Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Review

I played the base game almost a year ago and while I recall being a little harsh on it, I do have to give it a massive amount of credit for being a WRPG that is mechanically competent and enjoyable. I jumped into this expansion a year ago without playing the base game again since the base game is too long for me to replay. However with that said, the Phantom Liberty expansion especially knowing how the base 2077 game ends already has a lot going against it story wise. Since it's a prequel or "interquel" of sorts to the base game and before V starts her battle against Arasaka, the game already has anime filler arc vibe written all over it.

It starts off with V asking Songbird for help to cure her illness but if you know how 2077 ends, you know the ending to the expansion and the consequences of it are going to be meaningless in the long run since CDPR can't contradict what happens before V attacks Arasaka.

However with that said, the writing and characters, at least if I view the expansion as it's own thing is pretty solid and well done much like the base game. Reed, Songbird, and Myers are solid and engaging characters with a lot of interesting backstory that is pretty intriguing to want to see unfold. Kurt Hansen is a moderately entertaining villain even if he doesn't show up that much. The voice acting and writing much like the base game does a good job at making the material engaging to watch unfold. Its basically an interesting espionage heist story even if the story in the long run doesn't really matter since it takes before the final mission of the base game.

The gameplay or more so should I say the pacing of the game however is a mixed bag. The game still has the decent combat mechanics and the rudimentary if serviceable stealth mechanics like before. This is not really so much a Deus Ex stand in but more so a combination of games like Call of Duty, Half Life 2, Telltale games with some rather basic stealth systems thrown in, at least when playing the main missions, it still has the GTA and Saints Row style open world, and the Borderlands style looter shooter elements. But the open world and looter shooter elements are toned down here.

The former is toned down since Dogtown is much smaller than Night City and you can sprint to the mission start points if you want to, and the looter shooter stuff is me having weapons like Johnny Silverhand's gun, and all my late game gear from the base game, plus new weapons like a powerful silenced pistol and sniper rifle.

Now all the tedious aspects of the base game are gone but where does the pacing let it down? This is definately not a WRPG or a "stealth or combat" game where you have tones of control how situations play out. Much of the game is biased towards shooting and stealth becomes pointless now since there are so many shootouts and scripted cover blows.

Where the pacing is really let down is just how much time during the main missions are spent just following people around and listening to them talk. It does benefit the story in some ways but the cutscene to actual gameplay ratio is uneven as all hell here.

When you do the Casino mission, you have one section where you interact with 3 guards and a sniping mission and the rest of the 1 hour long mission is spent talking. Much of the game is paced like this and it can get really uneven.

Another example is how there is lengthy period of talking inbetween the Casino mission and a few minutes into Firestarter.

Also the Kurt Hansen boss is also really bad due to it's reliance on scripted animations every time he hits you thus making it a game of ring around rosey then shoot him when he talks or starts taunting to you.

If you like this style of game this won't bother you but I want to have a good amount of actual gameplay inbetween the long dialogue bits. The story is engaging but then I wonder if it could just be a movie or show instead.

The final mission on Reed's route is one of most out of place sequences from a mechanical perspective since the game copies Outlast and Alien Isolation's style of stealth...in a game with traditional stealth mechanics. It felt so out of place with everything else and this is preceded by having a shooting section that was just a few minute boss fight.

The 2.0 update adds car combat but still none of it during the main missions or you interacting with the police so it felt like CDPR was just wasting their time adding this stuff. Why add something if not everyone or a good number of people won't engage with?

Overall, PL is a decent expansion I bought at full price, I was complaining for much of my review but I finished the game at all and if I do that then it means I got some enjoyment out of the game.