Cyberpunk 2077 (Switch 2) – Review

The Impossible Switch 2 Port!

At its launch in December 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was the laughing stock of the town: a game announced 8 years prior, pre-ordered by 8 million enthusiasts, but which ran absolutely terribly on current-genlast-gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) and was soon shamefully removed from the PlayStation Network. The planets were aligned for a resounding success that only GTA 6 and Half-Life 2 could surpass, but the final product disappointed in terms of optimisation and stability. It was even sold in a promotional bundle alongside the very Xbox One that proved its impotence against the cyborgs of the future.

For a good while, Cyberpunk 2077 metamorphosed into a punching bag for industry commentators and critics: YouTubers like BeatEmUps recorded songs about the surprisingly large number of bugs encountered during the adventure, and the Romanian podcasters from NEXT LEVEL made a special episode called “Zaibărpanc”. It was funny to add “Cyberpunk” every time you listed failures in the video game industry, and even the most die-hard fans expressed their disappointment.

But despite these unfortunate events, the guys at CD Projekt Red didn't give up on their vision for their work. Unlike their colleagues at Sony who abandoned Concord faster than Leonardo DiCaprio at his girlfriend's 25th birthday, the Poles invested another $125 million to fix the game experience and later put aside another $85 million for the development and promotion of an expansion called Phantom Liberty.

In parallel, the animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners also appeared — a meritorious project, which earned all its accolades and convinced a larger number of players to give 2077 another chance, despite prejudices. The year was already 2022, urban myths and bad jokes had spread more aggressively than the virus that kept us indoors, but many of the problems reported at the time of its removal from the PlayStation Network platform had already been resolved.

Overall, these efforts were worth it. According to reports from November 2024, published before the Nintendo Switch 2 and Mac versions saw the light of day, Cyberpunk 2077 had sold over 30 million copies. And today, thanks to CD Projekt Red's wisdom in putting all the content on the 64 GB disc, V and Johnny Silverhand's adventure enjoys considerable popularity among Switch 2 collectors.

But why would anyone want to buy Cyberpunk 2077 on a Nintendo console with weaker specs than a PS5 or Xbox Series X? Why spend extra money on the game if all the content is already available on Steam, and a modern PC or a Steam Deck/Lenovo Legion should offer superior visual fidelity?

During my adventure through Night City, I managed to identify two valid reasons that have nothing to do with the argument “I only have a Switch 2 and nothing else, so I'll buy the game on this platform”.

Firstly, we have the most complete and polished version of Cyberpunk 2077 to date, released in a physical format that you can use to start the adventure just seconds after opening the case. Discs compatible with PlayStation and Xbox require downloading large updates, which can be unpleasant and compromise the ability to preserve content long-term.

Secondly, thanks to the mouse function via the Joy-Cons, Switch 2 offers the most enjoyable portable experience you can have with Cyberpunk 2077. Let's be serious — the directional sticks, gyroscope function, and tactile pad on the Steam Deck will never match the precision of a mouse. And yes, I'm aware that you can connect a mouse via USB ports or Bluetooth to preserve Gabe Newell's Mona Lisa smile.

But here we're talking about native accessories, which you'll have with your console at all times. The Polish brothersteam at CD Projekt Red have done a wonderful job regarding the integration of the new mouse function in Switch 2 — so wonderful that it's hard for me to imagine how I could perform parkour manoeuvres and high-precision assassinations using the directional buttons on the controller. I simply cannot go back to a vastly inferior experience!

DOOM on SNES, Resident Evil 2 on N64, Skyrim and Witcher 3 on Switch

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 joins an absolutely remarkable list of seemingly impossible ports — titles specially adapted for Nintendo consoles, brought from much more powerful systems without visibly compromising fidelity or content integrity.

CD Projekt Red's work is optimised to run consistently at 40 frames per second — a performance that doesn't come close to what you can get on PC or PS5, but is extremely satisfying for a portable console. In “handheld” mode, the entire experience is surprisingly fluid. The Switch 2 system's screen accentuates contrasts spectacularly, highlighting the vivid colours of Night City. And thanks to Nvidia's DLSS technology, upscaling is performed that doesn't betray resolution drops in more crowded moments.

