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Cyberpunk RED
Welcome to the Time of the Red, Choomba! The Megacorporations spent decades wrecking everything and in the aftermath of their last War, everyone has to fend for themselves.
But that’s just fine. You can handle it. After all, in a world of vicious boostergangs, rampaging cyborgs, corporate assassins, and nihilistic doomsday cults, there’s only one rule: Always take it to the Edge.
Take the big risks, get the big rewards. Be the action, start the rebellion, light the fire. Never drive slow when you can blaze a trail.
You’ve hooked your Militech pistol to the interface in your brain; upgraded your cybernetic fist with carbo-glas blades; and installed cybereyes that can pierce through the red haze like morning fog. There’s a world full of opportunities out there, just waiting for the right Edgerunner. Maybe that’s you.
Cyberpunk RED is the latest edition of the classic tabletop roleplaying game of the Dark Future and encompasses everything you need to explore the post-War world of the Time of the Red, including:
- A dense, deep-dive into the history and geography of Night City and the greater Cyberpunk world, and plenty of the lore about the Time of the Red.
- Ten unique Roles for you to play: charismatic Rockerboys, lethal Solos, quick-hacking Netrunners, inventive Techs, lifesaving (and taking) Medtechs, hard-hitting Medias, duty-bound Lawmen, scheming Execs, clever Fixers, and range-riding Nomads.
- A huge collection of useful tools, powerful weapons, protective armor, and gleaming cyberware to help you rule the Street.
- Three Screamsheet adventures to show you what Cyberpunk is all about.
- Pregenerated opponents perfect for populating the Combat Zones and Corporate compounds, plus encounters that use them to bring the City to life.
But that’s just fine. You can handle it. After all, in a world of vicious boostergangs, rampaging cyborgs, corporate assassins, and nihilistic doomsday cults, there’s only one rule: Always take it to the Edge.
Take the big risks, get the big rewards. Be the action, start the rebellion, light the fire. Never drive slow when you can blaze a trail.
You’ve hooked your Militech pistol to the interface in your brain; upgraded your cybernetic fist with carbo-glas blades; and installed cybereyes that can pierce through the red haze like morning fog. There’s a world full of opportunities out there, just waiting for the right Edgerunner. Maybe that’s you.
Cyberpunk RED is the latest edition of the classic tabletop roleplaying game of the Dark Future and encompasses everything you need to explore the post-War world of the Time of the Red, including:
- A dense, deep-dive into the history and geography of Night City and the greater Cyberpunk world, and plenty of the lore about the Time of the Red.
- Ten unique Roles for you to play: charismatic Rockerboys, lethal Solos, quick-hacking Netrunners, inventive Techs, lifesaving (and taking) Medtechs, hard-hitting Medias, duty-bound Lawmen, scheming Execs, clever Fixers, and range-riding Nomads.
- A huge collection of useful tools, powerful weapons, protective armor, and gleaming cyberware to help you rule the Street.
- Three Screamsheet adventures to show you what Cyberpunk is all about.
- Pregenerated opponents perfect for populating the Combat Zones and Corporate compounds, plus encounters that use them to bring the City to life.
458 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 2020
44 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
About the author
Mike Pondsmith
46 books92 followersMichael Alyn Pondsmith is an American roleplaying, board, and video game designer. He founded the publisher R. Talsorian Games in 1982, where he developed a majority of the company's role-playing game lines. Pondsmith is the author of several RPG lines, including Mekton (1984), Cyberpunk (1988) and Castle Falkenstein (1994). He also contributed to the Forgotten Realms and Oriental Adventures lines of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, worked in various capacities on video games, and authored or co-created several board games. Pondsmith also worked as an instructor at the DigiPen Institute of Technology.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 21, 2024
Qualità manuale: ⭐⭐
Ambientazione: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sistema regole: ⭐⭐⭐
Ambientazione: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sistema regole: ⭐⭐⭐
November 30, 2020
A new edition of the old cyber-warhorse to tie in with the highly anticipated computer game, this doesn't feel like a fresh iteration but rather Cyberpunk 2020 2.0, erasing the experiments of Cybergeneration (which was good) and Cyberpunk 3.0 (which was dreadful). It's very much back to basics, retooling Mike Pondsmith's now venerable setting for (hopefully) a new generation, while presenting old grognards with something familiar. As a result the dominant flavour is retro, with a bigger seasoning of post-apocalyptic notes to fit our current real world existential woes. As a basic game this is good for a handful of sessions, and perhaps a short campaign or two in the hands of veteran players, but it feels like we're waiting on expansions to really fill out the sandbox, and I'm a little fuzzy on R. Talsorian's plans for the product line. Still, if you're a sucker for this sort of thing (and I am), this is worth a blind buy.
