I gave Cyberpunk RED two stars because it has a LOT of fluff and interesting world-building. HOWEVER the system is practically the same as the original game, the characters are all one-trick ponies and the system does not support character growth. The hacking portion of the game is still action halting and a painful chore. Why on earth did they not use the excellent character development system in Cyberpunk 2077?!

The Witcher TRPG is a terrible port of Cyperpunk to a fantasy setting with all interlock problems and many new issues. It has so many inconsistencies, so many bugs. The balance of the game is screwed. You can make archer and kill mobs instantly, shooting them in point-blank range. You can make a knight with armor and have your arm torn by a rat due to a dice explosion. If mage fumbles the roll and gets caught in fire, he dies instantly if not having armor. You can kill any mob with combo Stun + Strong Strike to the head. Half of the spells have such terrible wording that you will never guess how they work. Another half of the spells are unbalanced and useless. Most professional skills are total garbage that was never tested (Rolling against x3 Stat, just useless skills, skills that never happen to work). You can check Reddit for holywars and butthurt of players trying to homebrew all this mess to play it. Of course, here in comments and on the official discord server you will find many Cody's friends who will defend the system and argue with my thesis. Still, everybody has to admit: Witcher TRPG is a weak and unpopular system due to all this mess produced by a lack of playtesting and slack game design.

It is a short adventure that does a good job of introducing you to the game and combat. If you want a longer play time and more social interaction you might want to homebrew that in.

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL REVIEW!!

After a year of play and running a couple of Red sessions myself. here is the rundown: this game is streamlined but vague and inconsistant about information and the book during play is a pain. it looks like cyberpunk, but it feels like a generic sci-fi game set in a dark future.

first positives: Netrunning is really fun! played a Netrunner and he was a blast to play, and it was simple and easy for my GM to run my character through the Net. it kept things interesting and my players kept an eye out for electronics for my Netrunner to jack into.

Combat is streamlined and it's cover mechanic is either you're in cover or not. i have mixed feelings about cover, because even when we tried partial cover it was difficult to call what worked. it is still just as deadlly but i would argue its not as deadly say, CP2020 where there's a hit location die to roll. Red has no fumble charts however for damage die rolls if you roll 2 nat 6s you do additional damage and give a critical injury. in a second game, my Nomad nearly died because of it.

alright so that's where the positives end, and i wish i could say this is the best Cyberpunk game, but it's both confusing and inconsistent with it's presentation. the book is poorly laid out, a lot of information is all over the place, and an appendice i feel will fix that issue, but there isn't one. next, combat is streamlined but it isn't as dynamic as say CP2020, and i don't want to compare to 2020 but there is a difference and you feel the difference. you have a move, minor, and standard action. the list of actions are limited which is kind of bizarre. maybe we read the rules wrong? maybe it's more dynamic? the rules aren't clear.

this is more of a personal nicpic, but a lot of the items are soo generic, there are in game world ads in the book, yet the weapons and armors aren't by a specific corporation? there is a way to convert weapons and armor from CP2020 to Red, but it kind of defeats the purpose if your current line up don't have much standing out. even the exotic weapons while brand names they're not over the top or even that exotic.

it is my theory, that they written the PDF format first before the book, because it feels like that. this game maybe with more supplements will make it better, but as it stands, it's just a cyberpunk for the 5e crowd. yes it's easier to understand, but how is it you don't have examples of specific skills and such that a GM or player can understand? too many times my gm had to stop the game to look up if a specific skill can work for a specific task, or was unsure if the chosen skill was correct. it's really weird. its not a bad game, if you enjoy it, great, but the criticism of it being a generic sci-fi game that's called Cyberpunk are valid as well.

would of run Cyberpunk Red again? maybe, if i were to run a Cyberpunk game, i probably would run a frankenstein game of Cyberpunk 2020/red game to fix some major issues. it is a good game, but if i were to recommend this or 2020, for beginners Red, then add 2020 for more unique styles and such.

Screemsheet, Hotspot, Safe House, and Luxury Vendor is good. We really need a RED Night City Sourcebook (also more stuff about the gangs would be great. the gangs are kinda the main draw for me personally)

Oh Sooo Beautiful!

So I'm coming into Cyberpunk backwards; long time DnD player that got and loves Cyberpunk 2077, my best friend got the CE and fell in love with everything, including the 2020 rulebook it came with, which immediately got her wanting to play the game even though she had no ttrpg experience. So I grabbed this bundle and I've fallen in love with it too! The game just screams bad-ass to me in a way DnD (for all my love of it) just doesn't. The features, the setting, the social landscape (no Woke here thank christ!), and that sleek sleek Chrome all give me a chance to be a part of something far greater than the 5E experience of "are Orcs black?!" and "You hit it with your sword, again". The three additional books (Blackhands weapons and the two combo volumes of Chromebook) have given my friends and I not just awesome gear to fight with, but cool ideas for roleplaying with (DataTel Image Wallet is a must for media and cops that want a badge to flash. It's 2020 after all!)

