Cyberpunk 2077 players "blown away" by the Overdrive Mode

Cyberpunk 2077 players are already blown away by the Overdrive Mode just a day after it first debuted.

Cyberpunk 2077's Overdrive Mode launched yesterday on April 11 for PC players, or rather, PC players with a wildly powerful rig. Players with a supreme graphics card have got the mode that promises film-quality lighting working to show to others, and the entire thing looks really damn impressive in the gameplay clip below.

I am legitimately blown away by the new Overdrive Ray Tracing. NC has never looked so good. from r/cyberpunkgame

Night City's never looked so slick and clean, especially when drenched with rain under the blazing neon lights. Adding this new dimension of lighting really makes the bustling areas of Cyberpunk 2077's metropolis hit home, as the lighting looks better than ever before.

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If your PC isn't up to scratch to run the full Overdrive Mode, you can activate it temporarily for photo mode. That's how we've got the jaw-dropping shots just below, because Cyberpunk 2077 lets players use path tracing when they're merely rendering one screen to take a photo with.

I still can’t believe these aren’t concept art, but actual screenshots from my gameplay today. Path tracing is genuinely next level from r/cyberpunkgame

Again, there's even more impressive shots with path tracing turned on just below. Nvidia previously billed path tracing as the "full ray tracing," with all the bells and whistles turned on, and seeing the character-centric screenshots just below, it's really hard not to agree that this is the future of ray tracing in general.

Photomode with RT update from r/cyberpunkgame

Even if you haven't got the latest RTX graphics card, Cyberpunk 2077's Overdrive Mode still runs surprisingly well, as evidenced by the gameplay just below. The upgraded lighting really does bring a new dimension to the neon-soaked parts of Night City, piercing through the rain to bounce off V's car.

RT Overdrive looking amazing even on RTX 3070 (and runs surprisingly well) from r/cyberpunkgame

This is all seriously impressive stuff from developer CD Projekt. Cyberpunk 2077's Overdrive Mode might've just launched for high-end PC users only, but it's clear everyone's pretty dazzled by the new additions. Considering we've seen path tracing make literal trash look great, these new clips shouldn't be a huge surprise.

CD Projek recently confirmed Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion is nearing the end of production, and we'll finally hear more about it later this year in June.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.