The power of two of Hollywood’s biggest leads coupled with a classic CD Projekt RED story makes for one of the best gaming experiences this year.

It’s become pretty clear to me that this game is a sure-fire for DLC of the year. It’s going to be hard to top this, which may not have been something we would have said about Cyberpunk 2077 just two years ago.

But let’s just say not much changed from my initial impressions. In fact, things just kept getting better.

How to Play

Once purchased and installed, you can either create a new character that is automatically levelled up and ready to play the Phantom Liberty content. Alternatively, once you’ve completed Act Two of the main Cyberpunk 2077 campaign, you’ll get a call in-game from Songbird to begin the Dog Eat Dog mission and be able to head to Dogtown.

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This is one of the best pieces of DLC I’ve ever had the priviledge of playing and is the completion of a comeback story for the ages. Phantom Liberty is the exclamation point on the end of Cyberpunk 2077, the sum total of CD Projekt RED’s efforts to bring this game out of its shell, into the open and create gaming’s next major franchise.

Before the current gen and 2.0 updates, none of that was a guarantee. This was a game that was struggling every which way, from glitches to press, and everything else in-between. And now, after this, the possibilities are endless for this series and I’m desperate to see what direction it goes in next.

Unsurprisingly, Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves carry the content, their performances really pushing line delivery as hard as it will go, really gripping you and drawing you in. But their characters aren’t necessarily the stars of the show, as V pulls off some of their best work yet and Songbird, the individual who makes the call to kick this all off, is one of the most intriguing characters in the entire game.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is the cast is super strong. Even some of the sub-characters introduced along the way have you on the edge of your seat, studying every word of every line, figuring out what their agenda is and where they fit into this deeply woven tale. You’re going to want to feel as informed as possible when making crucial decisions in this content.

But it’s not just story here as this is one of the roughest neighborhoods I think I’ve ever been in. Turning around every corner seems to get you into a fight and police are all over you if you make the slightest mistake. It does get a bit harsh at times, especially if you’re just trying to cross town to get to your next objective, but it sums up Dogtown for you and sets the tone for everything. You’re in a really unfriendly place and you’re definitely not welcome.

So having Lord Idris at your back definitely helps, with Songbird also watching over you, and an alliance that stands alongside you. You’re going to need all the help you can get as there’s some epic firefights to get through. And even a few boss encounters that see you make use of your entire environment in order to get out alive.

There’s even one mission in particular, which you may have already read about, which is a complete tonal shift from everything you’ve seen in the game so far, and plays out like true horror. Similar to what you’ve seen in games like System Shock. It’s absolutely compelling stuff and just throws everything you think you know about the game to that point out of the window.

You’re lead through missions and encounters that have been built up over time to help you understand the implications and what you’re getting into. So theoretically there’s no surprises, but Phantom Liberty is just full of these unexpected twists and turns. Events just seem to happen out of the blue that you weren’t expecting and keep you guessing.

But to compliment that you have lots of side activities to play through, a range of missions that make use of all your abilities and resources, but also lead you down some dark paths which really illustrate just how bad things can get in Dogtown.

This is another side you’ve never seen of Night City, making this a worthy, interesting, distinct piece of DLC that smartly continues the story of the base game, but potentially opens things up for the future.

The difficulty might sometimes be offputting and some of the waiting in-between missions may not be to everyone’s tastes, especially when you want to motor ahead with the story, but there’s absolutely no denying that Phantom Liberty is a massive accomplishment as far as DLC goes. It’s one of the best ever made and easily the best I’ve played in 2023.

It’s so good, in fact, it’s finally made Cyberpunk 2077 the must-play game we wanted in the run-up to its original launch.

Verdict

Phantom Liberty is an absolute triumph in game design and one of the best pieces of DLC ever made. It’s that rare release that not only goes further than the base game but improves the overall experience with supporting updates. With a fantastic, unforgettable cast of characters, superb writing, tons of action, and wonderfully creative missions, if you’ve been waiting to play Cyberpunk 2077, this is the incentive you need to jack in. The content can be a bit too action-heavy with danger around every corner and there’s some time delays between missions which get a bit frustrating, but none of this is enough to deter you from Dogtown. 

Pros

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