February 16, 2022
The CYBERPUNK 2020 update we deserved for Cyberpunk 2020. Cyberpunk Red updates the setting in a way that corrects some of the flaws of the controversial Cyberpunk V3.0 Edition and replaces it with something more grounded. It's not a straight adaptation of Cyberpunk 2077 but is set significantly earlier in 2045.
There's certainly a lot of similarities and you can definitely see things going from A to B to C but it's unique enough a setting to be played on its own. There's much content on how the city was rebuilt following (as we now know) Johnny Silverhand's participation in the nuking of Night City as well as how the United States has returned to at least a semblance of its former power. We also get details on what people eat, where people live, and what they do in their free time.
It doesn't get too deep into characters but mostly focuses on the history of Night City itself and how Richard Night's dream of creating a crime free-corporate utopia to wait out the apocalypse proved to be a complete disaster. It also nicely manages to explain how Mad Max can exist alongside Robocop with no discontinuity. It's not post-apocalypse but it's certainly a breakdown in centralized authority (but getting better!).
I think my favorite part of the book is the discussion of things like what it's like to live on the street versus a corporate Beaverville (suburb) or penthouse. Talk about the fact the majority of people eat kibble and how fresh fruit as well as vegetables are worth fighting over but can be grown oneself. There's a very DIY sensibility to post-nuke Night City and oddly inspiring in places where you're not being stabbed for a tomato. It's a world that had a lot of thought put into it and is all the stronger for it, even though the details are sparse in places.
The megacorps section also deserves special attention as we see the kind of corporations that have risen to power in 2045. For the most part, they're not as maniacally evil as the ones in Shadow Run but just trying to profit even as you can see how they ruined the world with the 4th Corporate War (as well as everything leading up to it). Some of the NPCs are also hilarious like the CEO of Danger Girl Detective Agency that managed to survive being assassinated by being as kawaii and quirky as possible even into her middle years. Also, the fact the CEO of Sov Oil is obviously some guy who had plastic surgery to replace the previous one but they're all pretending otherwise.
This is both a mechanics heavy and roleplaying heavy book, which is a rare combination. I think fans of the original will be pleased and a whole new generation of cyberpunk gamers will enjoy the fantastic world of Mike Pondsmith.
There's certainly a lot of similarities and you can definitely see things going from A to B to C but it's unique enough a setting to be played on its own. There's much content on how the city was rebuilt following (as we now know) Johnny Silverhand's participation in the nuking of Night City as well as how the United States has returned to at least a semblance of its former power. We also get details on what people eat, where people live, and what they do in their free time.
It doesn't get too deep into characters but mostly focuses on the history of Night City itself and how Richard Night's dream of creating a crime free-corporate utopia to wait out the apocalypse proved to be a complete disaster. It also nicely manages to explain how Mad Max can exist alongside Robocop with no discontinuity. It's not post-apocalypse but it's certainly a breakdown in centralized authority (but getting better!).
I think my favorite part of the book is the discussion of things like what it's like to live on the street versus a corporate Beaverville (suburb) or penthouse. Talk about the fact the majority of people eat kibble and how fresh fruit as well as vegetables are worth fighting over but can be grown oneself. There's a very DIY sensibility to post-nuke Night City and oddly inspiring in places where you're not being stabbed for a tomato. It's a world that had a lot of thought put into it and is all the stronger for it, even though the details are sparse in places.
