By all accounts, the future is a dark and dangerous place to live, but the Cyberpunk franchise's Night City stands out as a uniquely deadly location, even back in 2045. A new Cyberpunk tabletop miniatures game, Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone, will be bringing the city of the edge of tomorrow to life once again, this time with fewer glitches and even more ways for players to die horribly.
Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone is planned to be a fast-paced skirmish game focused on gang conflict in the worst parts of Night City. For gamers who aren't familiar with the tabletop side of the franchise, the word 'Red' in the title refers to the point on the timeline this game is set in--namely, the period of time following the 4th Corporate War where a nuclear explosion leveled most of Night City and dyed the sky red for years. It sounds grim, but this is only one of many, many nightmarish incidents that occurred in the fictional city's past. There's a reason Night City is considered the worst place to live in America within the Cyberpunk universe.
Cyberpunk Red is also a pen and paper tabletop RPG that uses a more streamlined version of the Cyberpunk 2077 mechanics, including rules for lifepaths, weapons, and the economy. The tabletop games predate Cyberpunk 2077 by decades and contain plenty of lore and characters players would love to see added to the video game. So far, Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone has confirmed that the base game will feature Maelstrom and the Tyger Claws, with additional packs of miniatures bringing in Combat Zoners, Bozos, Lawmen, and Generation Red. This Kickstarter trailer sums up the game's anarchic appeal and provides a glimpse of its run-down, used future aesthetic.
Street gangs and other in-game factions will compete for control of devastated territory, acquire new gear, hire mercenaries to get the edge on the competition, and build street cred to become the undisputed master of the Combat Zone. Speaking of combat, the game promises a streamlined battle system that involves fewer charts and spreadsheets and more action. The game's creators, Monster Fight Club, claim that Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone moves so fast it doesn't even have rounds and turns, though this 40-minute-long video of beta gameplay suggests otherwise.
Gamers may be pleased to hear that Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone is such a focused endeavor after Cyberpunk 2077 turned out to be a sprawling mess still in need of major fixes. Fans of tabletop games will likely be impressed with the game's production quality. The board is stunning and each carefully sculpted miniature is a stunning work of art in its own right. The game promises swift action and hard-fought battles for cyberpunk supremacy when it ships in April 2022.
As of writing, Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone has three days left on Kickstarter, where it's blown past its original $30,000 goal.
Source: Kickstarter (via Polygon)