Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition (Switch 2) Review

The Switch 2 is here, along with the first wave of launch titles. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is a big surprise — partly because so little was known about the Switch 2’s hardware. It’s a major moment to see a large-scale, graphics-intensive game announced (though maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise, given The Witcher 3 made it to the original Switch). Now that it’s out, it’s time to jack in and survive Night City.

You play as V, a character whose origin story you choose — shaping how they meet their partner-in-crime and best friend, Jackie, and how they come to call Night City home. After a heist goes wrong, you end up with Keanu Reeves in your head, playing Johnny Silverhand — a long-dead rocker and terrorist. You’re in trouble with some very powerful people, and you’ve got a rogue consciousness trying to overwrite your own. Welcome to Cyberpunk!

This (mostly) first-person shooter/RPG gives you a variety of methods to carve your way through the City. V lives in a world full of weapons, a variety of firearms and melee weapons. Although a bullet or blade isn’t the only way to survive. Using Netrunning abilities, you can hack into nearby electronic items or enemies to distract or injure, especially handy if you prefer a more stealthy approach. As you level up you get points to put towards perks and attributes, whether it’s building a V who can rip a locked door off its hinges or to hack through with technical skill. Cyberpunk is forgiving with how you build your V, allowing you to reset and redistribute your points whenever you want.

I liked the relief of not having to worry I was making a ‘bad build’, while also being able to readjust to different circumstances. Accompanied with your cybernetic enhancements there are so many options and ways to really amp up how you approach the game. Personally, I am a sucker for traversal enhancements, give me double jump, air dashing, or anything that adds some verticality to the world. Depending on where you spend your points as well as depending on your chosen origin story, you can often have some extra dialogue options which help flesh out the characters and acknowledge where your V started.  

I feel I should give a heads up, even though I do hope after all these years it’s less of a surprise, Cyberpunk 2077 is not a game for kids. Although the game doesn’t hide its more adult nature, between the game’s age classification, pretty visible sex and violence on display on top of being made by the developer who is best known for The Witcher series. If you’ve not delved into the advertising and all that, just know that Night City earns the R18+ rating. Its depictions of violence in its different forms can be confronting if you’re not prepared for them, and even then I daresay it will make people feel uncomfortable.

On top of the main game, included here is The Phantom Liberty – the expansion where V finds themselves working with the Federal Intelligence Agency following an assassination attempt on the President. On top of Johnny Silverhand/Keanu, you’re also now dealing with Agent Solomon Reed (portrayed by Idris Elba). While both the main and expansion’s story won’t set the world on fire, they’re still entertaining and full of cool moments. The Cyberpunk setting is made for themes taking on the Corporate overlords and a bit of cyber espionage, while people are just trying to make a living or want to be larger than life in an unforgiving and uncaring world.  

Cyberpunk’s story is as involved or brisk as you want it to be. If you want to just follow the main story threads, you can mostly sprint towards the finish line. It would be doing yourself a big disservice but it’s an option. There is plenty to do around Night City that builds on the world and the characters that inhabit the City and its surroundings. Also, if you want the fun upgrades for combat and traversal you’ll need the Eddies (cash) to upgrade. There’s plenty of usual side stuff to do like racing, brawling for Eddies, arcade games and some bounty hunting, if you want to wring every second of time out of the game. 

Along with the new Switch 2 comes new methods of control if you want some options outside of the usual controller settings. Gyroscope mode is exactly what you’d expect, which is great news for gyro control players. I don’t generally prefer gyro for aiming in games, however, Cyberpunk got me on board. 

Motion pattern controls feel like Wii motion controls, using motion gestures alongside gyro aiming. It worked well enough, even when I awkwardly stumbled into selecting the mode in training and had to prop up the handheld screen and manage the controls. The control scheme reminded me of Red Steel on the Wii, with the difficulties around accurate motion controls still present in 2025. It’s cool that there are multiple ways to control the game to suit what you prefer, however, Motion Patterns Controls struggle to be more than a novelty.

The new Joy-Con 2 with its inbuilt mouse controls are included as an option here and gives you a more PC-like experience. If you don’t feel the other control methods do the job for speed and accuracy then mouse control should have you covered. Given that you still need to use the mouse-orientated Joy Con’s buttons too, it’s not quite as simple as point and clicking should you need to do anything more than shoot. There’s also Touch control, although this is more for interfaces and the menu. It’s a nice touch if you’re in handheld mode for navigating the map or just getting around the menus quickly. 

Now for the main reason, a lot will be looking at the Cyberpunk reviews for – how does it run on the Switch 2? As we’re entering a new era of Nintendo hardware, there is still going to be a need to temper expectations. If you’re going to hold this (or the Switch 2) up to a high-end PC, the Xbox Series X, or PS5 then you’re in for many years of disappointment right out of the gate. As for Cyberpunk 2077 on the Switch 2 in handheld or docked, it looks great. It’s no peak of visual fidelity, but it does a really good job considering the game’s bumpy history and less-than-ideal legacy on older platforms. 

One area many people will be curious about is the framerate. The game runs at 30 to 40fps, depending on whether you’re playing docked or handheld, and whether it’s set to Performance or Quality mode. For the most part, the framerate holds up well, and the game remains consistently playable—any dips have never impacted gameplay in a meaningful way. Some areas do see more noticeable drops, depending on the location. Combat and driving sequences can occasionally show signs of strain, but overall, the performance is impressive—especially considering this isn’t running on a PS5 or Series X.

On the visual side, if anything stands out, it’s the usual kind of buginess you’d expect across any version—largely due to the sheer scale of the world and the complexity of its systems. Shadows might pop in and out, hair can clip through clothing, and some NPCs occasionally behave oddly. While you will notice these quirks, they don’t detract from the overall experience.

Even at a lower resolution in handheld mode, the game looks impressive. Cyberpunk‘s world is visually rich, from the overcrowded, neon-drenched streets of Night City to the vast, open stretches of the Badlands on its outskirts. The expansion adds even more, introducing the walled-off district of Dogtown to an already densely packed world.

I did experience the game crashing a few times in one section, which was unfortunate. It would have been far more frustrating if the autosave system hadn’t prevented me from losing more than a few minutes of progress. Don’t get me wrong—it’s still pretty frustrating.

Overall, Cyberpunk 2077 looks and runs well, and the Ultimate Edition is a solid demonstration of what the Switch 2 can handle. As developers become more familiar with the hardware, I can imagine they’ll be able to push it even further. With Cyberpunk and other interesting ports on the way, it’s off to a promising start. The only downside around launch was the announcement of an upcoming 2.3 patch. At this point, we don’t know how it will affect the game’s stability or performance. Still, the fact that it’s being held back until it’s ready suggests there’ll be a number of improvements, additions, and adjustments to the game overall.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is the culmination of years of hard work to overcome the game’s rough launch back in 2020. Switch 2 owners now get to enjoy the results of that effort, bundled up and ready to play anywhere — or, of course, on the TV. If you haven’t had the chance to experience this massive open-world RPG yet, there’s no better time than now.

Rating: 4/5