Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Review

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a game that is an expansion of Cyberpunk 2077. You will need the base game to play this game. It is available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 5.

I was a huge fan of Cyberpunk 2077 and have over 140 hours of game time with it on PC and over 120 hours of game time on the PlayStation 5. I’ve seen all the endings and explored it all. I loved the story that the game had and all the metaphors and meanings behind the tale it was trying to tell. It was a very interesting game and one that I still think about all the time. To me, it’s a game with a narrative all about living life to the fullest extent and taking all risks for the highest reward. It’s always pushing the player to think about the idea of living either a quiet life or one that’s a blaze of glory. It’s very interesting and I loved that game.

When Phantom Liberty was announced I of course was very excited to play the game. The new game adds another Hollywood star, Idris Elba who plays Solomon Reed. From looking at the trailers and other marketing material I was under the impression for some reason that Keanu Reeve’s Johnny Silverhand character wouldn’t be in this game at all, but actually, he is just as prominent as he was in the base game. Having both of these great actors in the game was amazing and their performances were excellent.

Other voices/actors in the game that appeared were also very good. Minji Chang who was the voice of a new character named Songbird did a very good job with the character. Songbird is one of the best characters in the game and felt very real to talk to, it was a great performance. Some other great voice actors were Leonie Schliesing who voiced Aurore Cassel and Yvonne Senat Jones who was the voice of Alena Xenakis.

For players who are already fans of Cyberpunk 2077. One thing that this expansion does more than just add an extra story, is that it builds on the gameplay. There’s now gang activity in the streets, you will often come across other NPC gangs fighting each other and you can choose to interfere or not. There’s also a new skill tree where V can learn new abilities. There are new weapons to play with, police chases and much more. These are all helpful because not only did it upgrade the world to be more lively but it also makes the game feel a bit more fresh for returning players.

Players will also experience a new section of the map to explore called ‘Dogtown’. Dogtown is a new area on the map that players can only go to if they purchase the expansion. In this area of the game, most of the story of Phantom Liberty will take place. This area of the city is more dangerous with increased gang activity. I liked this area, it was nice to get to explore a new location in the game and not have to just experience the story in the same Night City environment.

The story in Phantom Liberty is excellent. It all starts when an aircraft carrying the president crashes in Dogtown and V is contacted by a hacker named ‘Songbird’ to rescue the president. From here it is filled with intrigue and mystery as V now has to navigate in a world of politics and spies. Idris Elba’s Solomon Reed also gets in contact with V, he’s a special agent with a lot of secrets. As a player, you will have no idea who to trust and this makes for some interesting decisions to make when it comes to dialogue.

Another big plus to this expansion is the music. CD Projekt Red put a lot of effort into adding extra songs to the already great Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack. The game sounds great and I loved all of the tracks. At any time you can listen to these on Spotify below.

Overall, I loved playing Phantom Liberty. I played it every weekend for weeks, unlocked all the endings and spent so many hours in Dogtown. The acting, music, graphics, story and everything about it is well done. As an expansion to an already very good game, it was excellent and filled with a lot of content. I’m happy to recommend Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty to anyone who is already a fan of Cyberpunk: 2077.