The megacorps section also deserves special attention as we see the kind of corporations that have risen to power in 2045. For the most part, they're not as maniacally evil as the ones in Shadow Run but just trying to profit even as you can see how they ruined the world with the 4th Corporate War (as well as everything leading up to it). Some of the NPCs are also hilarious like the CEO of Danger Girl Detective Agency that managed to survive being assassinated by being as kawaii and quirky as possible even into her middle years. Also, the fact the CEO of Sov Oil is obviously some guy who had plastic surgery to replace the previous one but they're all pretending otherwise.
This is both a mechanics heavy and roleplaying heavy book, which is a rare combination. I think fans of the original will be pleased and a whole new generation of cyberpunk gamers will enjoy the fantastic world of Mike Pondsmith.
January 24, 2021
I've been playing Cyberpunk since it was first released, and have always loved it. This, the latest edition of the RPG is a worthy successor to the line's legacy.
Set in the crapsack world of 2045, in an alternate world where things went to hell starting in 1993. The characters are Edgerunners, living in the marginal edges of a nearly-collapsed world. Players chose roles that come with special skills and benefits, like the combat-orientated Solos with their heightened combat awareness or Netrunners, able to pierce the protected computer systems of the future. Each role has benefits and drawbacks.
Skills are handled by the Interlock system, now widely used, of STAT+Skill+1d10 against an assigned difficulty value. This is a fast, intuitive system that lends itself well to the fast resolution of skill rolls. The same system is used for combat in the classic Friday Night Firefight section. The skill list is complete and covers almost any situation. Combat is fast and deadly. As it should be.
Then there's the cyberware. A bit part of the cyberpunk ethos is "metal is better than meat." In the setting, artificial eyes, metal limbs, and even full-body modifications are common. But there is a catch. Each enhancement comes with a humanity cost. Lose too much humanity, and you go cyberpyscho, no longer able to relate to the human world and possibly a soulless killer. To combat this, there are rules for therapy to help you regain your humanity.
Much of the book is given over to the setting. A linked series of fiction pieces do a great job of showing, not telling, as we see some of the events that shaped the Time of the Red. The history and default Night City setting get a lot of space, and it is well written enough that you can easily set up your own campaign setting.
The book itself is beautiful, lavishly illustrated, and filled with nuggets that inspire the player. The binding is solid, which I'm sad to say is a rare thing in RPG books these days. It's well organized, though the index is a little lacking.
This is an amazing RPG and a worthy follow-on to the classic Cyberpunk line. Anyone looking for a good, tough, gritty game should consider getting this.
Set in the crapsack world of 2045, in an alternate world where things went to hell starting in 1993. The characters are Edgerunners, living in the marginal edges of a nearly-collapsed world. Players chose roles that come with special skills and benefits, like the combat-orientated Solos with their heightened combat awareness or Netrunners, able to pierce the protected computer systems of the future. Each role has benefits and drawbacks.
Skills are handled by the Interlock system, now widely used, of STAT+Skill+1d10 against an assigned difficulty value. This is a fast, intuitive system that lends itself well to the fast resolution of skill rolls. The same system is used for combat in the classic Friday Night Firefight section. The skill list is complete and covers almost any situation. Combat is fast and deadly. As it should be.
Then there's the cyberware. A bit part of the cyberpunk ethos is "metal is better than meat." In the setting, artificial eyes, metal limbs, and even full-body modifications are common. But there is a catch. Each enhancement comes with a humanity cost. Lose too much humanity, and you go cyberpyscho, no longer able to relate to the human world and possibly a soulless killer. To combat this, there are rules for therapy to help you regain your humanity.
Much of the book is given over to the setting. A linked series of fiction pieces do a great job of showing, not telling, as we see some of the events that shaped the Time of the Red. The history and default Night City setting get a lot of space, and it is well written enough that you can easily set up your own campaign setting.
The book itself is beautiful, lavishly illustrated, and filled with nuggets that inspire the player. The binding is solid, which I'm sad to say is a rare thing in RPG books these days. It's well organized, though the index is a little lacking.
This is an amazing RPG and a worthy follow-on to the classic Cyberpunk line. Anyone looking for a good, tough, gritty game should consider getting this.
