Overview

Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most highly anticipated games in the history of video gaming, had a disastrous release. I've been eager to discuss this game on my channel for over a year. Despite its technical issues and broken promises about last-gen console compatibility, Cyberpunk 2077 has always had a strong core experience hidden beneath its problems. Beyond the technical mess, it's a fantastic game offering various combat styles, an engaging storyline, and an unforgettable world known as Night City. This ambitious game aimed to blend RPG choice, immersive sim mission design, and an open world to rival GTA.

At launch, Cyberpunk felt like a game that dabbled in many things but didn't excel at any. However, despite these flaws, Cyberpunk still managed to be a memorable experience, provided you looked past its technical hiccups. Night City, with its towering megacorporation buildings and rural badlands, the memorable characters, and the captivating main and side stories, drew me in on my first playthrough and continues to do so on my second. In short, I've always believed that Cyberpunk had a lot of strengths beneath the negatives surrounding its release.

Fast forward nearly three years, and CD Projekt Red has stayed committed to the game. They've released the successful anime "Edgerunners" and, more recently, the significant Update 2.0, which reworks many fundamental aspects of the Cyberpunk experience, along with the Phantom Liberty expansion. Cyberpunk 2077 is now in better shape than ever. While the core elements of its main story and choice-based gameplay haven't changed, it has become more polished and complete game. This latest update shows that CD Projekt Red has taken a game with a bad reputation and turned it into a great one. It's no longer just a redemption story; Cyberpunk has always been a good game, and now it's a godly one that I thoroughly enjoy. Cyberpunk to me is always a game that has been full of heart and personality, a story with soul and character, and now with Update 2.0 the broader narrative surrounding this game has changed. But I want to tell you that although Cyberpunk is a better game now, it was never a bad one to begin with.

In this review, I'll explain the current state of the Cyberpunk experience, why I love it, and why you should consider playing it. Let's dive into my review of Cyberpunk 2077.

Story

To commence this review, let's delve back into the narrative of the base game of Cyberpunk 2077. When I initially experienced the main story in 2020, it was generally positive, albeit with some room for improvement. The first act concluded abruptly, the introduction to the life path felt rushed, but the mission structure, action sequences, diverse locations, and the characters you encountered were both memorable and believable.

Upon revisiting the story in 2023, exploring multiple endings and revisiting pivotal moments, my admiration for Cyberpunk 2077 deepened. Night City stands as a dynamic world, where powerful megacorporations dominate the skies and street gangs control the streets. This technologically advanced society has devolved into a brutal, survival-driven era. Night City is a vibrant yet ruthlessly challenging metropolis, filled with lofty promises and dreams. It's designed to crush your hopes, constantly battling against you with its pervasive corruption and brutality.

CDPR excels at creating scenes that exude distinctive moods and atmospheres in Cyberpunk. The game shines in crafting unique and multifaceted characters. Each companion in the game has their distinct subplots and arcs that depict growth and development.

Upon revisiting the Cyberpunk story, I've gained a newfound appreciation for CDPR's skill in writing characters and constructing immersive scenes. The game introduces various characters who may only make brief appearances but leave a lasting impact. Their language, motivations, and interactions make them authentic and believable. This is in stark contrast to the sometimes stiff and awkward companion interactions in games like Starfield, as I discussed in a recent video.

The story in Cyberpunk follows V, beginning with one of three life paths you choose. It eventually converges with V meeting Jackie Welles, embarking on a journey as a mercenary aiming for the big leagues. V's journey introduces players to various corporations, gangs, and thought-provoking concepts like Cyberspace, Braindancing, and mind uploading. The story offers numerous opportunities to explore these ideas in both the main plot and side quests. Initially, I found "Edgerunners" to have a more compelling story than "2077," particularly due to its focus on body modification and cyber-psychosis, which "2077" only scratches the surface of in comparison.

In many ways, this applies to several aspects of the main story in Cyberpunk. The world offers a broad range of experiences, but it sometimes lacks depth, at least that was my initial perception. However, upon revisiting the game, I realized that unlike "Edgerunners," "2077" crafts a world that to some extent adapts to the player's choices, presenting captivating micro-stories often branching off from the main narrative.

