by Steven Carnana
Cyberpunk is a series that goes back all the way to the early 1990s, taking place in a dark, futuristic kind of world where corporations hold the power, created by Mike Pondsmith in 1988. Most recently, CD Projekt Red picked up the intellectual property and released the game Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020.
The gameplay itself wasn’t great on release. The game was clunky, and bugs and other minor issues would distract and take away from the experience. Even now, in 2025, the game has issues running on high graphics settings, struggling on low ones, but it’s still playable to an extent. As someone who believes games should be playable on all consoles and old computers, this really deterred me from playing the game. As much as I loved the story, having to troubleshoot and upgrade my computer was a huge hassle.
One thing that saved the game was the use of artists and music. Throughout the game, you get to know a punk rocker named Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves. This character is often seen with a band called Samurai, who make anti-corporation music in the futuristic version of 2013.
The band itself is played by the hardcore punk band Refused, releasing singles like “Never Fade Away” and “The Ballad of Bucks and Ravers” under the name Samurai, which heavily hit home to the music I listen to in real life. These songs also help better understand the characters surrounding Johnny Silverhand, often playing in flashback sequences to show that what happened in the past heavily influences the future.
A prime example of this comes in the open-world segments where street guitarists in the 2077s segments of the game play the song “The Ballad of Bucks and Ravers” for scraps. Large portions of the game use motifs of “Never Fade Away” by highlighting that underneath the large city you explore, Night City, is a secret channel of lies and suffering that Johnny preaches about throughout the game, showing how it never fades away. Along with Refused, artists like Spirit Machine, Skin on Flesh, The Armed, and other indie rock bands appear in the game. Being featured on the radio stations around Night City and in segments where the player is driving makes the game feel much more alive.
Overall, the Cyberpunk soundtrack blends cultures, mixing Latino culture in Night City through Skin on Flesh’s song “El Tiempo,” and Japanese culture with the song “User Friendly” by Namakopuri. The choice to include more identities in one game’s soundtrack adds what I felt like was a true city experience, every culture being explored through this futuristic lens. Even without the artists featured, PT Admaczyk, the composer for the game’s score, creates an immersive experience through music, giving epic moments of EDM bass drops and synths that add fear, along with sad piano keys and riffs to highlight emotional moments of struggle. To that, I say thank you to the sound team for delivering probably one of the most diverse soundtracks right now in gaming and saving my Cyberpunk experience.
