After 252 days, Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 is finally livable

PlayStation 4 is a platform on which I was forced to give up Cyberpunk. The Polish game – for the premiere, but also after two major updates – was in a condition that made it impossible to have comfortable fun. 252 days have passed since the debut, and the situation has finally changed.

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I understand perfectly these 30,000 disappointed playerswho returned Cyberpunk 2077 to the PlayStation 4. The long-awaited title of CD Projekt RED did not demand technical support on every platform, but with Sony consoles the situation was particularly sad. The low smoothness of the game made the title extremely tiring for the user in the long run. Cyberpunk 2077 it doesn’t need 60 frames per second, but when the game barely holds those 25 frames, it strongly resonates to the viewer. In addition, there are numerous mistakes at the premiere, often preventing the completion of the mission or – as it happened – its start. Many players, however, gritted their teeth and nevertheless passed the game on a regular PS4.

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Some – including me – couldn’t.

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First time I passed Cyberpunk 2077 on the Xbox Series Xwhen dealing with the best console version of the game at the time. For the second time I visited Night City on a top computer, enjoying 60 frames or ray tracing reflections. Every now and then, however, I returned to Cyber ​​on PlayStation 4 – my favorite and default platform. Each time, however, I reflected on the technical quality of the title on the Sony console, despite the passing months and subsequent major updates. In my mind, I sentenced Cyberpunk 2077 for PlayStation 4 to losses, waiting only for the PlayStation 5 version. Therefore, I did not think that new update 1.3 will be able to noticeably change the game for the better. Here, surprise, please.

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252 days after the premiere Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 5 it has finally become… livable. This is bittersweet news.

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252 days. Exactly this time passed from the December launch of the Reds game from last year to the debut of the big update marked with the numbers 1.30. During this time, Cyberpunk 2077 did not get any significant story expansion, no large DLC or even a single new mission. From the outside, it looks as if CD projekt RED is stuck in a developer bog, laboriously trying to repair the technical condition of the game at the expense of the publishing calendar of new content.

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In a word: the game came out too early. Not by six months, as the media initially wrote, but by 250 days.

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For comparison, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt received in 148 days from its premiere the great extension of the Heart of Stone379 days after its premiere, the second expansion pack was released: Blood and Wine. If Cyberpunk 2077, implemented on a larger budget and with a larger crew on board, maintained a similar pace, we would already be between the first and second expansion for the game. Instead, more than 250 days after Cyberpunk’s debut, there’s no big expansion on the horizon. Instead, I’m happy because I can comfortably play the 2020 title on PlayStation 4. It’s hard to find a better picture summarizing how wrong the work on this title went.

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Livable does not mean, however exemplary. A dozen or so minutes with Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 and I can already see bugs.

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I didn’t even get to the end of the first mission after installing Update 1.3, and I have noticed some clear bugs. For example, items lying on the floor of the room blocked when you tried to pick them up. Their three-dimensional models froze, and the interface elements informing about the opportunity to collect prizes disappeared. I just hope that this bug only applies to ammunition and junk, and not essential to the progression of story items. On the same day, the vehicle I was driving began to spin in the air like a small tornado, right after it ran over the railing.

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Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 has also made some unpleasant defense mechanisms in me. For example, I still avoid throwing grenades because I am aware that an explosion is often associated with a tear in the liquid. Update 1.3 does not solve this problem, although just walking around the city and driving its roads – including faster vehicles – has become bearable. It is still a completely different experience than on a powerful PC, but it is noticeably better. After all, you can explore the futuristic agglomeration without discomfort. Well, not counting of course the deserted sidewalks and alleys.

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Finally, we do not feel that driving from point A to point B, the surroundings are falling apart before our eyes. Cars of other drivers no longer collapse into the asphalt. I also have the impression that there are fewer collisions at traffic lights and intersections. The residents of Night City have acquired new skills, such as correctly holding smartphones or cups in their hands. Shopkeepers do not levitate in the air, using invisible chairs. In the past, it was enough to stop for a moment and look around and we saw a lot of bugs. Now Cyberpunk 2077 no longer looks like Frankenstein’s monster. The seams have been reinforced, the patches glued on, and the smell of glue is in the air.

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Somehow, it’s Będzism it cannot go on forever. It works once, twice, three times. But not always.

When, 252 days after the premiere, CD Projekt boasts that the mini-map works better, although months ago a similar solution was offered by the creator of the modification, you feel the grotesque situation. Seven months after the premiere of the flagship title, which was only supposed to debut when it’s ready (famous slogan from the trailer), CD Projekt heroically fights against errors that should not be available for the premiere. This includes the aftermath of cRPG characteristic for producers Quality is Bedzism, which suffers from almost every giant of the species.

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It’s because of Somehow, it’s Będzism The BioWare myth has fallen. The company’s employees themselves said that they miraculously brought the last Dragon Age to the premiere, sewing the title together from everything that was at hand. Mass Effect: Andromeda wasn’t so lucky, in turn Anthem is already an advanced disease. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was also created on the tape – both the full game and the demo created earlier for E3. Crunch and knee pressure worked because the love of design was greater than the piling up problems and challenges. But when the pandemic exacerbated the negative consequences of deficiencies in areas such as quality testing, everything fell apart like a house of cards.

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Which does not change the fact that if you planned to play the anticipated Red title on PS4, you can finally do it without overly grinding your teeth.

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CD PROJECT. UNCOLORATED – Spider’s Web Plus series

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There is no more interesting company in the last 30 years in Poland than CD Projekt. A company that talks so much about our recent history, capitalism, approach to work and the great technological boom. It is CD Projekcie that reflects the economic changes from the 1990s to today. Hence the idea for a reporter series.

Without filters, powder and glitter, we talk about the company that gave us The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, about the people who create it and about the dreams of a new digital future. The cycle consists of five episodes:

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The screenshots were captured in Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 4.

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