The 2020 launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was terrible. Anticipation reached a point that no reasonable game could meet. Cyberpunk could have potentially grappled with those lofty expectations, but the major problem was its technical proficiency – or lack thereof. Despite the game getting good reviews (a product of press only being given PC copies) for most players, the game crashed frequently or was riddled with bugs. The PlayStation 4 version was pulled from shelves and taken offline. The content of the game – the story, the characters, the mechanics – was barely discussed in the face of players struggling even to explore the neon-soaked streets of Night City. It was a disaster, and fingers were pointed in many directions at developer/publisher CD Projekt toward myriad culprits. Management pushed the game out too early, the developers were working on an ultimately impossible task, or maybe marketing just raised expectations unfairly.
In truth, there is no one singular issue that sank the public’s first interaction with Cyberpunk 2077. And since then, CD Projekt has been working hard to push the game in the right direction. Cyberpunk has received numerous updates addressing bugs and improving mechanics. Studio Trigger’s anime adaptation, Cyberpunk: Edge‑ runners, inspired players to engage with the setting and lore of the world at a level they simply couldn’t at launch. CD Projekt has been fixing its massive first-person shooter, open-world RPG for the last three years, but Phantom Liberty is the biggest update the game has received yet. It represents an opportunity for many to give Cyberpunk 2077 another shot, bring in new players, and see if it can finally live up to the impossible expectations. Quest director Paweł Sasko and art directors Jakub Knapik and Paweł Mielniczuk know this and are eager for players to see what the team has been hard at work on.
In a whimsical twist, I just popped my ps4 copy into my PS5 this last week to see how it had changed. I can tell you, it has VASTLY improved. The game on PS4 was constantly on limp mode, crashing somewhat often. Looked like junk, not much to redeem it. Managed to get through the whole game, but never really explored or adventured much past the story - was just too painful to try to do much more than that.
The PS5 version is actually so much better, and even visually reaching the point of impressive. The gameplay feels like I imagine they meant it to, including some fun gun- and knife-play. I'm also enjoying the story more now that I'm not constantly worrying about a crash. Do recommend a revisit if you've played and were disappointed (don't worry, I recognize my PS5 may be what made the difference haha).