Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that depicts a bright future. Not really thematically, the game is still pretty firmly entrenched in the dystopic future of cyberpunk. But more so quite literally. Neon lights are all over the place, and your vision is constantly bombarded with visual information and effects. Thanks, technology!
Apparently, all of this is bad news for people who suffer from epilepsy. And despite the game not having any epilepsy warning, according to Liana Ruppert of GameInformer, it really should.
Liana describes having trouble playing through the game due to numerous epileptic triggers. Most of them are minor, such as night club scenes. But there’s a particular sequence in the game that will be a red flag to anyone with epilepsy.
Brain Dance
The game’s Brain Dance segments are part of the game’s story. These are segments where you use a headset to dive into people’s memories. Which sounds fine and dandy, right? Well, there’s a bit of an issue.
The Brain Dance headset’s LEDs actually mimic those of real-life headsets used by doctors to TRIGGER EPILEPTIC SEIZURES. You know, to see if you have one. So if you have epilepsy, either diagnosed or undiagnosed, this could be very problematic.
If you have a history of epilepsy, we strongly advise you to look away during these segments of the game. Or at the very least turn down the brightness of the game. Playing in a well-lit room is also advised.
The scary thing is that even if you have no history of epilepsy, these segments could still cause a reaction in you. Certain triggers can cause symptoms in people who have no prior history. So we would definitely advise people to be careful.
CD Projekt RED has yet to comment on the issue and whether they will patch it, or at least give the game a proper epilepsy warning. In the meantime, we would recommend donating to the Epilepsy Foundation if you want to help individuals who suffer from epilepsy.
UPDATE: CD Projekt RED has announced they will be adding an epilepsy warning to the game and will be working on implementing fixes to the game’s problematic segments.
Thank you for bringing this up. We’re working on adding a separate warning in the game, aside from the one that exists in the EULA (https://t.co/eXpPn73VSK). Regarding a more permanent solution, Dev team is currently exploring that and will be implementing it as soon as possible. https://t.co/lXFypnSit2
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 8, 2020
