PSA: Some Cyberpunk 2077 Sections Can Trigger Epileptic Seizures

 

Barring any more last minute delays, Cyberpunk 2077 is due to be out in the second half of this week. The western tech and gaming outlets are also already releasing their first looks and reviews. And through one of them, we find out that the game, at least in its current form, deserves a real, literal trigger warning. This is especially if you have a history of epileptic seizures.

The account comes via Liana Ruppert, associate editor at Game Informer. In her PSA piece, she states that Cyberpunk 2077 has a lot of red glitching animations throughout. Conversely, when you have to interact with Johnny Silverhand, this will come with pale blue glitching effects instead. These may or may not trigger epileptic responses from everyone.

But the real trigger here are the Braindance sequences. Without spoiling Cyberpunk 2077 too much, it’s basically sequences that put you in a detective mode of sorts. And the way you enter this mode is to have your character put on a headset that flashes lights into your eyes. This is, incidentally, the same way medical doctors use to induce an epileptic seizure for diagnostic purposes. And then there are the multiple layers within the Braindance sequence, each with their own version of the flashing, glitching red lights mentioned before.

Ruppert cites her monitor that sports an “eye-saving mode” that reduces blue lights, which helped dampen the triggers for her. And in prolonged Braindance sequences, she had her husband around for in case anything happened.

So for those who are diving into Cyberpunk 2077 this weekend, it’s definitely something to keep in mind. All in all, it can be a bummer if you do suffer from epileptic seizures. And chances are there’s nothing much you can do about these sequences aside from taking frequent breaks in between. They are, after all, a pretty major part in the whole cyberpunk theme.