Reddit user Tulired shared their progress on a new ReShade preset for Cyberpunk 2077 on the LowSodiumCyberpunk subreddit, asking the community for opinions and ideas for improvement. The mod, called TapePunk, transforms Night City into what looks like footage recorded on a VHS cassette, and it’s been turning heads across the gaming community ever since.
IGN picked it up and shared it on social media, and the response from players has been overwhelmingly positive. On Nexus Mods, TapePunk has already surpassed 2,000 downloads.
TapePunk is a ReShade preset focused on emulating the VHS aesthetic, providing a gritty, analog-inspired look for the game while deliberately avoiding over-the-top effects. It’s described as a simple tool for those seeking a cinematic, nostalgic atmosphere based on real-world media study and our memories.
Months of VHS research went into making this mod feel real
Tulired explained that one day they started researching how VHS looks the way it does, and after that decided to try making a ReShade preset. The goal from the start was realism over style, not the exaggerated retro filter look that’s become a visual cliché, but an honest recreation of what analog tape actually does to an image.
Tulired focused on effects like ghosting, chroma bleed and smear, limited color bandwidth, muddy black levels, phosphor trails, NTSC color noise, blurriness, and the halo and ringing effect characteristic of VHS playback. The goal was to authentically replicate the technical characteristics of VHS playback rather than produce a clichéd, error-filled retro look.
The mod comes in multiple versions. One is based on vanilla Cyberpunk 2077, and another builds on Dreampunk, a popular ReShade setup that enhances the game’s lighting. Both versions continue to use path tracing to produce realistic reflections on puddles and billboards.
Tulired set the frame rate at 30 FPS to simulate the rhythm of a home camcorder, as 24 FPS proved problematic on standard displays. Testing was done at 1440p and 1080p on an RTX 3080 Ti and Ryzen 7 5700X, and the preset remained stable even at full settings.
Installing it follows the standard ReShade process. You download the ReShade framework, point it to Cyberpunk’s executable in the bin/x64 folder, let it pull in the necessary shaders, then drop Tulired’s preset files in the same location. Once in-game, the Home key opens the dropdown menu where you load the ini file.
The mod looked better than recording on an actual VHS tape
One of the more remarkable moments surrounding TapePunk came when someone decided to put it to a direct test. Reddit user Gundog48 recorded Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay onto a physical VHS tape using an actual VHS recorder and a cheap HDMI-to-composite adapter, then compared the result side by side with Tulired’s preset.
The real VHS recording provided undeniable authenticity but also aggressively degraded the modern source material, leaching color and detail in a way that felt more like severe quality loss than intentional style. Gundog48 admitted the recording was made on a very old cassette in EP mode, the lowest quality setting, and that the cheap adapter also contributed to the degradation.
Tulired’s preset, by contrast, applies a curated layer of VHS characteristics on top of the game’s clean render output, evoking the feeling of analog media while preserving the visual clarity and artistic intent of the original game. Most players who watched both found the digital preset far more enjoyable to look at for extended periods.
A mod that’s connecting with players on a deeper level
Beyond the technical side, what’s made TapePunk resonate is something harder to define. One commenter on the Nexus Mods page mentioned having grown up in Los Angeles in the 1970s and having lived in New York for four years, saying Tulired nailed the vibe of that era perfectly.
Tulired shared one comment that stuck with them during development: “I can’t explain it, but this is what nostalgia feels like. The exact feeling is this kind of filter overlaid onto old memories.” That reaction became part of the mod’s guiding philosophy, not a perfect technical recreation, but an idealized version, just like our own memories.
Cyberpunk 2077 is approaching its sixth birthday, and CD Projekt has ruled out further official content updates, but the modding community has shown no signs of slowing down. TapePunk is a good example of why: a single creator, a genuine curiosity about an old format, and months of research produced something that major outlets are covering and thousands of players are downloading.
Tulired has also teased future creative plans, mentioning the idea of roleplaying as a tourist YouTube channel called “Holidays in Night City” or “Night City Tapes.” They also noted that TapePunk is probably best enjoyed when wandering the city rather than in the middle of combat missions, more sightseeing, less shooting.
If you want to give it a try yourself, TapePunk is available to download for free through Nexus Mods.
Have you tried TapePunk yet or are you thinking about installing it? Tell us what you think in the comments!