Project Orion is the next planned installment in the Cyberpunk series following the success of Cyberpunk 2077 and its Phantom Liberty DLC. The world of Cyberpunk, and Night City particularly, has quickly become one of the most detailed and fleshed-out locations in all of gaming. Now that the lore for CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk has been set, there are endless options for where the story can go next.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an animated series released in September 2022, has already become a pillar in the series after adding a lot of detail to the franchise’s lore. Its high-octane story that focuses on a crew of netrunners and mercenaries has helped flesh out Night City in more detail than ever before. Project Orion, therefore, has the potential to follow in its footsteps and focus on key aspects of its story and characters to build on and expand the world of Cyberpunk 2077.

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Project Orion Should Double Down on One Subgenre Explored in Cyberpunk 2077 Thumbnail Article
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Project Orion Should Double Down on One Subgenre Explored in Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 gestured toward a much-lauded, but obscure, science fiction subgenre that Project Orion ought to delve deeper into.

How Edgerunners’ Cyberware Could Transform Project Orion

One of the main focuses in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is the amount of cyberware available on the streets of Night City, and the power they can give any user. Specific tools, like the Sandevistans that David used to slow down time from his perspective, are present in Cyberpunk 2077, albeit to a limited extent. Project Orion can therefore push the envelope when it comes to cyberware. The game can use the examples set by Edgerunners to create more tools, ranging from Sandevistans that manipulate time in more powerful ways, to tools like the Projectile Launch System that could transform any player into a walking missile launcher.

Edgerunners focuses on cyberpsychosis as well. The show uses it as a tool to explore the humanity of its main characters. While Cyberpunk 2077 had side missions focusing on this aspect of the universe, Edgerunners shows the harrowing consequences of cyberpsychosis, and how common it is. Project Orion could easily double down on this focus and introduce it as another trial the protagonist has to endure, similar to how V dealt with Johnny Silverhand eroding his brain in the first game.

The Impact of Edgerunners’ Cyberware On Project Orion’s Gameplay

Edgerunners featured a suite of ultra-powerful cybernetic tools, including gorilla arms, neural links, and an assortment of weapons that could be great fun to use in a game. Toward the end of the show, David gives up more and more of his body to integrate these enhancements. Project Orion could provide a similar option to players, allowing them to transform the main character into a walking tank. Additionally, optic upgrades could provide thermal vision, and improve stealth immensely. The neural interfaces featured in the show could also allow players to find better and faster hacking capabilities.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ Netrunning Can Also Change The Face of Project Orion

Netrunning is a core component of the Cyberpunk universe; the best netrunners in Night City are almost untouchable. They can hack anything and pass through any security measure. Edgerunners introduced fans of the game to some of the strongest netrunners, especially Lucy, who might still be alive by the time the story of Project Orion takes place. She and other characters who survived Edgerunners, might still be running around wreaking havoc in Night City during the events of the upcoming sequel.

Project Orion could use this netrunning as a core part of the story, by turning the future game map into a digital playground for players. Thanks to her neural interface, Lucy was able to hack into Arasaka and interrogate an unconscious hostage. And since Lucy is still alive canonically, she can easily make a reappearance in Cyberpunk: Project Orion as well and perhaps even help V regain his mind.

More powerful hacking tools, on top of this, could allow the player to truly take on the powerful megacorps in Night City. As a result, it will pave the way for Lucy's character to leave a far greater mark in the world than either Silverhand or V could. So, if CD Projekt Red uses the lore, characters, and events of Edgerunners well, it could drastically improve Project Orion and even help define multiple more mechanics of the upcoming installment.