Summary
It’s no secret thatcyberpunkhas been a popular theme for video game settings over the years. Many games often take inspiration from the cyberpunk dystopian worlds offilms such asBlade Runner, providing backdrops filledwith corrupt corporations, neon lights, and cybernetics.
Due to their cyberpunk nature, many of these games are often driven by their dark, futuristic narratives. However, some games lean more toward the cyberpunk aesthetic rather than the themes often associated with the genre, providing vibrant neon visuals and run-down industrial environments. These next games take the latter approach, usingpixel artto depict their futuristic sci-fi worlds.
WhileNeon Abyssis a Rogue-lite with a focus on combat rather than narrative, its visual style matches the cyberpunk aesthetic perfectly. As its name suggests,Neon Abyssis packed with neon colors that sell its cyberpunk theme remarkably well, all in a crunchypixel-art style.
Neon Abyssis a Rogue-lite that featuresheavy meta-progressionsystems, so players looking for a more hardcore experience will likely be disappointed. However, the game’s cyberpunk pixel art and glowing neon lights provide a more than palatable aesthetic for therun-and-gun gameplay.
6Tales Of The Neon Sea
A Point-And-Click Detective Story In A Cyberpunk Setting
This old-school pixel artpoint-and-click adventuretakes place in a rich, well-crafted cyberpunk world. As a classic point-and-click adventure,Tales Of The Neon Seais packed with puzzles for players to solve, but it’s the level of visual detail and well-crafted narrative that make it worth playing.
The world ofTales Of The Neon Seais packed with rich texture, making the it fun to explore and the NPCs interesting to interact with. Playerstake on the role of a detective, with much of the narrative and gameplay being based around criminal investigation and deduction.
Published by Devolver Digital,The Red Strings Clubis a stylish cyberpunk narrative game driven by its thriller story.The Red Strings Club’scharacters and cyberpunk environments are depicted in a painterly pixel art style, offering a dense noir atmosphere and mood.
As a narrative-focused game,The Red Strings Clubis somewhat light on gameplay mechanics. However, the gameplay that is there, including the bartending mini-game, is fun and intuitive. This light gameplay serves the game’s well-told cyberpunk story well, allowing the narrative and the retro pixel art to shine.
4HUNTDOWN
Classic Run-And-Gun In A Dark Cyberpunk World
This fast-paced, side-scrolling arcade action game features visceral gunfights and platforming action in a dystopian cyberpunk future reminiscent ofRoboCop.HUNTDOWNfeatures 16-bit pixel art and lovingly-crafted and fluid animations that paint its dark cyberpunk world with brilliant detail.
HUNTDOWNputs players in the shoes of a bounty hunter, carving a way through crime-ridden cyberpunk streets. Backgrounds and environments are packed with giant blimps, neon colors, and industrial structures that depict a world that hearkens toBlade RunnerandRoboCopalike.
Sanabiis a fast-paced action platformer with fluid movement and controls, set in a dystopian cyberpunk future.Sanabi’sstylish pixel art is one of its greatest strengths, depicting its cyberpunk world with rich details.
The game’s combination of fluid action and intuitive movement make it a title that’s consistently fun to play.Sanabi’snarrative is also frequently engaging, constantly incentivizing players to keep pushing forward.
2Whispers Of A Machine
A Point-And-Click Adventure In A Unique Cyberpunk Setting
Similarly to games such asThe Red Strings ClubandTales Of The Neon Sea,Whispers Of A Machineis a story-driven, old-school adventure game. However,Whispers Of A Machinetakes place in a particularly unique cyberpunk setting.
The setting ofWhispers Of A Machineis a post-AI world, in which developing AI is heavily outlawed and has been for a long time. The game puts players in the shoes of a detective with an array of cybernetic augments, and tasks them with investigating a series of murders. This cyberpunk narrative is bolstered by dramatic voice acting, which helps to sell the game’s dystopian world.
This stylized neo noir action platformer puts players in the shoes of a katana-wielding assassin, fighting through visceral encounters in tight corridors.Katana Zero’sgreatest strengths are its cyberpunk, neo noir narrative, its brutal, fast-paced combat, and its vibrant neon pixel art.
Katana Zero’scombat is an unforgiving experience in which the player can die extremely quickly. However, the game gives the player limited use of slow motion to help them deflect bullets and take down enemies. While players can deflect bullets without this skill, they’re likely to rely on it early on. Once players have mastered deflecting projectiles, though,Katana Zero’scombat becomes a fluid power fantasy.
Special Mention: The Last Night
Though unreleased,The Last Nightlooks to be one of the most visually impressive pixel-art games ever made, thanks to a handful of modern techniques and effects.The Last Nightblends 2D characters and 3D environments, combined with dynamic lighting and post-processing.
The Last Night’slighting, animations, and cinematography show a breathtaking pixel art cyberpunk world with remarkable attention to detail. Whether or not the final product will live up to expectations remains to be seen. However. Revealed all the way back in 2017,The Last Nighthas been in development for quite some time. However, the developer, Odd Tales, released a detailed presentation on the game’s architecture back in February 2024, and it looked very promising.