Cannot stress enough how worthwhile this bundle is even for first timers; none of us have felt overwhelmed by options, but all of us can't wait for that next big payout to gear up with new weapons, gadgets, and chrome!

For the price I really wish I was getting a physical magazine, considering most of the PDF has already been released for free, and half of this comes as attachments when you get the Corebook from DTRPG... Here, you're basically just paying for the 7 pages of exclusive drones DLC, and the rest of the book is a compilation of all the free DLC so far into one document.

Having said that, the drones are really cool and useful, and all of the free DLC thus far as been awesome. If you don't need more drones (but of course you do), then you can download the rest of this book in segments from the R Tal website directly for free and save your cash...

....but if you DO want the drones, they're pretty sweet. They can be terrifying enemies for your PC's, tools for your NPC's to acomplish their objectives, and if your PC's can afford them, very rewarding tools for them to explore your world, if they can keep them without you as the GM destroying them. Even if you want to change the aethetics, but use the stat blocks, they're very useful. Ultimately, that is what you're paying for with this book.

I'd say this is great for both GM's and PCs to have as a quick reference. While I actually have the physical Data Screen, I'm going to print this out for my players to use at the table during combat to keep the game moving faster and cut down on "rules lawyering". I also really enjoy the artwork. Great value and a must have for any GM.

4 cool items to add to your game for less than 13 cents a pop. Worth it.

For Game Masters both experienced and new, this data pack is worth it's weight in gold! Tons of resources to open up the sandbox with the 20 things tables. Great screamsheet adventures that I will be incorporating into our campaign. If you're a GM this will help you bring a lot of joy to your players.

For players, I will say, this is a great gift for your Game Master for them to incorporate into your campaign, but do not look inside as this contains basically 100% spoilers.

Incredible game system. I'm having so much fun running this game for my friends. We used to play 5E before this. Safe to say that we're now firmly a Cyberpunk RED table. It's presentation is easy to digest. While certain parts of the book may feel redundant, specifically some tables are repeated, to me, it helps to have the tables easily accessible as relevent to the topic where they are discussed.

While some may criticize that weapon categories are too "streamlined", compared to 2020, I see it as a benefit for my players who are learning the system. It is incredibly friendly for GM's and players to manage. For those looking for the nuance of 2020, you can always use the "old guns" conversion DLC to bring those elements to your CPR game from the Blackhands weapon guide. Also through the Tech role, literally almost anything is possible as far as weapons creation, making endless possibilites for your players, item wise. You're only capped by your imagination and the availability of resources that your GM allows you, if you really need something that isn't already covered without being redundant. Not to mention, R. Talsorian is consistently supporting the game with new item DLC since its release.

The system is incredibly adaptable to whatever playstyle or home brew you may want to bring to your game. If you're a 5E player looking to cross from nice cute fantasy into realistic sci fi, with Rainbow 6 level tactical gunfights, and brutal melee combat where every hit point matters and theres no magical healing spells to bail your PC's out of bad decisions; if have no experience with cyberpunk and you may have been intimidated by 2020 rules, but always wanted to try it; if 2077 intrigued you before its release, and want you want to bring that energy to tabletop; if Cyberpunk 2020 was fun to you but nowadays feels antiquated compared to newer game systems; this is the game for you! I really see this game growing in popularity as more and more people discover it, especially, as R.Talsorian is continuously releasing new DLC and expanding what's possible for your players to do. Try it!

An essential tool for Game Directors, ideal to have all the rolls in one place and save a lot of time looking for them. Made in very resistant cardboar and beautiful.

I've bought every iteration since the original boxed set and I like Red a lot, but I do have some major issues. First the good. The combat and netrunning mechanics are, in my opinion, much improved. Combat is more streamlined, although at the cost of some color, and netrunning is more easily integrated into meat world action. For me, the worst aspect is the actual rulebook. The pages are slick and glossy but feel very fragile and do tear easily. This characteristic is compounded by the fact that the rulebook's organization will have you constantly flipping back and forth. If you have the digital version, the fragility of physical pages won't be an issue, but have fun constantly scrolling through pages. If you love cyberpunk, buy this game, just be prepared to hate your rulebook.

After I've been playing for a few months I can say the game is a mess.

Layout is horrible and trying to find rules it's always a pain in the ass ... like, you want to know how much does a car cost? Maybe in "Fitted for the future" chapter? Nop. Maybe in "Street Economy : Night market" chapter? Nop. They are in vehicle combat. And there are like dozens of things like this, rules dropped everywhere without care ... and when you're playing and need to reference something, you know you've seen it somewhere, but you have to stop the game to try to find it or just pull it from your arse and keep going.

Lore? Yep, a mess to ... the game doesn't know what it wants to be. Look at the cover art itself, then I tell you that commerce is broken and people can't get what they want, corporations are no longer international but broken into local places because no internet, and containers don't reach places and nomads control the trade routes and the game suggest you have to find old abandoned containers to find cool stuff or buy it in black markets ... and it begins to feel a lot more like some kind of post-war post-apoc game than cyberpunk, and you wonder ... how the fuck those corporations are still a thing if they can't sell stuff? Who pays for the neon signs? Who pays for the fuel of those flying cars?

