I suppose, Cyberpunk 2077 is the perfect example of why is it I try to avoid playing and reviewing games until they’re “complete”. Though, surprisingly, the big change that makes my old review somewhat outdated isn’t the new expansion Phantom Liberty, but rather the 2.0 patch that overhauled the game in a substantial way and all of the patches that preceded it. I loved playing the game even more than before, but this time I can also easily recommend it to others. All it took was “just” 3 extra years of development…
The main thing about the game didn’t change – it’s still a curious mix of mechanics and ideas that evokes memories of Deus Ex, GTA and Vampire the Masquerade – Bloodlines combined. The world is beautiful and interesting to just exist in. There are countless interesting stories that you experience via side quests of different varieties. Your choices during quests often lead to big and small consequences and callbacks later on. The music is great, the voice acting is mostly great. And I’m actually even taking back what I said about Keanu’s performance last time it fits perfectly what the character is going for. The freedom of dialogue interactions is incredible, with walking away or shooting mid-dialogue still working as an even more potent player choice than just selecting a text option. And even though none of the game’s elements ever get to the highest points of the classics mentioned before, it uses the best ideas in a genuinely fun way that keeps you engaged dozens of hours in.
But on top of all that, the game has been improved immensely. As far as fixes go – the game feels solid start to finish. I’ve not encountered any game breaking bugs in my playthrough, even in the Phantom Liberty expansion. Unless you’re trying to break the game intentionally, I suppose, but I’m not playing games like that, so can’t really say if the game can be prone to big issues that way. Some minor recurring issues still happen from time, with the most frustrating one being the sudden inability to save for a more extended period of time than intended – waiting for a while and fast traveling usually fixes this. It also seems like the timer for quest starting messages and calls is currently not working correctly – I’ve completed literally everything possible in the game, waited for weeks and still hasn’t got several quests started that I know are there from my previous playthrough. While some of the ones I’ve gotten pretty early last time didn’t happen until I was about 50 hours into the game this time.
What’s not less important is how the game was rebalanced and its interface and controls updated. A lot of controls were and UI elements were next to unusable when I played the game first, but now almost everything is rebindable and even the default settings make so much more sense. Sadly, the whole colour coded loot stuff is still here and you still feel like a scavenger, grabbing trash from the floor and selling it more than engaging in storytelling, but it feels less dumb now overall with more focus given to the cybernetic enhancements and iconic (unique) items, while the clothing is now almost purely for fashion or unique quest situations. And I have to be honest – even though I never cared about the lack of GTA-like police system in the game, now that it’s implemented it does make the world feel more alive in ways that matter.
Now that I’ve done all of the side activities, I have to also say that they are better than I expected them to be, but at the same time, it is a rarity when this kind of gig or police quest gets genuinely interesting, most of them being rather surface level story affairs. They’re more fun if you run around with a shotgun blowing people’s heads off, as they get done quicker, but it is a bit of a shame that the main campaign of the game went for quantity over quality with this side content.
Which is especially contrasted with the new side content in Phantom Liberty – almost all of it is on the level of “proper” side quests from the main game and arguably usually even better. There are twists to the storylines, lots of different ways you can go with them and almost all of them are memorable, instead of being just a “get in the place and download information” type thing. Unfortunately, Phantom Liberty also adds the absolute worst side content that is semi-randomized and absolutely terrifyingly boring to do while providing no meaningful story content. But, frankly, unless you’re achievement hunting, I’d just recommend avoiding it.
The sad thing about this expansion, though, is that the main story or the location it adds are not that great. The storyline delivery is good, the characters are well acted and it’s all very high quality and all, it’s just… Where a lot of Cyberpunk 2077 is about hanging out with or around interesting people and building partnerships and relationships in a horrible dystopian future, most of Phantom Liberty story quests feel like the best Call of Duty missions never written. It feels extremely at odds with the mood and feel of the main game, but not in a way that makes it interesting, rather in a way that makes it foreign. I couldn’t genuinely care about any of the well acted characters the game spends a lot of time building in the same way, I could sometimes find myself caring about a character that appears once in some main story gig. And all this makes Phantom Liberty as a purchase really odd – the best things about it are side quests, but you can’t really engage with them unless you go through the main story of the expansion. But going through said story isn’t particularly engaging.
Cyberpunk 2077 in its updated new form is absolutely and definitely worth playing. It’s finally at the level, where you can just enjoy the best of it, without worrying about the bugs and whatever other possible issues. Should you get Phantom Liberty as well, though? It’s almost worth it for the side quests alone, which are fantastic, but at the same time… I dunno – when discounted maybe? The game itself, though, definitely worth it with no asterisks.