Review: Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City Board Game

The Cyberpunk brand has a longer history than you might think. Its story began back in 1988 with the release of the tabletop RPG of the same name. It takes place in a world where the US got entangled in a war in Central America during the 1980s. It didn't go well. The result was a global economic collapse, famine, and a radioactive wasteland where the Middle East used to be. In these wild times, giant international corporations rose to prominence, quickly filling the void left by failing governments.

Such corporations usually care more about profit than the well-being of their employees. An already divided civilization began to fracture even further. The progress in bioengineering, which allowed for the enhancement of human capabilities, only made things worse. The poor became even poorer, while the chosen few became near-demigods. It’s no surprise that everything started to clash.

The main plot of the RPG takes place in Night City, located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, just like the 2020 Cyberpunk 2077 video game from the Polish company CD Projekt. Despite the massive hype, the game initially disappointed many players. Even with the developers' best efforts, the game was broken and almost unplayable on older machines. However, the Polish team eventually pulled it off and brought the game to a perfect state. The brilliantly written and branching story of the protagonist, V, truly shines. It is definitely the best you can find in the action RPG genre.

Cyberpunk as a genre is cool. It’s no wonder that the Cyberpunk game has seen further adaptations, even if there aren't as many as I would expect from such a mega-brand. So far, Cyberpunk has mainly spread into several quite decent comics. And, of course, board games!

The first one is the Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City board game. Gangs of Night City is a game for up to 5 players. On a perhaps unnecessarily large map of the aforementioned city, you and your gangs will fight for the reputation that will allow you to win the game.

What you see at first glance

Gangs of Night City is a top-notch production that is a joy to look at. It works beautifully with the visuals of the source material, and everything is complemented by reasonably crafted miniatures, of which there are plenty. That is, after all, the reason for the higher price. When you first sit down at the table, the atmosphere of Cyberpunk breathes right at you. Fans of the video game will feel right at home.

What matters is under the surface

Most of us don't play board games just for how they look, but for how they play. That’s where it’s a bit weaker… Gangs of Night City is ultimately a straightforward area-control game where the main goal is to position your figures on the board as effectively as possible. You recruit new gang members, upgrade equipment, cause trouble on the net, and generally try to make it difficult for others to push your gang out of its territory. The overall situation and specific tasks and conditions are driven by story cards, which also define the end of the game.

The gameplay itself isn't very deep. Overall, Cyberpunk is a surprisingly straightforward game. It definitely looks much more complex on the table than it actually is. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but while playing, I kept thinking I expected a bit more for the money. However, if you like this type of game, I don't think Gangs of Night City will disappoint you. The game is also accompanied by the Families and Outcasts expansion, which adds new options, characters, and, most importantly, the Badlands map.

An empty suitcase

Even though I praised the production and theme earlier, you don't really feel like you're playing Cyberpunk while you're at it. Gangs is exactly the kind of game where it wouldn't matter if it took place in a dark future or on a green meadow with unicorns in the lead roles. That’s a real shame. You might meet a few familiar characters, but you don't do anything in the game that you do in the source material.

I won't shout that it's a fundamental problem, but it is definitely a pity. Moving figures around the game map is fine, but the whole thing lacks atmosphere. If that doesn't bother you, or if you're a proud fan, you'll enjoy playing it. The game itself doesn't do anything strictly wrong, but the result isn't what I personally expected.

In this regard, I have higher hopes for the second board game from the world of Cyberpunk 2077 that is currently in the works. It’s called, perhaps a bit predictably, Cyberpunk 2077 - The Board Game, and it will be a story-driven cooperative game for 4 players where you take on the roles of the main characters, equip them, upgrade them, and go settle things in the city personally. The campaign should be launching soon, where we will learn more.

author Karel Krajča