Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on Switch 2 is even more impressive than The Witcher 3 was on Switch
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is one the games I was looking forward to playing on Switch 2 the most, alongside Street Fighter 6. The latter was my game of the year for 2023, but I was very curious about Cyberpunk because of my history with The Witcher 3, how it ran on older consoles, how it plays on Steam Deck, and generally to see how it used the Switch 2's many input options. Both Alex and Adam played it during Nintendo events, and after discussing it with them, I knew it would be something I'd be all over as soon as I could. Before that, I need to give you some context for how my experience with The Witcher 3 led to me making some good and bad decisions, but finally led to this moment.
Back in early 2015, I got caught up in the hype for The Witcher 3. I hadn't played a game in the series before, but I decided to buy it on both PC and PS4 anyway. I thought I'd play it on PS4, but I also wanted to buy the PC version was a proper physical release with a lot of bonus goodies. You may think that buying multiple versions of a game that you aren't sure you will like is dumb, but I did it anyway. I played about 12 hours or so on PS4 back then, and thought it was pretty good, but I didn't play more of it until much later.
I lost my PS4 save when I wanted to revisit it with a few updates, and ended up replaying the opening 10 hours on Xbox One X, but I still didn't get farther than that. When CD Projekt Red announced The Witcher 3 for Switch, I joked about how that might end up being the version that gets me to finish it. Before the Switch release, I had played bits of the game on basically every platform, but never got deep it. Once the cross save patch hit The Witcher 3 on Switch allowing me to play across PC and Switch in early 2020, I gave the game another shot.
This was when The Witcher 3 got its hooks in me and I ended up putting in over 120 hours into the game on Switch since. I've now played The Witcher 3 on every platform and the ability to bring my save across Switch, Steam Deck, PS5, and Xbox Series X means I'll keep chipping away at the game. I still havent gotten around to playing the DLC I hear so much about, but I'll save that for another article.
I think The Witcher 3, Dragon Quest XI S, and No Man's Sky are the most-impressive Switch ports of existing games. All three of them had to make many compromises to run on Nintendo's hybrid system, but the payoff was worth it. The Witcher 3 was clearly running at a very low resolution, had a lot of shimmering, and saw many cutbacks to the draw distance. Despite all of that, I stuck with it and enjoyed my time with it on Switch. I had some issues with how darker scenes were rendered, and had to swap to playing docked for them, but it delivered the full experience on the go, something we take for granted now with handheld PCs.
After how much I loved The Witcher 3, I decided to pre-order Cyberpunk 2077 on PC and console again. This was clearly not smart looking back at its launch state, but the allure of a good physical release with bonus content from a developer who released a game I loved pushed me to it.
While I played some of Cyberpunk 2077 on console around launch and soon after, I didn't stick with it because of how poorly it ran and how bad it looked. I only gave it a fair shot when the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions were released. Again, something or the other came up, and I didn't finish the game. The Steam Deck was also released and it was quite a showcase (and still is when you tweak the settings and don't use the awful default preset) for Valve's handheld. When cross save was added there, I started playing more of Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam Deck and syncing my save across both consoles, even finally experiencing Dogtown to see why it was so demanding that it couldn't run on PS4.
Again, I wasn't able to go for 100% because I had to put it away to focus on other games, and also because I decided to wait while Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty was still getting many updates. Back in April when Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition was announced for Nintendo Switch 2, I re-downloaded the game on all platforms with the DLC. I knew I would play it there. Having spent most of my free time with the Switch 2 playing Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and No Man's Sky, I think both of these releases are fantastic portable showings for Nintendo's new system despite some issues.
This isn't a review of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition though. I'm nowhere near done with the game and want to experience the whole thing again on Switch 2. I also decided to wait for the 2.3 update coming later this month, but Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 has continued to impress me in handheld mode thanks to its performance and with how much effort CD Projekt Red has put into making use of the platform's features like touchscreen support, mouse controls, and motion controls.
After linking my account to access my saves, I loaded up an older save, one near Dogtown, and also started a new game to see how the opening felt. I was immediately very impressed with the game outside Dogtown. The performance mode when playing handheld felt great for the most part. My portable time with Cyberpunk 2077 has been mainly on Steam Deck prior to this release. Besides HDR which never felt right on the Steam Deck OLED, I was very happy with the base game after tweaking the settings. The Steam Deck has some limits though like its rumble being lacking. This is another area I think Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 excels.
I use the touchscreen for menus in most games on Switch or Steam Deck when possible, and I was glad to see that available here like it was in The Witcher 3 on Switch. Basically, the handheld experience so far in performance mode has been lovely all things considered. I came into this expecting a Switch Witcher 3-like experience, but I got something that is massively better in every way. While not something that matters to everyone, I am very happy that Cyberpunk 2077 is also fully on cartridge and one of the few RPGs to get a proper physical release on Switch 2.
Phantom Liberty sadly is not a great experience on Switch 2 (alongside some busier areas of the base game where the frame rate struggles) so far with a lot of hitching, frame rate drops, and generally an experience that feels bad compared to the base game. The base game itself saw cutbacks like density across crowds and on roads, but everything the team did paid off as far as I'm concerned. It is only areas in the Phantom Liberty expansion that suffer when you try and push things by driving fast or even just go into busy areas.
Late ports to new consoles can be hit or miss, but Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on Switch 2 feels like a flex from both CD Projekt Red and Nintendo for the latter's new console. It isn't perfect, but it is more impressive right now than The Witcher 3 was on Nintendo Switch a few years ago. When I was playing The Witcher 3, I knew it was a visually cut down version of a massive open world that was pushing the system a ton all the time. With Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, the system is clearly being pushed, but the end result is much better and it is a very impressive portable showcase for the Switch 2. Hopefully CD Projekt Red keeps working on improving performance because I'm looking forward to moving across PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, and Steam Deck OLED when I play more of Cyberpunk 2077.