A Soundtrack for the Jilted Generation

To me, a large part of playing a cyberpunk game like Cy_Borg is all the awesome pop culture references you can pull into your game that aren’t possible in a fantasy setting. As a hobbyist DJ since the 90s, to me, that means digging deep into the crates to pull and make a great playlist for the table.

The images of cyberpunk as a genre in people’s minds tend to be retro-futuristic based on the association with seminal pieces like Neuromancer, Blade Runner, and Akira. So I tend to dig deep into the nostalgia pool to make my soundtracks, with acts like Underworld, The Future Sound of London, Photek, Tangerine Dream, or anything you would find on the Hackers Soundtrack (which is probably my favorite movie soundtrack of all time).

For downtime-type activities, I tend to go to a list of ambient songs that leave the focus on conversation. When the action picks up, and combat takes off, the playlist can get really energetic and fun. I’ve put together a list of a couple of high-energy tracks to get your combat playlist started.

Retro-futurist Cyberpunk Combat Playlist

1. Photek — The Rain

2. Massive Attack — Dissolved Girl

3. Mystic Stepper — Feel Better

4. Fluke — Atom Bomb

5. Blame — Music Takes You

6. Leftfield — Phat Planet

7. The Chemical Brothers — Hey Boy Hey Girl

8. Bjork — Army of Me

9. Aphex Twin — Delphium

10. Underworld — Dark & Long

11. LFO — Leeds Warehouse Mix

12. Control — Juno Reactor Instrumental

13. The Prodigy — One Love

14. Dillinja — The Angels Fell