Good morning, Night City.
So if you’re anything like me (and 79% of other players), you’re done with Cyberpunk 2077 for now. I played on PS4 and although I didn’t really experience the multitude of issues that others did, I did feel that outside the story, the game was a bit of a letdown. However, there is one part of this hot mess that will live on way past the last time I revisit its somewhat empty and lifeless streets, until the definitive versions (PS5 + XSX) release. And that is it’s absolutely dynamite soundtrack.
Apart from the likes of GTA, there aren’t that many games that give you an open world with radio stations to fill your airwaves and soundtrack your experience. CD Projekt Red was clearly ambitious and created a slew of future radio stations for you to enjoy if you could get the damn controls to switch stations. Real-world artists wrote real-world songs for a fictional universe, and all of them got in-universe fictional personas and band names to go by. As if that wasn’t enough you can meet more than one of them during quests. Talk about immersive.
So here are ten tracks from Cyberpunk 2077 in no particular order that deserve a listen outside the game, and by all those avoiding playing because of the glitches. These songs are the only part of the game that’s supposed to be glitchy and form my driving playlist for 2021. Crank the volume up!
BM – Clockwork Venus (SOPHIE and Shygirl)
Strangely this one is going through some legal wrangling at the moment and is a little hard to find. Appearing on Radio Volume 1, this dark and brooding track really feels like the depths of a smoky dollhouse on Jig Jig street.
No Save Point – Yankee and the Brave (Run the Jewels)
This got me back into Run The Jewels, and into listening to their whole back catalogue again. Totally gets you in the vibe of the gangs of Night City even if the game doesn’t manage that well.
Hole in the Sun – Point Break Candy (Raney Shockne)
This is the kind of hard-hitting explicit track that defines the brash side of Night City. Punk and cool and plenty enough to get you in the mood for a gunfight.
I Really Want To Stay At Your House – Hallie Coggins (Rosa Walton)
I was all over Body Heat Radio on my playthrough, and this kind of glitchy future-pop track was the staple of my time in Night City. The electric voice at 1.00 is awesome.
PonPon Shit – Us Cracks (Namakopuri)
Another fun one for driving through Japantown or Little China, you can also meet future Jpop duo Us Cracks in a late quest with Kerry Eurodyne.
Night City – Artemis Delta (R E L)
My absolute favourite track from the game, this forms the nightlife vibe, the early hours cruising in your six-wheel Quadra Turbo vibe – the official theme song of Night City itself. Glitchy and so smooth. Good morning, Night City.
4ÆM – Lizzy Wizzy (Grimes)
One of my favourite artists currently producing, Grimes lent not one song but two to Cyberpunk 2077, and her voice for the character of Lizzy Wizzy, featured in an optional side quest. This pumping track started off the marketing hype way back before the delays began.
Never Fade Away – Olga Jankowska
And this is the track that ended it, the theme song from the credits and the final trailer before release. A real cover of a fictional song by a fictional band written by a real band, it’s about as meta as it gets, and those lyrics hit hard once you’ve played through the campaign. A thing of beauty indeed.
Kill Kill – The Bait (Le Destroy)
Another hard hitting pop standout, this soundtracked my drives like nothing else when bombing down the streets heading into danger. Le Destroy lent two tracks to Cyberpunk and the other is just as good.
V’s Theme – Marcin Przybyłowicz
Final track is from the actual soundtrack, rather than the radio stations, but V’s theme is such a class piece of glitchy cyberpunk music it just had to go in. To be honest, the whole instrumental soundtrack is dope but this is a standout.
Well that’s it for my Cyberpunk Night City playlist. These were the songs I listened to while standing up on my bike, and taking down Arasaka! I’m aware it’s pretty one-sided and doesn’t showcase some of the radio stations at all, but dammit, it’s the ones I liked the best. It was never meant to be fair. If you think I’ve missed an absolute killer track, tell me in the comments. I’m all ears.
Good morning, Night City.
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