What to watch: The Matrix. What to read, watch and play before Cyberpunk 2077

Even after two decades, the special effects in The Matrix are quite impressive. In 1999, they completely transformed the contemporary action cinema.

Even before The Matrix, Keanu Reeves had starred in Johnny Mnemonic, a hyper–stylized thriller that appealed to perhaps only the most ardent fans of that aesthetic and was a commercial failure. A Scanner Darkly is much more interesting. In this movie, Keanu portrays a vice agent addicted to the deadly "substance A." It's not cyberpunk – but it's still a must-see science fiction movie with a unique visual setting created by a technique known as rotoscopic animation. It is worth noting that this film was also an adaptation of Dick's prose.

Just as Blade Runner defined this trend in the 1980s. The Matrix pushed it in a different direction towards the end of the last century. William Gibson, the author of Neuromancer, called the Wachowskis' film "the ultimate artifact of cyberpunk" – and even if we disagree with it, the inspirations here are super easy to spot. A rogue hacker as the main character, artificial intelligence manipulating humanity, the character's futuristic attire, and an antagonist who looks like the boss of a sinister corporation – all fit The Matrix perfectly into this style.

In addition, it is worth appreciating the philosophical tone (which became difficult to bear in the sequels) and inspirations from the culture of the Far East. But it must be acknowledged that the Wachowskis' work has been remembered primarily not for its stylistic pedigree or plot, causing viewers around the world to question the authenticity of its own existence, but for its effervescence. The Matrix was a landmark movie in action cinema at the time, making phenomenal use of excellent choreography, revolutionary special effects with the novel bullet time and computer-generated elements. And somewhere, under the guise of this spectacle, it smuggled into the consciousness of the mass audience the fundamental ideas of cyberpunk.

What to play: Deus Ex (series)

In Deus Ex, technological development leads to social inequality, persecution, and global conspiracies clamping down on the futuristic world.

After the probable success of Cyberpunk 2077, we hope Square Enix decides to give the Deus Ex series another shot. For now, however, the brand has been put on hold after its latest installment, Mankind Divided, released in 2016, as it failed to meet the publisher's sales performance requirements (although it was rated very well). However, we do not even want to imagine that this forced holiday will take too long. Such legendary series simply shouldn't be abandoned after a single commercial failure.

No list related to cyberpunk in interactive entertainment can go without the magnum opus of legendary producer Warren Spector. The whole Deus Ex series is imbued with this style and fits perfectly with the idea of "high tech, low life". Each of the four parts bases its plot on the possibilities, but also the dangers arising from the development of technology, here represented primarily by cybernetic implants, and on conspiracy theories related to secret organizations controlling the world.

The series effortlessly builds an evocative atmosphere of human corruption and pervasive paranoia. But Deus Ex is not just about the atmosphere and plot – it's one of the key representatives of the "immersive sim" genre, combining elements of stealth games, FPS, and RPG. The distinguishing feature of the series is that it gives the player as much freedom as possible to use the systems present in the game. Thus, each installment features complete freedom in the way of performing tasks and a multitude of options for the protagonist's development, which in turn makes the next approaches dramatically different in the course of the plot, unlocked abilities and the final performance of the whole experience. And in that respect, even the oldest installment, which turns 20 next year, embarrasses many of today's high-budget hits.

1. More about the Deus Ex series

What to read: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Despite its small volume (Harlan Ellison's short story from the collection of the same title is only a dozen pages long) reading I Have no Mouth and I Have to Scream is a truly traumatic experience. Its action takes place 109 years after a war-programmed supercomputer turned on humanity and led to the near-total extinction of the homo sapiens species. Only five people remained alive, trapped in a reality created by artificial intelligence, unable to die and constantly tortured by the machine.

The description of their short journey in search of food is a display of absolute degeneration of humanity and cruelty beyond measure. In one story, Ellison included somber reflections on the nature of God, the self-destructive tendencies of humans, and the risks of putting too much trust in technology, and ended it with a sequence that even those with not-so-vivid imaginations will dream at night. However, if you fancy a bit of horror in a futuristic environment, I have no mouth and I must scream has it entirely free of charge – even in the form of an audiobook.

Turning I have no mouth and must scream into a movie seems an impossible task – mainly because of the torture the main characters are subjected to. However, the story was adapted through another medium: video games. Released in 1995 by Cyberdreams, I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream is a point-and-click adventure in which we play each of the five main characters of the story and face their painful past in order to have a chance to defeat the supercomputer. The heavily modified script was worked on by Sam Ellison, who also provided the voice of cruel artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, despite the involvement of the story's author and quite good reviews, I have no Mouth, and I Must Scream was not a major commercial success.

What to listen: Zamilska

Zamilska's music is a monotonous, sometimes slightly accelerating bang of powerful bass and industrial sounds, interspersed with tribal calls from time to time. It sounds as if it was created in part in a heavy machinery factory, and was partly recorded in a bizarre primal trance. It's the kind of electro music in which it's hard to feel the fully human element for a moment – and I think that's what makes it so immersive. The work the Polish artist is definitely not associated with what commercial radio stations serve (although Iggy Pop himself recommended it during his broadcasts), but one who lets this wall of unstoppable sound hit on once, he or she can easily fall in love with it. And all this makes Zamilska's music perfect for the strangest, peculiar version of cyberpunk – this cool, industrial noise seasoned with exotics and bass causing the bricks to fall out of walls during concerts, just screams about dystopian visions of the future.