The world of Cyberpunk is heating up once again. Next month Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty debuts and offers a chance for fans to return to Night City for a new storyline. The expansion also promises to rewrite how the original game plays.
On tabletops, the prequel game Cyberpunk Red recently released a pair of new experiences at Gen Con. Both R. Talsorian Games and Monster Fight Club sent along review copies for me to check out. Even though the releases are from two different companies, they work with each other cyberhand in cyberhand.
Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone
The long awaited miniatures game Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone puts players in command of a faction on the mean streets of Night City. The game offers one off missions where crews can battle to see who is the toughest as well as a campaign set up where players can upgrade their figures with new abilities and cool gadgets in between games.
The game comes with two factions in the main box: the Tyger Claws gang and the militant cyberpsychos of Maelstrom. Other factions soon to be released include the the Lawmen of the Night City Police Department and the Zoners who try to keep the peace on their own terms. Fans that have been collecting the Cyberpunk Red miniatures line from the beginning should keep an eye out for the release of a character deck that allows those models to join the fray as edgerunners and mercs who can join up with any faction they please.
As one might expect, gameplay offers a chaotic mix of gunplay, movement and netrunning. Characters have actions represented by dice of differant sizes, with players having to choose if they want to yuse their better dice to be agrresive or to have a better chance of defending. Players also don’t have to wait their turn to shoot back, turning combat into a back and forth that’s satisfying and fun.
Cyberpunk Red: Danger Gal Dossier
Miniatures and role-playing games go together like peanut butter and jelly. Danger Gal Dossier offers more detail and backstory on the miniatures seen in Cyberpunk Red: Danger Zone. It also acts as a preview for the miniatures game by showing off upcoming factions like the classic clown gang The Bozos or the heavily armed medics of Trauma Team.
The book has a lot of use for fans who aren’t into the minis game as well. Each on e of the fifteen factions detailed inside is full of NPCs that can function as allies, rivals or characters that connect to the lifepath each Cyberpunk Red character creates. The book includes a ready to roll adventure that drops players right in the middle of factional squabbles.
I was excited to have over 100 characters ready to drop into my Cyberpunk Red game. There’s everything here from lowly mooks that fill out the battlefield to hardened bosses that come up with city-shaking schemes. I also appreciated the advice on creating new characters of any level though I will probably reskin these characters if I need a new one anytime soon.
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