How Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Became a Survival Horror Game (For One Mission) - Art of the Level
For the majority of its runtime, Cyberpunk 2077 is an action-packed RPG. Even if you hone your protagonist, V, into a stealth ninja assassin, the neon-soaked Night City is still frequently the stage for tense combat encounters. That is, however, until Somewhat Damaged, one of the Phantom Liberty expansion’s final quests. Inside a bunker buried deep beneath the city, Cyberpunk 2077 leaves its RPG structure behind and morphs into a survival horror. A relentless robotic hunter stalks you through chambers and corridors, and there’s nothing your weapons can do to stop it.
To find out how this level and its terrifying mechanical monster were created, we spoke to staff from developer CD Projekt Red. With their insight, we examine how Somewhat Damaged makes use of logical environment design, increasingly stressful objectives, and resourceful AI scripting to manifest Phantom Liberty’s terrifying crescendo.
Phantom Liberty tells the story of Song So Mi, better known as Songbird, and Reed, two NUSA agents and former partners. Throughout the campaign it’s revealed that Songbird is on a personal mission to escape the toxic grip of her employer. If you help her, she will save you from your terminal brain virus (AKA Johnny Silverhand) using a Neural Matrix she plans to steal. As the campaign reaches its climax, you’re given a choice: work with Songbird, or betray her and let Reed take her into NUSA custody. Choosing that second option triggers Somewhat Damaged, a terrifying final quest that’s unique to this branch of the story.
Somewhat Damaged sees a devastated, mentally unstable Songbird flee to Cynosure, an abandoned facility beneath Night City. There she connects with the Blackwall, a defence network that protects the world from unknowable digital horrors, and activates a rogue AI to stalk, hunt, and kill you. Within the dark, decaying corridors of the bunker, all you can do is run and hide. It’s a bold left turn for a game normally so focused on action.
“I really wanted to do
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