January 18, 2021
As someone completely new to Cyberpunk, this book was a little overwhelming at times. But to condense down 30 years of lore and then add to it, it's a necessary evil. Overall this is a very encompassing text and has material for both the battered veteran and complete ttrpg newbies. There is a whole chapter dedicated to writing gripping story lines while still maintaining an open world for players which I didn't knew I needed until that moment. This book is very stylized and tries to teach through story and style examples which was great onboarding, albeit a little distracting at times. However my main frustration was the information organization within chapters. I re-read the netrunner chapter multiple times because the basic context information for what netrunning was and why it existed was at the END, well after laying out the nitty gritty details of enemies and programs and whatnot. This is a very RTFM book though, so if you're trying to skim your way through it, look elsewhere. Overall this feels nicely put together and has more than enough stuff in it to pop a couple ideas in your brain so you can start running a game.
June 17, 2021
Everything I could've hoped for in improvements both from the Jumpstart Kit and as a true sequel to 2020. My RPG group loves Red a lot. Tech and Cyberware has been updated and simplified but remains cool and useful. Combat feels threatening and punchy, with just the right amount of detail in the gunplay but not too much like 2020 had (fear not gun nerds, you can still add in that extra detail if you want). Melee combat has also been improved and now my Kendachi wielding PCs are just as useful in combat as the PC with the Militech SMG.
The lore is updated well and fits into the future of the timeline that 2077 has laid out, if thats something you'd enjoy. Red is still very much its own thing however, and the writing is the high quality expected from Mike and the crew. Red retains that feel of a real living world that 2020 had but now with new things like Night Markets and underground community gardens to add new flavor and fun to the streets of Night City in the post 4th Corporate War era. The included quick screamsheet adventures in the book are also wonderful and my group has loved playing through them.
Also a massive improvement is Netrunning, which is now accomplished with AR goggles and done in real time with the rest of the party's combat. The old Net is also collapsed and there's a return to more localized networks and access so you have to jack in onsite now. I was hesitant at first to try it but one of my group wanted to play Netrunner and its such a blast compared to how slow things could be in 2020. Real A+ on that front.
All in all, still the best cyberpunk system and setting available and well worth the asking price. Do be careful with the physical books as early copies like mine have quite a number of errors but the errata is on RTG's website as a free pdf download along with some other extra goodies. If you buy a PDF copy its already updated so you don't need to worry. My group went full in when the Jumpstart Kit came out and again with the full rules here and we have loved every session of it. I don't see my group wanting to play anything other than Red for a while.
The lore is updated well and fits into the future of the timeline that 2077 has laid out, if thats something you'd enjoy. Red is still very much its own thing however, and the writing is the high quality expected from Mike and the crew. Red retains that feel of a real living world that 2020 had but now with new things like Night Markets and underground community gardens to add new flavor and fun to the streets of Night City in the post 4th Corporate War era. The included quick screamsheet adventures in the book are also wonderful and my group has loved playing through them.
Also a massive improvement is Netrunning, which is now accomplished with AR goggles and done in real time with the rest of the party's combat. The old Net is also collapsed and there's a return to more localized networks and access so you have to jack in onsite now. I was hesitant at first to try it but one of my group wanted to play Netrunner and its such a blast compared to how slow things could be in 2020. Real A+ on that front.
All in all, still the best cyberpunk system and setting available and well worth the asking price. Do be careful with the physical books as early copies like mine have quite a number of errors but the errata is on RTG's website as a free pdf download along with some other extra goodies. If you buy a PDF copy its already updated so you don't need to worry. My group went full in when the Jumpstart Kit came out and again with the full rules here and we have loved every session of it. I don't see my group wanting to play anything other than Red for a while.
June 3, 2024
Le commentaire français que tu cherches, Choomba.
Ce JDR est très pensé. On sent vraiment le travail des développeurs à chaque page. Mention spéciale aux guides pour construire un marché de nuit et des infrastructures net rapidement. La création des personnages est aussi très bien pensée, tout comme l'économie de la rue qui ne permet pas de grosses inflations dont les MJ ont le secret.
