Running on the Edge

 I watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners over the last few days and I'd call it fairly good cyberpunk (even Cyberpunk) entertainment.

I would have preferred if the over-the-top style was dialed back a bit in favor a touch more realism. That may be Studio Trigger influence. It's not unbearable, but I do have to suspend disbelief just a little more than my ideal and go along for the ride.

The city on display is definitely Cyberpunk 2077's Night City, down to crosswalks and cameos. The core characters fall largely into a range that I like. I would perhaps complain that Lucy may be *too* standoffish and David *too* lacking in drive of his own, but those are traits that may have some value in exploring. Unexpectedly, I found Rebecca to be the shining star of the main cast. She initially seems like little more than a psycho-loli, but by the endgame she displays a trustworthiness that is valuable beyond just about anything in the setting.

And the story very firmly reminds that the cyberpunk genre is meant to be a cautionary dystopia not prone to happy endings. The body count is high, with deaths ranging from tragic to senseless, and cyberpsychosis looms over characters driven to improve via modifications.

"The candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long," is an appropriate adage for the genre. 'runners may make lots of money, but they can burn through even faster trying to keep an edge in a dangerous profession. Whether pulling jobs on the street or working high up the corpo ladder, there's usually the threat of betrayal by someone else looking to get a leg up. The genre glamorizes rising up against the establishment, but that never ends well in the long run.

It's pretty bleak, but it's basically meant to be.