Reviews for one of the year's most anticipated games, Cyberpunk 2077, have started rolling in, but there was one that stood out from the rest. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with the gameplay mechanics or the fact that Hideo Kojima can be found in Night City. Instead, it stood out because the reviewer had a "massive epileptic seizure" while playing the game and wanted to warn others with epilepsy. Now, UK-based group Epilepsy Action is urging Cyberpunk developer CDPR to make changes to the game.
Yesterday, a review from Gameinformer came out stating that reporter Liana Ruppert (who is prone to seizures due to an injury sustained while in the military) had, "one major seizure" and "felt several moments where I was close to another one." Ruppert makes it clear—since seizures have become normal for her—that she pays special attention to design elements that could trigger one so that she can assess whether or not she is safe to play, if there is a work-around, or if she can offer advice to others.
While Ruppert is somewhat of a unique case, (being unable to give up her love of Dead Space, despite the fact that it can and does trigger seizures for her) she does seem to indicate that the safety and accessibility of the game could use improvement. That is where Epilepsy Action comes in. On the heels of Ruppert's review, Epilepsy Action sent out a press release admonishing CDPR and offering its condolences to Ruppert.
"We are alarmed and saddened that a game reviewer had a seizure triggered by Cyperpunk 2077, before it was even launched. The game features rapidly blinking lights and other animations that could cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. These features are unsafe and should have been avoided to make the game more accessible." CDPR responded to these reports and calls to action, stating that they are, "working on adding a separate warning in the game, aside from the one that exists in the EULA."
Cyberpunk 2077 is available for PC on GOG.COM, Steam and Epic, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Stadia from December 10, 2020. When you buy Cyberpunk 2077 on GOG.COM, 100% of your money goes to CD PROJEKT Group and supports their future projects.
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Source: VG247