Ce jeu de rôle à deux ponts négatifs
1. L'équilibre des rôles.
Le justicier me semble inintégrable aux quêtes. Le Techie est trop faible à mes yeux (j'ai créé une double classe avec le Med Tech pour que les PJ en veulent). Les règles du Netrunner sont trop complexes (c'est une elfe de la première édition de DD qui vous le dit).
2. Le système de combats.
J'ai calculé les moyennes et les PJ ont souvent une base de 12 dans leurs compétences de tir, mais le SD de base est de 13. Ils touchent donc tout le temps sauf échec critique, et ce pour mettre 3 dégats en moyenne (pistolet lourd vs pare balle légère). Au MJ donc d'équilibrer ce système pas optimal à mes yeux.
Malgré tout je vous conseille ce jeu de rôle à l'univers riche. C'est un terrain de jeu parfait pour le MJ, qui peut passer de quêtes dans des gangs cowboys à un infiltration dans un club branché, en passant par une petite mutinerie avec des clowns ou des sectes.
Ce JDR est très pensé. On sent vraiment le travail des développeurs à chaque page. Mention spéciale aux guides pour construire un marché de nuit et des infrastructures net rapidement. La création des personnages est aussi très bien pensée, tout comme l'économie de la rue qui ne permet pas de grosses inflations dont les MJ ont le secret.
Ce jeu de rôle à deux ponts négatifs
1. L'équilibre des rôles.
Le justicier me semble inintégrable aux quêtes. Le Techie est trop faible à mes yeux (j'ai créé une double classe avec le Med Tech pour que les PJ en veulent). Les règles du Netrunner sont trop complexes (c'est une elfe de la première édition de DD qui vous le dit).
2. Le système de combats.
J'ai calculé les moyennes et les PJ ont souvent une base de 12 dans leurs compétences de tir, mais le SD de base est de 13. Ils touchent donc tout le temps sauf échec critique, et ce pour mettre 3 dégats en moyenne (pistolet lourd vs pare balle légère). Au MJ donc d'équilibrer ce système pas optimal à mes yeux.
Malgré tout je vous conseille ce jeu de rôle à l'univers riche. C'est un terrain de jeu parfait pour le MJ, qui peut passer de quêtes dans des gangs cowboys à un infiltration dans un club branché, en passant par une petite mutinerie avec des clowns ou des sectes.
February 2, 2023
Supongo que al final, más que leerlo lo he ojeado, porque hacía mucho que no me encontraba un juego de rol con tantas tablas y páginas técnicas, y quizá eso me ha desconcertado un poco, me he acostumbrado más a leer manuales con técnicas más sencillas, pero claro, entiendo que un libro de este peso tiene que tener contenido, que no es como para leerlo en la cama, vaya.
Es mi primera visita a Cyberpunk, no había leído los libros anteriores, pero el entorno me llamaba mucho la atención, y el libro es auténticamente precioso, vi ilustraciones y tuve que pedirlo para Reyes, y nada, es que no tengo mucho que comentar... tiene muy buena pinta, tiene cosas interesantes, pero espero a poder darle un poco de caña si puedo dirigirlo en algún momento para formarme una opinión más centrada sobre el sistema.
Es mi primera visita a Cyberpunk, no había leído los libros anteriores, pero el entorno me llamaba mucho la atención, y el libro es auténticamente precioso, vi ilustraciones y tuve que pedirlo para Reyes, y nada, es que no tengo mucho que comentar... tiene muy buena pinta, tiene cosas interesantes, pero espero a poder darle un poco de caña si puedo dirigirlo en algún momento para formarme una opinión más centrada sobre el sistema.
June 2, 2021
Really great world-building, fun tie-ins to the original and to the developments that result in the world of 2077, and generally palatable formatting. Not a rules-lite system by any means. The interspersed reportage and narrative help to liven up the book, and add the genre charm that the original system's books do so well. Glad to have read this, and would love to live in someone's campaign a little while (you think it's hard to get together a bunch of busy adults to play 5e, which requires the brain-power it takes to pick your nose? imagine teaching this!). You've probably already bought this if you have any interest in the genre.