One significant realization during my second playthrough was my changed perception of Keanu Reeves's character, Johnny Silverhand. In 2020, I struggled to connect with him, finding him unlikable. This time, by making different dialogue choices and attempting to understand the character, Johnny became one of my favorite characters by the end of the game. The shared journey of survival between V and Johnny resonated deeply and aligned with the theme of making the most out of life and the legacy one leaves behind. The narrative of Cyberpunk gains more depth with each of its multiple endings, offering diverse lenses through which to view V's survival and the significant impact of your chosen ending on the overarching theme of legacy and the value of life.

While Cyberpunk's story may not be flawless, my second playthrough left me even more captivated. There are moments, characters, and locations that are indelibly etched into memory, especially during the second run.

Now, I'd like to discuss the themes and certain aspects of the Cyberpunk experience that might be considered spoilers if you haven't played the base game. I'll provide a timestamp here, but feel free to return once you've played the game.

Cyberpunk's narrative grapples with the themes of identity, both in its literal and metaphorical senses, the legacy one leaves behind, and the quest to make the most of life. V's journey is one of survival, a constant struggle to maintain their identity and way of life, a theme woven throughout the story but most poignantly conveyed through its multiple endings. Each ending necessitates some form of sacrifice, whether it be principles, identity, lifestyle, or lifespan. Regardless of the path chosen, there's always a bittersweet sense of loss and acceptance, leaving room for open-ended interpretation of what comes next. The collection of endings paints a vivid picture of V's journey, relationships, and place in the world. Unlike "Edgerunners," which delves deeply into specific topics, Cyberpunk uses these concepts as touchstones to contextualize the world and its systems through side quests and sub-stories. The core of Cyberpunk's story revolves around the transformative journey, exemplified in the evolving relationship with Johnny Silverhand, portrayed by Keanu Reeves. When first encountered, Johnny is abrasive, but as the journey unfolds, your actions and heartfelt conversations reveal a profound character evolution, mirroring your V's transformation. This nuanced aspect was initially overlooked in my first playthrough, significantly altering my perspective during the second.

Performance

So normally I discuss things such as visuals and sound presentation in these videos, but I feel for this one it all neatly falls under the performance as one big package, because man not only has CDProjectRed fixed this game on a technical level, but they have improved it in various different ways that make the overall experience easier to navigate and a lot smoother to engage with.

Bugs

If there was one thing that Cyberpunk was infamous for at launch, it was bugs. The game was notorious for horrendous texture pop-in, t-poses, flinging cars, and falling through the floor, you'd think this was a Bethesda game. Cyberpunk's performance at launch particularly for those playing on a last gen console was so horrendous that as we all know Playstation had to remove it from its storefront, which to this day is still insane. So now we're in 2023, CDPR have put their heads down, and listened and honestly have been slowly patching through each of the remaining bugs and issues that did plague Cyberpunk upon its release. So that leaves the big question, how buggy is Cyberpunk now? Well, I'm happy to announce that in over 70hrs of replaying Cyberpunk I have experienced about 2-3 bugs in total and they were nothing more than the odd t-pose. But overall Cyberpunk runs extremely well, and is a mostly bug free game.

UI Updates

Now lets talk enhancements, one of the big changes to me in Cyberpunk is the UI and menu overhauls, such as how jobs, gigs, and different icons appear on the map, how they're structured in the Journal menu too, where different mission types are color-coded and sorted into their own categories accordingly. It makes finding, tracking, and completing content a lot more comprehensive and cleaner.

Police System

They've of course redesigned in something that was glaringly problematic and had been since launch and that was a lackluster police system, which upon release would have police just randomly spawn and attack you when committing a crime, and only require you to run 30 metres before they forgot you existed. Now they will be roaming the streets, and readily attack you if you commit a crime, different tiers of police forces will come to attack you, similarly to how this works in GTA, until you eventually get MaxTac who're a top of the line squad called in to deal with you.

