When people look at tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), the first thing they think of is Dungeons & Dragons and/or Warhammer. I’d like to shed some light on a smaller TTRPG – one that’s not often explored outside of its already small community: Cyberpunk 2020.  

This game consumed my life for a few months, I’ll admit, but during those few months I had a blast. I spent hours playing with my small group of friends, mowing down enemies with a shotgun that was too big for my character’s small hands.  

As much as I love Cyberpunk 2020, I will admit that I had some issues when first starting out. I’d often turn to the game master and ask, ‘How do I do this again?’. Not because I wasn’t paying attention, but because the mechanic was difficult to grasp. Granted, after a few sessions, I’d gotten it in my head, but it still took a fair amount of time to remember them. 

This begs the question: is Cyberpunk 2020 intimidating and is it accessible to new players? Now, to those not familiar with the system in the game, I think personally that it is one of the most brutal combat systems in tabletop roleplay gaming. It’s relentless and fast-paced, giving players who enjoy that thrill a chance to show off. It’s high-risk high reward, but it’s mutually agreed upon in the community that you are expected to die. One shot from your party or the enemy’s party can end the fight. Originally, the system was designed using real world data to make the combat system as realistic as possible, going as far to state facts such as “40% of these raging gun battles happen within 8 feet or less!” 

There is some mercy, however: the rules can change based on the game master’s discretion. Yes, your characters are expected to die, but some game masters opt to alter the rules a little. In my case, our game master was a little more forgiving, and had a homebrewed system regarding the death of our characters.  

I asked a friend of mine, V, who was our game master for a while before we stopped playing, what her thoughts were. In summary, what she had to say was that ‘the system is accessible to new players,’ but ‘I think the combat system is extremely unforgiving if the player characters aren’t given way better equipment than they should have. But, overall, it’s fair because it’s just as easy to kill NPCs as it is PCs. The intention is for the players to avoid combat and find other ways around encounters.’ V was very insightful when I was trying to put this article together, so thank you to her!  

Combat aside, the game is enjoyable and friendly. It encourages players to avoid combat which is the one of the few parts of the game which asserts itself as intimidating. It is generally relaxed with some tense moments depending on what campaign the GM has you playing. The game draws on familiar aspects of D&D during character creation, which can be welcoming to unfamiliar players, however, it asserts itself as its own game in its armour system. Yes, armour exists within D&D and other TTRPGs however, the system itself differentiates in Cyberpunk 2020. Each body part of your PC character has armour, which can vary depending on what you have equipped. When I started learning how to play, it was easy to grasp most game mechanics, despite the trickier ones such as netrunning, which is something V still doesn’t understand. The rest revolve around a simple dice roll, plus bonuses from your character sheet.  

So, is Cyberpunk 2020 intimidating? I don’t think the question can be definitively answered because, ultimately, it relies on the opinion of the player and the rules that the game master brings to the table. However, in my experience, I didn’t find it intimidating as such, I just struggled to grasp the concept of some of the mechanics (the aforementioned netrunning). In my opinion, Cyberpunk 2020 is an ideal game for those searching for a challenge or a breath of fresh air from your typical TTRPG. I find it enjoyable and good to put time into if you’re a fan and/or looking to get into the game due to its fresh unforgiving combat system and its emphasis on finding a way around combat instead of killing everything that stands in your way.