CD Projekt’s Red’s (CDPR) “CyberPunk 2077” has had a shaky development. Players met its initial reveal trailer with excitement, but were soon disappointed from a rushed release in 2020.
Players criticized the release for the lack of content and the unacceptable performance on Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Even when the game came to the newer Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, performance still hadn’t improved.
Player backlash was so severe that Playstation pulled the game from the PSN store and issued refunds. Over the next few years, CDPR focused on delivering updates that would add the missing content that it had originally promised and fix existing issues, slowly regaining the trust of their fanbase. Last September they released their most ambitious update with a reworked skill tree alongside new mechanics and items.
Upon starting a new game, players will notice that the skill tree has been completely changed. Gone are the days where players had to invest several points into one skill just to notice the difference. Now upgrades are more substantial and players can unlock new abilities at higher levels, such as picking enemies up and throwing them or dashing in mid-air. Leveling up feels exciting now because of how much it changes the gameplay. The downside to the new skill tree is that it feels smaller than the previous set and leaves me wanting more.
A welcome surprise with the update is the addition of weaponized vehicles and combat. Players can now purchase or find new vehicles that come equipped with machine guns or homing rockets. If these modified vehicles are not to the player’s taste, there is also the brand new feature of shooting with a weapon from your inventory while driving. The system utilizes an auto-aiming feature that makes the task of driving and shooting a breeze.
This comes in handy when dealing with the updated police system. There were multiple times in previous versions of the game where I would commit a crime and I could stand in the same spot without any repercussions. Now there is a system similar to that of “Grand Theft Auto” where the police force will become harder to escape or defeat if the player keeps committing crimes.
Combat has changed as well. The stamina bar that was used for running and melee attacks is now tied into shooting. It takes some getting used to and some of the weapons consume larger parts of the stamina bar. Players can also use different weapon attachments and skills to influence how much stamina is used up. However, after 20 hours of playing I still had yet to really struggle with managing my stamina so players shouldn’t worry about it hindering them too much.
One surprising change is the limit to cyberware. Prior to Update 2.0, players could stack up on cyberware as long as they had the money and proper level. Now the amount of cyberware the body can handle is controlled by the skill level in addition to player level. As the player levels up their cyberware capacity increases. This adds an extra layer of strategy as players have to focus on what upgrades they want and won’t be able to fill all slots with legendary gear unless they spend points.
Two of the skills even allow players to break their normal limitations in exchange for health to cause the character to momentarily come under the effects of cyberpsychosis. Cyberpsychosis is an iconic state of mind within the cyberpunk world that is reached when humans have too many implants, leading them to become violent and chaotic.
While the update provides some welcome improvements, it isn’t perfect. There were some bugs that I experienced during my playthrough such as enemies clipping through vehicles and not taking direct damage. Another bug was seeing destroyed vehicles driving around on the map. The game has also crashed twice during my playthrough and at one point froze and I had to manually restart my game.
CDPR is making a clear effort in order to give players the experience they originally expected. Through the multiple updates and added content, V 2.0 stands above the rest by completely changing previous features and adding brand new abilities. The story and characters have always drawn me to “CyberPunk 2077,” and, with the new changes, I hope that disillusioned fans come back to the game and give it another chance. Although I am disappointed it keeps crashing after almost three years, this update of “Cyberpunk 2077” has won me over.
