Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

A Bountiful Harvest of History Awaits in The World of Cyberpunk 2077

The World of Cyberpunk 2077 is the perfect companion novel for those seriously enjoying the video game. Or for those who simply enjoyed all of the visual decisions that went into making it.

This is a novel that explores the lore of Cyberpunk 2077. Everything from the major points down to the minutia, including the artwork itself. Picture a stereotypical flier you might find about any city out there. Now, picture it with a lot more color, and you have a solid idea of what is in store.

Don’t worry – there is a story to follow along with all the information you could hope to get about Night City. One more reason to check it out, I suppose.

Expansive History

The World of Cyberpunk 2077 is full of details about Night City and the world of Cyberpunk 2077. So, it certainly earned that title and then some. It seems like each page has a lot for the readers (and players) to learn.

However, I’ll confess that there are times when the writing itself is pretty dry. That comparison I made earlier to a city flier? Yeah, that’s still accurate. Even the best of information booklets can get pretty dry at times.

Thankfully, there’s a lot of variety found within. It covers history and technology, as well as the people themselves. That mostly makes up for any of the drier bits, as does the small storyline.

Oh, did I mention the 80’s vibe? That much probably should have been obvious, though. It makes the style and themes of the video game in very obvious – yet perfect – ways.

Design Decisions

A lot is going on within The World of Cyberpunk 2077, visually speaking. Much like the game itself, it’s vibrant (literally) and has a very strong aesthetic. One that is carried over from one page to the next.

Interestingly, while the overall aesthetic doesn’t change, the art style changes frequently. It’s odd but not outright off-putting. In a way, it seems to fit. But in other ways, I wish they had stuck to something more consistent.

One moment, there will be a striking full-page image of the city itself – with a clear animation style implicated. The next moment, there will be a hyper-realistic ad (a fake ad for the book’s sake, to be clear). It’s…unique would be a good word for the combinations used here. Discounting that, I did enjoy the overall look and feel of The World of Cyberpunk 2077.

Conclusion

The World of Cyberpunk 2077 is a great book for video game fans. Honestly, even those who haven’t played the game (but want to) would find a certain level of enjoyment from this read.

That being said, I do think that it’s the sort of thing that will be appreciated more after some time spent playing the game. Some details will feel more intuitive that way and overall make for a better experience.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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