DLSS 3.5 and RT Direct Illumination

The visuals for Cyberpunk have also only improved, I've been running my game on a 2080ti and running it at Ray Tracing Medium and the game simply looks gorgeous and for the most part I've been able to hover around 60fps at 2k and around 30-40 at 4k. It is also worth mentioning that with the release of Phantom Liberty comes DLSS 3.5 support for Cyberpunk 2077 and a new Ray Tracing technology called Direct Illumination which enhances the way that light bounces of many different objects creating a more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections. This is important to mention because not only is Cyberpunk a more polished experience now, but overall a better stunning game visually to look at full of bespoke little details that vividly depict what side of the city you're exploring, and whilst I haven't been able to play Cyberpunk on the maximum settings even on my 5 year old card running this game at medium ray tracing this game is visually stunning and running at a consistent framerate thanks to these DLSS features.

Gameplay

Missions

Cyberpunk's Gameplay loop is divided into three major forms of activities those being Main Jobs which are the main story, Side Jobs which are side missions that can usually contain a string of quests that tell a story, and lastly gigs which are one off jobs V is tasked as by various Fixers in NC to complete. Gig's provide a more lighter and smaller story that depict the various happenings, and the underbellies of the different districts of Night City. There are different other smaller activities that you can partake in such as helping the police by disarming different gang shoots or taking eye catchy vehicles to a particular vendor. But the key three we will be talking about are the core two we'll be covering being the Side Jobs and Gigs.

Main Jobs

So I'll lightly touch on main jobs because I talked about the story earlier on in the review, but there is one aspect of Cyberpunk's main campaign. These main missions are high octane action, and progress the story. I do feel even with Update 2.0 still does feel like a shortcoming to the overall experience, and that is the illusion of choice that is presented throughout throughout these missions.

Illusion of Choice

So let me explain, Cyberpunk upon its release promised to provide choice and consequence to many of the players actions throughout the game, and put an emphasis on how you build your character impacting how you can approach many of the missions in the game. Now, there are a few missions throughout the main story that do provide a choice that will have ripple effects and repercussions on the broader story, but most of the time, the missions do feel static in their outcome. What is most frustrating is when there are dialogue options that suggest an alternative way to approach the mission based on my selected life path or skill, but these options don't serve as much more than a nice little flavour text to provide added context, but nothing to really alter the experience. CDProjectRed have taken measures to address this criticism in the Phantom Liberty expansion, but we'll get into that more later in this review, but outside of this the main missions for Cyberpunk are a ton of fun, and extremely memorable, and the moments where the game does provide choice does lead to some really meaningful outcomes.

Side Jobs

In Cyberpunk, Side Jobs serve as the equivalent of Side Quests in typical open-world games. Many of these missions offer intriguing narrative elements, delving into various concepts and themes discussed throughout this review's story segment. Unlike main quests, Side Jobs often present multiple branching outcomes, capable of influencing or even jeopardizing specific tasks. One memorable example is "The Hunt," a mission centered on finding a missing person; insufficient information leads you to the wrong location. Several other notable Side Jobs, such as Cyberpsycho sightings or tracking rogue AI cars, create distinct subcategories within this type of gameplay.

These Side Jobs grant players a diverse array of choices in combat approaches and dialogue interactions. From a storytelling perspective, they significantly expand upon the broader concepts occasionally alluded to in the main narrative or other side missions. While not all Side Jobs leave you pondering profound ideas, they do offer opportunities for thought-provoking moments. Plus, they come with the perks of obtaining a talking gun and building unusual friendships, like one with a vending machine, making them an enjoyable addition to the Cyberpunk experience.

Cyberpunk boasts numerous highlights, and its potential to explore deep, thought-provoking themes remains a prominent point of discussion. Side Jobs, in particular, are a vital component of the Cyberpunk experience and deserve a substantial portion of your time. They offer choices, action, and a broader perspective on Night City, enriching the main story and the city's overall context.

Gigs

That brings us to gigs, so gigs are Merch work that V can partake in for a quick buck and are usually a mission with a micro-story that can help contextualize the particular part of Night City that you're taking on work for. Gigs are usually structured in a way were you can approach them in a quiet or loud manner, with one primary objective. You can choose to take the brute force approach through most of these gigs and at worst it'll penalize you with less money. Some of these gigs do have an element of choice in them, but again outside of money, the outcomes or implications on the story aren't really felt throughout the main story.