However, I recommend detaching the Joy-Cons even when playing in portable mode. Place the screen on a table and you'll have the best experience, ensured by the mouse function integrated into the controllers. If you don't have the luxury of using a flat surface because you're on a tram, I recommend activating the aim assist system. If you enter certain fights using the directional sticks, most of the time you'll curse your life and end up reducing the difficulty level.

When you dock the console, the resolution is visibly higher. But the larger the diagonal of your TV or monitor, the more disappointed you'll feel by what you see. Because, inevitably, you'll end up comparing the action on screen with sequences admired on a PS5 or a powerful PC. Cyberpunk 2077 has been admirably ported to Switch 2, offering an immersion in Night City quite close to what exists on other platforms, but it obviously doesn't have the same visual fidelity as other platforms with superior hardware. Optimisation and AI can do wonders, but they haven't yet managed to defy the laws of physics.

Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy VII?!

Going through the story of Cyberpunk 2077, it was hard not to notice thematic similarities with Final Fantasy VII (SquareSoft's 1997 masterpiece). Firstly, the protagonist V becomes confused — adopting memories and traits taken from Johnny Silverhand through a memory implant. Much like Cloud Strife believes himself to be a first-class soldier, but in reality, he confuses his identity with his comrade-in-arms Zack Fair.

Secondly, both games include assassinations of Japanese corporate presidents (Shinra in FF VII, Arasaka in CP2077) that take place under mysterious circumstances on the top floor of an ultra-secure skyscraper… and to witness the events, the heroes of the story must sneak in. The sons of the assassinated, Rufus Shinra and Yorinobu Arasaka, have radically different visions from the deceased leaders and end up taking the legacy in divergent directions from the opinions of the fallen paternal figures.

And yes, it can be argued that these elements are part of the specific motifs of cyberpunk literature… it's just that, as a die-hard fan of Final Fantasy VII, it was hard for me not to notice certain similarities. Obviously, many details related to the action and the characters' motivations differ and receive nuances that individualise them.

Night City: now in a complete version directly in your backpack, controlled by a mouse that slides on your jeans.

That's how I would describe, in a single phrase, the arguments for buying and enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo Switch 2. Connected to a TV, it will never reach the level of a PS5. But when you're on a plane, with the console screen placed on the tray table behind the seat in front, headphones in your ears and Joy-Cons on your lap… well, that's truly a unique experience.

And yes, there's also the possibility that Switch 2 is the only console you own… while Cyberpunk 2077 is completely new and unfamiliar to you. Maybe you were 7 years old when the game launched in 2020, and now that you're 12 you want to try everything that's mature and forbidden to be sold to you — I'm not in a position to judge, in fifth grade I was smashing GTA Vice City and borrowing an incomplete copy of the Romanian abomination The Mysteries of Laura. Or maybe you ignored Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020 due to negative reviews, and now you're ready to give it a chance in an optimised and visibly improved version.

Regardless of the situation, I recommend this port for Nintendo Switch 2. It managed to captivate me enough to turn “a few hours” into 30 full rotations of the minute hand30 hours, it pleasantly surprised me with the integration of the mouse function, and it made it easy for me to play even when I didn't have access to a TV. I give it a score of 9 for the merit of pushing the limits of the Switch 2 console from launch day, and I hope Witcher 3 will receive similar treatment from CD Projekt Red.

Last but not least, I want to thank Leo for the download code he managed to get directly from the parent studio. I was planning to buy Cyberpunk 2077 for my personal collection anyway (I already have the PS4 version from launch day), but this digital version accelerated my immersion into the portable version of Night City. “Now, as that ol’ Greek dawgold Greek philosopher says, life’s a banquet — so don’t go thirsty, but don’t get drunk, either.”

Played on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: 05 June 2025
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Publisher: CD Projekt