Poor CD Projekt Red. They created a great game with Cyberpunk 2077, but because they had to rush it out for the holiday season, the PC version’s performance was inconsistent across different PC builds and the console versions were virtually unplayable. Cyberpunk is now mostly remembered for its disastrous launch instead of one of the great games of 2020. But since then it has received many patches to address the myriad technical issues, and after almost three years since release receives an expansion called Phantom Liberty.
Phantom Liberty begins in Dogtown, which is an area that does not become accessible until after completing the quest I Walk The Line in Act 2. Upon accessing this area V is contacted by a woman who identifies herself as Songbird. But with Night City being what it is, Songbird isn’t actually with V, she’s appearing through Relic when in actuality she’s aboard Space Force One with the president of the New United States of America. Space Force One is under attack and Songbird needs V’s assistance in getting to the wreckage to rescue President Myers. Once V gets to the vantage point leading to the wreckage, the intensity of the situation ramps up quickly as V embarks in a new series of quests as things go from sneaking around quietly to guns blazing in a warzone.
To help balance out getting a new phantom persona speaking through the Relic, V gets a new skill tree to expand their cyber enhancements. The Relic Skill Tree is a new feature in Phantom Liberty where V can get access to new perks of with some of the new arm attachments. Unlike the regular skill points that are gained by leveling up, these points have to be pursued. Songbird might through a few here or there after reaching certain points in the expansion, but in order to max out this skill tree, V will need to scour every corner of Dogtown. The new additions don’t drastically alter the gameplay, but they have proven themselves useful on a few occasions during the review.
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand was one of the most discussed aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 prior to its launch. Phantom Liberty introduces another character portrayed by a celebrity. Solomon Reed is a FIA agent who has a major role in the narrative of this new content and is portrayed by Idris Elba. The inclusion of Hollywood talent is low on the list of elements that make a game great, but having someone of Elba’s acting caliber does make a difference in a game that puts a great deal of emphasis on NPC interactions. Having good actors in the game, which that statement is not limited to the big names, does help bring Night City to life, but there are also several pop culture references both in the base game and this expansion that are fun to discover. Witcher fans probably noticed the name of the horse in one of the playable arcade games was named Roach, and fans of the British rock band The Sisters of Mercy will appreciate the name of a mission that’s given after silencing the roar of a big machine. Not to mention the countless other nods to other games and movies hidden in Night City.
Phantom Liberty’s story progression is carried largely by the new characters. Like any well-written political thriller, it’s unclear which is the characters is worthy of V’s alliance. They all seem like they’re on the same team on the surface, but it doesn’t take long before the personality differences and selfish motivations make themselves apparent. It can be tempting to make multiple save files just to see what the different choices lead, and for the sake of the review, thoroughness this was done on a couple occasions to confirm that certain decisions can have a significant consequence with how the story will play. Ultimately V will have to make some decision about who they will be loyal to and can they live with the outcome of their choice. Dealing with betrayals and untrustworthy characters is par for the course whenever a storyline involves a career politician, but the writing of the characters in Phantom Liberty made me wish there was a possibility where everyone is happy, but that’s generally now how these games work.
Phantom Libertyis a mostly enjoyable expansion to Cyberpunk 2077. The story and characters blend in well enough with the base game a newcomer wouldn’t necessary notice that they’ve jumped into post-release content were it not for the title displayed on every new mission screen. Among the activities in Dogtown is doing gigs for Mr. Hands. New side activities are always welcome in open world games, but it felt like the developers were trying to pad out the content by making the player complete gigs at certain breaks in the story which can be annoying for those who want to address the story and worry about the side content later. But even with that complaint the new characters were entertaining and missions were a blast to play through. It was interesting that there were actually two endings to Phantom Liberty. There’s the first time the credits roll after completing a certain mission, but continuing to play after that can lead to an ending where the consequences of V’s choices are choices. The volume of content in this expansion is impressive. From the time I met Songbird to seeing the second set of credits, about twenty hours had been added to my playtime, which was primarily focused on completing the main quest with some time spent stealing cars for a collector and completing a few other optional gigs. Needless to say there was still a large number of side activities available after that.
When Cyberpunk 2077 was reviewed at the end of 2020,the overall impression was positive, but there were still a good deal of bugs that needed to be exterminated. During the review playthrough of Phantom Liberty, which also included a fresh start of the main game, we were pleasantly surprised at how infrequent the bugs were. Two times the screen turned black which melted back to normal after a few seconds, there were three instances of enemies getting stuck where they shouldn’t be like inside of some stairs but were still killable, and one time a quest had to be reloaded because I walked away mid conversation and couldn’t restart the conversation to progress the quest. For playing in excess of 35 hours, this wasn’t that bad considering the horror stories that surrounded Cyberpunk 2077 at launch. The technical matters haven’t been completely resolved, but they have become much more infrequent and nothing game breaking, so it seems CD Projekt Red has made great progress in making this game playable on all intended platforms.
Closing Comments:
Cyberpunk 2077 had an unfortunate launch and as a result there are many who have written off a game that should have been remembered as being one of the top games of 2020. It’s a shame because with all the patches, fixes and updates, the game seems to be running how it should have at launch. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty delivers a massive amount of new content which is at the same high level of quality. The main story in Phantom Liberty is engrossing to the point I was hesitant about what choices to make because I had become invested in the characters. The missions themselves were cinematic in the best possible way, whether it was fighting for our lives in a burning warzone or trying to gather intel at a swanky party. Those who have already enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 will find just as much enjoyment here, and those who were interested but hesitant due to the tech issues will find a great opportunity to give this game a second chance.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Phantom Liberty is a new spy-thriller adventure for Cyberpunk 2077. When the orbital shuttle of the President of the New United States of America is shot down over the deadliest district of Night City, there’s only one person who can save her — you. Become V, a cyberpunk for hire, and dive deep into a tangled web of espionage and political intrigue, unraveling a story that connects the highest echelons of power with the brutal world of black-market mercenaries.
