Cyberpunk 2077’s road to perfection continues apace. Fresh on the heels of a massive update that made the open-world snarkfest feel complete and functional, or closer to it, developer CD Projekt Red is rolling out a smaller patch purporting to fix a litany of minor issues.
Before last month, Cyberpunk 2077 was in rough shape. The game’s shoddy launch state on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is, by now, well-trod ground. But it wasn’t just bugs and subpar visuals. Cyberpunk 2077 missed the mark on a fundamental level, with players hurling criticism at everything from lifeless NPCs to the fact that enemy AI was more like enemy AU (get it? Eh?…Anyone?).
Last month’s ballyhooed patch 1.5 addressed nearly every major issue with the game, and finally brought it to next-gen consoles. Today’s patch further smoothes out other kinks. The funniest, in my opinion, is the first: “Fixed an issue that could cause wrecked cars … to spawn in traffic when driving fast.” It might sound like a small deal but it’s the sort of update that makes Cyberpunk’s setting of Night City feel a bit more realistic and alive, addressing a prominent complaint from the game’s community. Footage of busted cars suddenly appearing in front of the player, only for people to suddenly crash, made repeated appearances in viral glitch compilations of the game during launch. Glitch videos at the time were incredibly damaging to the game’s brand, and eventually Cyberpunk ended up getting pulled from storefronts like PSN, while other platforms started offering refunds — so it’s notable that this issue is finally getting addressed.
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But that’s not the only visual hiccup addressed in Cyberpunk 2077’s latest update. Sandstorms should no longer pop up randomly. On PlayStation 5, roads will now look as reflective as they do on the PC version. (Dry roads were a huge sticking point following some bungled updates from the fall.) Also on PS5, if you went through the frustratingly byzantine process of importing your save from PS4, your file should no longer be corrupted in rare cases.
The patch also fixes issues with ten semi-busted missions, including “Automatic Love” (you should no longer instantly die if you walk into the elevator’s wall), “I Fought the Law” (River should no longer drive out of the market, sending your character spiraling into oblivion), and “With a Little Help from My Friends” (calls and text messages essential for the mission should actually come through in all cases).
When Cyberpunk 2077 launched, a cacophonous subset of criticism was levied directly at the throngs of NPCs. Night City was supposed to feel real. But a city is its people, and its people came across as lifeless, at best. Last month’s big respray resuscitated Night City’s crowds, who now react more realistically to your actions. When you, say, shoot your weapon, they’ll now run away or whip out a weapon of their own — or, in some cases, fight against other violent NPCs. A small update, for sure, but one that went a long way in improving the liveliness of Night City’s.
That change should now go into effect on the Stadia version. More people shooting at you and each other? Yay…
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