Opinion on Cyberpunk 2077 v.2.0 – is the beta version complete?

Let’s start with the bad. There are still bugs. Yes, yes, three years after the release, the Poles still couldn’t set everything up perfectly. There are both minor problems, such as NPCs floating in the air and motorcycles jumping 20 meters, and more important ones: an empty space in the place of the car donated for the quest and “artifacts” next to vehicle models and interface icons. When the car accelerates, ghostly outlines of the same car appear next to the bodywork. We noticed something similar next to the equipment icons. Restarting the game didn’t help.

At the same time, all the impressive screenshots showing significant graphical changes are from the PC version, where the visuals really changed significantly. All thanks to the added DLSS 3.5 technology. Let’s not go into technical details, but know that it allows you to increase the frame rate and make the graphics and ray tracing more pleasant.

Consoles don’t have such bells and whistles. Light and shadow have also been reworked there, but the image will not be as cinematic as on PC. Textures plus or minus look the same. However, in small rooms with puddles and neon signs, Cyberpunk 2077 version 2.0 leaves a very pleasant impression not only on computers, but also on consoles, here we must pay tribute.

Unfortunately, the driving technique remained the same. Only motorcycles can be controlled normally on the console; cars were and remain out of control. Taking into account new features such as photography and programming from the interior, the previous problems with cars are frustrating. The density of the crowd and traffic has increased, but people are not responding at all to the gun V pulls out in front of them, not even the police. Let’s end with the negative and move on to the positive.

The police… we’ve been waiting for them for so long. Finally, the Poles were able to implement a search system straight from the GTA series. If you commit a crime, you immediately get one star. If you continue to behave inappropriately, the number of stars will increase, as will the attention of the police. Granted, there were some buts. Local law enforcement officials are extremely reluctant to respond to V’s excesses. If you accelerate quickly enough, one or two stars will disappear almost immediately.

On the path of anarchy, when the hero continues to destroy more and more groups of police officers, the game will provide an ultimate option. From the helicopter that arrives, special cyber forces will land on you, each of which will be equipped with a heavy stock of military implants. And here V at level 50 will no longer be able to feel like the god of Night City. The resistance will be the heaviest.

Catching up with the police has also become interesting because V can now shoot from a vehicle without any problems. In addition, several netrunner skills appeared at the same time, aimed at programming someone else’s car. For example, a car can be set to self-destruct or suddenly brake.

The enemies have become noticeably wiser and more often remember that they can use tactics against V. Stealth has become more complicated, now after using a certain number of non-runner skills they will try to detect you. This happened before, but now it is used much more actively. Here we noticed a problem. Either this is a lack of leveling or a bug, but your location is absolutely always found. After which each secret passage ends immediately. We still haven’t figured out how to quickly interrupt detection, especially since it’s still impossible to send scripts through walls. It seems that in this form the stealth passage is completely broken, although previously a pumped up netrunner could not be so easily tracked.

Taking photos became a lot more fun. The difference between the barrels and their destructive power is more palpable. The patch focuses a lot on melee weapons, but playing Cyberpunk 2077 with a katana is not an amateur idea. V has learned to use dashes even in the air, making him even more mobile and deadly.

In general, the pumping has been almost completely reworked. From now on, each ‘branch’ is closely related to a certain type of weapon, which seems to be a rather controversial decision. The game forces you to very strict limits, so if you choose to become a netrunner, you will have to download smart weapons. You do not want? Then precious points are spent on strength or another branch with the necessary trunks.

Each characteristic has different levels of development: beginner, pro, expert and master. To open a new level, more points are always required. Only then can you invest in new skills. It will become more difficult to create interesting builds under such conditions, because the most powerful skills, of course, wait at master level, and there you are unlikely to have many points left for other branches. We hope that the DLC will increase the maximum level and provide the opportunity to develop what there were not enough points for in the main game.

Changes also affected implants. Now V has an acceptable limit for the load that various improvements can have on the body. The limit is increased by skills and some augmentations. Also, several “hardware” can be installed on any part of the body at once, and some skills increase their number. At maximum load, the game warns that V may become enraged, but this condition never occurred during many hours of play.

Finally, fixers’ duties have changed, but not all. Some missions remained quick quests to get tokens or other items. However, there are also more unusual situations in which clients behave much more lively than before.

Despite all the rough edges, Cyberpunk 2077 is now in its best shape. If you’ve been putting off traveling to Night City all this time, now’s the time to dive into this amazing and cruel world. For those who have already completed the game, there is no point in replaying the story. Mastering the innovations will not take much time, and you can rebuild the build after the release of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, when they increase the maximum level and add new skills.