Gamescom
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, we played it and Night City shines like never before
First impressions at Gamescom of the major expansion of the title from the creators of The Witcher 3, which brings us closer to one of V’s new missions.
Gone is Cyberpunk 2077′s disastrous launch, which tarnished the good name of CD Projekt RED and caused a cataclysm within the Polish developer. It had to bite the bullet and fight to regain the prestige it gained after the success of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, considered one of the best RPGs of the last decade. The base game has been updated over the years and will soon receive a new perk system, improved vehicle combat, and a completely revamped police chase system. The changes in patch 2.0 will arrive with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, an expansion that explores the thriller genre and which we were able to test at Gamescom. The demo, which is quite short, lets us taste a very small part of the story.
Phantom Liberty is released exclusively for new-generation systems and PCs. On a technical level, we don’t find the leap you might expect from a sequel, because it isn’t one, but Night City looks better than ever. The demo starts with a sequence in which Songbird, an AI-generated holographic character, warns V that Rosalind Myers, the president of the New United States, is in mortal danger. Her plane has been hacked, so our protagonist must take action to prevent the tragedy.
What happens in this mission of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty?
V goes to Dogtown, one of the new areas introduced by Phantom Liberty. It is a black market powerhouse, though ruled by a dark figure. Located in Pacifica, NUSA Colonel Kurt Hansen claims it as his own. This time we pass by and meet Songbird, who asks us to go up to the roof to enjoy the view, although the goal is to inform us about the mission. As in the original game, the dialog options allow us to steer the story in one direction or another.
There, in the blink of an eye, peace is shattered. The president’s plane is hit by a missile and falls into the void. As expected, V is assigned to track down the wreckage and try to rescue the politician alive. The problem is that the place is crawling with enemies. We didn’t touch the combat system too much because the number of soldiers was too much, so we decided to take a different approach: take the car, get as close as possible, and fight your way through as best you can. V manages to get to a high point and activate a crane to make the job easier. When we try to climb up, we fall into the void, so we have to look for an alternative route.
The crash site suggests that hopes are in vain. The bodies of several crew members lie inert on the ground, but there is no sign of the President. Nevertheless, Songbird tells us to open the door at the back. A split second later, President Myers tries to attack us, but we calm her down and confirm our identity and who sent us. The demo ends at this point, but we learn that V will later become an agent of Rosalind.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be released on September 26th for PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. CD Projekt RED showed off what’s new in the 2.0 update during Gamescom ONL, the gala hosted by Geoff Keighley.