Do You Need to Play Cyberpunk 2077 to Understand Edgerunners?
First of all, it’s important to stress that you don’t need to play Cyberpunk 2077 to understand Edgerunners. You don’t even need to know about it to enjoy the anime! Cyberpunk: Edgerunners does a good job of creating a standalone story, even if it sits on Cyberpunk 2077’s timeline. However, there are some things in Edgerunners that aren’t fully explained or introduced, and that only 2077 players will recognise. These features don’t notably impact the anime, but they’re still fun if you know what’s happening. So, here are some of the most notable crossovers between Edgerunners and 2077, along with the most significant differences. Note: beware of potential spoilers for the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime. Named because the site used to be a morgue, the Afterlife is an underground bar frequented by mercenaries and fixers, serving as a place for criminals to sit back and relax. In the game, Afterlife serves as a crucial meeting point that is visited regularly by V. However, in Edgerunners, the bar is only given brief cameo appearances. Falco is one of the few characters that survives events in Edgerunners. However, he soon leaves that life behind, seemingly never to be heard from again. While Falco doesn’t actually appear in 2077, he is the person who messages V once they start asking around about David Martinez. Falco is the one that helps V get David’s Jacket, a new item introduced in 2077 just before the anime’s release. It is not the same apartment exactly – David lived in a block that is inaccessible to players in 2077. However, both David and V’s apartments have identical layouts. In fact, almost all locations in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners are modelled exactly on the game’s world. Almost every place is discoverable by name and location, which has led to a lot of fun for 2077 players! One of the fixers that appear in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is Wakako Okada – David Martinez speaks to her once he has become the leader of his crew. For V in 2077, Okada is one of the first fixers you interact with regularly, providing many of their early jobs. While the Sandevistan appears to be a rarity in Edgerunners, the system is slightly more common in the world of 2077. There are dozens of different Sandevistans and variants available to V in the videogame, which allow the player to slow down time for a small period. Adam Smasher is not just David Martinez’s final opponent in the anime. After events in Edgerunners and 2077, Adam Smasher climbs the ranks and also becomes V’s final opponent in the video game one year later! Despite only being set one year apart, and excluding David Martinez’s drink, almost none of the main characters in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners have any mark in 2077. Lucy, Rebecca, Kiwi, Maine and Dorio are all notable characters that appear to be anime exclusives. In 2077, the moon is a habitable place with major cities and commerce. However, players cannot travel to the moon in the videogame. For now, it’s impossible for players to fulfil David and Lucy’s dream, although maybe CD Projekt Red will change that given Edgerunner’s success!
