Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has been released on multiple platforms, old generation and new generation alike. This allowed the game to be highly accessible, but it also made its flaws more prominent and highlighted on older platforms. This sentiment is made even clearer when you compare the game's performance on the older PlayStation 4 and the newer PlayStation 5.
The game is crowded with bugs and glitches upon release, and even up to this day. The PS5, however, manages to make the game run just a little bit smoother and better compared to its predecessor, which can barely keep up with the game's demanding graphics and size.
10 Loading Time
Due to the PS5 running on an SSD, compared to the PS4's older HDD, Cyberpunk 2077 is able to load faster on the newer console. The game's initial start-up from the menu to the actual game is considerably faster on the PS5 compared to the slow load times of the PS4.
It will only take approximately 15 seconds for the game to load on the PS5. This is miles and miles more impressive compared to the PS4, which will take approximately 50 seconds to load the game completely.
9 Frame Rate
One of the most impressive things about the PS5 is that it is able to run newer games at 60 frames per second, whereas the PS4, even its Pro version, is only capable of playing most games at 30 fps. While playing Cyberpunk 2077, however, it is reported that the frame rates drop even lower than 30 on several occasions.
The PS5, however, is fairly decent at keeping the game at 60 fps. This means, granted you have the proper TV or monitor for it, the game feels way smoother and more responsive on the newer console.
8 Texture
Just to clarify, there is no PS5 version of Cyberpunk 2077 just yet. The PS5 is simply running a PS4 version of the game. Despite this, however, and due to the newer console's more powerful CPU, GPU, and memory, the environmental and NPC textures look way better on the PS5 than on the PS4.
NPC's facial features, road textures, and virtually everything else, Cyberpunk 2077 just looks more fleshed out on the newer console. The draw distance is also more significant on the PS5.
7 Explosions
One of the more minor differences between the PS5 and the PS4 versions of Cyberpunk 2077 is the way they handle explosions. Not in the way they look and sound, but in terms of how often they happen.
There are certain instances during the game where an explosion is supposed to happen. Well, on the PS5 it does. Doing that very same scenario on the PS4, however, will not necessarily result in an explosion. For example, whenever a vehicle reaches a certain damage point, or if it hits a wall after being shot at repeatedly, that vehicle will explode on the PS5, while it may or may not happen on the older console.
6 Rendering
Those who have played Cyberpunk 2077 on the PS4, especially on the base version, know how painfully slow it takes for the game to render pretty much anything. NPCs, textures, weapons, and even the main character will take their sweet time to pop up on the screen.
This factor is made even more evident when going at top speeds when driving. The PS4 version of the game is so slow that a vehicle can go faster than the game can render textures, which makes for very unsightly visuals.
5 Crowds
It seems the NPCs of Cyberpunk 2077 on the PS4 don't want to leave their homes, considering how few there are on the streets and buildings of Night City. Playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the PS4 looks nothing like how it initially looked in trailers and gameplay footage before the game was released.
While it's not that impressive on the PS5 either, the difference is very noticeable when they are put side by side. This is also due to the fact that the newer console is able to load and render more data than the older system, or the game itself simply was not ported properly to eighth generation hardware.
4 Lens Flare
Lens flares are an effect that you either hate or love. Many video game developers know how to use this effect sublimely, while a few others just fail to hit the mark and end up with something atrocious and almost glitchy. Cyberpunk 2077 is able to use the lens flare effect properly, just not on the PS4 version of the game.
The lens flare effect on the PS4 just looks outright atrocious, especially whenever you're entering a darker environment from a bright one. It's better to just turn this effect off completely, which you can do from the game's video settings.
3 Crashes
With the current state of the game, no matter what platform you're playing the game on, you will most likely encounter crashes at some point. It happens more rarely on a high-end PC. The PS5 is able to hold back on the crashes from time to time as well. However, if you're playing on the PS4, you'll be seeing that dreadful blue screen more times than you'd care.
This all boils down to how the game was ported. With its current state, there is just no way for the old console to run the incredibly demanding game properly, causing it to crash more often than you're used to.
2 Driving
The driving controls in Cyberpunk 2077 are by far one of the worst ones in recent memory. Many of the vehicles in the game feel so unresponsive, clunky, bad, and any negative adjective you can think of. While some motorcycles offer better controls, it is still incredibly frustrating buying a new, expensive vehicle in the game only to find that it controls as good as a grocery store cart.
Cyberpunk 2077's driving mechanics are even worse on the PS4 compared to the newer PS5. Those who have played enough games at 60 fps know that this can mainly be attributed to the former console's low frame rate. While it's not good on the PS5 as well, its constant 6o fps does help the game's driving feel just a little bit better.
1 Resolution
The most obvious difference between the PS4 and the PS5 version of Cyberpunk 2077 is the overall resolution. The PS4 version of the game can only go up to 1080p, while the PS5 version can go up to 4K resolution.
The game's PS5 version isn't exactly the dedicated next-gen version yet, so you can expect the game to look even better once the upgraded edition comes out for the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. For now, though, PlayStation users can only see the game in its 4K glory on a PS5.