Cyberpunk 2077 has had a bumpy ride to say the least. Released in 2020, the game came in hot with a plethora of issues and game-breaking bugs on current generation consoles and PCs and inexcusable performance issues on last generation consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One. The issues and backlash were so bad that retailers began to accept returns and the game was straight up removed from the PlayStation store. In one fell swoop, over 13 years of hype and the reputation of developer of CD Projekt Red were permanently altered in the eye of the public.
But CD Projekt Red never gave up on the title. They toiled away on updates and fixes and even launched the long promised next-gen version along with sunsetting the previous generation versions in the “Edgerunners” update last year. It felt like the perfect time for CDPR to move on and delve into a new side of Night City that hadn’t been explored before.
Enter Phantom Liberty, the lone expansion to Cyberpunk 2077 and send off to this tumultuous ride. Where does Phantom Liberty fall? Is it a redemption for Cyberpunk 2077? Does it meet the level of quality that CDPR are known for with their previous Witcher expansions Heart of Stone and Blood & Wine? Is it even fun? I’m happy to report that not only does Phantom Liberty help Cyberpunk 2077 reach new heights with a level of quality reminiscent of CDPR’s previous work, but it also might be one of my favorite gaming expansions I’ve ever played.
Cyberpunk 2.0
It’s hard to talk about Phantom Liberty without mentioning Cyberpunk 2077’s “2.0 update” that the expansion uses as a framework. 2.0 is available to all owners of Cyberpunk 2077 on current generation consoles and PC (sorry PS4 and Xbox One players!). In this update, the gameplay mechanics have received an entire reworking.
Skill trees are no longer minimal stat boosts but instead ability based, allowing for more meaningful character builds. Before the update I was a jack of all trades that excelled in hacking that made every combat encounter a walk in the park. Post-2.0 update I found that there weren’t enough points on my body or technical stats, therefore my body could handle less cyberware and cyberdecks. As a result, I was forced to engage far more with combat encounters and spec some body armor into my body using cyberware to help me survive. In 2.0 I felt like I was filling out a character sheet in a table top role playing game, picking and choosing what I wanted to specialize in. With this method, I felt like I was crafting a far more unique character.
2.0 also mostly removes stat modifications from clothing, allowing players to freely dress up how they please. It was always silly that clothing before had stats tied to them and you’d have to wear the ugliest outfits to reap the biggest benefits. 1.6 partially remedies this with a transmog system but 2.0 breaks the shackles fully and allows for full character customization freedom. Though certain items like armor vests will still give minimal boosts, they feel unneeded in this new update.
Perhaps the biggest update in 2.0 is an entire reworking of Cyberpunk’s police response system. Gone are the days of law enforcement spawning right behind your player character and instead 2.0 employs a police spawning system not unlike the Grand Theft Auto games. With a higher star rating, law enforcement will respond accordingly with more force leading up to a MAXTAC encounter at the max level. Out of curiosity, I maxed out my wanted level and forced MAXTAC to arrive and was treated to a mini boss fight against Night City’s SWAT-like forces. It was brutal, deadly, and absolutely exhilarating. Players will also have access to an all new car-combat system that allows them to fire a weapon from the driver’s seat, allowing for chaos on the streets of Night City.
Quality of life improvements have also been implemented across the board including a reworked UI that cleans up the clutter of previous versions, but the health and grenade system are quite possibly my favorite additions. Previously players had to carry an ungodly amount of health items and grenades in their inventories but with 2.0 the items are tied to a cooldown system. You’ll always have access to 2 health items and grenades that are endlessly replenishing on a cooldown. This helps clean up inventory management and allows for intense firefights as I had to take cover while they recharged. This change honestly reminded me of when Diablo III got rid of the need for carrying multiple health potions and made it a cooldown ability. It streamlines a system in a game where you’re already paying attention to many other systems and allows players to engage far more with the actual gameplay than numerous menus.
2.0 is a fantastic update to the game. Even if you don’t play Phantom Liberty, I implore you to download this free update. This feels like the way Cyberpunk 2077 was meant to be played.
Give Me Phantom Liberty or Give Me Death.
Where this relaunch of Cyberpunk 2077 truly shines though is in the expansion Phantom Liberty. The story will see the player character, V, make their way to Dogtown, an all-new district in Night City, in hopes of obtaining a cure for the Johnny Silverhand shard that’s slowly killing them. After a horrible mishap, V is then tasked with rescuing the President of the New United States of America from the dangerous district in a set-up that sounds an awful lot like Escape From New York.
Over the course of the story, V will encounter Solomon Reed, an NUSA agent played by acclaimed actor Idris Elba. I was initially curious as to how much he’d be in the story with him being an A-list Hollywood star, but I’m happy to say he shares the spotlight with V and Johnny Silverhand (played by a returning Keanu Reeves) and eventually becomes one of the most nuanced characters in all of Cyberpunk 2077, brought to life with an expert-level performance from Elba.
