As a veteran mercenary navigating the neon-drenched hellscape of Night City, I thought I'd seen it all. I've hacked into corporate mainframes, brawled with Maelstrom gangers, and even had a digital rockstar living in my head. But the most unexpected thrill I found in 2026 wasn't on the streets or in the Afterlife—it was hidden away in a crumbling old church, waiting to be rediscovered. Among Cyberpunk 2077's collection of arcade diversions, from the delightfully buggy auto-scroller Roach Race to the run-and-gun action of Trauma Drama, there's one that stands apart, not just as a minigame, but as a forgotten masterpiece begging for a second life.
While all of Night City's arcade games are fun for a quick fix, most are designed for short bursts. You chase that number-one spot on the leaderboard, maybe score some unique loot like the Trauma Team gear, and then you move on. The machine resets, waiting for the next eddie to be inserted. The replay value just isn't there. But tucked away from the bustling crowds of Japantown and the glittering towers of City Center is an exception—a minigame with a soul, a story, and a shocking amount of depth. Its name is Arasaka Tower 3D, and I believe it's the one piece of Night City arcade culture that truly deserves a full, standalone release.
The Hidden Gem in a Forgotten Church
Finding Arasaka Tower 3D is a quest in itself, which makes the discovery all the sweeter. You won't find it blinking in the back of a Ripperdoc's waiting room. No, to play it, you have to make a pilgrimage to the decrepit old church near the Biotechnica Flats, out in the Protein Farms. It's a lonely, quiet spot, far from the chrome and chaos. The journey is worth it, not just for the game, but because the church itself holds the key to unlocking the free Demiurge vehicle—a sweet ride for any merc. When I finally saw that solitary cabinet glowing in the dusty gloom, it felt like uncovering a relic from a different age of gaming.
And that's exactly what it is. Added with the game-changing 2.0 update, Arasaka Tower 3D is a glorious throwback. It’s a first-person shooter rendered with a DOS-inspired 2.5D graphical style. You navigate a stark, three-dimensional maze, but all the enemies, items, and textures are flat, two-dimensional sprites. The moment I took control, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. It’s a love letter to the pioneers of the genre, heavily inspired by classics like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. The chunky pixels, the grating digital sound effects, the simple yet satisfying gunplay—it’s pure, uncut gaming history, perfectly preserved within a 2077 dystopia.
More Than a Minigame: Johnny Silverhand's Legend
What elevates Arasaka Tower 3D from a cool easter egg to something special is its narrative weight. This isn't some random shooter; you play as Johnny Silverhand himself, reliving his infamous 2023 raid on Arasaka Tower. This is the same pivotal event V witnesses in the "Love Like Fire" mission after first installing the Relic. Playing it from this first-person, retro perspective is incredibly telling. It shows how Night City remembers Johnny: not as a complex, flawed terrorist, but as a simplified, badass action hero—a Doomguy for the disenfranchised, fighting the monolithic corporate evil.
The minigame even has its own flimsy but charming in-universe story, tying it directly to major figures in the lore. It’s a piece of propaganda, a legend playable as an arcade game. Blasting through Arasaka security as pixelated Johnny, with a chiptune version of Samurai's music maybe playing in my head, was a bizarre and brilliant meta-commentary on how history gets gamified and sanitized.
The Case for a Full Release: A Boomer Shooter Reborn
Here’s the thing: Arasaka Tower 3D is brilliant, but it's tragically brief. The game is set in a 120-floor tower, but you only get to storm through about five of them. The whole experience wraps up in ten intense minutes. The maps are small, the arsenal is limited, and just as you’re getting into the groove, it’s over. It could easily stand on its own with a little expansion. Imagine those corridors blown out into larger, more complex Wolfenstein-sized environments. Think of more weapons, more enemy types, and more of Johnny’s story to explore—perhaps even missions depicting his earlier exploits before the tower raid.
The minigame already hints at this potential with its secret areas. Just like its inspirations, Arasaka Tower 3D hides bonus rooms and a secret basement floor scattered with QR code fragments, adding genuine replay value to hunt for every last secret. A full release could expand this tenfold.
And the market is ripe for it. The so-called "boomer shooter" genre has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years. Games like Ultrakill, Dusk, Amid Evil, and Nightmare Reaper have proven there's a massive, passionate audience for this fast-paced, retro-style action. Even major franchises like Warhammer 40,000 got in on the action with Boltgun in 2023. There is absolutely a commercial and critical space for a polished, expanded Arasaka Tower 3D to slot right into. It has the iconic IP, the perfect aesthetic, and a gameplay loop that’s already proven fun.
A Precedent for Success: The Gwent Blueprint
Skeptics might say CD Projekt Red would never spin off a minigame. But they already have—and it was a monumental success. Anyone who played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remembers Gwent, that addictive in-world card game. Its popularity exploded, leading CDPR to release a full, standalone online game: Gwent: The Witcher Card Game in 2018.
The blueprint is there:
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Identify a hit minigame with deep mechanics and fan love. ✅
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Expand the content vastly, adding cards, modes, and strategies (or in Arasaka Tower 3D's case, levels, guns, and story).
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Release it as a standalone product, potentially free-to-play with cosmetic or expansion monetization.
Gwent received regular content updates for years and maintained an active community. Arasaka Tower 3D could follow the same path, transitioning from a hidden cabinet in a church to a beloved title in the booming boomer shooter scene.
The Dream for 2026 and Beyond
Of course, as of 2026, this is still just a dream for fans like me. CDPR is undoubtedly deep in development on new projects, perhaps even the successor to Cyberpunk 2077. A spin-off might not fit into their packed schedule. But the hope remains. The best-case scenario might be an expanded, enhanced version of Arasaka Tower 3D featuring in a future Cyberpunk game, giving a new generation of players a taste of Johnny's legend through this retro lens.
Until then, I’ll keep visiting that old church. I’ll insert my virtual coins, grip the pixelated shotgun, and once again become Johnny Silverhand, the legend, the action hero, reduced to his most essential, fun form. It’s a ten-minute escape that feels richer than hours in other games. It proves that sometimes, the biggest ideas in Night City aren't found in the sprawling open world, but in the focused, passionate design of a single, perfect arcade cabinet. Arasaka Tower 3D isn't just a minigame; it's a proof of concept for a game I genuinely wish I could play right now.