before it gets moderator's displeasure...

 

[Ayinde_Palmer]

Even before the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 people started to discuss what this game might be about and whether it reflects upon current political and social issues. Based on an interview with the game´s lead quest designer Pawel Sasko, various websites stated in 2020 that it would not be a “political game”.

As the Cyberpunk genre has historically embraced politics this statement was unexpected and raised the question whether CD Project Red was shying away from one of the genre’s core traits.

With the game released we are now able to find out what Sasko meant with his quote and we might also answer the question:

What do the developers want to tell us with their game?

And Is Cyberpunk 2077 political?

depends what you mean when you say political.

Some say everything is always political.

You can play the game ignoring politics

but the cyberpunk is by its very nature political.

 

[Iszdope]

Nah, it's about footy innit?

 

[Ayinde_Palmer]

The 80's and 90's? Early 2000's? Then it kinda transformed. A game might have specific Humans being racist toward all the Elves and Dwarves so the game is suddenly trying to promote views of racial superiority. Yes, that's why it happened. The corps are bad in NC. Queue the, "You hate capitalism.", pitchfork bandwagon.

It's like watching Stargate reruns and determining they hate religion because certain humans were enslaved by "the gods" and the show dare suggests the gods are actually parasitic snake-like aliens. Can't it just be a show with parasitic snake-like aliens enslaving these sorta kinda humans then convincing them they're gods?

Yeah, but this game isn't about parasitic aliens, its about a society with a corrupt and ineffectual government, where corporations have become the dominant force in society, and how that has effected the world from sociopolitical conflict, to the ecosystem, to daily lives.

this is basically the definition of politics.

Now whether that lines up to what current people's politics are is another question. That said, I think its unrealistic to have any believable world somehow be devoid of politics. Even main stream marvel movies have to ask whether superhuman beings should be controlled/monitored by the government.

 

[fchopin]

All role playing games have politics in them so they are all political.

If you do not like politics in games of some sort then you should stop playing RPGs.

 

[Darkibone]

this is basically the definition of politics.

I don't think so:
"Politics (from Greek: Πολιτικά, politiká, 'affairs of the cities') is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status." (Wikipedia)

its about a society with a corrupt and ineffectual government, where corporations have become the dominant force in society, and how that has effected the world from sociopolitical conflict, to the ecosystem, to daily lives.

"Sociology is the study of society, human social behaviour, patterns of social and relationships, social interaction, and culture that surrounds everyday life." (Wikipedia again)

 

[Ayinde_Palmer]

I don't think so:
"Politics (from Greek: Πολιτικά, politiká, 'affairs of the cities') is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status." (Wikipedia)


"Sociology is the study of society, human social behaviour, patterns of social and relationships, social interaction, and culture that surrounds everyday life." (Wikipedia again)

and you think that cyberpunk is not about the power relations between individuals. the distribution of resources and status, and group descion making?
The whole premise is that government failed, and corporations essentially control government. They determine power relations, resources, and status.


now I get your point that it also explores sociology, because how could you not, but the sociology of the game starts off with the premise of a corrupt government taken over by corporate interests. The corpo plotline is essentially the story of a dynastic struggle between Yorinobu, who believes governments(and people) should be in control, and saburo who believes he is a government unto himself, and Hanako who seeks stability through aligning with saburo.Then there is Johnny whose focus was on overturning the power structure and returning power to the people. And, Nomads who created a government/society outside of this structure, but still have to deal with them to survive.


That said, V only grazes these issues. And even though they are often very involved in politics, seems not to pay attention to it most of the time.

 

[Didacgomez]

There is a stupid NCPD assault in progress that is quite political in my opinion (and actually historically it happened in several countries in the past, probably in some countries still nowadays):

There is a strike in a factory and to break the strike, the company sold to Militech. Militech declared the strike illegal and will treat all the strikers as terrorists. You can find the shard where the Militech grunt ask for permission to open fire because strikers don´t retreat and the background information explaining why there is a bunch of workers beeing killed by Militech.

Of course, if you play like good old Doom you can ignore the political statement (or warning of where uncontrolled capitalism can lead,again).

 

[DC9V]

I wish climate change was a bigger topic in Cyberpunk 2077.