Gigs do come in different shapes and sizes too, with update 2.0 we see a new type of gig where you'll be able to take cars of interest and deliver them to a particular fixer. These gigs however, unlike the ones I previously mentioned are infinite and are a good way to farm some eddies. Overall the gigs will introduce you to some interesting minor characters, some quick eddies, and good avenue to level up your Street Cred, we'll talk about later in the video.

Combat

Skill Tree Progression

So how's the combat in Cyberpunk 2077 since the 2.0 update? It's excellent actually, and Cyberpunk's combat is an aspect of the game to me that has always had a ton of promise with solid bones, that stem from its various forms of combat, unique weapons, over the top action and ways to approach combat. Here in 2.0 they've that have made your characters playstyle feel significantly more bespoke to your intended playstyle and this is largely due to the complete overhaul that CDProjectRed made to the skill trees, narrowing them down to a much more simpler set of trees that provide meaningful upgrades that enhance the experience, compared to the old model which was bogged down by makes every attribute and skill you invest in feel worth while. Update 2.0 really does enhance the overhaul combat experience providing game altering abilities that reward you for investing your time into a particular skill set, and this is a far superior approach to progression that drastically improves the combat and is crucial to improving that overall aspect of the experience.

Gunplay, Melee, and Finishers

The combat in Cyberpunk is remarkably engaging, and this is largely thanks to the incredible variety of weapons available in the game. It's truly astonishing just how many different types of weapons you can find here. There are three primary categories: firearms, melee weapons, and cyberware weapons. However, within these categories, you'll discover a multitude of sub-categories. For firearms, you have tech weapons that shoot powerful beams akin to railguns, smart weapons that automatically lock onto and track your targets. In the realm of melee weapons, you can wield blades like Katanas, blunt instruments like baseball bats, or even throw knives, among many other options. And then there are the iconic cyberware upgrades, such as the Mantis Blades and Moonwire. Each of these cyberware and melee weapons offers unique finishing moves and special perks that unlock even more finishing techniques.

The weapons not only feel impactful but also sound incredible. The attention to detail, like the reload animations, adds to the overall chaotic Cyberpunk experience. In this 2.0 update, Cyberpunk's combat is at its most responsive and engaging.

What sets Cyberpunk's combat apart is its versatility. One of the remarkable aspects of Cyberpunk's combat is the unapologetic embrace of gore and intense action. The introduction of finishing moves adds a new level of brutality when dealing with enemies.

The sheer variety of weapons, along with how they interact with your cyberware, creates a thrilling sandbox for players. In the 2.0 update, CD Projekt Red has expanded on this concept by providing new abilities and skills that make you feel like a legendary figure in Night City. Watching different players' approaches and experimenting with various strategies in this sandbox is endlessly captivating. It underscores the flexibility and freedom that Cyberpunk's combat offers, which I particularly came to appreciate during my second playthrough. Personally, I enjoyed using the Moonwire and skillfully juggling my Quickhacks in between. Cyberpunk's combat seamlessly combines action game elements with the foundational elements of a lite RPG, making it a truly captivating experience.

Netrunning

One unique aspect of Cyberpunk's combat to me is the Netrunning aspect of combat that you can use to your advantage. Netrunning in Cyberpunk 2077 is this tactical art of manipulating both the enemy and their implants as well as the environment. The way in which this is achieved is through using an equipped set of abilities called your Quickhacks. Different Quickhacks serve different functions, some allow you to distract an enemy and lend themselves to a more stealthy approach, whilst other Quickhacks facilitate a more direct approach such as self-destructing a car. You'll be able to build a set of abilities on your Cyberdeck that are highly adaptable being used for all forms of situation.

Quickhacks come at a cost and can't be spammed, and that cost is how much RAM the player has available. It works similar to a magic or stamina bar in many other games, needing to recharge after you have queued a bunch of hacks to various people or objects. There is a particular rhythm that comes with playing a Netrunner that I Absolutely loved during my second playthrough of Cyberpunk, and the new skill trees and perks make you focus around this flow of finding effective ways to recharge your RAM and output the most damage possible at the same time.

