Cyberpunk 2077s Afterlife Bar Vs. Mass Effect 2s, The Comparison We Had To Make – Kotaku

Screenshot: CDPR / BioWare / Kotaku

In the future, if some of the most popular science-fiction games are to be believed, well all be drinking in a bar called Afterlife.

Cyberpunk 2077, an open-world shooter set in 2077 but released in 2020 (well, technically), is back in the zeitgeist thanks to a recent next-gen respray. Integral to its plot is a dusty basement dive called Afterlife. A watering hole by the same name is a similarly vital location in BioWares 2183-set space opera, Mass Effect 2, which itself experienced a bit of a recent revival thanks to last years Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Obviously, comparisons abound.

In Cyberpunk, youll find Afterlife in the southern strip of Night Citys Watson district. It lurks at the bottom of a stairwell under a building next to a parking lot. Mass Effects Afterlife, on the other hand, is located in the central atrium of Omega, a lawless, jellyfish-shaped interstellar waystation carved into the remains of a shattered asteroid.

Point: Mass Effect 2

Omegas Afterlife is the sort of airy, open space most often frequented by performatively cocaine-hungry finance bros. Pass flame motifs dance up the walls. A velvet rope blocks the door, as does a massive bodyguard. Inside, youll find a semi-circular bargreat for getting a bartenders attention, but not exactly for hanging outflanked by several dance floors and a haughty VIP section.

Night Citys Afterlife is spacious without being sparse.Screenshot: CDPR / Kotaku

Head to Night Citys Afterlife, though, and youll find something much more down to earth (literally). Patrons line up at the bar or in smoky booths to down cheap beer and well shots. Low lighting and lower ceilings give it a palpable sense of intimacy. In the back, youll find a booze-stained billiards table. If anyones looking for blow here, theyre not making a big deal out of it.

Point: Cyberpunk 2077

Hanging out at Omegas Afterlife means subjecting yourself to the ill-advised future-chic soundtrack of a mid-90s Bottega Veneta runway show. At Night Citys, you get crunchy guitars, heartbeat drums, and belted lyricsa delicious mixtape that would, for the era, be the equivalent of a bar on your block putting on a playlist from the 1920s. Everyone loves a good throwback!

Omega.Screenshot: BioWare / Kotaku

Point: Cyberpunk 2077

Night Citys Afterlife offers up everything youd expect to find at your local haunt, from stouts to scotches to wines with lengthy French labels. As part of Cyberpunk 2077s massive update, developer CD Projekt Red even added a cocktail named after Jackie Wellesyour characters longtime friendto the menu, which unequivocally rules. I havent the faintest clue what you get to drink at Omegas Afterlife. (When you order, a turian pours you a double shot from an unmarked white vial.) But the curiosity alone...

Point: Mass Effect 2

Drinks in Night City cost anywhere from $120 (tallboy of Spunky Monkey) to $720 (finger of a top-shelf liquor called Ab-Synth) Eurodollars. Drinks in Omega cost one click of the order a drink dialogue prompt, which in all currencies exchanges to precisely $0.

Point: Mass Effect 2

You wont find Sheps iconic dancing in Night City.Gif: BioWare / Kotaku

In Night City, Afterlife is the de facto destination of fixers and mercenaries. In Omega, Afterlife is ostensibly frequented by the same crowd, but the mere existence of its VIP section implies theres no shortage of folks there only to flash cash and cosplay for an evening as a person whos actually cool.

Point: Cyberpunk 2077

Come on, now.

Point: Mass Effect 2

Night Citys cozy backroom booths are meant to hide away in for hours.Screenshot: CDPR / Kotaku

By our (extremely scientific) metric, Mass Effect 2 ekes out a win over Cyberpunk 2077. And to be sure, it has a lot of factorslike being in space, and also being in spacegoing for it. But if you asked me which Afterlife Id rather hang out in, its Night Citys by a mile. All the bells and whistles in the galaxy cant compare to the one selling point of a bar that matters most: the company you keep. And few of my friends would put themselves through the rigor of an astronauts training regimen just to nab a freewhatever drink that turian bartender pours.

Plus I bet Night City gives you free hot dogs if you drink too much.

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Cyberpunk 2077s Afterlife Bar Vs. Mass Effect 2s, The Comparison We Had To Make - Kotaku