How Starfield’s Neon Compares to Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City

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How Starfield's Neon Compares to Cyberpunk 2077's Night City

Key Takeaways

  • Starfield offers a vast galaxy with numerous planets and settlements, contrasting Cyberpunk 2077’s single detailed Night City setting.
  • Neon in Starfield serves as a quintessential cyberpunk city, driven by wealth from a drug monopoly and a unique climate.
  • Neon and Night City share similarities in powerful corporations, underhanded dealings, social class divisions, and iconic cyberpunk elements.

As a seasoned gamer with a penchant for all things cyberpunk, I find myself utterly captivated by the futuristic landscapes presented in both Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077. While Night City has long been my go-to cyberpunk playground, the introduction of Neon in Starfield has certainly piqued my interest.

Within the expansive universe of Starfield, there are hundreds of planets and intriguing celestial destinations waiting to be explored. Bethesda, the developer, made a commitment to creating something grand for its new intellectual property, and Starfield certainly lives up to that promise, providing players with a myriad of potential locations and settlements to discover. This is distinct from CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, which is confined to a single well-developed region on a dystopian Earth. However, both games present a vision of the future for humanity, showcasing how we have evolved and adapted in their respective universes.

In the diverse settings of Starfield, one particularly striking and ornate city is Neon’s capital. A quick look at its pictures might lead one to confuse it with Night City from Cyberpunk 2077. While Neon is only one of several significant cities in Starfield and doesn’t dominate the game’s narrative like Night City does in CP2077, they share many striking similarities, making for an intriguing comparison of their portrayals of quintessential cyberpunk urban landscapes.

The upcoming Designer’s Cut for Starfield appears to favor an extraterrestrial or Eldritch-inspired layout for its planets and cities.

Comparing Neon in Starfield to Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City

Starfield’s Neon is a Quintessential Cyberpunk Setting

On the planet Volii Alpha, Neon originated from its thriving fishing sector and evolved into the foremost commercial center across all the Inhabited Galaxies. Over time, it expanded significantly due to its production of Aurora, a psychedelic substance sourced from an indigenous creature known as the chasmbass. This growth, in part, led to Neon becoming a prominent tourist attraction.

Neon swiftly secured the rights to manufacture Aurora, making it illegal everywhere else in the cosmos, effectively establishing a monopoly and financially prosperous role in the illicit drug trade for the city. This has kept its wealth and power thriving. The name Neon might seem somewhat literal given its style, as it is adorned with classic cyberpunk aesthetics that have long been synonymous with the genre, yet it effectively embodies these elements in its design.

On a distinct note, the planet possesses extraordinary weather patterns marked by persistent lightning storms, offering a lucrative opportunity for the innovative Generdyne Corporation. They seized this chance to build their Conduction Grid network across the entire city, popularly referred to as “The Span”. This setup enables harnessing the generated electricity, providing an additional edge and making the city more competitive against other leading cities.

Starfield’s Neon is a Condensed Version of Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City in Many Ways

In the tradition of similar genres, both Night City and Neon cities in various games are dominated by powerful and stylishly Japanese-influenced corporations. Companies like Ryujin Industries from Starfield and Arasaka Corporation in Cyberpunk 2077 have much in common, with each having towering headquarters named after them and secured fortresses at their cores. True to form, these corporations use private assassins and espionage as weapons in their ruthless competition against other companies. Players often find themselves caught up in the intricate web of their secretive machinations.

Similarly, Neon and Night City share typical cyberpunk elements of secretive transactions and powerful gangs vying for control against corporations, all while maneuvering within a world divided into districts based on social standing. The lower classes struggle daily to survive, while the influential figures maintain their positions of power from their lofty perches, constantly plotting and conspiring.

Although there’s not always an exact match, the main features and atmosphere of these two share many similarities, with Neon City being a miniature version of Night City. Collectively, they both underscore the enduring appeal of the “cyberpunk city” in gaming, effectively conveying that distinctive ambiance.

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2024-09-08 02:36