July 1, 2024
The legendary game itself, updated.
Clean system with a lot of investment in player creation and gear, especially cyberware, which is assumed for all. Fast resolution system build on minimal rolling, almost always comparative and reactionary instead of against a static target number, and certainly lethal to the characters.
Book is stylish, sleek, well made. Excellent attitude and art. Some of it is dated in a way that is cool, a feeling of 1984 punk-pessimism, emphasis on leather and Billy Idol snarls, of a future with style and just about zero hope. It doesn't even try to rewrite its alt-history, which I like.
Reading this as a CDPR 2077 player first was a little bit of a trip - this is a very different view of Night City than 2077 (well of course, it is set in 2045).
Going to read Shadowrun 6E Seattle Edition next and directly, maybe even unfairly, compare the two.
Clean system with a lot of investment in player creation and gear, especially cyberware, which is assumed for all. Fast resolution system build on minimal rolling, almost always comparative and reactionary instead of against a static target number, and certainly lethal to the characters.
Book is stylish, sleek, well made. Excellent attitude and art. Some of it is dated in a way that is cool, a feeling of 1984 punk-pessimism, emphasis on leather and Billy Idol snarls, of a future with style and just about zero hope. It doesn't even try to rewrite its alt-history, which I like.
Reading this as a CDPR 2077 player first was a little bit of a trip - this is a very different view of Night City than 2077 (well of course, it is set in 2045).
Going to read Shadowrun 6E Seattle Edition next and directly, maybe even unfairly, compare the two.
November 20, 2025
On my binge of reading TTRPG materials. This appears to be a reboot of the Cyberpunk TTRPG series, tied into the CD Projekt Red videogame that came out around the same time. I'm not sure how it differs from previous iterations of the game, but Cyberpunk RED seems pretty accessible and straightforward for players and DMs alike. The formatting was fantastic, everything in this book was so easy to follow and could help you make characters/a campaign quite nicely. The art included is also quite pretty to look at. I think I'll check out earlier editions of the game as well, but this seems quite nice.
September 29, 2025
The fiction is in the tech, the societal order of megacorps colliding with government to fuck the regular guy is just called Trump's America
July 3, 2021
I really wanted to like this edition of the game. In all fairness, it is much better than the train wreck that was the third edition. The amount of the book that was copied and pasted from the second and third editions of the game was rather disappointing and some of the bits have not aged well. The game rules have been tinkered with, to mixed effect. Working critical hit tables into the game mechanics seems like something several decades out of date. The netrunning rules have been tooled around with so that they are no longer a separate game from everything else. The game might be more fun after a couple of chromebooks and a night city sourcebook come out for the new addition, but, as it stands, the new edition of the game feels under developed and rather thin. While not as bad as Cyberpunk 2077, this book does make you think that Cyberpunk, the role playing game, might have been better left to the dust bin of history. Can't really recommend this one to anyone.
December 10, 2020
Great starting point, but as the other written reviewer pointed out it does feel like it's waiting for a couple of supplements to really flesh it out. My only other criticism of the book was that some sections were repeated verbatim in different sections of the book. I would have though they could have cross referenced back to a single place and used the page count regained to add new material.
Still agood addition to the Cyberpunk RPG universe.
Still agood addition to the Cyberpunk RPG universe.
January 27, 2021
"You earned it," says Angel. "Go buy yourselves another Kombi or something." She whistles at the cart, and it starts trundling back to the roll up door with the Crate aboard. Then she stops. "That's right," she says suddenly. "Sam told me you met because your Rocker was looking for something?"
"Samantha gave me this data chip," says Lilayah.
Angel nods. She pulls out a second chip—this one is a match for the one in Lilayah's hand—and flips it to the startled Rocker. "Here," she says. "This is a full recording of the song you wanted. Made from the original studio session."
Lilayah, protesting, says, "But how did you...?"
And as Angel reaches the door she looks back and chuckles. Then says with a lilt in her voice: "Sammy isn't the only Johnny Silverhand fangirl out there, you know." And then she and the Crate are gone into the bowels of the huge brown building of PF-4.
