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I want to preface this by saying that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is not by any means the best DLC of all-time, especially considering the existence of the likes of Shadow of the Erdtree which released this year.
However, for what Phantom Liberty managed to do for Cyberpunk 2077, it has solidified itself as one of the all-time greats.
Released in September of last year, Phantom Liberty became Cyberpunk 2077’s first and only expansion and took the base game to a whole new district with a brand-new quest line.
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Featuring Idris Elba as Solomon Reed, the DLC added a touch of espionage to a spy-thriller story as we joined V on a mission to rescue the President of the New United States.
Phantom Liberty was released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in September 2023 and received critical acclaim with over five million copies sold since its launch.
So much acclaim that it was nominated for two awards at The Game Awards.
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So why was Phantom Liberty such a success?
Well, it is no secret that Cyberpunk 2077 released in a bit of a sorry state.
With multiple bugs and glitches (many of which were game-breaking), the CD Projekt RED RPG was met with criticism at all angles, with Sony even taking it down from the PlayStation Store.
This was in 2020 and since then, its developers have been hard at work on making Cyberpunk 2077 the game it is today.
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Thanks to multiple patches and fixes, the game has become one of the best RPGs of all time but that accolade was helped greatly thanks to Update 2.0 which arrived mere weeks before Phantom Liberty’s release.
Update 2.0 offered a complete rework of cyberware mechanics, new weapons, items and cars, a perk overhaul, updated AI and more.
Quite frankly, this free update revolutionised Cyberpunk 2077 three years on from release and laid the foundations for Phantom Liberty.
Fast forward another year and Cyberpunk 2077, as a whole, has become best-known for its incredible comeback, thanks to its regular patches and fixes, updates, and its only DLC.
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With development now packed up for Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red has turned its attention to a sequel and fans are unsure how to feel.
Will its launch be as catastrophic as the OG game’s back in 2020 or will it be at the standard Cyberpunk 2077 is now from the get go?
That remains to be seen but one thing we can all agree on is that Phantom Liberty remains one of the best DLCs out there and not just because it cemented Cyberpunk 2077’s place in the top RPGs of all time.
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As mentioned, Phantom Liberty told a tale of espionage and turned the game into a spy-thriller more so than a standard action RPG.
The stakes were higher, especially considering we had to protect the President and for once, V’s looming mortality was not at the centre of our choices.
Instead, we had to pick a side: Solomon or Songbird and herein lies one of the hardest choices in gaming.
The DLC introduced new characters, a new map, a new questline and a new faction.
Enemies were bigger and better. Dogtown gave us a look into the underbelly of Night City and as always, corruption lurked in the undercurrent of the story, making it impossible for us to know who to trust.
With multiple endings, including a new ending for the main story, every choice mattered and in a world where the wrong decision could mean the difference between life and death, Phantom Liberty added a whole other level of unease.
This DLC didn’t just extend Cyberpunk 2077’s story by adding more of the tried-and-tested method, it weaved in a whole new story that works seamlessly alongside the original, especially considering the events of Phantom Liberty take place before the end of the base game.
Yes, it’s a detour from the story but an epic one at that and serves as another reminder of the corruption and hopelessness hidden beneath the facade of Night City.
Since Phantom Liberty’s release, there have been plenty of other major DLC releases such as Shattered Space for Starfield and Shadow of the Erdtree for Elden Ring to name a few.
Although Shadow of the Erdtree added more story to an already incredible game and Shattered Space added… well, more Starfield, I dare say that neither of them did for their respective games what Phantom Liberty did for Cyberpunk 2077.
Which is why, in my opinion, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty remains the best DLC in recent times, a year on.
Topics: CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077, Features, PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Opinion