The story in Phantom Liberty is absolutely filled with surprises. When I thought I had the story figured out from its simple setup I was treated to having the rug pulled out from under me with reveals and intrigue that ended up reminding me more of James Bond films than it did Escape From New York. There are scenes and little moments in Phantom Liberty that helped engross me even more into its world and the politics of Night City. It’s easily my favorite narrative that CDPR has delivered. No small feat from a company perhaps most known for their narratives.
Phantom Liberty’s length is also quite impressive. With a huge story that has so many twists and turns, it feels like CDPR is taking full advantage of this being Cyberpunk 2077’s only expansion. There is a LOT of content crammed into this expansion. I found myself in awe at how much there actually is beneath the surface.
Player choice matters far more in Phantom Liberty than it does the base game too. I felt some of the decisions I made in the main story and side gigs had effects in Dogtown that at first weren’t apparent but I later realized made an impact. These can range from making a vital decision in a conversation or story moment to whipping out a weapon and taking out a Dogtown gang leader. There were a few choices I had that made me already want to create another character and replay the expansion to see how things play out differently. Phantom Liberty allows for more opportunities for role-playing, something that I found the base game severely lacking.
There’s also a brand new skill tree in Phantom Liberty. The relic skill tree introduces all new abilities to earn that drastically change the way V plays and has some of the strongest abilities in the game. These can range from adding a shockwave to the gorilla arms cyberware, or even making the optical camo more functional. Though you don’t upgrade the relic tree in the same way you would other trees. Instead Phantom Liberty asks that you find old data caches around Dogtown and use those points to upgrade it. These are scattered all over the district but also aren’t marked on the map, often forcing me to explore off the main path to fully deck my kit out. I welcome this change for two reasons: first, it’s only one skill tree that’s upgraded this way that feels mostly optional and second, the base game never really gave me an incentive to explore Night City.
Side Gigs make a comeback in Phantom Liberty and your handler will be a returning character from the base game that was provided no closure. Some of these side gigs are the best part of Phantom Liberty and feature stories that illustrate how different life in Dogtown is away from the politics of the main story. These can range from finding a famous braindance model to helping a church-run hospital reclaim their building to help the residents of Dogtown. These gigs are sizable in length, often featuring multiple steps, characters and decisions. CDPR has delivered a wealth of handcrafted content here and I had a blast making my way through most of it.
Dogtown brings a whole new flavor to the world of Cyberpunk 2077. If the rest of Night City provides a depiction of basic cyberpunk ideologies and depictions, Dogtown is far more oppressive and grim. Cut off from the rest of Night City, the district has been untouched by the police departments or corporations that run the rest of the outside world. As a result, Dogtown is a place where the ultra rich live lavishly but those in poverty are worse off than the ones outside the walls. The class divide is far more apparent and reflects how oppressive this world can truly be. Visually, I found Dogtown to be more distinct from the rest of Night City. From a hollowed out football stadium used to house a black market for weapons and other oddities, to the shipping container yard that serves as a home for most of Dogtown’s residents, to ultra high tech hotels that look ripped straight from a Las Vegas pamphlet that houses the most rich and dangerous that the district has to offer. Dogtown may not be the largest of areas, but it’s so densely packed with interiors and exteriors and places to explore that I couldn’t wait to discover what was around the corner.
Dogtown is also integrated into the existing Night City well. Sure, it’s a walled off portion of the Pacifica district but certain missions and side gigs will see V making their way to the outside of Dogtown and into the main city to make a contact or complete a task. I appreciated these excursions because it provided a great deal of aesthetic whiplash going from the bomb-out war-torn look of Dogtown to the bright, clean look of Night City proper.
How’s the Performance?
Let’s talk about the biggest elephant in the room: performance. Cyberpunk: 2077 hasn’t had the best reputation when it comes to this, especially on consoles. So how’s the performance in 2023? I spent my time exclusively on the PlayStation 5 version of the game and ran into a mostly seamless experience. Framerate wise I hit 60fps most of the time in Night City proper but there were a few moments in Dogtown that seemed to slow down to around the 40fps range. A noticeable drop but far from unplayable. Even with a lot of action on screen the game hardly ever slowed down in my time with it. I did run into a strange bug when importing my character into the 2.0 update, causing me to lose my cosmetics and hair, but this resolved itself when I closed out the game entirely and relaunched it. Overall, I’m happy with the performance of the game in its current state, and it’s a far cry from its launch state. If you haven’t played since launch, now is the best time to dive back into Cyberpunk 2077 for a return visit.
Bright Lights, City Nights.
Phantom Liberty is one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had in 2023. Most everything I found lacking in the base game has been addressed in spades. From the absolutely killer 2.0 update as a framework to the gameplay and story additions that Phantom Liberty provides. Cyberpunk 2077 may have had a rough launch but Phantom Liberty shows off how great this game can be.
Phantom Liberty is a vital addition to Cyberpunk 2077 that is an absolute must play for fans of the genre and base game, and it’s also one of the most quality video game expansions I’ve played in recent memory. Phantom Liberty is not just a redemption story for Cyberpunk 2077, it’s an absolute victory lap.
Cyberpunk 2077’s 2.0 update launches on September 21 for free on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty ($29.99) launches on September 26 for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC.
Editor’s Note: Review code provided by the publisher.
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