Sure thing, chummer. I was mainly referring the the colored artwork used for the Archetypes in SR2. They have a 1980's glam rock/sci-fiction aesthetic with bright primary colors, reminiscent of animated classics of the era like "Heavy Metal" and "Akira". While the color palettes used in SR6 don't clash as much, they do remind me of the style used in 2e.
I can't attach photos I took of the art (file size too large) but you can probably Google the Archetype illustrations from SR2 for reference.
Oh, okay, I think I'm getting what you mean. I'm familiar with the 2e corebook, since one of my friends, who is also part of our rpg group has it and I flipped through it a couple times.
You might be on to something about the style being reminiscent of those and '80s synthwave in general (and I hae no problem with that), but still, even the 2e book(s) was primarily b&w and had lots of pictures that showed the gritty side of things too.
I have to add, I have a somewhat similar problem with the 5th edition of Vampire. The books are just too bright, white and "clean" for my tastes and for the themes and feel I associate with the setting.
Now, I would be the first to admit that the SR 5e books' layout and desing were too busy and hard to read. I just think the 6e book just went a bit too much to the other end of the spectrum and that the illustrations themselves aren't really showing the dark/gritty side of the world, which wasn't the case with 5e.
All in all, as I mentioned in the OP, I'm just missing the contrast of the hypermodern neon-glamour downtown and the graffity-ladden crumbling firewalls in rundown neighborhoods with alleys choking with waste.
It might be that the style of writing doesn't help either. I don't have big problems with it, it just seems to be a bit too light-hearted and too tongue-in-cheek at places. Don't get me wrong, SR always had that too and I liked it, but sometimes it feels like an intentional caricaturization of the tropes of the setting. I just have the impression that the book doesn't try to take itself and the setting seriously. Since lots of the text was written in a style that indicates an in-world commentator, it's a bit too much breaking of the fourth wall for me, as the writers constantly winking at me with over-the-top quips. Again, SR always had this, it wasn't all doom-and-gloom all the time and I ike that, it's just a bit too much in this case, I think.
Edit: I guess my overall impression is just that the book, both in means of visual impression and writing style, is a tad too much pink mohawk for my style. Again, I like that style too, but ultimately, I like it when it's the icing on a black trenchcoat-mirrorshades baseline.
