The 2022 revamp of The Witcher 3 set out to be the best version of game possible, tapping into the performance and features of the new consoles and modern PCs - except, this next-gen release also brought its own issues. Performance problems and crashes proved problematic and since then, CD Projekt RED has been intent on gradually ironing out the kinks and getting the game into shape. It hasn't been a smooth sailing, though: the last patch 4.01 actually worsened the frame-rate in the performance mode, while at the same time improving frame-rates in the RT quality mode. The good news is that the recently released 4.02 update now delivers the best experience we've seen yet. It's not quite the finished article, but it's much closer to the ideal.
Developer CDPR's patch notes are as exhaustive as usual. Right at the very top - for console - we have a note that performance mode frame-rates are improved, which we can confirm. Other highlights include the return of the HBAO option on PC, and improved CPU optimisation on DirectX 12. There's a motion blur intensity slider on all formats now, as well - which solves another problem at launch with the sheer intensity of the effect when enabled. Lastly, there's a subtle improvement to screen-space and ray-traced reflections on all formats, with the addition of refraction to reflections across water bodies.
Looking at PlayStation 5 to begin with, the good news is that the hit to performance in the 60fps mode has been reversed. I wish I could say it's a perfect 60 across the board now, but some areas do still consistently drop beneath the target - so yes, Novigrad City still has trouble locking to 60. On balance though, for PS5 it's a net improvement overall, putting Novigrad aside at least. The optimisation is achieved with no noticeable hit to the game's visual feature set, either.