If you happen to’ve managed to do all the story content material that Cyberpunk 2077 needed to supply and have been wanting an excuse to hop again on and do some netrunning or samurai sword slashing, I’m completely happy 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 crammed 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 most likely going to find after 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 must get her out from behind enemy strains earlier than Hansen’s individuals 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 acquired to play was considered one of unease. Not due to something bizarre, however just because I didn’t really feel like I might belief any of those individuals. After simply assembly the President I used to be instantly requested if I wished to take an oath. To be honest, the demo jumped round so possibly 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 spite of everything, the final time I did I wakened half lifeless and buried beneath rubbish on the dump with individuals attempting to loot my corpse.
That unease wasn’t helped a lot by Johnny Silverhand, who shares some revelations about his previous in the course of the mission. What he tells you makes this resolution 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 specific 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 recreation at all times saves simply earlier than you discuss 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 homeowners can play (and PC after all). My favourite ending to date has been the so-called suicide run, however I welcome the chance to see how all this performs out in the long run.
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 could 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 sooner or later.
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 essentially the most was one of many new gigs I discovered in Dogtown. Primarily as a result of I really feel like I performed it fallacious.
There have been a lot extra gigs to dive into, however the one I ended up working had me attempt to assist a road physician who gave the impression to be trying to make the lives of the individuals 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 resolve it with a dialogue possibility. After that I used to be despatched on a mission to get better a physician, and after I arrived, I used to be confronted with an offended lady who fired a couple of rounds into his forearm. In a panic I shot her, and sadly I believe I made the fallacious 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 and 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 will probably be murdering as quickly as this enlargement drops?
Typically talking, Dogtown, like most of Evening Metropolis, isn’t essentially the most welcoming of locations. There are a lot of advantages for diving into the seedy underbelly of an already seedy place, although. The black market scene, for instance, has plenty of enjoyable new toys to mess around with. Like, as an example, new weapons, automobiles 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 permits you to energy up your monowire to make it act extra like a whip out of Castlevania – besides it additionally applies an immediate fast hack alongside the bodily injury it inflicts. Your Projectile Launch may 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 recreation, after which immediately teleport through 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 final thing 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 growth close by, and when you comply with the plumes of crimson smoke there will probably be a shoot out to see who can get the loot earlier than anybody else. Some have higher gadgets than others, however when you’re searching for a solution to gear up with the brand new weapons present in Dogtown, you’ll merely want to chop your manner by the plenty to get your bag.
Destin Legarie is a Director of Content material Technique at IGN. He likes taking chook images in his spare time when he isn’t doing Efficiency Critiques for IGN. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter if you’d like.
