Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – Update Overview

Cyberpunk 2077, the ambitious open-world RPG from CD Projekt Red, has received its first major expansion, Phantom Liberty, on September 26, 2023. The expansion adds a new storyline, new characters, new locations, new gameplay features, and a massive overhaul of the base game. Here is everything about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty:

What is Phantom Liberty?

Phantom Liberty is a paid expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 that continues the story of V, the protagonist of the base game. The expansion takes place after the events of the main game, and follows V as they explore a new district of Night City called Dogtown, where gangs, corporations, and hackers vie for control of a mysterious technology that could change the fate of humanity.

Phantom Liberty introduces new characters, such as Songbird, a charismatic leader of a hacker group called the Edgerunners; Reed, a former corpo who has a personal vendetta against Songbird; and Paco, a loyal friend and ally of V. The expansion also features new quests, weapons, cyberware, vehicles, outfits, and more.

What are the main features of Phantom Liberty?

Phantom Liberty adds a lot of new content and improvements to Cyberpunk 2077. Some of the main features are:

• A new district: Dogtown is a sprawling urban jungle that is home to various factions and secrets. It is divided into four zones: The Slums, The Factory, The Mall, and The Bunker. Each zone has its own atmosphere, challenges, and rewards.
• A new storyline: Phantom Liberty offers a branching narrative that can be influenced by the player’s choices and actions. The story revolves around a mysterious device called the Neural Network System (NNS), which can connect and control any device or person in Night City. V will have to decide whether to use the NNS for their own benefit, or to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.
• A new perk system: Phantom Liberty revamps the perk system of Cyberpunk 2077, allowing players to customize their character’s skills and abilities more freely. The expansion adds new perks for each attribute and skill tree, as well as new legendary perks that can unlock powerful effects.
• Improved AI: Phantom Liberty improves the AI of enemies and NPCs in Cyberpunk 2077, making them more responsive and realistic. Enemies will use cover, flank, communicate, and adapt to the player’s actions. NPCs will have more varied behaviors and interactions with the environment and each other.
• Version 2.0 update: Alongside Phantom Liberty, CD Projekt Red also released a free update for Cyberpunk 2077 that fixes many bugs and glitches, enhances the graphics and performance, and adds some quality-of-life features. Some of the notable changes are:
  • A redesigned minimap that shows more details and adjusts to the player’s speed.
  • A revamped crafting system that allows players to upgrade their items more easily and efficiently.
  • A new inventory system that categorizes items by type and rarity, and shows more information about them.
  • A new photo mode that offers more options and filters for capturing screenshots.
  • A new difficulty mode called Hardcore Plus that disables all HUD elements and makes enemies more lethal.

How to get Phantom Liberty?

Phantom Liberty is available as a standalone purchase or as part of the Cyberpunk 2077 Season Pass. The expansion costs $19.99 USD on all platforms (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S). The Season Pass costs $29.99 USD and includes Phantom Liberty and another upcoming expansion called Project Orion.

To access Phantom Liberty, players need to have completed the main story of Cyberpunk 2077 and have reached level 20 or higher. They can then start the expansion from the main menu or from their phone in-game.

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What are the reviews of Phantom Liberty?

Phantom Liberty has received mostly positive reviews from critics and players alike. The expansion has been praised for its engaging story, rich world-building, diverse gameplay options, and improved technical aspects. However, some issues still remain, such as bugs, glitches, performance problems on consoles¹, and some questionable design choices.

According to Metacritic, Phantom Liberty has an average score of 85/100 based on 52 critic reviews and an average user score of 8.2/10 based on 1,234 ratings (as of October 8th).

Final thoughts

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a worthy addition to CD Projekt Red’s futuristic RPG that delivers on its promise of expanding and enhancing the game. The expansion offers a compelling story with meaningful choices, a vibrant new district to explore, a variety of new content to discover, and a host of improvements to the core gameplay mechanics. Phantom Liberty is not perfect by any means, but it is a significant step forward for Cyberpunk 2077 and a satisfying experience for fans of the genre.

FAQ’s

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