Cyberpunk 2077’s launch issues have been well-reported at this point in time. Yet while the list of specificCyberpunk 2077technical issues is long, for many players the problem came down to the complex idea of immersion. Walking the streets ofCyberpunk 2077’s Night City it was apparent that something had gone wrong due in large part to NPC and traffic behavior. CD Projekt Red has now shown it understands that issue, however, as a new clip fromCyberpunk 2077’s 1.5 update shows clearly.
The video clip, shared on Reddit by user oldmanrainsie, is short and simple. The player approaches a crosswalk with a crowd of people before him as they wait for the light to change. One NPC on the opposite side of the street ignores the light and jaywalks. A vehicle approaching the sidewalk brakes for the jaywalker, honking its horn, and turns slightly to avoid an accident. The jaywalker continues on and the car goes on its way. It’s that simple, yet it’s evidence of a dramatic, game-changingimprovement forCyberpunk 2077.
RELATED:VR Mod for Cyberpunk 2077 Reportedly Coming This Week
To frame the changes, in the launch version ofCyberpunk 2077the short video clip could never have happened. Starting with traffic, it was described by players as a “Disneyland ride.” Vehicles were effectively on a track and would either entirely ignore the player and NPCs or it would just phase through them. Drivers had no real agency for unique situations.Cyberpunk 2077’s NPCs, in turn, were incredibly dumb and impermanent. Even looking a different direction could cause NPCs to spawn or despawn. They certainly rarely had unique behavior.
Long story short, none of what happened in the shortCyberpunk 2077video could have happened prior topatch 1.5. The NPC wouldn’t have crossed the street and the vehicle wouldn’t have acknowledged the pedestrian or braked whatsoever. Everything that makes the sequence feel like something that should happen in an open-world game didn’t occur before the patch.
At least in this regard,Cyberpunk 2077’s 1.5 update is incredibly meaningful. It’s not going tomake playingCyberpunk 2077significantly more fun, by any means. It’s just a car braking for an NPC. But it’s going to allow the player to immerse themselves in the world just enough that they can enjoy the rest of the experience.
Cyberpunk 2077remains, in many ways, an incomplete version of what was originally promised of CD Projekt Red. Patch 1.5 only goes so far. But it does improve certain systems that stood out in an egregious way. Traffic, NPC and crowd behavior, and police behavior were all areas that were heavily criticized, but have now been upgraded to a point where they’re solid. This should provide a foundation for CD Projekt Red to launch future content and potentiallyrewriteCyberpunk 2077’s legacy.
Cyberpunk 2077is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
