Downsized is a cyberpunk game set in the near future. The players are corporate hot-shots who've come to disaster and cast free from the economy that benefited them, forced to survive in the underground economy. Goals might include revenge against those that ruined their careers, regaining their cushy corporate status, smashing capitalism, or just becoming kings of the streets.

I'm open to suggestions for system. I'd prefer something rules-light and narrative, and am currently looking at the current genre-independent HeroQuest.

I have always thought the Cyberpunk rpg was not rules-intensive, and obviously it would fit very well with your proposed game. I would probably recommend this higher than anything else.

Savage Worlds might be another potential candidate if you limit some of the potential edges.

While d6 does have their science fiction specific game, and would be able to emulate the setting well and is rules light, I would not recommend it. Cyberpunk is a bit too gritty, while d6 is a bit too adventurous in tone. However, you might feel differently on the matter.

How about Dungeon World?
There is a Shadowrun hack to it. You'll just need to ditch the metahumans and magic.

I was thinking of using Apocalypse World to run my CP games.

If you replace the psychic maelstrom with the net, you have almost no work to do, rules-wise.

Most of the basic playbooks fit CP perfectly as they are, you can shift the Hardholder's focus to Sharp instead of Hard, and tweak the hold features a little to make him a corporate. Augury can easily work for netrunning, and so on.

I've considered AW, or the Sprawl hack, but the game I've got in mind is considerably more plot-driven.

I think Cyberpunk 2020 is one of the better game systems out for the genre. I don't like any of the newer incarnations of the system however, as I personally think the settings lack the essential feel that CP2020 had. Also if you have the Night City sourcebook its all right there for you, the whole city mapped with building descriptions and 10 important NPCs for each district of the city.
Currently I'm using Night City for a real-life post apocalyptic game. And it comes in real handy since the players can point to a block or building and ask "whats that," and the description is almost always right there. i don't really know of any other game system out there that is perfect for story telling, interlock is a good system for it and if you like crunchy stuff that is also out there.
Also a nice side note for CP2020 is that it uses the same system as Mekton, which is a pretty cool mecha game, so you can design all sorts of nifty vehicles with the sourcebooks. I also  like how the chromebooks are set up like futuristic magazines, with advertisements and such with just a little game stats included at the end of each ad.

The problem I always had with Mekton is the utter lack of game balance when coming up with custom mechs. Wasn't even a design consideration, and I found that making them anything other than super weak or super OP was a pain.

I loved CP2020 in the 90s, but honestly the system is showing its age, the Netrunning rules are clunky, and I'm not really looking for super-tactical combat.

AW can be as plot-driven as you need it to be, all the "rules" for the first session and player influence in the game are setting-related, and you're free to not apply them.

I'm really fond of the old Interlock system, because I have fond memories of the games played with it, but I started a campaign lately, and found it inadequate (as Tortuga just wrote, too). AW is a much lighter system, and as ref you don't need to roll, don't underestimate this feature.

Also, the Shadowrun hack of Dungeon World is so complex that I wouldn't feel much difference with Interlock, apart a few more balanced factors.

d20 modern had a really good cyberpunk module, but it had the usual issue: It was d20...
This message was last edited by the user at 16:08, Sun 26 Oct 2014.

Leaning towards HeroQuest, PDQ, Fate, maybe Technoir, maaaaybe some kind of Gumshoe.

Technoir takes the cool all the way up to eleven, and Other Worlds is a nice alternative to HeroQuest.

I still have to check Technoir out, as it looks really interesting, but for the little I tried of Gumshoe, I don't feel like recommending it for a game like this.

Game is up. Went with HeroQuest. Enjoy. link to another game