No, Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.0 is not the “greatest comeback”
September 23, 2023 John Papadopoulos
A few days ago, CD Projekt RED released
Update 2.0 for Cyberpunk 2077 and to the surprise of no one, the media immediately started overhyping it. A lot of the media calls it “
one of the greatest comebacks” and I’m left puzzled. How on Earth is this a comeback? And if this is the greatest comeback, what can we say about No Man’s Sky or Final Fantasy XIV? That they are the “
super duper D comebacks“?
For starters, let’s see
what Update 2.0 brings to the table. According to CDPR, Patch 2.0 revamps the police system and brings major Combat AI overhauls. Furthermore, it adds over 100 new items – weapons, cyberware & fashion, new story quests and gigs, as well as endless dynamic events & missions. CDPR has also introduced vehicle combat and mounted weaponry, redesigned cyberware and perks. The team has also increased the level cap, and added all-new relic skill tree and abilities.
So, we can all agree that Cyberpunk 2077 now has more content than before. It also has a functional police system (which should have been there from the get-go). Vehicle combat and mounted weaponry are also a welcome addition. All in all, this is a more polished version of CP2077 with more content. But is it an incredible comeback?
Let’s start with the obvious. Cyberpunk 2077 is still NOWHERE CLOSE to what CD Projekt RED promised in 2018. Back then, CDPR
described the game as an “
open world, narrative-driven role-playing game set in the universe of the classic pen & paper RPG system, Cyberpunk 2020” that would offer “
an interactive dialogue system that gives them greater narrative agency.” These two things combined suggested that your choices would have a major impact on the story, similar to what we got in The Witcher 3. The main story remains the same and your choices have minimal impact on it. The main missions also remain the same, and most of them do not provide alternative ways to complete them. This was one of the things that impressed everyone in the E3 2018 Demo. So, the game is still nowhere close to its initial pitch.
Now I’m not downplaying CD Projekt RED here. The team has done an excellent job. With the addition of Path Tracing, it was able to surpass the graphics of the
Gamescom 2018 Demo. And yes, the game is in a way better state than its original version.
HOWEVER, this overhaul is nowhere close to what Hello Games did with
No Man’s Sky. It’s also nowhere close to what Square Enix did with
Final Fantasy XIV. FF 14: A Realm Reborn is a completely different game than its original version. On the other hand, Cyberpunk 2077 plays exactly the same as before.
Realistically, if I had to compare Cyberpunk 2077 Version 2.0 with another game, that’d be
Star Wars: Battlefront 2,
Battlefield 4 or
Fallout 76. These games launched with major issues but over time, their teams were able to significantly improve them. And that’s it. Hell, Fallout 76 may be a bigger comeback than CP2077 as Bethesda implemented human NPCs, something that completely changed the way you play the game.
I get it that Cyberpunk 2077 is the “
next big thing for clicks“. I also know that everyone loves a comeback story. But let’s be realistic here. There is nothing wrong with calling Cyberpunk 2077 what it really is; a more polished and less buggy version with some additional content. It’s a solid game. But the “
greatest comeback in video games“? Well… as the boss of one of our favorite fighting games says… don’t make me laugh.
