I’m torn on whether to call 2077 a power fantasy (in spite of its dystopian story lines). On the one hand, V’s rich and powerful, particularly by endgame. On the other hand, that power is treated as a Pyrrhic victory. It still has to be a fun game, which puts em in an odd position. But the genre in general has always skated the line between cautionary tale and overvaluing style. Tech is still presented as cool. The Diamond Age (my favorite cyberpunk novel) is no exception, but I do think it has an exceptional example of how poorly brain-computer interfaces can go. The way the Drummers are presented is genuinely horrifying.
I’m torn on whether to call 2077 a power fantasy (in spite of its dystopian story lines). On the one hand, V’s rich and powerful, particularly by endgame. On the other hand, that power is treated as a Pyrrhic victory. It still has to be a fun game, which puts em in an odd position. But the genre in general has always skated the line between cautionary tale and overvaluing style. Tech is still presented as cool. The Diamond Age (my favorite cyberpunk novel) is no exception, but I do think it has an exceptional example of how poorly brain-computer interfaces can go. The way the Drummers are presented is genuinely horrifying.
E: Fun fact, there’s a Diamond Age reference in 2077.