It's no secret that Cyberpunk 2077 had a rocky launch when it first hit the market in 2020, with the game being one of the most notable examples of bugs and performance issues that affected player hype. Despite facing an uphill battle after being removed from the PlayStation Store shortly after release due to these issues, CD Projekt Red is committed to improving the experience for players. The result of this work reached a climax with his release Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Libertyand the 2023 DLC was the shot in the arm the game needed to propel it into the same league as some of the best RPGs of the modern gaming era.
A year later, it is clear that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is an outstanding expansion that rivals CD Projekt Red's other iconic franchise, the sorcererwith its legendary Blood and Wine DLC for The Witcher 3who was only recently dethroned by Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree as the highest rated DLC of all time. Along with the new content included in Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077 It also received the 2.0 update on the same day, overhauling many of the game's systems that divided players at launch. The combination of these versions gave players who canceled Cyberpunk 2077His initial struggles a reason to give the game a second chance and more than made up for the game's slow start.
Phantom Liberty made Cyberpunk 2077 feel like a brand new game
Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.0 has improved its gameplay
Even without touching the contents of Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077The 2.0 update completely changed the way players approached the game. With changes to the perk system, cyberware, and armor, players had a new way to think about build crafting that felt more focused and emphasized certain playstyles. The addition of vehicular combat and improved police AI also created a new way to play, centered around the Carhacker perk and the dozens of vehicles players could purchase in-game, leading to epic high-speed exchanges in Night City.
Dogtown has added new life to the Cyberpunk 2077 map
As expected from a DLC expansion, Phantom Liberty has expanded the areas of Night City accessible to players with the new neighborhood of Dogtown, located just southeast of Pacifica. With this new region came the new enemy faction known as BARGHEST led by former NUSA Colonel Kurt Hansen. Dogtown also featured a number of new side quests and jobs from Fixer Mr. Hands that helped develop this district in a way that naturally aligned with the rest of Night City and gave them giving players a great reason to further explore the game's setting.
Phantom Liberty's story set the stage for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077
The biggest draw a Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty was the new story associated with the expansion that allowed players to detour from their quest to remove the Relic chip from V's head and end Arasaka. Instead, players were tasked with protecting the president of NUSA after her aircraft crashed in Dogtown with the help of Netrunner Songbird and FIA agent Solomon Reed. Narratively, this story was a drastic departure from the corporate underworld of Cyberpunk 2077Its core game, with players drawn into a wider conflict involving the NUSA government.
However, Phantom Liberty's main quest took many of the RPG elements from the base game's story and evolved them into something that Cyberpunk 2077Its sequel, codenamed Project Orion, could use it as a major strength. Players were faced with far more impactful choices throughout Phantom Liberty's main quest, with several major decisions leading players into completely different branches of the narrative. Certain actions would even unlock a brand new ending for Cyberpunk 2077 this could have major implications for Project Orion if it's made canon, showing just how important this expansion could be to the future of CD Projekt Red's franchise.
