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Almost three years after the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, Polish developer CD Projekt Red are releasing the first and final expansion for the game called Phantom Liberty, which brings a bag of fresh content, including a full-fledged story, new characters, locations and side quests among other things.
If I had to describe the ambition and the scope of Phantom Liberty, I'd probably say that this espionage thriller is what Blood and Wine was to The Witcher 3 - a game within a game - that aims to do more than just take you to the familiar streets of Night City with a couple of different characters and questlines here and there.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty is indeed, CD Projekt Red's finest work yet, one that will be more than enough to make players forget all the controversies that surrounded this wonderful game when it launched in December 2020.
I've spent the last week or so playing this highly-anticipated release for this review. I've completed the main story and the majority of gigs. I've visited new locations within the massive new Dogtown district and tested the reworked gameplay systems. Here are my thoughts.
STORY
Phantom Liberty expansion kicks off when you receive a mysterious phone call from someone who is in dire need of your help. In return, the caller promises to help V with the relic which is the only reason our hero accepts to go face to face with this mysterious figure. The person who contacts V turns out to be a prominent net runner called Songbird, who works for none other than the president of the NUSA, Rosalinda Myers.
Songbird and Myers are on a presidential aircraft that has been hit by a cyberattack and it's imminently crashing in Dogtown, a walled-off district within The Night City's Pacifica, controlled by former Militech soldier, now arms dealer Kurt Hansen and his loyal troops Barghest.
The fate of President Myers rests on V's ability, who must get to the location of the crash, find Myers and take her to a safe location before Hansen's troops secure the area.
Right from the get-go, your assumption is that this is a carefully planned operation by Hansen to get his hands on the President and use her as a bargaining chip with the NUSA or whoever comes up with the best offer.
However, the story in Phantom Liberty is all but simple and straightforward. What starts as a rescue operation turns into a full-blown espionage thriller that will take you down the rabbit hole. The star of the show is obviously the character played by Idris Elba - Solomon Reed, an FIA agent with a complex past that's still haunting him to this day.
Elba is a perfect fit for Reed, a loyal spy who doesn't think twice and will do anything to protect his people and country. Elba's performance in Phantom Liberty is nothing short of impressive, with impeccable voice acting and convincing motion capture.
An incredible cast of well-written characters is probably the biggest highlight of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's story.
Other characters, like Songbird, who also play a major role in the game but for the sake of spoilers, I won't be dwelling on that too much, are well written too. In particular, Songbird's somewhat tragic life and search for something and someone to care about will evoke real emotion in you, even though some of the things she did may be hard to justify.
Every main story character I've met while playing Phantom Liberty had an interesting background and role to play in the game. They weren't there just to fill in a cliche villain or partner slot. You can see that the writers put a lot of love and effort into making them feel part of the world. Even characters you meet only once or twice in the game are rich with personality, making them memorable and likeable.
Without a doubt, an incredible cast of well-written characters is probably the biggest highlight of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's story.
This doesn't mean that the narrative falls short. Quite the contrary, the story in Phantom Liberty eclipses the one in the base game. It's intriguing and mysterious with twists and turns that will make your jaw drop but as with every great spy story, it doesn't shy away from thrilling action-packed sequences either.
Even more importantly, it will constantly make you question everything and everyone. What's the endgame? Who should you side with? Depending on your choices in the key moments in the story, the game will offer two different paths with unique quests, events, locations and eventually endings.
This certainly encourages you to play Phantom Liberty more than once to check out everything it has to offer in terms of story.
I'd really love to talk more about the events in Dogtown and the impact your choices have on the world but with a story this good, I'd rather let you experience it for yourself. It's CD Projekt Red adventure through and through with memorable characters, plenty of emotion and epic encounters.
Speaking about things that CD Projekt Red do really well, we have to mention side quest writing and design as this is another aspect of Phantom Liberty that deserves high praise.
Phantom Liberty's side quests perfectly embody the God-forsaken no man's land which is Dogtown.
The expansion comes with 17 new gigs and side quests and from my personal standpoint, the majority of these are on par or even better than the ones found in the base game thanks to exquisitely written characters and rich storytelling.
You'll find many different stories in Dogtown that will confront you with tough decisions that will reflect your moral views. Phantom Liberty's side quests perfectly embody this God-forsaken no man's land which is Dogtown, giving you an insight into everything that goes down in Hansen's paradise on a daily basis.
GAMEPLAY
With the launch of Phantom Liberty, CD Projekt Red are also releasing Update 2.0, which significantly overhauls the gameplay experience. This is a free update that will be available to all players. However, Phantom Liberty itself comes with a slate of new gameplay mechanics which significantly deepen the possibilities in combat.
Once you meet Songbird she will unlock a new Relic skill tree and abilities that require special Relic points to unlock. This new skill tree includes a total of nine new abilities that you can use to further tailor your builds.