Carefully, Angel rolls the heavy bomb casing over. She punches a code into the small keypad now
exposed. There's a hissing of compressed air, of utter cold that blows back her hair, as the casing splits to reveal the blue-white ice of the hidden cryo-chamber.
She looks tenderly down at the dark, frozen face behind its masking curtain of ice.
"Hello, my love." she says.
-"Black Dog" adventure
So why the lifted bits? Well, this edition starts with "Never Fade Away" before getting into the rules. Which... features Johnny Silverhand and is references in the Video Game (in fact nearly a 1:1 beat with some minor changes) "Cyberpunk 2077." So ending the book with the possible hint that Johnny's body is still intact (surviving the nuke/bombing of Arasaka HQ in Night City in 2023) is interesting. Could possibly be DLC for 2077 in the future, double-so with the ending of that game and what it impacts? *shrug*
---
Game-wise, the system is nearly the same as 2020. 3E/2030 is non-canon by lore standards and was SUPER UNPOPULAR with players to where nobody plays that version. So here comes RED/4E/2040 which follows up the nuking of Arasaka and the fallout of that affecting Night City.
The old Internet is gone. In it's place is localized "data-pools" and Netrunners needing to physically go to locations.
So 2020's 50+ pages of Netrunning is now... 14 pages. As someone that plays the Netrunner card-game... I dunno how I feel on that. Cyberpunk 2020 players are pretty happy with the ability to make things MUCH easier for the entire table than "the DM makes a mini-dungeon within a dungeon that only the Netrunner player(s) are able to go into" which helps not bog the game down. Which is great, but it also kind of makes the Netrunner less a puzzle/dangerous thing and turns it into a "punch through the server as best as you can" deal.
The gun combat system was "gamified" instead of the infamous "I'm Mike Pondsmith, I'm the guy that killed your Cyberpunk character" to where it's LESS LETHAL than 2020/2E. Some fans might not be happy with that, but for players that are new to roleplaying games and/or Cyberpunk's systems it'll help ease them into the game better than "oh you weren't wearing a helmet, you got critical and... you died. lol sorry roll a new character."
Some of the 2020 rule-text and descriptions were lifted straight-up and copy-pasted into RED's rulebook (just like "Never Fade Away") but made prettier than 1980-1990 book type-setting could do. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's not a good thing if you already own 2020/have a Cyberpunk game running.
I do have to applaud the R. Tal. team for allowing you to convert your 2020 guns/stats to RED's system. They provide this on their site, it's not in the Rulebook itself however. So some of the later splatsbooks can possibly be converted to RED and homebrewed up if people don't like something in RED and/or vice-versa to 2020. Some folks are taking the Netrunning simplification and backporting it to 2020/2E, for instance.
It'll be interesting to see what Pondsmith and his crew do for bridging 2020->2040 to 2077 further. Especially given some folks that may have played 2077 only before knowing that there is a TTRPG IP out there that the game is based on come to the system. Will they acknowledge it? Signs point somewhat to "yes," but "how soon" is the question.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2023
I was toying with the idea of running a campaign in Cyberpunk after binging 2077 for about 100 hours over the past couple months and despite the idea falling through I don't HATE that I have this in my downloads, so much as I'm just kind of meh on it.
I'm not sure why exactly we're in 'The Time of the RED!' for this book. Nobody wants to play Mad Max crossed with Bladerunner, especially not with 2077's massive resurgence in popularity, and I was confused on just how nuked and miserable the world was supposed to be when there's rules for radiation and a lot of Night City is fucked up, but a ton of the art shows a city that's more densely populated and futuristic than anything seen in either '20 or '77. You can ignore that, take the rules you want and set it whenever the fuck you want of course, that's the beauty of tabletop, I was just surprised when I went hunting for material and didn't find something that was more deeply tied into the game's setting.
Either way, it was okay, I've never run Cyberpunk before so I don't know how well it would all play out in practice or if it's necessarily better or worse than it's predecessor, but after a full read I kind of got the impression that this was a bit slim and some of the design was a bit antiquated.
