Cyberpunk 2077 undoubtedly had one of the most disastrous launches in video game history. After years of anticipation, it was released in a broken state. CD Projekt’s reputation was in tatters and the company had to issue thousands of refunds to placate furious players. But it has recently experienced a resurgence and is now one of the most popular games on Steam. As a result, many people are asking “Is Cyberpunk 2077 good now?”
Before we look at the current state of Cyberpunk 2077, it’s important to explore what exactly went wrong with it initially.
Cyberpunk 2077 Launch
When Cyberpunk 2077 arrived, it was littered with hundreds of bugs and issues. From simple graphical problems to game-breaking mechanical glitches, there were too many problems to count.
Since then, it’s been revealed that developer crunch and terribly ineffective and inefficient play-testing were behind its awful launch state.
Back in 2020, when Cyberpunk 2077 was released, games launching with bugs and glitches was nothing new. Two years later, and it’s still entirely common place in the gaming industry. However, things weren’t always that way.
Before the arrival of day one patches and life-time updates, video games had to arrive in a playable state. If they didn’t, they’d be stuck that way forever. Cast your mind back to the 90s and 00s – it was rare that a new game would be unplayably broken.
Don’t get me wrong, there has always been bad games. However, virtually all of them were playable – even if their concept or core gameplay loop sucked.
But Cyberpunk 2077 was never a bad game. Even at launch, it was clear that underneath the plethora of issues there was a solid, if not great, open-world RPG.
It’s just that after literally years of hype (mainly thanks to CD Project RED’s success with The Witcher 3), the state of Cyberpunk 2077 was a tremendous let down. Any game that launched in the bug-ridden state Cyberpunk did would be derided by fans and critics. But the colossal amount of excitement, and the subsequent let-down, only magnified its problems.
Since then, CD Projekt have worked to fix Cyberpunk‘s issues. But is Cyberpunk 2077 good now? After playing the game this week, I have an answer…
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Update
In September, the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime arrived on Netflix. With it came renewed interest in the game.
Seemingly overnight, Cyberpunk 2077 shot to the top of the Steam best sellers chart. It even overtook behemoths like FIFA 23 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
CD Projekt had timed the release of the anime to coincide with the launch of a new Cyberpunk 2077 update which brought new content alongside bug fixes and quality improvements.
The Edgerunners Update (Patch 1.6) is live on all platforms!It brings various gameplay fixes and improvements, free DLCs, as well as content inspired by Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The anime will premiere on Netflix on September 13th.
CD Projekt Red.
With revived interest in the game and a brand new update, it felt like the time had finally come to revisit Cyberpunk 2077 to see if it was now in the state it should’ve been in at launch.
Is Cyberpunk 2077 Good Now?
I was so excited to play Cyberpunk 2077 back in December 2020. I’ll admit it, I bought into the hype. And while it seemed odd that it was launching exclusively on PC and last-gen consoles, I pushed any doubts to the back of my mind with the belief that it would measure up to the quality of The Witcher 3.
As launch day approached, it was clear that something was wrong. Once journalists began reporting about delays in getting review copies and strict embargoes, fans began to realise that the game they were getting wasn’t going to be what they had hoped.
Indeed, it wasn’t. In fact, it was worse than anyone could’ve imagine.
After the initial backlash came promises from CD Projekt to put things right.
So, after almost two years, is Cyberpunk 2077 good now? After jumping back in on PlayStation 5, I’m happy to report that Cyberpunk 2077 is good now. The vast majority of its bugs have been fixed and it’s a wildly fun RPG. For fans who have been waiting to give it a second chance, there’s no better time than now to play Cyberpunk 2077.
How Has Cyberpunk 2077 Improved?
As mentioned, the problem with Cyberpunk 2077 was never that it was a bad game. It just didn’t work.
CD Projekt Red’s first job was to get the game into a playable state. After many quality updates, the rampant bugs are now a thing of the past.
While players will still notice some smaller problems, the game’s a world away from where it was in December 2020.
During my time with it this week, I’ve noticed NPCs holding invisible guns, some strange NPC behaviours, and slight graphical issues. But, crucially, I haven’t experienced anything that’s gamebreaking. By comparison, on my first play through two years ago, I found myself unable to progress missions.
Such problems are long gone. And what remains is an imperfect but great RPG experience.
This time round, I started out as a Corpo in the world of Night City. Cyberpunk 2077‘s plot remains unchanged but it is much more engaging than before. What helps is the absence of glaring bugs that previously spoilt any kind of immersion.
Playing on PS5 is a treat, too. The enhanced visuals and fairly steady 60 frames per second are lightyears ahead of the game’s dire performance on PS4. The DualSense controller also helps with immersion thanks to the impressive implementation of haptics and adaptive triggers.
On top of the more blatant quality improvements is the additional content that has been added. While I haven’t progressed enough to experience anywhere close to all of it, there’s much more for players to sink their teeth into this time round.
In Conclusion…
From my time with it, Cyberpunk 2077 still falls slightly short of the lofty heights that were touted prior to its release. It is missing some of the finer details that make games like Red Dead Redemption 2 undisputed masterpieces.
Nevertheless, Cyberpunk 2077 is a vastly improved game that may turn out to be the best title you have played so far this year.
If you are tempted to give it a second chance, or to try it for the first time, do it! You won’t regret it.
Do you think Cyberpunk 2077 is good now? Will you be giving it another try? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
