Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on PS5
DLC expansions are tough to do proper these days. Individuals 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 mentioned DLC is for an enormous 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 formidable diploma of success.
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Granted, this won’t 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 demise 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 Evening Metropolis district of Dogtown.
This doesn’t precisely go off with no hitch, and the participant is shortly dragged right into a determined battle 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 might come at odds with these sleeper brokers or enlist them as allies; and, if their fortunate, discover a new approach to escape their premature destiny.
Whereas this all sounds a lot 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. Because of this, it could really feel like a little bit of a slog getting by what would appear like implausible set items on paper.
Thankfully, the identical can’t be mentioned for the remainder of the primary story and aspect content material in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Its narratives begin to develop into one thing extra attention-grabbing, with different mission sorts and powerful character writing buoying each the core content material and its aspect tales.
The DLC’s deal with choice-making solely elevates issues additional. Throughout its essential 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 drive the participant to essentially take into consideration how they, personally, need to resolve a scenario, and weigh what rewards imply essentially the most to them.
It may be just a little intense, however results in far more impactful moments the place it seems like one has made a reputable impression on the story. Greater than as soon as, I wanted to set down my controller and thoroughly weigh which choice I needed to make due to how it could have an effect on my V’s status and total narrative. There wasn’t all the time a clear-cut good or dangerous selection, and it got here right down to what I believed was the correct plan of action.
What’s extra is that the participant’s actions within the base sport open up much more choices for these selections. Taking the time to construct up connections with different characters can lead to them serving to you obtain a greater consequence for elements of the DLC, and permit one’s previous selections to really feel extra essential because of this. It’s a small contact, however one which makes the DLC that rather more enjoyable to dig into and turn out to be immersed in.
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And this isn’t even pertaining to the second to second gameplay. Whereas it won’t be exceptionally completely 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 parts like unlocking talents from the Relic Perk tree, in addition to new duties like fights for airdropped provides, assist to construct upon the standard gameplay loop of operating, gunning, and looting as one explores Dogtown. They likewise give the participant extra incentive to take their time and see the sights between essential story missions, taking over enemies or fixing puzzles to trace down new weapons and doubtlessly unlock a brand new Relic Perk Level.
All of this will probably 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 might make use of within the authentic sport. A hulking Berserker with Gorilla Arms remains to be simply as viable as a stealthy Netrunner, however gamers might want to understand how and when to make use of their rerspective talents correctly.
Because of this, 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 offers 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 top-of-the-line first-person RPG experiences round and doing proper by the cyberpunk style.
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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 formidable quantity of element, and the completely different settings gamers could make their manner by gleam, shine, and crumble in a manner that’s exhausting to not be enraptured by. This doesn’t change when the sport ramps up its motion both, as all the pieces retains its luster alongside crisp and easy framerates.
Nevertheless, it’s exhausting 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 performing particularly is prime of the road, and Idris Elba’s efficiency as agent Solomon Reed is a minimize 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 screen.
There’s not far more I can say about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty apart from that it succeeds at what it tries to do. Although not instantly good, it hones and improves upon the bottom sport in a manner few different DLC expansions might hope to. Newcomers will discover a full package deal of a sport to dig into, whereas long-time followers can stay up for a of completion that makes the entire expertise that rather more worthwhile.
Execs
Wonderful graphics.
Prime tier voice performing.
A fascinating story.
Impactful selections to make.
Cons
DLC takes a bit to get going.
Early gameplay segments are a bit bland.
Launch Date
Sept. 26, 2023
Consoles
PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X|S, PC
Copy offered by Writer