'This Is What Nostalgia Feels Like' — Cyberpunk 2077 Mod Adds a VHS Aesthetic and Somehow Makes the Game Look Even More Realistic

Cyberpunk 2077 whitethorn beryllium approaching its sixth day and CD Projekt itself has ruled retired further content, but modders are precise overmuch keeping the crippled live — and this latest effort deed maine close successful my 80s instrumentality feels.

TapePunk, from Tulired, emulates a VHS aesthetic that “provides a gritty, analog-inspired look for Cyberpunk 1977, avoiding over-the-top effects.” It’s described arsenic “a elemental instrumentality for those seeking a cinematic, nostalgic ambiance based connected real-world media survey and our memories.”

Tulired said they spent "countless" hours implicit the past fewer months learning astir VHS and camcorders successful bid to update the mod, having released a demo video that “seemed to trigger thing nostalgic successful galore of us.”

“One remark successful peculiar stuck with me: ‘I can’t explicate it, but this is what nostalgia feels like. The nonstop feeling is this benignant of 'filter' overlaid onto aged memories,’ Tulired explained. “That is precisely what this task is astatine this moment: not a 100% cleanable method recreation, but an idealized version, conscionable similar our memories.”

Reaction is precise positive, with immoderate trying to wrapper their caput astir wherefore this filter makes Cyberpunk 2077 look adjacent much real. “I deliberation origin my encephalon expects little ocular fidelity of VHS, it hides the video-gameness of the graphics and tricks my encephalon into filling successful the gaps and makes it look much 'realistic' successful a roundabout mode than photorealism graphics,” 1 instrumentality suggested.

“Somehow makes the crippled look much realistic,” different said. “Yep. It decidedly tricks the encephalon the aforesaid mode arsenic Backrooms VHS videos and games. It's weird tbh,” Tulired suggested. “I deliberation it's due to the fact that the little elaborate video format hides imperfections,” different instrumentality added. “It's a batch little hard to announcement low-res textures and beryllium taken retired of the acquisition erstwhile adjacent everything has a VHS filter implicit it and things similar these textures are efficaciously hidden.”

Whatever the case, TapePunk is proving popular, with implicit 2,000 downloads truthful acold from Nexus Mods. And it's casual to spot why. Cyberpunk 2077 is acceptable successful the Cyberpunk universe, a dystopian, high-tech, and low-life alternate past created by Mike Pondsmith for a tabletop RPG. Its precise name, Cyberpunk, is the subgenre it's a portion of, which deed the fashionable civilization successful the aboriginal 80s William Gibson's influential debut caller Neuromancer, and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. In galore ways, this mod and Cyberpunk 2077 are the cleanable fit.

Tulired has immoderate amusive ideas for what to bash adjacent with the mod. "I was reasoning I should commencement roleplaying arsenic a tourer YT channel," they said successful a reddit post. "Holidays successful Night City. Night City Tapes oregon something." But it's possibly not the champion mod to really play Cyberpunk 2077 arsenic intended. "Yeah it's champion for roleplaying arsenic a tourer successful the large city," Tulired added. "Haven't adjacent tried immoderate missions with it. It is imaginable with a 4:3 ratio to spot the HUD too, but yea overmuch much suited conscionable for aesthetic walks."

It’s precisely this benignant of mod that shows Cyberpunk 2077 inactive has plentifulness to offer, adjacent if CD Projekt is focused connected different games close now. Last month, the developer insisted it had “no plans” for further Cyberpunk 2077 DLCs oregon expansions amid reports of a concealed DLC for The Witcher 3. That sparked a grade of disappointment from Cyberpunk 2077 fans who are inactive clamouring for much contented contempt the property of the game.

It suggests fans volition so person to hold for Cyberpunk 2 to instrumentality to CD Projekt’s much-loved dystopian universe. And the hold looks similar it's going to beryllium significant; Cyberpunk 2 is further down The Witcher 4, and CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski has suggested Cyberpunk 2 won’t beryllium retired until astatine slightest 2030.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].