Note: This preview uses pre-release components and rules. What you see here may be different from the final, published game.
Despite its rocky launch, Cyberpunk 2077 is one of my favorite video games of all time. I’m not sure where it would fall in my top 10 video games list, but probably somewhere near the top. According to my stats on Steam, I’ve got about 145 hours played in the game across my different playthroughs. So whenever a new Cyberpunk board game is announced, I’m definitely keen to give it a try.
This actually isn’t the first board game set in Cyberpunk 2077, see Gangs of Night City, but I haven’t tried that one, so I can’t comment on how it plays. However if I’m going to be controlling the gangs on the streets, I’d rather be playing Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone. But in a new game from publisher Go On Board, we finally get a chance to control the legends of Night City. V, Jackie, Pan Am, and Judy are controllable characters in a tabletop game in Cyberpunk 2077: The Board Game, coming soon to Gamefound.
Gameplay Overview:
Cyberpunk 2077: The Board Game takes place in an alternate timeline from the video game. In this world, V and Jackie never took the Konpeki Plaza job that altered their fates forever. Instead, you’ll be writing your own legend in Night City.
For a preview, Go On Board sent us a demo copy of the game that contained just the prologue. So we really only got to experience the beginning of the gameplay. But here are the basics.
Each player starts with one of the aforementioned characters and their specific deck of cards. Each game is based around a mission, which is further divided into a series of rounds. The game uses an optional timer app, but players are free to skip that app and just use any kind of timer they want. The app adds in a voice-over story, music, and timekeeping for the players.
The first part of each round is handled in real-time. On a player’s turn, they first make a combat roll if there is an enemy in range. They roll two dice and take some damage (and potentially deal damage). If their damage marker gets to the bottom of the track, they gain a wound. These are cards that serve only to clog up your hand.
Then they play a card from their hand. The icons on the card will determine what actions a player can take. There are 4 skills in the game and the further a player is on a skill level, the stronger the action will be:
- Cool: Dealing damage and destroying walls
- Body: Movement and healing
- Intelligence: Gaining RAM and Hacking (Netrunning)
- Technical: Crafting and interacting with the environment
When you play a card, you first check to see what level the matching skill is at. Level 1 you only resolve the top line. Level two, the top 2 lines, etc… So if your card has 2 boots and a red icon, you can move twice and deal 1 damage to an enemy.
The key here is that once you’ve played your card and finished your action, the next player immediately takes their turn. As this is all happening in real-time, you want to pay attention to what’s going on and plan your turn ahead.
Once the timer runs out, the round ends and players go to a cooldown phase. Here, players can take their time and prepare for the next round. Any loot they acquired during the round they can now gain the bonuses from as card upgrades, skill upgrades, or boosters.
Once players are ready, they dive back into the next real-time phase. The goal during these phases is to get to specific locations on the board to accomplish objectives. One might be to go to location B and discard a blue card. Or have one player on location C while another player spends 2 RAM.
Speaking of RAM, that’s used for the hacking skill. There are ICE cards you get that can be used to break the rules of the game. Allow out-of-turn moves, alter dice rolls, etc… The better you are at hacking (hello Judy), the more powerful hacks you can do.
The game ends either when the mission is accomplished or when players are all dead (or out of time). In the full game, there should be a city phase, leveling up and some other experiences, but these were not part of our prototype copy.
Gameplay Impressions:
To say that I was excited to try out Cyberpunk 2077: The Board Game was an understatement. I’ve longed wanted an adventure in Night City that puts us in the shoes of the legends and also tells a story. And my biggest complaint right now is that I only got to try out the prologue. It’s a little hard to form an opinion on the overall game based on what we’ve played. The mechanics are fun, and exciting things to come are definitely teased, but so far we’ve only got a taste.
To break things down a bit more, the real-time phase is frantic and high-pressure. It does a really good job of simulating the feeling of taking on a job in Night City. People are shooting at you, you are under the gun (so to speak), and the pressure mounts with every action. This is not a game where you can slowly ponder each action. Bullets are flying, each player has their role, and time is of the essence.
That being said, while the real-time phase is fun, I could also see it getting stale if that’s all that there is to the game. I’m assuming that as you progress further in the campaign, there will be new and unique enemies to face, better missions, and ways to upgrade your characters with new abilities and weapons. All of that could go a long way in keeping the gameplay fresh and exciting. My point is that there is a really good engine here, but we’ve only been able to take a small peek under the hood.
To get more into the nuts and bolts, I really liked the action card system. They are easy to use, and as long as you have an icon guide handy for new cards, you’ll have no issues using them in real-time. But the system of upgrading a skill level makes the cards more powerful is great. I just compare how many rows of a skill I have to the card, and it shows me all the bonuses I get. I don’t recall another game that uses a system like this (that I can think of), but it’s intuitive and makes it so that even your starter cards are useful throughout the game
The one area (so far) that I feel could be fleshed out would be the objective areas. Right now, they all feel kind of basic. And this could be because it’s just a prologue we are trying. But it’s mostly go here, play these cards. They don’t feel all that thematic. So I’m hoping that future missions will have a bit more variety and lean into the theme more.
However, I do like the dual nature of the game. You have the frantic-paced action phase, where you are playing cards quickly and trying to get as much done as possible before the timer runs out. But once it does, the aptly named cooldown phase will let players discuss how the mission is going, upgrade their character with new loot, and plan for what each player is doing next. And that’s important because you are going to want to cooperate with other players. You can’t be everywhere at once, so you’ll need to make sure each player has their assignments so it all gets completed on time… much like doing a real job in Night City.
Finally, a few notes on the future of the gameplay we were told from Go On Board. Between main missions, the players will be able to explore parts of Night City. They can visit a ripperdoc or a gun shop to buy new equipment or head off to dark alleys and experience Street Stories. For those who don’t want to deal with a campaign, there will also be the Afterlife mode which is independent from the story campaign. It can be explored whenever the player wants: before the main mission, during it, or after finishing the main storyline.
Final Thoughts:
I’ve only got a taste of what Cyberpunk: The Board Game has to offer, but I’m still excited to play the final game. The devs are clearly fans of the video game as there is a lot here that is on theme: V is flexible, Jackie is a tough guy in a firefight, Pan Am is your sniper, and Judy can hack like nobody else. The minis look great, and the map book showing other areas of Night City to explore was quite the tease.
For those who are worried about the real-time gameplay or the app integration, I’d say to still give it a further look. Using the app is completely optional, and the real-time bit is pretty smooth overall.l I’m excited to dive back further into Cyberpunk 2077: The Board Game. This sample has been a lot of fun and we’ve played through the prologue twice now. I’m really excited to see it all revealed when the Gamefound campaign launches on September 3rd.