I'm not sure why exactly we're in 'The Time of the RED!' for this book. Nobody wants to play Mad Max crossed with Bladerunner, especially not with 2077's massive resurgence in popularity, and I was confused on just how nuked and miserable the world was supposed to be when there's rules for radiation and a lot of Night City is fucked up, but a ton of the art shows a city that's more densely populated and futuristic than anything seen in either '20 or '77. You can ignore that, take the rules you want and set it whenever the fuck you want of course, that's the beauty of tabletop, I was just surprised when I went hunting for material and didn't find something that was more deeply tied into the game's setting.
Either way, it was okay, I've never run Cyberpunk before so I don't know how well it would all play out in practice or if it's necessarily better or worse than it's predecessor, but after a full read I kind of got the impression that this was a bit slim and some of the design was a bit antiquated.
July 27, 2025
Nerds familiar with Dungeons & Dragons might find subtle differences between a fighter and a barbarian, or between a sorcerer, wizard, warlock, or bard. This is a welcoming mechanic setup, and if you have mastered one class you will (mostly) be well prepared for any other.
In Cyberpunk RED, there is a massive difference between a Netrunner, Medtech, Exec, Fixer, and the other Roles available. While I used to tell new D&D players that they do not need a full grasp on the rules before we sit down to play, the sheer versatility of the different roles in Cyberpunk RED would require me to require that each player understand their Role before we begin play.
Don’t get me wrong - I think this is excellent, if not welcoming for new players, but for everyone keen on the cyberpunk genre and mood, I believe the complexity is not only welcome, but necessary for the gritty futuristic dark fantasy one is about to embark on
In Cyberpunk RED, there is a massive difference between a Netrunner, Medtech, Exec, Fixer, and the other Roles available. While I used to tell new D&D players that they do not need a full grasp on the rules before we sit down to play, the sheer versatility of the different roles in Cyberpunk RED would require me to require that each player understand their Role before we begin play.
Don’t get me wrong - I think this is excellent, if not welcoming for new players, but for everyone keen on the cyberpunk genre and mood, I believe the complexity is not only welcome, but necessary for the gritty futuristic dark fantasy one is about to embark on
July 17, 2022
I was a big fan of Cyberpunk ,2020. While this game has some interesting differences. 2020 is a much better system. In Red your character has ho. In 2020 they use a wound tracking system that was much more realistic. Also the time period for Red is the 2070s which really screwed over the netrunner class. Special abilities for Red was much better than 2020.
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May 26, 2023I'll need to read this many more times if I want to fully understand the game, but there's a surprising amount of world building and TTRPG-running tips that make the full read worth it. Wish I had a physical copy!
November 10, 2024
Pretty intense stuff for the average roleplayer, but worth it for the sheer density of the vibe presented by Pondsmith's majestic wordbuilding. It's tough, gritty and YOU will die. That's what peak looks like.
November 17, 2025
What can one say about the latest iteration of the original Cyberpunk RPG that hasn't been already said?
You're either into it or you're not. You either dig crunch or you don't.
It's a great game written with a particular vision style. It's not for everyone. It's absolutely for me.
You're either into it or you're not. You either dig crunch or you don't.
It's a great game written with a particular vision style. It's not for everyone. It's absolutely for me.
March 4, 2021
3 stars because it's a Core Rulebook and not a 'book' in the traditional sense. That being said - fantastic art, world building, stories within and leaves me wanting to run this
September 16, 2022
i wanna play this game so bad 🥲🥲
January 3, 2023
Solid Cyberpunk 2020 update. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
January 7, 2023
Read this to get more context on Cyberpunk 2077. Very inspirational for art & character design in particular and the world building details are fun.
September 5, 2023
Genuine good read
December 31, 2023
Świetny jako źródło wiedzy o świecie Cyberpunka, zbyt tabelkowy jako system do grania w RPG.
April 17, 2024
Il miglior modo per giocare a Night City
April 24, 2024
The DM tips section is worth reading.
June 25, 2024
The editor for this book needs to be fired. Expeditiously.
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