Cyberpunk 2077 was released last week after rave reviews. Shortly after, however, the experience on consoles showed significant anders is then the reviews on PC show. So we asked our editors what platform they are playing the game on and what the experience is like so far.-
Lars Cornelis (Xbox Series X)
I’ve been playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the Xbox Series X since Friday and I have to say that I’m quite impressed. It is important to know that I did not follow Cyberpunk very fanatically and did not care much about every delay, so my expectations were not sky high either: usually the best remedy for disappointment.
Cyberpunk runs stable in quality mode at 30fps and if you switch off chroma aberration and film grain, the game looks sharp. So I have no complaints on that front. I am also amazed at how busy the streets are and how lively the city is, with all its neon signs, advertising, litter. It really gives me that Blade Runner vibe.
Cyberpunk is not technically perfect. NPCs sometimes run through each other or right through a car and it was precisely during an important moment in the story that Johnny Silverhand was suddenly out of the picture. I was staring at Keanu Reeves’ knee the whole time. But when you compare that to the average open world game from Bethesda or Ubisoft, cases like this are hardly surprising.
I don’t feel the need to wait for the next-gen update. I just dive into Night City with full dedication. That said, I’ve also seen the comparisons online and do believe that the Xbox Series X – after PC – is the best place to play Cyberpunk right now. I can therefore imagine that people who do not have an XSX decide to wait. This is a game you want to enjoy, and not get frustrated all the time. Wait, I think it is more than worth it.
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Erik Nusselder (PlayStation 5)
I have now stopped playing. Don’t get me wrong, the game runs really fine on a PlayStation 5. And even if it crashes once, which happened to me twice in about ten hours of play, you restarted it very quickly. But there are tons of bugs in it, from characters floating in invisible chairs to an emotional scene ruined by a gun that suddenly shows up.
I’m actually more concerned about things you don’t just patch out like that, especially the world that doesn’t feel like a real city. NPCs are not intelligent and show very stupid behavior. Startled pedestrians shiver for an infinite time next to my car which has been parked slightly too crooked and cars only drive their predetermined line. But eventually I stopped playing because I just don’t like the game right now. The city is beautiful, but up close a lot of things are really ugly, especially characters. I am a patient person and I just know that this game will get much better and more beautiful if I wait a few months.
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Martin Verschoor (PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4)
I put Cyberpunk 2077 aside for the past few days. The story, the world and the characters grab me, but I doubt whether I should continue my adventure in Night City, or just wait until the game is a bit more smoothed out. On the PS5 the game (except for the crashes) runs pretty well. It’s not the prettiest game I’ve ever seen, but what’s stopping us from playing now is that during conversations I pay more attention to the ridiculous things that happen in the background (NPCs floating by and the like) than the conversation I’m having with, for example, a bodyguard. That’s a shame, so I’ll probably hold off on playing.
To see how the game runs on the standard PS4, I also installed the title on it, and it was not that bad at first. My save game was in the middle of a story mission and, yes, it’s not that nice, but the framerate was manageable and it was immediately drawn back into the story. Until I delved a little further into the open world of Night City and indeed: then you see that the game is not optimized for the PS4 at all and should not have been released in this form.
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Joe from Burik (PlayStation 5)
My first steps with the PlayStation 4 version of Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation 5 were a bit rough. Not so much due to technical imperfections, but the observation that I really have to sit quietly for this game to be able to process all visual impressions properly. After about ten hours, however, I am used to the combination of dark alleys, setting sun rays and bright neon colors with a busy (but very suitable for the setting) interface. In fact, I spent most of that time in Night City as a virtual tourist, constantly gazing at impressively designed city districts and random scenes of the ‘seriously out of hand night out’ level.
In that time frame, there was only one hard crash here, just when I first got behind the wheel on a main mission in Night City. The occasional clipping bugs seemed to be largely resolved with the update from the first weekend after release and especially after disabling film grain and chromatic aberration, I honestly cannot complain about the graphics. The idea that the full-fledged PS5 upgrade in 2021 will only make things more beautiful feels like a gift to me. Until then, I have been enjoying the quite diverse gameplay, which so far feels like the best of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Grand Theft Auto V and The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt in an extra colorful retro-futuristic guise – and that’s what makes me feel. concerns cast.
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Lucas May (Xbox Series X)
After a long doubt, I decided to buy Cyberpunk 2077 for Xbox Series X instead of PS5. At the first start it was quite a shock. Visually it appeared to be quite out of focus on my television, possibly due to a dynamic resolution used in the background. Personally, I prefer a good framerate, so I left the game on performance mode anyway. After some research, it turned out that there might be another way to adjust the image quality. Via a items from Rob Zacny of Vice Gaming, I discovered that this game is packed with graphic effects such as chromatic aberration, motion blur and lens flares. By adjusting a few things in the settings, you can certainly boost the image quality, although this also depends on your own taste.
I also come across enough bugs, but they have not been game-breaking yet. The game sometimes hangs for a few seconds, which is really annoying. We have to be a bit patient with Cyberpunk 2077, because the technical side is still far from perfect. Still, I enjoy the adventure, because there is plenty to love in Night City. Time to play again!
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Jacco Peek (Xbox Series X)
My first twenty hours feel very much like Series X. On the one hand, I think Cyberpunk 2077 is a fantastic game. Especially the level of detail in indoor environments is groundbreaking and the writing of quests is reminiscent of The Witcher 3 and makes the hours fly by. There are characters I call every now and then to ask how I’m doing, that’s what the game does to me.
But there is also a lot wrong with the game on Series X. From hilarious things like the disappearance of clothes and genitals to regular annoying problems. Something goes wrong with the quest: enemies that die but are not registered as such, enemies that walk through objects that cause me to be spotted, UI elements that do not work during crucial moments and many more disturbing things.
It’s honestly the first time I’ve seen such weird bugs and glitches at launch, and the first time it really takes me out of the experience. This may be due to the contrast of the convincing world, but it is not nice. So it’s not all doom and gloom on the original PS4 and Xbox One.
Finally, I would like to point out that the quality mode, in combination with switching off the graphics options, ensures a much ‘cleaner’ image. The downside is that the game runs at 30fps, but it is ultra-sleek and the only way I can really enjoy the city. The performance mode clearly has a lower resolution, is slightly less stable, but is also a nice way to play Cyberpunk 2077.
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