Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Review
Back for More, Samurai?
by Camrin Santchi
reviewed on PC
Who's Ready for Tomorrow?
When Cyberpunk 2077 released at the tail end of 2020, it was met with...well, disappointment might be an understatement. The game was practically unplayable for some gamers at release, and after all the hype and build up from CD Projekt Red it left a bad taste in many players mouths for a long time to come.
This reviewer only actually picked up and played Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time in September of 2022, with the release of the animated series Cyberpunk Edgerunners. This aligned perfectly with Patch 1.6 of 2077, which all too fittingly was given the nickname 'Edgerunners Update' due to both the timing and multiple references to the Studio Trigger anime that were included. By this point, most of the game's issues appeared to have been fixed, as this reviewer never encountered nearly as many problems as other players had when the game was released.
In order to get context for this review, I reached out to other members of the Hooked Gamers team who had in fact played Cyberpunk 2077 at launch. One picked up the game at launch, but was so jaded by the issues that plagued the game that they are now indifferent to it and have no intent of picking up the Phantom Liberty DLC now that it and the 2.0 patch have dropped. Another actually refunded the game from launch, and from what little of 2.0 they checked out, it feels like a completely different game...though still not what was initially promised. For anyone curious, this is the Hooked Gamers Review of Cyberpunk 2077 that was released at launch, in case any gamers want to see just how much difference three years of patches and updates can make.
Chippin' In
One year after the Edgerunner Update, this September, Patch 2.0 of Cyberpunk 2077 was released, as well as the one DLC for 2077 that will be released by CD Projekt Red, which is the main focus of this review. That being said, Patch 2.0 is such a drastic update to the game that it bears repeating that this isn't Launch 2077 anymore. The skill trees and level up system have been entirely revamped, new areas were added that breath life into Night City, and many janky controls such as the infamous vehicle driving or the way the NCPD seemed to spawn out of nowhere when players got up to shenanigans - both of which were actively poked fun at in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, showing a sort of self awareness that demonstrated that CD Projekt Red had heard the complaints and was willing to try and fix them as best they could.
Similar to the expansions on Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, another CD Projekt Red game, the events of Phantom Liberty take place a decent amount into the story of 2077, with an option on the main menu to skip right to the additional content by setting up your player character V at Level 15, with pre-set skills and a good amount of eddies, the in-game currency, to your name. Players are able to adjust their stats and skills to whatever they desire after they complete the first mission, so they aren’t locked into a build they may not enjoy playing if they take this route. Up to 2.0's release, CD Projekt Red has encouraged players to start a new playthrough, so players may take some time to get to the actual new content unless they leap right into it.
Archangel
The protagonist V is set to be dragged into a completely different type of adventure in Phantom Liberty, with heavy themes of an espionage thriller that force V to work with people that, depending on your playstyle, your version of V may have directly opposed in base 2077. The game focuses a lot on the main themes originally introduced in 2077 and that are carried throughout the genre. Namely, the decision between living a quiet life or going out in a blaze of glory as a Legend of Night City, like Keanu Reeves' Johnny Silverhand, an important character in both the base game and the Phantom Liberty DLC.
Fittingly for a story and choice heavy RPG, players can actually find themselves locked out of the Phantom Liberty content depending on the choices they make or if they fail missions. While this reviewer personally finds this to be quite fitting for the genre and conceptually a little bit funny, there are other players that 2077 shouldn’t lock them out of content that they paid for.
Dogtown, one of the main areas of Phantom Liberty, is so far beyond help that even the gangs and corporations that have infested Night City and rule it with a chrome fist want nothing to do with the place, leaving it in the hands of a powerful ex-military tyrant that does as he pleases thanks to heavily advanced technology and weapons. This in itself is a fascinating addition to the game, since the district Dogtown is within, Pacifica, is acknowledged even in the base game of 2077 as so brutal that it can only be described as itself, even compared to some of the absolute insanity that can be found anywhere else in Night City. This adds further to the aforementioned themes of living quietly or having a blaze of glory, since Dogtown shows there are even further dregs people will try to struggle out of then being a wandering Nomad, a betrayed Corpo, or Streetkid just trying to make it big- the three main origins players can choose for V at the beginning of the game when initially creating their character.
The price of Phantom Liberty is also a factor - at about $30 USD it's nearly half the price of a new AAA release, so there may be some contention about whether it has enough content to be worth the price, especially with 2.0 being a free update to 2077 in general that adds many things to the base game. This reviewer can certainly confirm there is a lot of content, quests and gigs aplenty, new enemy types, weapons, there's a large amount that's added to the already vast world of Night City.
Never Fade Away
In all, Phantom Liberty is a very interesting DLC to a game that is completely different now than it was on launch, with a drastically different tone that still relates heavily to the deep rooted themes of the Cyberpunk genre and the setting itself. The new areas and characters add a lot more that make Night City feel even more alive- from the slums within slums of Dogtown to the massive hologram koi at Arasaka Tower to even the spaceport that handles transit to and from a lunar colony, players can spend a lot of time taking in the neon painted sights of the city.
As Idris Elba, the voice of Solomon Reed in Phantom Liberty, assures quite comically in the 'All In' trailer - 'the game is fixed'. This is in reference to both the subterfuge and thriller elements that take a forefront in Phantom Liberty, but also just how thoroughly patched the launch issues of 2077 have been. Patch 2.0 is the last major update to 2077, with CD Projekt Red feeling the game is in a good place for them to move forward with future projects. Many players may not be able to wash out the taste of launch, and may not even poke their heads back into the blinding neon or gruesome yet cool cyberware to see how much has changed, but speaking as someone who entered Night City for the first time post launch, the Phantom Liberty DLC adds a lot to a game that has improved drastically since its release, to the point of nearly being unrecognizable to those who played at launch alone.
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8.5
fun score
Pros
Spy Thriller Tone, Excellent Environmental Storytelling, Compelling Characters
Cons
Skippable, Potentially Too Little Too Late, Price