Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck OK)
Current goal: See what awaits in the new district of Dogtown
Buy it from: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

I played through Cyberpunk 2077 for review back when it first came out, and haven’t felt compelled to revisit it since. But now, I have to see what the new Phantom Liberty expansion brings to the game, so I’ve spent my evenings this week making a fresh start in Night City and playing through enough of the main story to unlock the expansion’s events.

My feelings on the game as a whole remain as ambivalent as ever. There are moments of shimmering beauty and humanity here and there, but so much of what surrounds them is so grimly cynical, and not in a good, compelling way but as a flat monotone that provides drab accompaniment to everything. It also still feels held together by duct tape, despite the recent upgrade to 2.0. A boss I fought last night got stuck a few feet off the ground, rendering him unable to move or attack me, so fighting him became something like taking potshots at a piñata with a shotgun.

And yet, I remain fascinated enough by the streets of Night City and the stories of those who live there that I have to see what awaits in the new district of Dogtown. Maybe it’ll be home to some of the most compelling and human tales Night City has to tell. — Carolyn Petit