So, CD Projekt Red came out fresh with this bombshell regarding Cyberpunk 2077 on the Nintendo Switch 2. And, honestly?? The reactions are really mixed! The official handle tweets all hyped about being cyberpunk on your own terms: Motion controllers, gyro aiming, and handheld mode. But then if you scroll down all the way, the replies section is a war zone, with people being either very excited about it or saying things like “this game can’t even run on it,” and honestly, both sides have some good points. If we are literally talking about the promises they are making, the previously announced Switch 2 title will allow you to “slice through enemies like sashimi” with motion controls.
Think about it: if you recall the Wii days, that’s a good pitch; throw that on an intense game like Cyberpunk, and the execution alone sounds superb. Then there’s the brilliance of gyro aiming—the sort of precision of mouse movement that you want in Splatoon, and it works brilliantly—and, of course, there’s that whole “jack in on the go” via handheld mode. These are three different play-styles that you can mix and match, or use on their own: That’s a lot of play-styles for one game.
The replies section, meanwhile, asserts something completely different. One user goes by the name of Omsh simply said, “No. The game simply CAN’T run on it.” And such a concern is coming entirely valid. Cyberpunk 2077 is a very huge, very dense game, pushed right up to the limits on the PS4 and Xbox One, as at the launch. The very thought of that running smoothly on a handheld hybrid console—is a big ask. Another one, Vevjuur, asked about the resolution in jest: “360p upscaled from 144p?” which is… probably the view one could take. The old Switch saw some truly horrid ports, and everybody is now holding their breath for the real power of the Switch 2.
But the hopeful ones are far from scarce. Andrew Reistroffer says he owns this game on PC, PS4, PS5, and now he’s also getting Switch 2 because he “never gets tired of it.” Now that’s dedication. Thedadamer followed up with “Dang I own this on PS5 but y’all making my wanna double dip.” So, clearly, portability is an incredulous selling maintenance. Captain Eggbeard named his “first cartridge purchase for Switch 2” and appreciated that the game + DLC was on cart — no downloads — huge plus for all those who love physical media.
Then we had some weird side conversations. NickFirzen was begging them to implement those control schemes on Lenovo Legion Go or open-source them for other handheld PCs; then Cyberpunk Samurai’s eternal question pops up: “cyberpunk vr when?” Which I mean, that would be crazy, but let’s maybe get starship Switch 2 working first guys.
The best part being the range of emotions. Jimothy just comments, “Who plays this on a switch? Fucking lame.” which is… a take, meanwhile, another user, godOfTh32745077, is saying, “im glad the Wii shtuff still lives on” and thanks the devs for having the options. So, weirdly split between the folks who think it’s a great idea and the ones who think it’s a dumb gimmick for a game that might not even work that well.
Then let me not forget the weird complaints. Someone named fael is there blasting LG for their OLED TV being broken with this game’s format for months. Like, sir, this is a tweet about the Switch 2 controls. Then another person, 1PsychoBenjamin, chimes in, “This doesn’t change the fact that Cyberpunk still doesn’t feel like Cyberpunk,” well—entirely different argument unrelated to these controls. It’s a beautiful… outrageous mess of a reply chain.
Now, the one thing for sure is that CD Projekt Red definitely wants this game to live and continue for the long term and on as many platforms as possible. There’s been a hellacious amount of fixing and adding content since the day it had a rocky launch. Bringing it to Switch 2 with some pretty interesting control schemes tells you it’s not a one-way street thinking about fresh ways to experience the game. The big, giant million-eddies question however remains: How well does it actually work? On the basis of presentation, if it’s blurry and stuttering, hell, no amount of motion control is going to save it. But if they somehow pull off a version that’s somewhat stable and more than that? Biggest thing in the way of handheld gaming. Imagine Night City with you on the bus. That’s basically what they’re selling.
So yeah, the announcement is talking havoc. Some are hyped, some are skeptical, and some just want the VR. Classic gaming community stuff. We’ll just have to wait and see if Switch 2 actually has it in it to handle the dark future. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a “nuclear reactor,” as user kjaycod once alluded to. That would be… well, less than ideal.
