CYBERPUNK 2077: PHANTOM LIBERTY

Fraser Brown: CDPR will probably never be able to escape the stink of Cyberpunk 2077’s botched launch, but what a way to end things. Phantom Liberty’s new district, Dogtown, and its cast of CIA analogues, militants and ne’er-do-wells allowed the game to go out on a high note, with a gripping yarn balanced between a slow-burning thriller and a balls-to-the-wall action movie. You get to meet the NUSA president, and much more importantly: Idris Elba.

The devs smartly weave this expansion into the base game rather than sticking it on at the end or making it a standalone romp, allowing it to elevate the rest of Cyberpunk 2077, a game that is light years ahead of the launch version thanks to the accompanying (and free) 2.0 update. Proper police chases, a progression system that doles out exciting abilities regularly, an overhauled cybernetics system—this is Cyberpunk 2077’s potential realized.

Ted Litchfield: Despite everything, I loved Cyberpunk 2077 right from its legendarily botched launch—it was an engrossing, distinctive RPG with winning characters, more than a few bugs, and some gear and ability design that absolutely stuck in my craw. Even with my firm affection for 2077, I knew it felt incomplete. I found myself dreaming of overhaul updates and a Cyberpunk version of The Witcher 3’s excellent Hearts of Stone. Nearly three years later, we finally have both. Phantom Liberty is one of the best individual stories CDPR has told to date, while the 2.0 update fixed every one of those RPG balance gripes that dogged the game. I no longer have to qualify my recommendation of Cyberpunk 2077—it’s simply one of the best RPGs out there, and it feels great that the expansion to an initially disastrous RPG managed to stand tall in a legendary year for the genre.

Tyler Colp: Phantom Liberty earns the confidence that Cyberpunk 2077 failed to when it launched. CDPR spent a long time refining how to tell a story in this world and it shows. Phantom Liberty has a firm grasp on the sort of bold storytelling that made the Witcher 3 great, wielding both the technical artistry of the world and the team’s strong writing to center its broken cast of characters. It’s refreshing and mature in a way I never expected this game to pull off and it has me excited to see more.

REFRESHING AND MATURE IN A WAY I NEVER EXPECTED