Think of them as additional ways to make your character even more efficient and deadlier once the balloon goes up. Some of the skills include new abilities for weapons like Mantis Blades, Monowire, Gorilla Arms and more. Others allow you to analyse enemies for vulnerabilities, creating weak spots which you can target, making them explode and damaging other enemies in the vicinity.
The options are plenty, resulting in such an incredible build variety. Be it a silent assassin, a deadly net runner that works in shadows, blazing fast ninja with Katana or simply a Rambo-style soldier that obliterates everything in its path with heavy weapons, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will let you be whatever you want to be.
I've decided to focus my points on Cool for Stealth and Intelligence for Netrunner skills, resulting in a hybrid of an assassin with a silenced pistol and a hacker that can take out entire groups of enemies in one hack.
The gameplay loop consisting of shooting and hacking is a satisfying combat experience that never made me feel bored.
When it comes to action, the moment-to-moment gameplay feels more refined and polished in several ways. It's hard to describe it with words as these changes are more apparent in how the game feels. The jank that was omnipresent in the base game is gone, even though from time to time, V will still miss a ledge grab or get stuck between a cardboard box and a can of soda.
The gameplay loop consisting of shooting and hacking in combat is a satisfying experience that never bored me, which is a big positive for Phantom Liberty as the expansion emphasises direct action more than other playstyles.
One of the biggest new additions in Phantom Libery and Update 2.0 is car combat. You'll find new cars mounted with weapon systems like rocket launchers and machine guns that you can unleash on other vehicles in electrifying car chases and even use new hacks to force vehicles to rapidly accelerate, break or completely self-destruct.
This is one of my favourite new additions to the game as it makes vehicular combat a completely different experience, resulting in chaotic action on the road, especially if your opponents are well-equipped for the explosive occasion.
You can now shoot from regular vehicles too using smaller guns like pistols to target tires, other weak points or the enemies in the vehicles themselves.
All these new car mechanics, including general improvements to how the vehicles feel have turned one of Cyberpunk 2077's biggest weaknesses into a proper strength, allowing you to finally find engagement and fun in creating vehicular carnage in Night City's streets, which was initially a very underwhelming experience.
I've also tested the game's improved police system which does work much better now. Police won't just randomly spawn ten metres from you anymore and they will chase you longer, set up roadblocks or even send their special MaxTac units after you, making police chases more believable and dynamic in the process.
However, it's important to manage your hype and don't expect GTA-level chases here as the police will still call off the search too easily.
GRAPHICS AND MUSIC
Cyberpunk 2077 was already one of the most beautiful games on the market, especially on PC but Phantom Liberty takes the fidelity to a whole new level. The combination of incredible art style, realistic assets, environmental details and simply stunning use of ray tracing makes Dogtown the best-looking city I've ever seen in a video game, eclipsing even the surrounding Night City.
Dogtown is a densely packed ruin that has something to offer in every tiny corner of the large map. Not only that CD Projekt Red managed to truly create something different in the heart of Night City, with its own identity and rules, but the locations within Dogtown are unique too.
Dogtown is the best-looking city I've ever seen in a video game.
Be it a black market in The Stadium, Piramyd-shaped night club Heavy Hearts or residential area Stacks, every location in Dogtown is a proper showcase of just how talented the artists working on this game are.
Simply walking or driving around the neon-soaked streets of Dogtown and taking it all in is a mesmerizing experience that will never make you bored.
Phantom Liberty sounds as good as it looks. With new radio stations that feature music created by the fans of the game and a full DJ set by none other than Idris Elba, there's plenty of great stuff to listen to while driving around Night City and Dogtown.
Additionally, a whole new soundtrack also comes with Phantom Liberty expansion, with tracks produced around the game's spy thriller theme. There are plenty of hard-hitting bangers too, as you'll see during combat but also emotional melodic tracks that may make you shed a tear or two.
CONCLUSION
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is an incredible expansion that is well worth the asking price of €29,99. CD Projekt Red's incredible storytelling, characters, side quests, world building and everything the studio is known for is here and then some more.
Whether you're looking for an RPG where you can customise and build your character to the tiniest detail, a stunning world to explore or a story brimming with emotional moments and tough choices, Phantom Liberty has it.
Add a truly breathtaking art style, visual fidelity and some of the best music you can hear in a game, and you have a complete package. If CD Projekt Red had to make amends for the disappointing launch of Cyberpunk 2077, they certainly have done that with Phantom Liberty. Simply preem.
The Good
A captivating story that will lead you down the rabbit hole- Well-written characters with unique personalities and backgrounds
- Dogtown is simply breathtaking and packed with detail
- Fantastic side quests with interesting characters and stories
- Hands down the best-looking game of all time
- Great new radio stations and banging soundtrack
The Bad
Still some bugs here and there
