A Reddit user has posted a video showcasing the water physics of three big-name first-person shooters released since 2004. Two of the games showcase impress reactionary water; the third game, Cyberpunk 2077, leaves something to be desired despite being the newest of the three.
Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most anticipated games in the history of the medium for many fans. Hot off the success of fantasy RPG The Witcher 3, developer CD Projekt Red promised an immersive, futuristic world with endless possibilities, and the gaming industry was inclined to believe it.
Unfortunately, CDPR under-delivered on many – if not most – of its promises. Players on all platforms were stunned to find a buggy mess of a game with many advertised features either substantially stripped down or removed entirely. The primary consoles for which the game was advertised – the last-gen Xbox One and PS4 – could barely run Cyberpunk 2077 at all. When it wasn’t glitching out or running under 20 frames per second, Cyberpunk’s open world lacked many of the reactive elements that make other sandbox-style games so immersive.
One missing detail is water reacting to the player, an element that games have been implementing for many years. A reddit user made the GIF seen above, showcasing Cyberpunk’s water physics compared to Half-Life 2 and Far Cry 5. Both Half-Life and Far Cry demonstrate competent reactionary physics, with the water surface splashing and deforming in response to the player’s actions. Cyberpunk’s water remains completely stationary, with no ripples in response to bullets or explosions. Cyberpunk is missing many small details like this, making it in many ways inferior to Half-Life 2, a game that was released in 2004.
Though CDPR has promised that it will work to fix the game, the damage has been done for many players. Many in the industry believe that Cyberpunk will never be the game fans hoped for, and the backlash against the Polish studio has been intense. On top of this, CDPR was recently hacked and the source code for both Cyberpunk and The Witcher 3 were sold online. Despite record sales, the situation looks bad for CD Projekt Red.
Not everyone is lighting torches and grabbing pitchforks; many have come to the defense of CDPR, including Gabe Newell. The president of Valve agrees that the game should receive criticism, but also points out the craftmanship of the game world. This, said Newell, was evidence that the game was rushed, rather than deliberately trying to deceive players.
Regardless of the cause, Cyberpunk 2077 will likely go down in history as one of the industry’s most disappointing launches. Players eagerly wait to see if the game can pull a “No Man’s Sky” and eventually correct its course. With multiple patches and next-gen versions on the way, CDPR has a lot to fix and even more to prove.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, Stadia, Xbox One, and PS4.
