The great v1.2 patch for Cyberpunk 2077 was announced as the great patch by CD Projekt RED and, as we observed in our hands on PlayStation 5, it undoubtedly improved the experience. But what about PS4 Pro consoles? Well, a full review has been uploaded by Digital Foundry, and the result is that it is much, much better – but there are caveats.
The publication reports that while the frame rate is certainly not perfect on Sony’s next-generation supercharged console, it now stays much closer to its 30 frames per second – even in stressful areas, such as markets. The problem is that the Polish developer has shifted the asset flow down to achieve it, which means that many objects and materials just don’t show up if you are moving fast.
Compensation means that the details of the setting, such as chairs or billboards, are hidden unless you stop and wait for them to load. Depending on the speed at which you are moving, the game may not even transmit them. Obviously, the launch suffers from pop-in on all consoles anyway, so it might not be the end of the world – and it has greatly improved performance on the PS4 Pro.
Unfortunately, things remain more or less the same on a standard PS4, where the frame rate is everywhere. Digital Foundry reports that there are minor improvements in key areas, such as the chase sequence at the beginning of the game, which gains a few extra frames – but overall, it is not good enough. Our lesson from all of this? We cannot imagine a return to the PS Store any time soon.