So here's the state of play with this game across various platforms and in general.
Please note, this post is absolutely not intended to piss on the chips of anyone who's playing the game and enjoying it, if you are doing so, that's cool, this post focuses on the game's current technical state.
For those who are considering a purchase, (including me, as I will be buying this game, but not yet), this is a digest of what I've learned since the game's launch via my usual nerdery, and may hopefully give useful information to other BEEX-ers in that regard who don't nerd out on stuff like this.
Totally spoiler free from a story/gameplay perspective.
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TL:DR - Unless you really think you need to play this RIGHT NOW, wait until at least February when the second major scheduled patch should have landed, although in reality this is a game that seems to have six months and more of patches ahead of it.
Even then, check what performance is like on the last-gen consoles if you'll be playing it on one, and see if it'd be acceptable to you.
If I had to play this game now, I would only consider doing so on an XBox Series X, PS5, or high-end gaming PC (none of which I own). And even then, I still think I'd wait for the patches for bugs and technical issues.
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PERFORMANCE:
XB1/PS4 - Dreadful. A couple of critical patches have already been issued but framerates spend a lot of time in the mid to low 20s, with regular drops down into the mid teens when you least want it (heavy fight scenes and driving sections). Graphical settings are pared right back, dynamic resolution is in place with the XB1 seen as low as around 670p and the PS4 down at 720p. (From a target of 900p and 1080p respectively.)
Texture streaming issues are prevalent so you'll be looking at a lot of low-res assets until they've loaded in, and both platforms suffer from frequent stuttering and pauses, with Digital Foundry seeing the XB1 version lock up for as long as 65 seconds before resuming. Both platforms also suffer hard crashes.
The point at which a game becomes 'unplayable' is subjective, but CD Projekt Red have offered unconditional refunds for those who have purchased the game on either of the base consoles, apologised for the state it's in, and promised two major patches, one in January and a further one in February.
They clearly knew it wasn't ready, and playing on either of these consoles is not a nice experience.
XB1X/PS4 Pro - Better than the base consoles but not by as much as you'd like. Personally I had high hopes for the XB1X version but in reality it's pretty shonky.
Both offer resolution bumps over the base consoles and both target 30FPS. Graphical fidelity settings are the same. However, both fall well short of the 30FPS target on a near constant basis, with the XB1X faring worst. Digital Foundry saw consistently higher resolutions on XB1X but to the detriment of framerate compared to PS4 Pro. Both deliver extended sections bouncing around in the mid to low 20s, with occasional dips into the mid to high teens.
The thinking is that all four last-gen consoles are CPU limited, so the extra graphical horsepower can only do so much.
PS4 Pro gets closest to what might be considered a reasonable, playable experience, but manage your expectations, it still gets very janky, far more often than you'd want.
XBox Series S - Generally a solid 30FPS, decent overall experience, a few (very) minor graphical upgrades over the base consoles, better than many were expecting and a pleasant surprise.
XBox Series X/PS5 Essentially the same graphical fidelity as the base consoles (this is not the enhanced version, the actual enhanced 'next-gen' version is due some time in 2021), but you get a substantial resolution boost and a near-solid 60FPS. From a pure performance perspective, a solid way to experience the game.
PC - If you've got enough horsepower to throw at it, you can see your way to a lovely looking game at 60FPS, but you need a seriously high-end CPU and graphics card to do so. There's more than I cover here, but do your research to see what kind of performance you can expect from your current system. Obviously there are lots of nips and tucks that can be done on PC, so if you're prepared to compromise enough a playable experience can be in reach, but this is a heavy game to get running nicely.
(To give you a ballpark idea, my overclocked 8-core Ryzen 1700X paired with an 8GB GTX1080 will be able to manage 1080p at around 60FPS with a combination of medium/high settings - so not great.)
TECHNICAL:
It's a bugfest.
Irrespective of the performance metrics, the core game is riddled with bugs and other technical issues. Some of these are minor, some of these are graphical only, others are related to interactions in the game, some of them break quests, some are bizarre physics fails, some straddle the line between bug/gameplay (see below for gameplay), for example police simply spawning into a completely enclosed space when a player gets a wanted rating.
The phrase I keep hearing is 'the game is in an unacceptable state', and I think it's possible to say as an objective fact that it was released before it was ready. (This is largely acknowledged by CPR in the public apology they've issued.)
You only need to look at the fact that CPR 'hid' the game prior to release by banning all reviewers who got a pre-release copy from showing any of their own captured footage (they had to use pre-approved CPR PC footage), and indeed didn't send any console versions out for review at all.
CPR have released a few 'critical updates' already but the proper patches don't start until January, there are already two major planned patches with a timescale, one in January and one in February, which will be addressng both performance and technical issues. (i.e. If you can wait, then absolutely wait until at least the second of those major patches has landed.)
Your tolerance for bugs is your own, from what I've seen the game is not in a state that I'd want to play, and that's before you get to the fact it has a tendency to simply crash out completely on all platforms, or require a restart from a checkpoint when something breaks that then can't be progressed past.
There are loads of videos/posts on YouTube/Reddit etc of the game bugging out in all kinds of amusing and terrible ways, if you want to research any further.
GAMEPLAY:
On balance I'll leave this section essentially blank as it's so subjective, save to say be aware that, by all accounts, this isn't an immersive feeling Rockstar world (I've seen it compared unfavourably to GTA4, an XBox360 game from 2008), with particularly shallow pedestrians/traffic, and an awful police system (that are spawned in from nowhere when required).
Stealth is awful, crafting is useless, driving is floaty and unsatisfying, combat is workmanlike, so you'll want to really be invested in the world, its characters, and the story.
CONCLUSION - Definitely one I'll get round to playing, probably around June 2021 when I've got an XBSX/PS5 or a new PC, and the game has seen many updates and patches.
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