Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Review Round-Up

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is out, and it seems the adaptation is an unmitigated success. It wasn’t long ago fans learned Netflix and Studio Trigger were teaming up to bring Night City to life in a new way. With a slew of hits under its belt, the team at Studio Trigger gave hope to millions that Cyberpunk 2077 would see its vision fulfilled on air all thanks to this project. And as you can see below, critics have nothing but love for the flashy adaptation.

From entertainment trades to fandom niches, it seems the word on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is good. The brutal series is equal parts action and maturity with a swath of fancy visuals mixed in the middle. Studio Trigger delivers one of its best series yet with this Netflix project. And of course, ComicBook’s own Evan Valentine had nothing but love for the release.

“Despite myriad technical problems that have continued to plague the game and its reputation since launch, Cyberpunk’s story was one that resonated with players, and not just because of Keanu Reeves (though that helps). Its story was one that sought to strike at the heart of what being a Cyberpunk means; it’s about legacy, dreams, and living in spite of capitalism’s venomous miasma. For many, it was the diamond hiding underneath layers of Night City’s filth that kept them engaged, and what others thought wasn’t worth the hassle of playing through such a flawed game. So it is with great excitement to proclaim that Studio Trigger’s collaboration with CD Projekt Red is exactly the salvation this franchise needed,” Valentine wrote.

READ MORE: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Is One of This Year’s Strongest Anime

As you can see in the slides below, critics certainly agree with Valentine. You can see what the industry is saying there if you’re still on the fence about binging. And when you do decide to check out Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the series is streaming exclusively on Netflix.

What do you think about this latest Netflix original? Are you hoping more of this show is coming down the line? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

GameRant

“Despite myriad technical problems that have continued to plague the game and its reputation since launch, Cyberpunk’s story was one that resonated with players, and not just because of Keanu Reeves (though that helps). Its story was one that sought to strike at the heart of what being a Cyberpunk means; it’s about legacy, dreams, and living in spite of capitalism’s venomous miasma. For many, it was the diamond hiding underneath layers of Night City’s filth that kept them engaged, and what others thought wasn’t worth the hassle of playing through such a flawed game. So it is with great excitement to proclaim that Studio Trigger’s collaboration with CD Projekt Red is exactly the salvation this franchise needed.

” – GameRant

Digital Trends​

“The 10 episodes of Edgerunners run anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes each, and the show does a nice job of fitting a satisfying amount of action, storytelling, and world-building into each chapter without feeling overstuffed. Cyberpunk anime often has a difficult time balancing those elements, with many series collapsing under convoluted, fictional networks of corporate and criminal drama. Fortunately, Edgerunners mostly avoids getting mired in the weeds of its own complicated lore by keeping the focus on its characters.” – Digital Trends

Forbes

“From Trigger, the top-notch anime studio, we have what can only be described as an unqualified success on our hands here. Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a phenomenal series, taking the potential of CDPR’s Night City and running wild with it in a gory, sexy, strangely sad and compelling action series that I would recommend to absolutely anyone (uh, anyone over 18, that is).” – Forbes

GameSpot

“Netflix’s anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is the embodiment of ’80s and early ’90s anime. It’s overly-dramatic, ridiculously bombastic, and exceptionally violent, set in the world of Night City, which we all know from CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk: 2077. The 10 episode series from Studio Trigger (Star Wars: Visions, Promare) arrives on Netflix on September 13, and for an anime series taking place in the world of a video game, it has no right to be this good.” – GameSpot

Kotaku

“The tag “Netflix original anime series” has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years, sometimes being affixed to bold, exhilarating new shows, at other times to deflating disappointments. However, Studio Trigger and CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners tips the scales in a significant way toward proving that, when the right people are behind a project, the streaming service can be a force to be reckoned with in the anime sphere.” – Kotaku

Polygon

“Both the video game and this cartoon, created by Rafal Jaki, are based off the 1988 tabletop role-playing game Cyberpunk 2020, whose counter-culture vibe was shaped by its creator, outspoken designer Mike Pondsmith. But, in addition to the repetition on all those game’s names, there’s also a funny redundancy in the title of the animated series itself which feels like an encapsulation of the franchise’s ethos – in the world of the show, “edgerunner” is another word for “cyberpunk,” so in a sense this is called Cyberpunk: Cyberpunks. That indulgent doubling-down is indicative of what this all is: It’s Cyberpunk, but more. Better still – with the notable exception of all the jargon, knowledge of 2077 isn’t a price of entry for Edgerunners, which stands alone even as it folds in characters and concepts from the game.” – Polygon

IGN

“In Cyberpunk 2077, V’s ascent into the criminal underworld was explored in a five-minute cutscene. In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, David Martinez takes about five episodes to fully break bad. That time gives Studio Trigger and creator Rafał Jaki breathing room to explore Night City and the broken dreams of its inhabitants in an exhilarating 10-episode series that makes a strong argument that CDPR might have something solid to build on for future Cyberpunk stories.” – IGN