Phantom Liberty Review – So Mi’s Choice

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on PS5

DLC expansions are tough to do proper these days. Folks count on increasingly more from these add-ons, particularly once they tout themselves as constructing upon the story and world of their base sport. These expectations solely climb when stated DLC is for a large hit with a infamous growth cycle, as is the case with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

Thankfully, I can safely say that Phantom Liberty does proper by its base sport after which some. It expands on what got here earlier than it in some narratively attention-grabbing methods, and CD Projekt Red managed to stuff much more gameplay choices into the combo to a powerful diploma of success.

Granted, this may not appear obvious proper off the bat. The DLC’s story kicks off when the participant receives a message from an unknown Netrunner named So Mi, AKA Songbird. She guarantees a chance to save lots of V from their loss of life by the hands of the Relic, however wants them to assist her save the president of the NUS after their aircraft crashes within the disputed Night time Metropolis district of Dogtown.

This doesn’t precisely go off and not using a hitch, and the participant is shortly dragged right into a determined wrestle for survival alongside sleeper brokers on the beck and name of the NUS. As the reality of why the President crash landed emerges, V will may come at odds with these sleeper brokers or enlist them as allies; and, if their fortunate, discover a new technique to escape their premature destiny.

Whereas this all sounds lots intriguing, it doesn’t fairly nail its first impression. The story takes a bit to get going, and the gameplay tied to it isn’t all that participating. In consequence, it could possibly really feel like a little bit of a slog getting by way of what would appear like incredible set items on paper.

Thankfully, the identical can’t be stated for the remainder of the principle story and aspect content material in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Its narratives begin to broaden into one thing extra attention-grabbing, with different mission sorts and robust character writing buoying each the core content material and its aspect tales.

The DLC’s concentrate on choice-making solely elevates issues additional. Throughout its predominant missions and aspect missions, there are a selection of impactful choices gamers are tasked with finishing up. These run the gamut from figuring out a personality’s destiny to siding with a particular character to find out what new ending to the bottom sport’s story one unlocks. Most all of them pressure the participant to actually take into consideration how they, personally, wish to resolve a scenario, and weigh what rewards imply probably the most to them.

It may be a little bit intense, however results in way more impactful moments the place it appears like one has made a official impression on the story. Greater than as soon as, I wanted to set down my controller and thoroughly weigh which resolution I wished to make due to how it might have an effect on my V’s repute and general narrative. There wasn’t all the time a clear-cut good or unhealthy alternative, and it got here right down to what I believed was the fitting plan of action.

What’s extra is that the participant’s actions within the base sport open up much more choices for these decisions. Taking the time to construct up connections with different characters can lead to them serving to you obtain a greater end result for components of the DLC, and permit one’s previous decisions to really feel extra necessary consequently. It’s a small contact, however one which makes the DLC that rather more enjoyable to dig into and develop into immersed in.

And this isn’t even relating the second to second gameplay. Whereas it may not be exceptionally totally different from what gamers would discover within the base sport, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty differentiates itself simply sufficient to really feel like a contemporary expertise.

New character customization components like unlocking skills from the Relic Perk tree, in addition to new duties like fights for airdropped provides, assist to construct upon the same old gameplay loop of working, gunning, and looting as one explores Dogtown. They likewise give the participant extra incentive to take their time and see the sights between predominant story missions, taking over enemies or fixing puzzles to trace down new weapons and probably unlock a brand new Relic Perk Level.

All of this might be very true for many who play the sport after the two.0 replace. The reworked perk system and refined mechanics add a welcome quantity of polish to the general expertise, albeit at the price of among the balance-breaking methods gamers may make use of within the unique sport. A hulking Berserker with Gorilla Arms continues to be simply as viable as a stealthy Netrunner, however gamers might want to know the way and when to make use of their rerspective skills correctly.

In consequence, the general sport — and particularly the DLC — feels extra cohesive, and forces gamers to dedicate extra effort to correctly utilizing all of the instruments the sport gives them with. In a manner, it lastly brings the expertise to the extent that was promised so a few years in the past, providing up the most effective first-person RPG experiences round and doing proper by the cyberpunk style.

Rounding all of this out is the audio and visible presentation. Graphically, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is gorgeous to have a look at. Character fashions are rendered with a powerful quantity of element, and the totally different settings gamers could make their manner by way of gleam, shine, and crumble in a manner that’s onerous to not be enraptured by. This doesn’t change when the sport ramps up its motion both, as the whole lot retains its luster alongside crisp and easy framerates.

Nonetheless, it’s onerous to not level to the audio as one of many sport’s true highlights. The music and sound results are past spectacular, enfolding gamers into the expertise with completely timed chords matched by the satisfying ring of gunfire and explosions.

The voice appearing specifically is prime of the road, and Idris Elba’s efficiency as agent Solomon Reed is a lower above. It stands proper alongside Keanu Reeves’ efficiency as Johnny Silverhand, and works to make the general expertise that a lot simpler to fall into anytime his character is on display.

There’s not way more I can say about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty apart from that it succeeds at what it tries to do. Although not instantly excellent, it hones and improves upon the bottom sport in a manner few different DLC expansions may hope to. Newcomers will discover a full package deal of a sport to dig into, whereas long-time followers can stay up for a final touch that makes the entire expertise that rather more worthwhile.

In regards to the writer

Keenan McCall

Keenan has been a nerd from an early age, watching anime and taking part in video games for so long as I can keep in mind. Since acquiring a bachelor’s diploma in journalism again in 2017, he has written 1000’s of articles protecting gaming, animation, and leisure subjects galore.