Say what you will about Cyberpunk 2077, and we have plenty of times, it can’t be denied that CD Projekt Red has kept their promise of bringing their game up to speed with a number of patches over the months that followed its turbulent launch in 2020. And after its DLC Phantom Liberty came out last year, it boosted an already vastly superior experience when compared to its launch up to easily one of the most immersive first-person adventures of the last few years.
Now, it’s time for the newly released Switch 2 to have a go at it and the end result is quite impressive. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is hands down the best third-party launch title for the system. It runs beautifully both in handheld and docked modes and features a number of control options, some exclusive to Nintendo’s new hybrid, making it one of the best options to play CD Projekt Red’s gritty futuristic adventure on the go.
If you have somehow avoided knowing anything about Cyberpunk 2077, a quick primer: it’s a first-person shooter with heavy RPG elements that takes place in Night City, a gritty sci-fi dystopian setting where you play as V, a hacker do-it-all who finds themselves knee deep in a conspiracy. All the while, you have to make do in a disturbed, technology-dependent society, taking quests from all manner of seedy augmented individuals as you basically kickstart your life.
There are a number of possible backgrounds you can pick from that dictate how the game starts out, from a nomad type of character that doesn’t even live in the city and is out looking for their next big score, to a business type who is just about to find out how bad it all can get when mixing with the lesser of the bad crowd. It’s frankly an incredibly immersive experience that has been crafted to emulate the world created by writer Mike Pondsmith.
As originally a PS4-era game, Cyberpunk 2077 has seen a number of updates since its release, and could now be considered a current gen title. On PC, it’s one of the best looking titles available, used to stress test setups thanks to its heavy use of HDR and processing. So it’s especially impressive to see it make the jump to Switch 2, albeit a powerful system in its own right, it definitely can’t compete with the constantly evolving hardware space of the PC.
Thanks to some neat control options, Cyberpunk 2077 also plays fantastically on Switch 2. The base one, with the Joy Cons, works as well as expected, and while it can get a little tiring on the wrists on account of the Switch 2 being bigger and heavier than the original, moving and shooting are about on par with what you come to expect from FPSs on consoles.
Next, we have double Joy Con controls when playing either in tabletop mode or docked. The motion controls on the right pad work much better than expected and are subdued enough to make you feel the weight of the weapon you are using, and the trigger placement adds on to that effect very well. It’s far from being my favorite way to play the game, but I found myself liking it much MUCH better than any of the waggle fests that the Wii had on offer.
The king of the bunch, though, is mouse mode. One of the Switch 2’s less talked features is how its Joy Cons can be used as mice on either tabletop or on your leg while sitting down, and both feel great to play. Precision aiming is a cinch as there’s just about the right amount of resistance when moving that it doesn’t feel too loose, a problem I generally find with playing FPS games on PC, even with the sensitivity turned down. This, my friends, is the best way to play the game. Sure, it makes it less portable to play on say, the bus or metro, but in every other context, it’s king.
Technically, as I’ve said previously, Cyberpunk 2077 is a powerhouse on Switch 2. Portably, the HDR function works great and makes it that much more visually intensive, with lights giving off a sheen, an effect that’s put to its paces on a neon-riddled location such as Night City. Character models look as good as I recall seeing on other systems, and the overall performance has held a silky smoothness throughout my time playing so far. And most importantly, if you’re planning to buy the game physically, the entire thing is on the cart, a rarity among the third-party releases so far on Switch 2.
I couldn’t be happier with how Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition turned out on Switch 2. After bagging on the game for so long thanks to its so-so state on release, it’s now something I can easily recommend playing to just about anyone looking for an immersive experience, regardless of what machine they decide on. There’s much to see and do, and even more if you consider the beefy DLC that it comes packed in with Phantom Liberty. If you are still on the fence in regards to Cyberpunk 2077 and have or are planning on picking up a Switch 2, don’t think twice about giving this one a shot.