Nomads of course! Because it seems that R.Talsorian has some kind of hardon with nomads. They have the best education. Best cars. Control trade and badlands ... and are the saviours of the world. After the 4th corporate war Night City was almost destroyed. Who saved it? You'd guessed it! Nomads!! You are a techie? Sorry, you won't be able to make better cars than nomads ... no, they don't need skill, they "just" have them.

And those poor hobos on the streets with old lame cyberware? No longer here! Because somehow cloning stuff is so easy and cheap now that replacing your missing limbs with new gadgets it's almost easier than scavenging an arm and paying a doc to install it. Yeah, you hear it, you no longer have organ scavengers or traffickers, because it's just cheaper to clone stuff! It's almost instantaneously too ... but remember that we still don't have global internet nor common trade routes so all this technology and training has any sense to reach anywhere :D

And it keeps going on ...

Rules are, of course, another mess ... from shotgun shells that can only hit someone at 3 meters, to skills like "Autofire" that are harder to learn and use than Cryptography, Mathematics, or whatever other knowledge skill. Why? Because they didn't know how to balance autofire, so they made it hard to purchase and use. Job done. Fuck it.

A weak desperate street hooker is going to hit you with a machete? That's gonna be 2d6 of damage. You say a 2 meter tall full cyborg Adam Smasher-like beast is going to hit you with the same machete? Yep, still 2d6 damage. Strength isn't taken into account at all. Now, if our borg drops the machete and hits you with a fist and 1 rank of karate? 3d6 of damage, here I go, maybe even 4d6 if it's borged enough.

Combat feels bullet spongy, cover makes it feel like some sort of video game with people jumping around trying to dodge bullets. I mean, cover doesn't upgrade difficulty checks, they just add a layer of hit points you have to destroy ... but if not fast enough, your target can just change cover and you'll have to start anew. Unless you ignore cover and run around the battlefield to ignore theirs and use your REF 8 to dodge bullets. Because that's what movies and Call of Duty taught us.

There are so many things that feel wrong that I don't have the patience to write here and ... at a certain point, you just keep doing more and more house rules until you ponder why the hell you are even trying. I didn't pay to do the job myself. I buy a rulebook so I have the job made for me.

Art is cool tho ... except that it just misses any context at all or it's just generic as fuck. Most of the art is just there to look pretty not to reinforce text or help you visualize anything. Like you may be reading about the Fixer class special ability and they show you a giant buddha statue in the middle of containers of a cargo area. Maybe you're reading about skills and they put a drawing of some cyborg dude applying makeup.

Verdict : A failure. It seems like a game that doesn't know what it wants to be. Like two different persons altogether are steering the book in two different directions ... one is an old "I'm tired of this genre" guy, and the other is some CoD kid with that kind of "cool" ideas that make you roll your eyes.

Overall for the price that it is digitally its a steal. You have 30+ pages of writing in addition to the 12 maps that it comes with for something most GMs (and even players) will likely use within a few sessions.

The 12 provided maps are of the same scale and quality as the big books of Loke Battlemats and they slot effortlessly into VTTs such as Roll20 and are extremely print friendly. The scenes themselves seem like they could slot into any campaign. They're all honestly very good to have your hands on if you're going to roll with random encounters. If you expect the unexpected, a stretch of cracked concrete in high definition is very useful when one of your players does a silly, silly side quest for their own curiosity or pushes a gangoon to his violence point.

The character sheets are just as you'd expect: the graphic design holds tight to RED's overall interface and its sleek and easy to read and honestly? They're clean, easy to read, compact, and they just look good - even in that classic black & white.

The booklet itself is set up wonderfully; the PDF-first design philosophy makes reading it on a side screen super easy while in game and much like the core book. The Screamsheets are more detailed than I expected and have a good, meaty personality to them and with minimal fussing you can slot them into a campaign of any color and caliber pretty easily. While they are on the shorter side and we're all groaning for a larger campaign book it has all the highlights you'd expect: nomad job, braindance job, horrible murder job, gang violence job, job-at-a-concert job. They're all pretty good and don't require a specific makeup of a party and they'd be an excellent second step to any group after finishing The Apartment from the jumpstart kit, or when someone can't make session to a larger story.

Lastly, the "20 things" lists help build the city up but also are a great tool for beginner GMs or players who want to familiarize themselves with Cyberpunk RED. You can easily use these as either to help make your campaign more lived-in and if you're in a game where roleplay is king? These lists are basically as good as gold. Part plot point, part useful resource, these lists overall act like seasoning on the meal. There's enough there for a quick stop or as the starter thread to a good roleplay scene, random pocket loot on dead guys, reoccuring characters or... an aside that provides some levity like bees in the flesh zipper. That'll haunt me forever.