Video essay for the Mythological Game Studies Conference, online, 22–23 Mai, 2025. See the scholarly publication including the script on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15242274
Why do cyberpunk games, with all their futuristic tech and digital gods, feel so deeply rooted in humanity’s oldest stories? In this video essay, I dive into the heart of games like Cyberpunk 2077, Nier Automata, System Shock, and Deus Ex to uncover a surprising truth: despite their promises of post-human evolution, these worlds can’t escape mythological thinking.
From AI overlords demanding worship to digital afterlives named after religious artifacts, cyberpunk games reveal that we struggle to imagine consciousness—human or artificial—without the narrative frameworks and myths that have shaped us for millennia. I explore how these games remystify technology, turning hackers into shamans and cyberspace into a new spiritual realm, and what this says about the limits of our imagination.
Are cyberpunk stories really about transcending humanity, or are they just repackaging our oldest questions in neon and chrome? Join me as I break down why the “post-human” in cyberpunk is never truly beyond the human—and what that means for the future of storytelling, AI, and ourselves.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments: Can we ever imagine a future beyond myth? Or are we destined to keep telling the same stories, no matter how advanced our technology becomes?
Music: “Arthut C. Clark” by Francisco Sánchez Gómez
Source: Pixabay | License: Content License
Link: https://pixabay.com/music/build-up-scenes-arthur-c-clark-142109/
Foucault animation created with Meta’s Animated Drawings.
Links to cited videos on youtube (in order of appearance); all credit goes to the creators:
background video: https://youtu.be/zkEBLpmuSOQ?si=lov3pRDVGse1mExF
sovereign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPeZ9d_3C1I
shodan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keGaGYvR4kE
nier nietzsche: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHPJdnd82YY
alt cunningham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq5YwG2-J1A
mantis blades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF95NE1hipY
meet shodan: https://youtu.be/keGaGYvR4kE?si=tj1nHiOvKcj4S0NK
meet helios: https://youtu.be/swbGrpfaaaM?si=zIpxl59S9uhbDjhI
mass effect sovereign: https://youtu.be/cPeZ9d_3C1I?si=cAI2wXoQ0MMEv5Xs
nier nietzsche: https://youtu.be/BHPJdnd82YY?si=W4Gysjrl8xZ19Xrk
nier simone: https://youtu.be/X4umy5hinH8?si=GXhRZa_3SBhyvVr3
nier gods: https://youtu.be/9TCYgOy7Nfs?si=n4HwmV5JecK4472T
johnny mikoshi: https://youtu.be/fGSk0yOv3FU?si=eb8_ZoPq5MwRkqx_
saburo: https://youtu.be/CkUtePYb81Q?si=iY6BK2oFbgkjbLA6
cyberspace in sci-fi: https://youtu.be/9m8R5BvC7T4?si=6jLoYgcJJlZb006M
netrunner: https://youtu.be/sSM2GD8nxtQ?si=It0ew3HdqWOh5Fr3
bloody ritual: https://youtu.be/KqwQDMP3Vt0?si=lEhFXzGK9z2IgoQz
soma mirror: https://youtu.be/Kb812LKdMgI?si=DTaJlvFYtkbsk-3g
talos principle: https://youtu.be/u2VGiPzAgLg?si=39Bl0YPpDDil7csL
haraway: https://youtu.be/fe7U-ANhSOE?si=VArhc624QlM8Bc9E
kusanagi: https://youtu.be/MWgTfMAEW30?si=SbA51D1jNngg4nLH
hayles: https://youtu.be/l4LdB1eDoS4?si=hSXnlR7SorNw2JvF
vincent: https://youtu.be/PtcIZWdsS9s?si=AuTIPkFCptHpn2NO
foucault: https://youtu.be/AXyr4Zasdkg?si=pO9x39QnStARHyUX
v mikoshi: https://youtu.be/T7MGyMz_u3w?si=xSYhzpjyfYqSWAxy
hugh darrow: https://youtu.be/XH2aJc5_Xao?si=Mu9P4IfSWwqxkXcI
nier humanity: https://youtu.be/vbZBmxwQBTI?si=cz6YWPPSnRgzvEmT
shodan god: https://youtu.be/RIfYBElnUjY?si=b8xgKekMsrvgX05C
viktor: https://youtu.be/KveDDLs-F8U?si=wGfB2ukKp2Xu99Zc
the hiss: https://youtu.be/PO5JRmNxfRM?si=C7ILRqdOffTau-yd
beached things: https://youtu.be/bZWA1BOyMLw?si=fYCrJZaFkyqNQrTQ
higgs: https://youtu.be/iIJvWomfkAQ?si=wvOxg1dUBnC_OJeb
Fair Use Discplaimer: This video contains copyrighted material used for the purposes of criticism, commentary, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. All game footage, music, and media remain the property of their respective owners.
Cited games in the script:
Game Title Year Developer Publisher
Cyberpunk 2077 2020 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt
System Shock 1994 Looking Glass Technologies Origin Systems
Nier Automata 2017 PlatinumGames Square Enix
Deus Ex 2000 Ion Storm Eidos Interactive
Deus Ex: Human Revolution 2011 Eidos Montréal Square Enix
Mass Effect 2007 BioWare Microsoft Game Studios (original), Electronic Arts (later)
SOMA 2015 Frictional Games Frictional Games
Ghost in the Shell 1997 (game), 1995 (film/anime) Exact, Production I.G (anime) Sony Computer Entertainment (game), Bandai Visual (anime)
Control 2019 Remedy Entertainment 505 Games
Death Stranding 2019 Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment (PS4), 505 Games (PC)
OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Victoria Mummelthei (9. Mai 2025). Myths in the Machine: How Cyberpunk Games Repackage Ancient Stories (video essay). Keine Disziplin – No Discipline. Abgerufen am 7. März 2026 von https://doi.org/10.58079/13wi7

