Cyberpunk Red is an OK game that's only gotten more "OK" as time has gone on .

Why ? Because as of April 2025 , they just have sent out a survey asking what we should be implemented into the Cyberpunk RED core rulebook. And while it seems like no big deal to ask for feed back , the list is kind of shocking to stand back and look at and realize "Oh yeah the core book didn't have that and that's a bit odd". Like NPC creation rules , soemthing added the danger gal dossier a book from nearly 3 years after launch. salvage rules as this is a place full of corpo wreckage and excess waste , added in a dlc(a free downloads via dtrpg or their main website )2 years after launch . Weather effects , vehicle combat , investigation system and as the recent expansion: mass combat rules. Most of those were free add ons but it feels like each one is like "wait the game didn't have this until now ?" to a certain extent.

Momentary side tagnet: I remember a few years ago on twitter before launch, someone directly asking if this book was just the equalivant of a PHB just to get a somewhat mocking response that the monster manual would be on the way ...but after having bought this and danger gal dossier and looked at the dlc ,I think the person was accidentally right...because without that other book and the dlcs, the enemies woudk feel like push over at times.

This ontop of lay out issues with sometimes key information such as repair rules being in the margins of a page , repeating tables of information that cover similar things or the same thing with slightly more lore focused information vs more stat related information. Some things will point you to the next step , while others will kind say "check the x section "

This product needs an update but it's still fun at the end of the day , a brutal and fast exprience when you work out details and also lots of great art, net running has been stream lined but due to the format issues I mentioned above it can be very slow to learn and master with only real playtime dedicated.

I'd definitely put on wait and see list especially if the survey is leading to a better version of this book.

I am really loving the system and the world that they created here in Cyberpunk Red. Combat feels fast and dangerous, the world feels like there is a new nightmare around every corner, and my players PCs all feel like John Wick meets Johnny Menomic. My only complaint is that I want more, I want more rules about called shots so that I could do more cool moments, I want more adventures to share with my players, and I want more cool gear with special stats. At the same time the system is perfect for easing new players in and has plenty of room for home-brew, the internet is a great resource after all. If you are on the fence get it and give it a try.

Great game, however unclear if we already own all the PDFs on DrivethruRPG if Nexus Demiplane is discounted or full price?

This will be a long one, I was giving thought about how many stars i would get it. I have only been playing ttrpgs for at least 4 years, i think and of course it was D&D but moved on to Pathfinder 2e but all that wouldn't happen if a friend didn't introduce other ttrpgs like VTM 20th or COC to me, i wouldn't had branch out. So i took the plunge to being a player to a gm, first it was Pf2e and it was wonderful, it help a new gm like me. Then one day, Cyberpunk 2077 came out of nowhere then Edgerunners but i had already knew about Red and that was thanks to certain youtubers like Seth, Jon Jon, and Dice and RT themselves and others. So i took the plunge into it, Red is more streamline than 2020 but still have a little crunch to it. It has tools to help you create PC's and on the GM side, it goes into depth about the settings and the timeline and rules, and to me, that's awesome! Of course, you will hear people said the layout is a little wonky especially if you get the book but me personally i don't have a problem with it but i do just have the pdf and the hyperlinks are great! It's better to me as a pdf than book but that just me. As a newish GM, this is great, once you read and keep playing it, it will start coming together. Also the free DLCs they release for the game adds even more fun and depth to Red. Sorry for long review but i hope you enjoy Red! See you later in Night City, chooms!!

Has some good ideas but doesn't hold up to the legacy of CP2020 for me. It's gone too far into superhero territory from having the characters be cheap meat sacks in a grim world of ultra-capitalism. It's much more sanitised than the original and I don't really like it. I took most of the things I perceive as good in this book and just made my own rules based on it.

For the editing, it repeats information in various places but those repetitions don't always say the same things. It's not terribly easy to find rules in between the lore quips either and I used the PDF when I ran this RAW. The best part is probably the art and even that feel less punk to me than what many other rulebooks of this genre offer.

