Don't look at the bugs
I'm not starting this blog by mentioning that Cyberpunk is out again. It's like my calling card now, I can't get away from it! But that fact is true, and as such the world as we know it has been exposed to the many facets and sides of this video game which has been in development for nigh on six or seven years now, and the side which is standing out the most happens to be the buggy side. We already knew during the leadup that Cyberpunk was going to be the kind of game that required extensive bug fixing, due to the way that early adopters characterised the day 0 state of the game as almost entirely immersion breaking and jittery. But hopes remained that this Day 1 patch, which the entire game had been delayed a whole month for, would fix the nagging concerns left over and the result was unsatisfactory to say the least. I mean- the most overt issues with Cyberpunk were handily smoothed over but things were fine from polished and that really showed for anyone who wanted to dive into this world on day one. But even that slight hiccup paled in comparison to the absolute dumpster fire that was, and currently is, Cyberpunk on Current gen consoles.
But before I start it must be remembered; Cyberpunk is a game that was built during the age of the current (Or I suppose it's 'last' now) generation, with all the project forever being referred to as a multiplatform release. That means during most the life of this game the team knew they'd have to squeeze it onto consoles somehow, with the only question being how on earth they'd manage it. But due to the time it took to realise the game, development pushed on and on to the point where the next gen had already hit shelves before this game came out, but that wasn't going to be the original case. Remember, Cyberpunk was originally slated to come out around April, then just before the new consoles, and then a few weeks after. No matter what, this was a game that was going to be on Xbox and Playstation and CDPR knew it. So if that's that case; why does this game feel like it hardly runs at all on the weaker platforms?
Textures have been shown to completely fade out, draw distance seizes up, crashes reign galore, floating guns pop; the general consensus is that for some people; Cyberpunk is absolutely unplayable on the lower generation consoles. And perhaps the reason for that could be thus, CDPR were counting on the entire community owning the slightly supped up version of both consoles which, newsflash, not everybody does. (I sure don't) Honestly, the results were seeing on the baseline consoles are similar to what you'd see from trying to play a game below the minimum requirements on PC, heck, I'm tempted to shell out for the PC version of the game to see if my 1050Ti does a better job than my Xbox. (It probably won't but the results would at least be comparable; and that's an issue.) And I think this does raise an interesting question that heads this blog; should CDPR be forgiven?
We all knew that Cyberpunk was shooting to be a huge technical achievement unlike any other before it with the sort of scope that could shake the foundations of what we recognise open worlds to be. It would looks beautiful, feel huge, and juggle a simply insane amount of systems in it's every breath. So with all that in mind, should we be surprised that the game was just too much for some consoles to handle? There's always a cost for innovation and it tends to be that the weaker technology gets left behind, but then again some of the appeal of Cyberpunk has been the way in which CDPR had assured us repeatedly that this would be optimized, that current consoles could enjoy this. Heads were scratched at the time as folk wondered what kind of black magic would have to be summoned to achieve this feat, but now it seems that whatever they did conjure, it wasn't nearly enough.
Back when the April launch date was jettisoned in favour of half a year, I commented about how the jump was too large for this to be the sort of decision that was made off the cuff. There was no way that CDPR could have been looking at the state of the game and decided April was a feasible window unless they were delusional, and this current release state just solidifies my view there. What were they on? It's clear that significant optimization work is still going on to this day, with a meaty patch releasing today, just a few days after the much-touted Day 1 extravaganza. Was this a title that ever looked passable on these consoles and the scope of the game just slipped away from the team during development, or was all that talk just lip service and CDPR was just crossing their fingers and hoping that the entire world wide population of Xbox One's and PS4 would animorph into their newer counterparts over the year? (I'd say either conclusion is just as likely.)
All we've really seen out of the official studio response has been nose to the grindstone, but one has to wonder whether or not more has been bitten off than can be chewed. Whilst it's true that the current baseline consoles are the most desperately in need of optimisation, no version of this game is seemingly free from big bugs, so where should attention be focused? This has been reflected in every review too, with the bugs often getting so bad that they earn a point of consideration when it comes to scoring. Some have even gone so far as to call this situation as bad as your typical Bethesda release, which is quite insulting so I won't ratify that myself, but there are certain parallels to be drawn. CPDR have even changed their Bonuses structure to ensure that staff would get their bonuses despite review score because they'd all underestimated just how bad the bugs would be. (Doesn't exactly extend a vote of confidence to hear, now does it?)
Does this tarnish Cyberpunk's reputation beyond repair? Well from all I've heard the answer is 'no', people who can actually play the thing are loving their time and calling the game an experience like no other; but this is the sort of launch debacle that is going to stick to CDPR like a bad smell. And knowing the Internet, people will literally never let them live this down. (People still go on about Oblivion's horse armour) I just wish that we all got the chance to experience this apparently ground-breaking game the way it was intended, rather than play this game of check in to see if the thing actually functions this time around. (Fingers crossed this won't be like Persona 4 on Steam and we won't have to wait 4 months for the thing to be playable.)
And so as much as no one wants to hear it, it must be said; if you really want to experience the biggest game of the year in it's full glory, it might be better to hold off on that purchase. (If you can even stand to consider that) I will go so far as to say that no one should be afraid of the game forever being in this state, these guys aren't Bioware and they aren't going to drop this 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' style. Fixes will come, the question only lies on a matter of when. So, considering the scale of the game, the crunch behind the scenes, and the quality of the product for some; should CDPR get a free pass for the chaotic state of Cyberpunk? I would lean towards a rather definitive 'no', but I suppose that's a question we've all got to ask ourselves, isn't it? Although if you want my opinion, I just think it's a little sad that we're having to have this debate all because CDPR wanted to sink that coveted accolade of releasing in 2020. (Good for you, team. Now was it worth it?)
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