Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Review

ign.com:

Remember how many dildos were originally in Cyberpunk 2077? You couldn’t loot a corner in Night City without picking one up, to the point where CD Projekt Red actually had to patch a number of them out. Lootable dildos weren’t necessarily a problem on their own, but their abundance was a good example of how Cyberpunk’s grand story could occasionally clash with the cheap shock humor found around it. Phantom Liberty aims to right that dildo misalignment, and after some soul-searching, has seemingly found what kind of Cyberpunk story it wants to tell, and nails it. Balancing the punk-rock verve of Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG with an exquisitely crafted spy story and best-in-class visuals, Phantom Liberty is Cyberpunk 2077 at its best.

A quick detour: the backstories of Dogtown, Night City, and the whole Cyberpunk tabletop universe are heavily referenced in Phantom Liberty, to the point I had to look up lore guides to figure out exactly what was happening. It’s not so complicated that it’s impenetrable for the uninitiated, though, and CDPR does a good job of laying out the stakes clearly. But I imagine this stuff will appeal directly to fans of the tabletop game than inspired Cyberpunk 2077.

Phantom Liberty begins with the President of the NUS crash landing in a self-governed district of Night City called Dogtown, and you’re hired by her Secret Service detail to rescue her. From there you will meet the two most important new characters in the expansion, Song So-Mi, an NUSA hacker excellently played by Christine Minji Chang, and Solomon Reed, a sleeper agent who is brought back into commission portrayed by the iconic Idris Elba.

Elba is again channeling his city-wise American accent from The Wire, only this time on the other