The various "punk" genres have never truly been given much thought in the gaming world prior to the hype surrounding CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077. The likes of cyberpunk and steampunk have been popular themes and settings for many movies, television series, and video games for years, but it is often forgotten or not even known, that there are several other "punk" genres out there.

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Some apply to certain time periods and their influences on other eras, while others concentrate on specific themes, aspects or even resources as their main focus. Most video games have similarities to at least one of these sub-genres even if it isn't an overarching theme.

10 Bioshock Thrives With Its Decopunk Influences

BioShock 2 Drill

Decopunk is essentially the other side of the dieselpunk coin. With its focus mostly being away from the war antics of the time, and more centered around the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne art styles that were present during the same time frame in places such as New York and Chicago.

Bioshock is the franchise that best represents this style. From the heavy swing and big-band influenced music in the background to the overall general aesthetic, its unique take on decopunk influences is what makes it such a memorable franchise.

9 The Fallout Series Is An Obvious Example Of Atompunk

Key art from Fallout New Vegas showing a man walking towards the entrance to a city.

Even from the name, you would be correct in assuming that Fallout falls under the atompunk category. Atompunk often borrows and uses imagery and general aesthetic from the mid-1940s to late-60s, from mid-century modernism to the early Cold War espionage. Atompunk focuses on the potentiality and almost-inevitability of nuclear warfare and its potential consequences on society, especially given the tension surrounding aspects like the Space Race at the time.

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From the Fallout series to the Incredibles movies, the atompunk era covers these quaint suburban families and areas, having to prepare and adapt accordingly to developments, both pre and post-nuclear-war. The Fallout series of games are the perfect summary and representation of this era.

8 Biopunk Focuses On Biotech And Genetical Engineering Like With Prototype

Prototype video game

Unlike many other "punk" genres and subgenres, biopunk is not necessarily restricted or limited to a certain time period, as its focus is often on biotechnology, genetic engineering, and ultimately the consequences that arise from such experimentation.

Games such as Prototype, that not only focus on genetic engineering companies such as Gentek that have to deal with the fallout from their findings and experiments, but also characters that have newfound powers and abilities as a result. Biopunk appears to explore a different side to human enhancement than cyberpunk does, with its exploration of the likes of cloning and pandemics, and the topics of ethics and identity surrounding them.

7 Leonardo Da Vinci's Gadgets In Assassin's Creed II Are An Example Of Clockpunk

Ezio and Leonardo Da Vinci Assassin's Creed 2

Clockpunk is mainly present in Renaissance or Baroque settings, where inventors were really beginning to strut their stuff, in terms of making wind-up contraptions with their outlandish ideas. These contraptions rely on the likes of clockwork and gears, away from the steam or fossil fuel power from other "punk" eras.

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Assassin's Creed 2 falls into this bracket, largely due to the involvement of the historical figure, Leonardo da Vinci, who is often on hand to help Ezio out with equipment and contraptions, seemingly well ahead of the times.

6 The Nanotech On Show In Crysis Makes It An Example Of Nanopunk

Crysis 2

Nanopunk is similar to biopunk in the sense of perfecting technology through experimentation, but with nanotechnology rather than biotechnology.

The Crysis series of games focus on characters that utilize and ultimately rely on suits perfected by nanotechnology for full optimization in the field, initially following the nanosuit-clad soldiers of Raptor Team in the original Crysis. Crysis 3 even saw the advancement of nanotech, the scale of which saw a nanodome encase New York City.

5 Nowpunk Is Fiction Based On Relevant Circumstances With A Twist, Like With Watch Dogs

Watch Dogs Legion

Proof that almost any type of video game can fall into a "punk" category in some shape or form, nowpunk was invented to describe an idea in fiction that is set in the same time or setting as the real world at the time of publishing. It essentially looks at real events and how this may affect people in different ways, perhaps resulting in alternate outcomes and situations.

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From a video game point of view, Watch Dogs falls into this category, with its fictionalized take on Chicago adding this alternate chaos within the world.

4 The Wolf Among Us Is Elfpunk At Its Finest

Bigby Wolf in Telltale Games The Wolf Among Us

Elfpunk is essentially urban fantasy, where mythological or fantastical creatures are integrated into human society in one way or another, whether they are accepted or segregated. This often raises ethical and moral dilemmas regarding inclusion and stereotyping.

The Wolf Among Us is an example of elfpunk, set in 1986, following the events that saw mythological creatures flee from their homeland to colonial America, where they created an enclave known as Fabletown, situated in modern-day Manhattan. The Wolf Among Us is a terrific game in itself, and being a product of Telltale Games, the ethics and moral dilemmas in question are only more frequent and severe, not too dissimilar to their Walking Dead series of games.

3 The Dark And Dismal World Of Gothpunk Is Devil May Cry In A Nutshell

Devil May Cry Vergil

Gothpunk is a much darker alternative to cyberpunk, not just in terms of general plot directions but also in its aesthetic and general setting. Cities and places of interest are generally dark and spooky, drawing from French Noir while adding horror and supernatural aspects.

With the likes of vampires and demons being added to these settings, games such as Devil May Cry fit the bill. From the blurring of demon and human worlds to their inevitably dark clashes and showdowns, gothpunk describes most games that combine all of these bleak and fantastical elements.

2 The Baron Wastelands Of Mad Max Are An Example Of A Steelpunk Setting

mad max car explosion

Out of all the "punk" genres and subgenres, steelpunk is arguably the most likely to draw inspirations from actual punk music, styles and looks. Steelpunk is the name that can be lent to most games set in dystopian and post-apocalyptic worlds, that aren't quite as technologically advanced enough to be classed as cyberpunk.

Desert wastelands are generally the go-to setting for steelpunk movies or games, with Mad Max being a perfect example of this. It is often forgotten that the Mad Max franchise had an engaging open-world game for the likes of the PS4 and Xbox One released in 2015, to go alongside the NES game from 1990.

1 Dieselpunk Is The Natural Progression From Steampunk With Wolfenstein Representing This Change

Wolfenstein New Order Colossus

Dieselpunk is a very logical progression from steampunk, in terms of both its premise and general application. While steampunk is heavily focused on and inspired by 19th-century steam-powered machinery, dieselpunk is ultimately the technological advancement to fossil-fuel-based technology from the interwar period right up to midway through the 20th Century, in both the United States and Europe.

The Wolfenstein games especially have seen a unique application of a dieselpunk universe, with the robots and mechs that are on show, in particular, representing this era. War-inspired tanks, zeppelins, and planes are also thrown into this category.

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