Night City, from a bird’s eye view, looks spectacular
CyberCorp is a game where you take on contracts in kitted-out tin cans and take on augmented baddies in fast-paced bullet hell glory. Essentially, Cyberpunk 2077 without a flag-ship PC.
Designed by Megame, an indie developer with only a handful of games on PC and the Nintendo Switch store, CyberCorp is their first game of its genre, as the dev usually works on simulation games and some racing games you can find here and there.
From the first impression, it’s quite remarkable the amount of work a single person put into the game to make it this clean and fun. While the game may seem a bit polygon-core for a lot of people, the action-packed mechanics and story are worth staying for.
Since it originates from an indie developer, we all know the sheer extent to which many indie companies and teams go to create games that are sure to entertain players. The indie industry is almost notorious for this fact since many AAA title games can be bland while the cheap little game deep in the Steam store is way more fun.
Fans of small-time teams and developers will usually have more faith in a game since the developers are doing their best without millions, or at least for now. A good example of this would be Lethal Company, which blew up the indie industry further than it already was!
The main plot of CyberCorp is that you’re a contractor for the big corporation of the world, taking on tasks and assignments the higher-ups don’t want anyone to link them to. We’ve all played a game or two with this idea, but CyberCorp definitely takes it into a different section since the corporation gifts you with fun toys to brutalize your enemies with.
How are you this good at your job already? Simple, this isn’t your first rodeo. Before the start of CyberCorp, you were already working for the very corporation that’s on its knees and asking for you after you ditched mid-operation with some of their shinies and a new name.
If only corporations were this forgiving in the real world; however, they definitely aren’t the friendliest since the handler for your jobs will constantly criticize you with some snarky comments and a lot of demands. Tit for tat, though, you do throw your own verbal punches, too, so at least you aren’t a pushover!
You link yourself from your little base of operations to a mech suit that you’ll pilot remotely as it gets thrust into a dangerous environment of thugs and trigger-happy criminals, almost like Titanfall but without the big boys or ejecting at mach speed. Your main focus is to cause as much chaos as possible and build up that style meter to prove you’re the professional here.
With an array of weapons to pick and choose from to suit your style, CyberCorp gives players a good space to find what they like to bully enemies with as they progress. Never forget the fun upgrade system the game has implemented, as you’ll have to install new parts for each section of your suit to make it what the baddies hope not to see on a Monday night.
With minimal keys to press, the game puts a big focus on the action rather than learning a full list of button-mashing hellscapes like some other games do. Attack, slide (for style). Finisher, heal (optional), and repeat. What else could be wanted from a game where the main selling point is the power trip of a one-man army trope?
While the appreciation for simple mechanics goes a long way, the game sometimes feels chunky as the directional movement may seem janky in some areas or with some moves. While this isn’t a fun-killer, it can still be mildly tilting when your character looks like they’re connected with Lego bricks at the waist.
The missions themselves are fairly simple, too. Go to the place, turn it into a graveyard, retrieve an item sometimes, or blow it up and get out, laughing all the way to the forge. Each mission will provide a bit of cash to upgrade your setup and make the enemies hate their job even more if you can find the forge to begin with.
The base of operations can feel a bit cramped, and it sometimes just doesn’t make sense until you put a decent chunk of focus into figuring out where everything is. Finding the forge for the tutorial was a Nirnroot-level irritation to begin with, and after a while, it just became a menu hunt.
Besides a mildly annoying home base, the layouts of a lot of the places you’ll be dropped into are pretty similar, with a few rooms having some key differences that match the mission. While the lack of massive diversity can be a bit bland, you’ll be too busy dashing around to notice one walling looking the same as the next, anyway!
The game doesn’t necessarily follow a straight roguelike design but still keeps its elements at points while also delivering a hack’n’slash experience coupled with some bullet hell goodness. Again, the game isn’t complicated; it just genuinely aims for the fun aspect of the genres in a decently tailored way.
Of course, you can always use min-max-specific builds for those who want to turn the game into a stat-based adventure since each upgrade targets a certain stat or ability, which may lead to some broken builds in months to come, but what’s new? Any game like CyberCorp can be turned into this, but at least CyberCorp doesn’t hide the clear indication that it should do so.
With a high-energy design style reminiscent of a more polygon Cyberpunk 2077 from above, CyberCorp likes its neon colors and doesn’t hide them. The dystopian future seems to be the only angle we’re heading for, but at least it’ll be funky, stylish, and pretty brutal.
The game also brings with it a playlist of banger soundtracks to kick your enemies to as it keeps the same high-energy vibe rolling that the design brought with it. If you’re going to run through mission after mission, at least it’ll be accompanied by some EDM/Techno tunes to keep any boredom away!
All in all, CyberCorp is a simple entry into three genres that grabs the best aspects of each and morphs them into one high-tech experience. While the game could still use a bit more expansion and some quality-of-life updates, it’s still a fun play and a decent 100-hour game for anyone who indulges in sci-fi RPGs.