Lovely book, with simple, streamlined rules that are easy to understand and explain to others, a setting that feels alive and evocative and interesting to explore, great art, and some nice dark (sometimes hitting depressingly close to home in the real world) lore.

I just really wish I had waited 2 more weeks to get it because then I could've gotten the Humble Bundle with this and CP2020 + extras for the same price I paid for this book

Cyberpunk RED has quickly become a top favourite system to run and play in. If I had one complaint it's that information can be scattered over multiple sections and chapters and can require a lot flipping back and forth to find. But that's a minor complaint compared to how fun the system and setting are to play.

Well-presented and very easy to play. This is a fantastic TTRPG experience..

It's a little messy, but it's still well made, and the fake ads in it build up on the world itself. The art (both on the cover and in the book) were made with love and I can't help but to respect it and suggest it (which I clearly do seeing as I own both a hardback and a digital copy to be able to lend the book out to the players and still have all the info needed to look it up myself.)

On a sidenote my favorite piece of artwork on it is on page 52 (technically 53 on the digital copy, because the cover is page 1)

Cyberpunk Red is everything you could want out of a base sourcebook. Everything you need to start a cyberpunk game is right here as well as an incredibly developed world and hub city. I, as a GM, greatly appreciated their tools and resources included.

I will say, the Cyberpunk Red Companion App is a must for running games. It really revolutionized the GM process for me and I am happy I was made aware of it before starting my first campaign.

Back to the book though, one problem I ran into is the lack of a glossary for quick references. I found myself jumping back to main headers and then having to scan through sections to try and find what I was looking for. But, overall, Cyberpunk Red is an excellent starting point and I, also, highly recommend the expansion books, especially for GMs. Tales of the Red really helped me run the campaign as I was getting a feel for where I wanted the actual story to go, Black Chrome gave my players some preem spending goals and gave me some great bonus loot to hide for the players to find. The Interface Volumes are also a great compendium of the free DLCs with a splash of extras to really earn their price. Highly recommend all RED products.

5 sessions in, a lot of fleshed out mechanics with the end result being fast and fun gameplay. As someone who came from D&D and players who have this as either their first ttrpg or also came from D&D, they all find it quite simple (only d10s and d6s). Can be overwhelming to being with as a DM. Would reccomend the JonJon the Wise youtube channel as he has some good stuff on how to run some of the stuff I found that I skimmed over but turned out to be important. Fun game, play it.

Absolutely brilliant, but not perfect

I have fallen deeply in love with the world of Cyberpunk because of this game, and my group has been enjoying it immensely!(we have just run The Apatment). It's my second ever ttrpg system outside D&D 5E and I have been thoroughly impressed by the system's nuance and flexibility for things like called shots and critical injuries in combat, not to mention the dizzying array of skills listed to cover just about anything you can think of. After reading through the core book and watching some great youtube videos (JonJontheWise and Seth Skorkowsky are invaluable) I feel I have a handle on the system to a competent level now and I am looking forward to exploring the Time of The Red with my group.

The art in this book is stunning and the narrative thread throughout the whole book really adds to the feeling of authenticity. I loved the stories and particularly liked how they were used as examples for other sections like the Beats Breakdown (also invalubale for any GM/Writer).

My only criticisms are that the combat system (whilst fun, exciting and deadly) is quite diffciult to understand without outside clarification like interviews with the designers or veteran players breaking it down for you. The rules for things like cover are very unclear in particular (turns out it's more like XCOM with overwatching and holding actions to shoot people popping up). Another criticism is that whilst the number of skills on offer is comprehnesive, I found it can really slow down gameplay when you are trying to figure out which skill to roll from the list if it isn't immediately obvious (isn't bribery persuasion?).

Overall this is still a brilliant game that is well worth your time and investment. The book is phenomenal both as a system and a collection of stunning art, stories and more that will transport you to Night City and make you feel like Trace Santiago himself is laying it all out for you.

P.S. The advice for GMs in this book is top notch and compatible with any system. Highly Recommend.

