Back in 2020, CD Projekt Red's neon-drenched baby, Cyberpunk 2077, had a launch that was, let's just say, a bit of a hot mess. It was like showing up to the coolest party in Night City, but your cyberware was glitching, your jacket was clipping through your body, and you accidentally started a fight with the bouncer. Talk about a rough start! After some serious PR damage control and a whole lotta patches—they basically gave the game a full chrome overhaul—Cyberpunk 2077 finally found its groove. The Phantom Liberty DLC in 2025 was the mic drop, sending players off with a bang. Now, with the sequel, codenamed Project Orion, on the horizon for the late 2020s, fans are buzzing. And one thing's for sure: Night City needs a new boogeyman. It needs its own Adam Smasher 2.0.
The Dragon Archetype: A Cyberpunk Staple
Even when Cyberpunk 2077 was tripping over its own code, everyone agreed: the setting, story, and characters were top-tier. A big part of that villainous charm was Adam Smasher. In storytelling lingo, he was "The Dragon"—the main villain's loyal, terrifying, and brutally efficient right-hand agent. This guy lives for the dirty work: tying up loose ends, disposing of evidence, and generally making the protagonist's life a living hell. It's a classic trope, especially in cyberpunk, where corporate overlords need monstrous enforcers. For Project Orion to truly capture that dystopian essence, it needs to weave this dynamic back into its narrative fabric. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Why Adam Smasher Was So Damn Effective
Let's break down why old Smasher was such a memorable choom:
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Origin Story: Rescued from death's door and rebuilt into a walking tank by the Arasaka Corporation. He's a corporate weapon, through and through.
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Historical Weight: He was there during Johnny Silverhand's legendary raid. He's the reason Silverhand's consciousness ended up in the relic that gets jammed into V's head. Dude's literally the catalyst for the entire game's plot!
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Philosophical Nightmare: Smasher represents the extreme end of the game's core theme: how much humanity are you willing to sacrifice for power? He took the deal, sold his soul for chrome, and loves it. He's not a cyberpsycho losing control; he's a sadist who traded his empathy for superior firepower and never looked back.
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The Final Boss Payoff: The game builds him up as this unstoppable force. The final confrontation is emotionally charged, especially if he takes out some of V's friends first. Taking him down feels earned.
| Trait | Adam Smasher | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Loyalty | Unwavering to Arasaka | Creates a direct link to the overarching evil. |
| Motivation | Pure, unadulterated love for violence and power | Makes him unpredictable and terrifying. |
| Physicality | More machine than man | Embodies the genre's themes visually. |
| Role | The Dragon / Enforcer | Provides a constant, high-level physical threat. |
Blueprint for Project Orion's Big Bad
While details on Project Orion are scarcer than an honest cop in Night City, we can make some educated guesses. A powerful, recurring antagonist linked to the "real" villain is almost a given. Adam Smasher provides the perfect blueprint. Here’s what an Adam Smasher 2.0 could bring to the sequel:
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A New Corporate Master: Maybe it's Militech's turn to have a pet monster. Or a terrifying enforcer for a rogue AI network. The connection to a major power is key.
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Evolution of the Theme: The sequel can dive deeper into the man-machine dichotomy. What if this new Dragon started as something else? A corrupted Netrunner whose consciousness is now pure, predatory code in a combat chassis? Or a former friend of the protagonist who chose a different, darker path to power?
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Gameplay Nightmare: This character shouldn't just be a cutscene threat. They should be a persistent, looming danger—showing up when you least expect it, forcing you to run or think creatively. A true boogeyman of the gameplay loop.
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Personal Stakes: Like Smasher was tied to Johnny's past, this new enforcer needs a deep, personal connection to the new protagonist's journey. Maybe they're the reason the protagonist is in this mess to begin with.
The Bottom Line
In the end, the cyberpunk genre is all about confronting the monstrous results of power, greed, and technological excess. You need a villain that personifies that. Adam Smasher was the perfect symbol of corporate cruelty and dehumanization—a weapon that forgot it was ever human. For Project Orion to carve its own legacy in the late 2020s, it needs its own iconic embodiment of that idea. A new Dragon. A more refined, more terrifying instrument of chaos. Someone who makes you say, "Oh, screw this," every time they enter the scene. The stage is set, CD Projekt Red. Time to give us a new nightmare to chrome. Let's just hope they stick the landing from the get-go this time! 😎