Dumb Things Everyone Ignores In Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 got a whole lot of attention following its launch in December 2020, and not for all the right reasons. The game suffered multiple delays prior to finally coming out. When it did, it didn't show up in tip-top shape, leading gamers to find all sorts of questionable things while playing. At press time, Cyberpunk has some pretty poor Metacritic scores on base consoles. And those scores came from critics! The user scores are much worse, with players even favoring some of the industry's worst releases over Cyberpunk's console versions.
It would be easy to point out all of the bugs players have come across since Cyberpunk 2077 dropped. It wouldn't take a whole lot of effort to dunk on how the game looks on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. But there are some dumb things about this ultra-hyped up release that may have passed under your radar; things that, depending on how you play or what you're playing on, you may not even know about. These haven't gotten quite as much coverage as the other more broken aspects, so you may get to see some of them for the very first time.
Here are the dumb things everyone ignores in Cyberpunk 2077.
Your character doesn't show up in reflections
Cyberpunk 2077 is quite the looker on PC. In fact, it may be one of the more visually stunning titles out right now. It takes advantage of modern gaming tech, utilizing features like DLSS and ray tracing to improve performance and increase the realism of lighting, shadows, and reflections. With ray tracing effects turned all the way up, you can look in a storefront window and see just about everything reflected back, just as it would be in real life.
Well, except yourself. For some reason, with the exception of some specific moments in the game, your character in Cyberpunk 2077 seems to have gone full vampire.
Whether this was an oversight on CD Projekt Red's part or a deliberate decision is anybody's guess. You could reckon that CD Projekt Red had so much other work to do rushing Cyberpunk 2077 out that a few smaller details were skipped over. On the flip side, it's possible the extra work to reflect your character in mirrors and windows would've meant the game took more of a performance hit. Whatever the answer to this riddle is, it's a fairly silly omission in a game that puts a lot of emphasis on ultra-realistic visuals.
Key remapping is harder than it should be
If you're a PC gamer, you've likely grown accustomed to the impressive amount of customization options you typically have in games. You can alter graphics settings, for example, or remap keyboard commands to the keys you find more desirable. Most titles don't stand in your way when it comes to changing these aspects — you can usually just do what you have to do, then get to playing. Cyberpunk 2077, however, might leave you feeling a bit disappointed when it comes to remapping keys.
For some reason, Cyberpunk 2077 has several commands that are just "stuck," meaning you can't move them to other keys. This has the unfortunate side effect of blocking those keys off from hosting other commands, as well. According to a Reddit thread, there is a way you can get around this annoying little issue. It requires you to edit one of Cyberpunk 2077's configuration files, though — not what you might expect from a big budget AAA game.
HDR is apparently busted
It's no big secret that Cyberpunk 2077 didn't arrive in the best shape. Depending on where you're playing it, you may have even felt compelled to request a refund. There is yet another issue the game has that you may not even notice, though, if you don't have the latest and greatest tech. If you aren't playing on an HDR-enabled TV or monitor, you're totally missing out on the busted HDR visuals inside Cyberpunk.
A video from HDTVTest on YouTube broke it down, explaining that Cyberpunk 2077 likely uses "upscaled" HDR rather than true native HDR. This leads to less vibrant colors, crushed darker shades, and a worse general image overall. In fact, HDTVTest recommended that players turn HDR off altogether while playing Cyberpunk 2077, whether in the game's settings on PC or at the system level on console. For a game that already had a lot wrong with it at launch, this disappointing HDR implementation is just one more thing.
The shooting is not great
Cyberpunk 2077 is a far cry from CD Projekt Red's last project, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, in a number of ways. To start, the fantasy setting is tossed out in favor of something more futuristic. The perspective the game is played from shifts from third-person to first-person, too. And while melee combat is still very much present, The Witcher's Geralt never had access to a vast array of firearms. Guns are a big part of Cyberpunk 2077, which makes it all the more stunning that the shooting in the game is rough.
A number of players on Reddit had lots of criticism for the shooting in Cyberpunk 2077. One lamented about how it was "frustrating just to shoot" in the game, leading them to go for a more melee-focused character build. Another concurred, writing, "I've been having some form of fun in the game so far, but not with the aiming and shooting." Another still ripped into CD Projekt Red for not getting this area of the game right, stating, "why is it so hard to replicate what cod and apex do. Smooth and natural." If you're playing Cyberpunk 2077 hoping for a good shooter, you might want to look elsewhere.
Transmog isn't a thing
In Cyberpunk 2077, you are granted a lot of character customization. You can look the way you want, talk the way you want, and wear what you want — to a point. You see, Cyberpunk does the typical RPG thing of tying various perks and stats to the clothes you wear, just as other RPGs might with armor pieces. It does that despite not offering any sort of transmogrification system, though. This is a problem.
TheGamer outlined the issue in an article that says it all in the title: "I'm Sick Of Dressing Like An Idiot Just to Max My Stats In Cyberpunk." This is basically what the game forces you to do thanks to its lack of transmog. You may have a really awesome jacket you want your V to wear, or a cool hat you think should be part of your character's identity. If you want to boost certain stats, though, you may be forced into choosing other items. In a game that puts so many customization options in front of you, the lack of transmog really limits player choice.
The police just magically appear
If you're playing a video game that lets you commit crimes, a police response isn't uncommon. Some games handle that response a bit more realistically than others, though. In Red Dead Redemption 2, not every officer will even know you've committed a crime. Word has to get around, apparently. In Cyberpunk 2077, the cops just appear out of thin air.
As you can see in this video shared on Reddit, it doesn't matter where you are or who even witnesses the crime you commit. Somehow, the police in Cyberpunk 2077's Night City instantly teleport to you and perhaps even outnumber you — even on a rooftop. This is arguably on the bottom rung of the ladder in terms of realism, even in a futuristic game like Cyberpunk. Don't be surprised if this is one of the many issues CD Projekt Red patches up at some point.
V sleeps like a weirdo
Cyberpunk 2077's world was built with immersion in mind. CD Projekt Red paid attention to a lot of little things, which makes this one slip-up all the more confusing. Some work went into animating V to collapse on a bed and go to sleep. How V sleeps in that bed, though, is straight up dumb.
A Redditor laid this out plainly, sharing a post containing three images. One is of V's bed in the character's apartment. The other is V's sleeping position. And the last is presumably how V must be laid out while sleeping. Based on V's size, it seems the character's body must be hanging halfway off the bed while taking a snooze. Either that or V sleeps in a perfect "L" shape. Regardless, it can't be comfortable.
This is just a silly and small detail in Cyberpunk 2077 that no one at CDPR may have given a second thought about. Once you see it, though, it's tough to ignore.