There are some great ideas in here and some improvements on older system, there are also some really dumb things in here.

Been playing cyberpunk since I picked up a copy of the original in 1989.

I love the new cyberspace rules.

The combat system is a joke compared to the previous systems.

2 examples:

• Suppressive fire does no damage, just makes people run for cover. No chance of anybody being hit, at all?

  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=THE+SOMME

• Shotguns - This is not how buckshot works. Diagram shows 6 yards by 6 yards from the muzzle of the shotgun.

  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=effective+range+of+buckshot+12+gauge

It seems the crit system is the fudge that makes the combat system more dangerous.

EDIT I saw a podcast with the combat desginer and the guy is a completely uneducated and has done zip research. Also I noted a flip comment about his suppressive fire rules stopping "people climbing out of trenches like in wonder woman" Ahem, how a bit of respect for the people who did in real life? Especially when you release a product that close to armastice day. Typical attitude from his type.
More proof, if needed that they let the intern do the combat system. Check out Twilight 2000 for some better ideas.

Pros:

Cyberspace rules

Item Creation

Cons:

Combat system

Information repeated too many times, including a couple of pages just after it has been written.

50/50:

Generic economy and items.

Rest of system has some small tweaks if any to previous versions.

Overall:

it moves the timeline on, handy for the 2077 tie in.

Seems like 5th Edition A&D but for cyberpunk.

Bland and weak.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY TRYING TO POLISH THIS TURD.

I never played any earlier versions of Cyberpunk, but have been playing RPGs for 25 years. I am running a red game after watching some 2020 reviews and just know tuning red would be easier to get the books in physical form. The rules are simple to pick up and run. It is a pain to convince some players they have to find jobs. My group is used to working for guilds, so jobs are just listed. For the book itself it is okay. I love the art and it is easy to understand a rule when you can find it. The layout is a pain. You have to jump all over the book to make a character. The flow chart helps, but you have to dig to find information out about the chrome you just got.

I say this as someone who played this game religiously when it first came out, this system is an example of wasted potential.

When the corebook came out, it was a great example of a modern take on a cyberpunk TTRPG. It was simple, elegant, easy to run and captured the tone of the genre well. However, it was extremely simple, poorly balanced in some areas and had a tendency in practice to produce largely similar characters as players started to realize how unsatisfying many of the game's options are. The effect of is that if you GM for enough players, you tend to see the same character build repeated largely because it simply breaks the game in how powerful it is.

Part and parcel with this simplicity was that some of the game's features were incredibly lacklustre. Certain abilities and options, such as the lawman's backup ability, just didn't really add enough to justify their existence. The netrunning system, while commonly praised for its simplicity, is incredibly limiting to the creativity of GMs and players and by and large feels samey once you've hacked enough turrets.

While these downsides were very clear and understood by much of the playerbase, there always remained the possibility of improvement, and with a few changes the system could have become a masterpiece. Unfortunately, however, the developers' priorities don't seem to lie with this sort of improvement. New content for the game has largely followed two main streams: Joke options that largely add nothing to the game besides the entertainment on initially reading it, and options which, rather than fix these underlying problems, actively make them worse.

The developers have all but rejected any idea that there is aspects of the corebook that could be improved. After 2 years of errata, PDFs and their first major sourcebook, they have leaned into the idea that the best way forward is to accept these flaws and add more items the the system that are by and large either useless, or game-breakingly powerful, simultaneously doing nothing to round out weaker options while making the strongest options in the game even better.

The end result of all this is a system that, at first seemed to cleverly balance combat with social gameplay and other forms of storytelling, but now largely focuses on wargaming style combat with very little happening outside of that. This would be ok if Red had a particularly compelling combat system, but instead it is slow, painfully simple and with very few tactical options that actually consistently feel good or work effectively.

It really is unfortunate that this is the case. I was excited to see how this system developed, especially alongside RTG's other current major system The Witcher. After seeing what RTG is putting out to support this system however, I can't really in good conscience recommend it.