I got an Xbox Series X just for Cyberpunk 2077 but was it worth it?

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Thinking about chipping in for a next-gen Xbox Series X to play Cyberpunk 2077? Here’s my experience taking that next-gen leap.

Cyberpunk 2077 launched worldwide on the December 10th on current-gen consoles and PC. While I understand that the best possible version is PC, I opted to get the Xbox One version. Here’s why.

NEWS: Kanye West perfectly recreated in Cyberpunk 2077.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter which version you buy because CD PROJEKT RED have promised a free next-gen upgrade with all console versions. I have a classic PlayStation 4, an Xbox One X and a decent PC with a 1080Ti graphics card. But still, I decided to pick up Cyberpunk 2077 for the Xbox One.

I’ve been very impressed with the power of the Xbox One X since it launched in November, 2017. Microsoft did brag about it being the most powerful console available at the time, and they weren’t lying. It put the PlayStation 4 Pro to shame.

Unlike the PlayStation 4 Pro, the Xbox One X could output games a native 4K resolution. The PS4 Pro only upscales to 4K resolution. Secondly, the Xbox One X comes with a 4K UHD player, something that is a must have in 2020.

So, if I’m so happy with the Xbox One X why did I upgrade to the Series X?

Cyberpunk next gen
How does Cyberpunk 2077 perform on Xbox Series X and is it worth it?

There is absolutely no denying that Cyberpunk 2077 looks breath-taking on the Xbox One X. It also manages to hold a somewhat steady framerate although it can dip to low 20s during intense action scenes, but even still then it was barely noticeable.

No crashes/hangs and better load times on XS!

What was noticeable, however, were some of the bugs. During a two-hour playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 the game would hang for 15 seconds every now and then, and it crashed 4 times. It wasn’t game breaking crashes, just little soft crashes. No progress was lost either because the autosave system is spot on. But it was annoying having to reboot the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 hasn’t crashed or hung once on the Xbox Series X, and thanks to the 1TB SSD, the game fully loads in under 30 seconds. Sure there are still bugs, but they are minor: like floating objects, pop-ins etc. But overall the experience is much, much better.

Solid 30/60FPS with 4K resolution!

I didn’t notice a single frame drop while playing on the Xbox Series X. Not in graphics or performance mode. The framerate holds steady at 30FPS with graphics mode enabled and a solid 60 at full 4K UHD on performance mode turned on.

The image is a lot crisper thanks to the resolution being at (almost) full 4K UHD (3200 x 1800p), whereas the the Xbox One X resolution is upscaled from 1224 x 1368p.

V and Judy romance
V and Judy perfect romance couple.

I was blown away by just how beautiful this game is on the Xbox One X, and it is even better on the Series X… and that’s without the next-gen graphical enhancements.

The Xbox Series X is simply using its impressive backwards compatibility to run an Xbox One game. And when CD PROJEKT RED release the next-gen update for the game, you can expect it to look and perform so, so much better.

Ray tracing coming to consoles soon.

I expect to see the game resolution rendered in full 3840 x 2160 with HDR enhancement as well as Microsoft’s ground-breaking ray tracing technology in Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox Series X very soon.

Surely, you are thinking, why not just get the game on PC? All these graphical feature are already available straight out off the box? Well, it’s simple. My 1080Ti just can’t handle it. It is supposed to be able handle 4K at 60fps, but the hardware would melt if it tried to do ray tracing at that resolution running Cyberpunk 2077..

To be fair, you’d be looking at spending at least AUD$750 to get a card that does ray tracing, and a heck of a lot more if you want 4K + ray tracing.

Totally worth it… if you have the right TV.

So, was the upgrade worth it? For me? 100% yes. I have no regrets picking up an Xbox Series X to play Cyberpunk 2077, but it might not be worth it for you. Here’s why.

The extra buff that the new Xbox gives you may be worthless if you’re not playing on a television/monitor with HDMI 2.1 that supports HDR and 120Hz refresh rate. You just wont notice the enhancements on a low-midrange set.

What you will notice, however, is the super quick loading times. The game loads quicker then it takes me to notice that it has fully loaded. Also, no crashes and zero hangs is a bonus.

If you are thinking about getting an Xbox Series X to play Cyberpunk 2077 you might want to wait until CD PROJEKT RED release the next-gen upgrade. That’s when the game will truly shine.

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