City Wars: Tokyo Reign is a wonderfully brutal slice of cyberpunk

2 years 1 month ago

This is cyberpunk right here. The analogue future of analogue yesterday, but with a bit of grit in it. A handicam with a busted viewing screen. A space-taxi dropping off stale pizza.

City Wars: Tokyo Reign gets cyberpunk. Gets it right in its chunky, villainous, brutal heart. This is a collectible card game and a roguelike, but deep down, in its heart? It's cyberpunk - eternal night, eternal scrabbling to get by. Never enough to go around. Never enough to get a real break.

It's complicated to learn - that said I am quite dim - but when it clicks it's already a dream. You select a faction, a load-out of cards, a weapon and a charm, and then you pick your way through the city, moving from district to district, one node at a time. Opening presents, hopefully. But more often facing a dilemma. And much more often getting into a battle.

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Author
Christian Donlan

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