Back when Starfield dug it’s nails into me, I knew it would be a long time before I dug into Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC. Well I’m happy that time is finally here. When I played Cyberpunk 2077 on release, it became my favorite game ever, at the time of release. The Phantom Liberty DLC in conjunction with the 2.0 update raises the bar.
Starting Over Vs. Using my Last Save for Phantom Liberty
From all the patch notes and reviews for Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty, people suggested starting a new playthrough. With all the things that changed, I took the suggestion, but regretted it. After completing the heist mission with Jackie, I realized my mistake.
There’s no doubt there were a ton of changes, but not enough to warrant spending dozens of hours just to get to the DLC. The Voodoo Boys missions that unlock it were hours of gameplay away. Picking up with my last save from my original playthrough, it was refreshing to have all my stuff already and DLC unlocked.
As part of the 2.0 update, most clothes no longer have armor or other stats. I could customize my character prioritizing what looks good. Some clothing items have benefits (like gas masks), but most are just cosmetic. I no longer had to deal with mixing and matching or worrying about upgrading pieces.
The other big bit of maintenance after 2.0 was the new ability trees. My build was heavy Netrunner, but they changed things so much the 2.0 update reset all the points. It took me quite a bit of time to decide where I wanted to put my points with the new tree.
I still kept everything heavy on quick hack friendly abilities, but I did notice they have a whole tree involving Ninjutsu. It seems like there’s a lot more variety to try new builds, but it will be a long time before I think of another playthrough.
There was also an overhaul of Cyberware, but it seems most of that related to allowing more slots and variety. I was glad I did not have to redo all of that. In between all my tweaks, I finally received the call from Songbird to kick off the DLC.
Sneaking into Dogtown to Rescue the President
Meeting Songbird for the first time with Johnny Silverhand brooding in the background was a great start. It was clear I was in for a proper new Cyberpunk story. It also presented a new option to solve the problem with the Relic in my character’s head slowly killing him.
The first stretch of gameplay was very linear. I snuck into Dogtown and immediately jumped into a rescue mission for the President of the NUSA. It was apparent pretty early on that the level of choice in the missions is improved over the main story.
There was a time where I could have easily let the President die and be done with most of the Phantom Liberty DLC. Even beyond that, some strangers that came to visit our safe house offered more choice. I was happy with my choice to deal with them peacefully, but it could easily have gone the other way.
Not too long after that showdown, the game world opened back up from the linear start to the DLC. Dogtown is a whole city within a city. I was locked into it’s walls early on, but was eventually able to travel back and forth to old Night City.
Meeting Solomon Reed in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty
The President’s first task for me after saving her was to find Solomon Reed, played by Idris Elba. I love him as an actor and he nailed this part. Our first contact was via a covert telephone hidden in a random diner. It was clear there is a cloak and dagger theme to the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC.
The Solomon Reed character is a master spy, teaching my V character tradecraft. Cyberpunk really nails the subtle moments of just holding a conversation with these characters. It’s not always perfect, sometimes they’d walk through me, but most times it’s very immersive.
When the President and Reed finally reunite to help find Songbird, it’s bitter sweet. They obviously have a complicated history that I know will unfold over the game. It’s that point where the game allowed me to choose whether to work with them or peace out.
Obviously, I did not come all this way to just quit the Phantom Liberty DLC at the start, so I was in. I guess the option is there for people doing another playthrough that want to access Dogtown, but not bother with Phantom Liberty’s main story.
Great Side Missions and Gigs
With most big games like this, I’ll get through tutorials and then knock out side content. I like to rack up rewards and XP to help me when I focus back on the main story. Phantom Liberty almost begs me to do this because several main mission require me to wait a few days for Reed to contact me.
Supply Air Drops
Since Dogtown is mostly closed off to the outside city, regular supply drops come in via airship. The red smoke for these drops attracts gangs and often resulted in firefights before I even get there. My quick hacks make quick work of the groups. Contagion is my go to as it spreads to nearby enemies with my full upgrades.
The loot in those drops is worth the effort early on due to the Tier 5 loot. I did quite a few of those drops before I found out those were never ending. If I didn’t need more loot, no reason to bother with anymore, unless I saw an opportunity and/or was bored.
Cyber Grand Theft Auto
I came across a steering wheel icon early on that immediately triggered a call with the fixer El Capitan. He offered me big rewards for stealing and delivering that car. That set me on a path of constantly finding and stealing those cars.
The location and parameters of the missions differed. Sometimes there was a bonus for arriving under a time limit, but almost always the involved evading hostile gangs or police. It was a perfect chance to try out the new vehicle combat mechanics.
I could finally aim my gun out of the window to shoot at enemies, but I mostly resorted to using my new car quick hacks. It was fun to hack the emergency brake on a motorcycle chasing me. Using the “Floor It” action around a sharp corner on an enemy car was also fun.
My absolute favorite was the option to hack the car to self destruct. That was my go to way to dispatch with enemy vehicles with my Netrunner build. The rewards for successfully delivering a car included plenty of Tier 5 loot, so it was worth it in the beginning.
When I later found out these car jacking missions were also infinite, I only did a few more to rack up coupons for the new auto store. Those coupons helped me buy my first weaponized vehicles. That’s right, now some vehicles in Cyberpunk 2077 come armed with machine guns and missiles.
Gigs in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty are Peak
What really surprised me about the side content in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty was how detailed the Gigs are. In the base game, the side missions were always great, but gigs were simpler and the equivalent of activities in other games.
In the DLC though, the Gigs I completed for Mr. Hands were often just as complex as side missions, but maybe just a bit smaller. Instead of going to a location to steal something or kill someone, they pretty much all seem multipart with NPC interactions.
Along the way, I’ve helped corrupt cops escape a gang when their drug deal went bad. I helped a boxer remove a chip that allowed his former boss to fix his fights. Assisted an “activist” to prevent her terrorist buddies from using a cyber nuke. It really was hard to tell the difference between a proper side mission and the Gigs in this DLC.
Going Back to the Main Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Story
As I cruise through most of the side content available at this point in the game, I look forward to diving back into the main story. With all the morally gray choices I’ve made thus far, I look forward to seeing what difficult choices Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty has in store for me next.