[UPDATE: CD Projekt Red reports that this issue has been resolved in Cyberpunk 2077's 1.04 patch. The original story continues below.]
A warning has been issued for epileptic gamers who are eager to dive into several reviews have already come in singing the game's praises.
The release of a major game like this is always an exciting and busy time for video game fans. To make matters more complicated, Cyberpunk 2077 is launching during the infancy of a brand new console generation. In order to make this console divide easier for players, separate modes for performance and quality, with different emphases on frame rate and graphical resolution respectively.
Unfortunately, not all aspects of the game's visual presentation are worth getting excited about. A Keanu Reeves' character, Johnny Silverhand. Due to the bombastic nature of Night City, the correspondent identified several "danger zones" for epileptic gamers when entering bars and nightclubs. The game's Braindance mechanic was identified as a particular area of concern; the headset that the protagonist dons to engage with the mechanic bears a surprising similarity to a medical headset used to trigger seizures, and is unfortunately roughly as effective. The correspondent recommends looking away whenever the headset appears, and using caution and, if possible, the buddy system to navigate the Braindance mechanic itself.
The question of accessibility in video games is a big one. By their very nature, video games are a highly visual medium, which can make it much harder for people with visual issues to partake. A YouTube video released back in August shows the difficulties of trying to play a video game with partial blindness, and appeals to the video game industry for help. More and more developers are becoming conscious of video game accessibility, and that's good, but it's a conversation that can never really end.
It's not likely that CD Projekt Red intended to make Cyberpunk 2077 difficult for epileptic gamers. But the world is a wide and complicated place, and it's hard to take into every variable that might prevent a person from enjoying a game. One hopes that CD Projekt Red will take this news into and maybe add visual filters for the benefit of epileptic gamers in a future update. In the meantime, photosensitive fans will have to take special care when they play Cyberpunk 2077.
Source: Game Informer
