In the event you’ve managed to do all the story content material that Cyberpunk 2077 needed to provide and have been wanting an excuse to hop again on and do some netrunning or samurai sword slashing, I’m glad to say that Phantom Liberty goes to supply you numerous to chase after which some. I used to be dropped into Dogtown, the brand new location you’ll discover in Phantom Liberty, and it’s stuffed with a brand new story, new gigs, airdrops that’ll embody some coveted loot, new Cyberware upgrades within the type of Relics, new perks, and much more I’m in all probability going to find once I return in September.
To kick issues off, when diving again into Evening Metropolis, you’ll obtain a message and a mission from Songbird: Save the President of the New United States. She has crashed and also you’ll have to get her out from behind enemy strains earlier than Hansen’s folks do. Hansen, the large dangerous of Dogtown, doesn’t appear to love President Myers very a lot, and it’ll be as much as you to tug her out of the fireplace.
When it comes to the story, the general feeling I used to be left with after the primary hour or so I bought to play was one in every of unease. Not due to something bizarre, however just because I didn’t really feel like I might belief any of those folks. After simply assembly the President I used to be instantly requested if I needed to take an oath. To be honest, the demo jumped round so perhaps the character will develop on me a bit extra, however I undoubtedly was hesitant to belief anybody I simply met on this planet of Cyberpunk 2077. In any case, the final time I did I wakened half useless and buried underneath rubbish on the dump with folks attempting to loot my corpse.
That unease wasn’t helped a lot by Johnny Silverhand, who shares some revelations about his previous through the mission. What he tells you makes this determination about whether or not or to not pledge your allegiance to President Myers even tougher to make. It was nice to listen to from Silverhand once more after so lengthy, and to listen to his reactions throughout this explicit story path will certainly tug on the ol’ heartstrings as you make your solution to one of many new endings solely present in Phantom Liberty.
As a result of your sport all the time saves simply earlier than you speak to Hanako and transcend the purpose of no return, Phantom Liberty will give you an all-new path towards completion that solely PS5 and Xbox Collection X|S house owners can play (and PC after all). My favourite ending to this point has been the so-called suicide run, however I welcome the chance to see how all this performs out ultimately.
Solomon Reed, performed by Idris Elba, is an outstanding addition to the forged and he actually brings a gravitas to his position. As I discussed earlier than, that lack of belief extends to him, too, as he’s launched along with his typical poise and no-nonsense supply throughout your hunt for backup, per the President’s orders. His life might not have taken fairly the glamorous flip you’d anticipate as he had rubbed shoulders with a President and for me, that simply made me additional query his loyalty given the circumstances. A personality burned by a strong determine? Yeah, I’m going to expect the opposite shoe to drop in some unspecified time in the future.
The main target of the 90 minutes was totally on this story of Solomon Reed, President Myers, and Songbird. However the mission that caught with me probably the most was one of many new gigs I discovered in Dogtown. Primarily as a result of I really feel like I performed it mistaken.
There have been lots extra gigs to dive into, however the one I ended up operating had me attempt to assist a road physician who gave the impression to be making an attempt to make the lives of the folks on this metropolis higher. You meet him attempting to regulate the cyberware of a citizen appropriately for his or her physique sort, and since I had some expertise in tech I helped remedy it with a dialogue possibility. After that I used to be despatched on a mission to recuperate a physician, and once I arrived, I used to be confronted with an offended girl who fired just a few rounds into his forearm. In a panic I shot her, and sadly I believe I made the mistaken selection.
That’s as a result of I came upon later that she was mad as a result of this physician had kidnapped her youthful brother and was doing human experiments on his physique. In an try to get him again, she confronted him, however ended up assembly her demise at my hand – all whereas the physician was a whole dick. So in my subsequent playthrough, guess who V shall be murdering as quickly as this enlargement drops?
Usually talking, Dogtown, like most of Evening Metropolis, isn’t probably the most welcoming of locations. There are various advantages for diving into the seedy underbelly of an already seedy place, although. The black market scene, for instance, has a whole lot of enjoyable new toys to mess around with. Like, as an illustration, new weapons, autos which have mounted machine weapons and rockets so that you can play with, and even cyberware that beefs up your already extremely highly effective assaults.
For instance, the brand new relic system enables you to energy up your monowire to make it act extra like a whip out of Castlevania – besides it additionally applies an on the spot fast hack alongside the bodily harm it inflicts. Your Projectile Launch will be charged as much as ship a volley of missiles at anybody you’ve determined to focus on, versus only one blast. And with a powered-up set of Mantis Arms it is possible for you to to set off one of many new executions within the sport, after which immediately teleport by way of a lift to an opponent on the opposite facet of the room to maintain the homicide chain going. These, alongside the brand new perks, have me very excited to min-max a brand new construct.
The very last item I had the chance to strive was an airdrop, which is simply one of many world occasions I noticed throughout my hands-on time. You’ll hear a loud increase close by, and should you observe the plumes of purple smoke there shall be a shoot out to see who can get the loot earlier than anybody else. Some have higher objects than others, however should you’re searching for a solution to gear up with the brand new weapons present in Dogtown, you’ll merely want to chop your approach by means of the plenty to get your bag.
Destin Legarie is a Director of Content material Technique at IGN. He likes taking chicken photographs in his spare time when he isn’t doing Efficiency Opinions for IGN. You may observe him on Twitter if you’d like.
