Now is the time to play Cyberpunk 2077 on console

Look, I will be honest here. I have been on Cyberpunk 2077’s side since the beginning. Yes, the game was rushed by investors. Yes, the game had a lot of missing elements that it promised. And YES, the game was effectively broken for many people. But man, when it DID work, it was so much fun. The story was something special and Keanu Reeves…he’s even beautiful when he’s animated. Many players have been waiting for a version of Cyberpunk 2077 to come out that was even a fraction of what CD PROJEKT RED promised and I think we finally got just that.

Cyberpunk 2077 released in November of 2020. By that point we were all on the precipice of madness from lockdown (and some of us are STILL there). We needed an out, we needed a cathartic release. We needed hot and sexy characters making their flashy ways through the streets of a futuristic yet grimy city. What we got were character models with their hanging ding-danglers, community clambakes and mommy milkers sticking out of their clothing. Granted, that did cheer all of us up in the middle of a catastrophic year, but in terms of releasing a game to the masses, you don’t want your bangers and mash out for the world to see. Or maybe you do. I don’t judge.

The release of Cyberpunk 2077 became a running joke in the game community and that broke my heart because I played it on release and even though it did have some insane bugs and random crashes, the foundation was REALLY GOOD. The story had good bones and the world CD PROJEKT RED created was colorful and expansive, yet trashy and full of corruption. I loved it and I spent hours exploring and driving around doing side quests. I wanted to see all parts of the city and I romanced EVERYONE. I mean, I went around the block and back in that game. My reason? The same reason that people climbed Mt. Everest…because they were there.

I tend to feel a bit more comfortable with games on the Playstation more than the Xbox (don’t come at me, it’s how I was raised) but I played on Xbox One at release because I knew my XBO could handle the game a bit better than the PS4 based on what people were saying. Now that the game has been released with a PS5 upgrade, I knew that it was time. It was time I jumped back into Night City one more time and I am damn glad I did.

For those of you that have never played Cyberpunk 2077, you play as V. There are three paths that V can start on: Street Kid, Corpo or Nomad. Each path will start a little differently and give you different dialogue options but the paths all converge the same. You end up in Night City and are hired to steal a secretive biochip called “The Relic” from the super powerful Arasaka Corporation. The job could set V and her best bud, Jackie, up for life. Unfortunately, things go awry and V ends up with the biochip wedged right into her  head port.

Also unfortunately, it isn’t your run-of-the-mill bio-chip…nay nay. On that chip is the consciousness of musician turned terrorist Johnny Silverhand. He was put on that chip after being captured Arasaka while trying to bomb their headquarters. Triple unfortunate for V, Silverhand’s consciousness will eventually replace her own and removing the chip the regular way will kill them both. V must scour her connections in Night City to remove the chip and get Johnny Silverhand out of her head, quite literally.

Lest we not forget in this whole thing that the man, the myth, the beautiful legend, Keanu Reeves plays Johnny Silverhand. Am I going to say that I bought Cyberpunk 2077 JUST for him? No. Did I? Maybe, but I won’t say it.

So, what has changed? Most notably, cars finally won’t fall out of the sky with no warning. Police won’t spawn in the walls. Both positive changes. There’s improved ray-tracing, haptic feedback improvements on the PS5 and it runs (mostly) at 60fps.

One of the most notable changes is the driving mechanic. Driving in Night City can be dangerous in first person and I will forever suggest that if you are driving, please do so in third person. Even though the current gen update makes driving feel so much smoother, you will still thank me for the change in perspective.

After the update, I never had any issues with game crashes. Sure, sometimes the frame rate will drop if there is a lot going on during a fight but for the most part everything just feels so much more smooth. CDPR added in some DLC content sprinkled in. You also have the ability to buy apartments in different parts of the City which doesn’t seem like something important but, just like with the ability to buy cars, the variety is nice.

Speaking of variety, you can now change your appearance mid-game! I can’t tell you how relieved I was about that. I remember making my very first character. I made her into a cool, spacey, cyber chick. She was what I imagined Zenon, girl of the twenty first century would look like as a criminal. I went to look in the mirror and it scared the hell out of me. She looked terrifying. The models have improved significantly, thank god.

Even though Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t completely the game that was promised to players, after a year of work, it is finally the game we wished it was at launch. The gameplay feels smoother, the combat mechanics feel a little better (although throwing grenades still feel a bit goofy), driving is a better experience and it just feels good to dive back into Night City. There’s something about getting in a car at night under the neon ads featuring sex toys and butt shots to sell energy drinks, turning on some music and riding through the city.

I will forever and always recommend this game and now it’s even better. Get it! Do it now! Experience the grime, the crime and the life of Night City. Catch you later, choom.