Cyberpunk Red takes place in an alternate universe’s year 2045, between the events of previous editions Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk 2077. It deals with the aftermath of the Fourth Corporate War ending in the detonation of a nuclear device in its core setting, Night City.

“Netrunning” is a subsystem for hacking in Cyberpunk Red. While in previous editions, a hacker or netrunner worked remotely, in Red they wear virtual reality goggles that allow them to access the Net from alongside the rest of the party. Hacking occurs concurrently with other events in the game, and a group’s Netrunner must balance their actions in “meatspace” with the actions they take to hack ever deeper into a system. Each system has a number of levels based on how secure it is, and each level is guarded by a code, passwords, or anti-hacking software that attacks Netrunners who intrude. When a Netrunner defeats all the levels of security in a system, they can access it to get whatever they’re looking for. But watch out! You’ll need to rely on the rest of your crew to ensure you’re not vulnerable in meatspace while you do it.

How does Netrunning work in Cyberpunk Red?

To play Cyberpunk Red, you’ll need a character sheet, dice, and a group of friends! All of these can be physically or virtually present, and at least one of you should understand the basic rules. Usually, that’s the Game Master, the player who prepares the scenario, presents it to the players, and facilitates the game. This player can help the rest learn as they play, creating characters and letting the job unfold!

Cyberpunk Red uses an updated version of the Interlock system, streamlined from earlier editions. The core mechanic involves rolling a d10 and adding stat and skill bonuses to beat a target number, and it has several subsystems for such cyberpunk activities as combat and hacking.

At minimum, you’ll need one ten-sided dice and one six-sided dice, as Cyberpunk Red uses only d10s and d6s. Some cases may require multiple dice, however, and players may want to have an extra d10 and a few extra d6s as well.

The core mechanic of Cyberpunk Red involves rolling a ten-sided die, adding bonuses from the character’s stats and skills, and comparing the result to a target number to determine success or failure. Characters are highly customizable, built with a “lifepath” system, a narrative method of character generation that determines the career and backstory of your character, in addition to player choices about which skills to specialize in and what gear to purchase. Cyberpunk Red also has special rules for combat and for “netrunning,” or computer hacking. 

How to play Cyberpunk Red

Wake the frag up, Samurai. Cyberpunk 2020 is a cornerstone in the foundation of modern TTRPGs, and RED is the weekend pass to get chipped in. The sluggish parts of 2020's economy and gear system are streamlined and grid combat was added, to give you the feeling you get when playing Cyberpunk 2077 on console with the freedom and familiarity you get sitting at the table for a TTRPG. Get chromed and get to Night City and see if it's the scene for you!

Andrew M. "Fish" Popowich

I'd be tempted to give CPR 4 stars because it is generally more tactical than I favor, however, moving this game from the battle map to Theater of the Mind has been a pleasure for me. The rules are the right combination of thorough and flexible, the combat feels punchy and dangerous, and, the best feature, the world is amazingly detailed and deep, with lore that you can dive into for weeks. The potential is endless in the Time of the Red!

Ross

One of the things I heard a lot about when I was first learning was netrunning, but don't let folks scare you off of it: like any system, RED takes learning, but once you get it? The combat is snappy and exploding rolls really hypes up the vibe at any table. The company releases free add ons for the system monthly, the world is a delightful mix of noir grit and hyper kitsch nonsense, and the systems put in place for you make telling impactful, memorable stories easy. But be aware, you should expect this to be meaner to your players than 5e.
There's a lot of resources available for new GMs to the system and a lot of VTT systems that have great support for RED, so you really can't go wrong if you're looking for a gritty, grim and somewhat absurd world to take a break from high fantasy in.

SugarButch

Cyberpunk RED is a work of art. It takes some effort to wade through the core rulebook (over 450 pages), but once you get rolling, it is a blast! This game is deep in lore and mechanics, so an experienced GM is very valuable. 
The game lends itself to gritty, action, neo-noir, post-apocalyptic stories, with the extra juice of the cyberpunk tropes of the genre we love so well: body mods, out of control AI, hacking into augmented reality systems, corporate insanity, trying to survive a surveillance state. If you want to put together a band of hard-rocking cyberpunks, look no further!

Isaac

Cyberpunk Red is flashy, full of style and flair while still brimming with anti-capitalism themes. It's brutal combat it keeps the action flowing and makes each shot fired or swing of a weapon matter. Because remember, bullets hurt.  But it's not all violence and bloodshed. Cyberpunk has built into it's core reminders to keep your humanity and that to be human means to have empathy for others. Chip up with too much cyberware and you may just loose those aspects of yourself.

Mike d20

Cyberpunk RED isn't a perfect system, but it gets so much right! Style over Substance Cyberware, based on range difficulty gun combat, and interactive melee combat! While netrunning can be a bit removed from the game's other systems, Cyberpunk RED offers a fantastic look at a unique point in the setting with fun and exciting mechanics and one of the best class systems I've ever seen.

Even if you don't like the setting, the core engine is solid enough to be reworked into a number of fun sci-fi game ideas easily.

Oscar C.

You’ve played the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, you’ve watched all of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, what comes next? Cyberpunk RED is a different take on Night City, one that you play with your imagination and with friends. Cyberpunk RED is a tabletop RPG, or TTRPG, game. In it, you and friends create characters that try to survive and thrive in the dark world of Cyberpunk. You can wield weapons, hack, and augment yourself with implants just like in the video game. In fact, Cyberpunk 2077 takes a lot of inspiration from the TTRPG. Cyberpunk RED bridges the gap between the classic Cyberpunk 2020 TTRPG and Cyberpunk 2077 by placing its adventures largely in the 2040s.