The Netrunner is one aspect of the Cyberpunk experience that I didn't really specialise in, when playing the game the first time around, and now having made it a key focus, I have to say that Netrunning is absolutely broken and is one of the most unique dances that can be integrated into the overall flow of combat in the Cyberpunk experience, whether it is Overheating your enemies OS essentially their brain, crippling their movement, or reprogramming turrets to assist you, Netrunning is one of the more engaging ways to interact with Cyberpunk and its environments.

I think there is something that can be said here, particularly with respect to Update 2.0 and how it handles build crafting, really making you feel like you can blend many different types of playstyles together making your character feel like they've carved out their own niche from being a stealthy Netrunner to a chromed up Netrunning ninja, both technically and literally hacking their way through their enemies.

Vehicle Combat

One new addition to Cyberpunk's combat that has been added here in Update 2.0 is the inclusion of Vehicle combat, which is a nice addition to Night City experience, and there are even new vehicles that are available for purchase that come with built-in weapons too. This combat handles pretty well and is a ton of fun, having new jobs particularly new new car pickup jobs to provide methods that utilize this new mechanic. Unfortunately the crux of Cyberpunk's combat, which is its base game, don't really have any need or scripted events that use of this mechanic. There are a few moments in Phantom Liberty where Vehicle Combat can be used, but overall, at least in most of the main content and side content it never really is something that is factored in, given these missions were made prior to the mechanic. But hey, it still is an overall great mechanic and is something that makes V's merc adventures, or evading the police that much more fun and intense.

Game Systems

Level Progression

Stats and Skills

In Cyberpunk 2.0, the general character progression system has largely remained consistent, but it now exhibits more refinement and significance. The level cap has been increased from 50 to 60 with the release of Phantom Liberty, while Street Cred remains capped at 50. For those new to Cyberpunk who may be wondering about concepts like Street Cred and the leveling process, the game encompasses a range of skills, including Body, Reflexes, Technical Ability, Intelligence, and Cool. With each level gained, you receive an attribute point to enhance these core statistics and a skill point to unlock more specific abilities nested within each skill category.

Version 2.0 introduces a purposeful approach to leveling up and investing in specific attributes. The reworked skill tree system in Cyberpunk classifies potential abilities you can unlock within each attribute tree into four categories, depending on the number of points invested in a given attribute. This simplified yet effective system constantly presents achievable goals and new abilities to pursue, and the option to respec your character is always available if you feel you've made an incorrect choice or want to explore a different playstyle.

Additionally, there are unique skills with their own progression systems that can be improved by focusing on a particular skill set, such as refining your Netrunner abilities or becoming a sharpshooter with firearms. The advantage of leveling up these distinct skills is that every 5 levels, you earn an extra skill point to invest in your character. In essence, this system appears to naturally evolve as you play the game, frequently rewarding your efforts within various progression paths.

Overall, the leveling system in Cyberpunk strikes a balance, avoiding excessive focus on statistics and unnecessary grinding, while offering a more organic and satisfying progression that incentivizes character improvement.

Street Cred

Now onto Street Cred, for those familiar with Cyberpunk, this system has seen very little changes and feels like it works the same way to me as it did at launch. It is a system that is supposed to represent how notorious V is within Night City, and it's core gameplay function is how new gigs, side jobs, and vehicles unlock the higher your Street Cred is. It is a decent system, but it really is one aspect to me that I feel CDProjectRed really could do a lot with to evolve the experience in future. Because whilst Street Cred does provide in game unlocks, it doesn't really transform the experience or how the world perceives V.

Cyberware

The 2.0 update has brought significant changes to the Cyberware system in Cyberpunk. Initially, Cyberware served as a means to modify V's body with cutting-edge technological enhancements, each offering unique gameplay advantages depending on the body part being modified. For instance, Arms could equip melee weapons like the Mantis Blades, the Frontal Cortex enhanced cooldowns, and other modifications provided abilities like a second wind or double jump. A wide array of body parts with their own variations could be acquired to suit your playstyle. With Update 2.0, skill trees and Cyberware have been more intricately linked, creating a more streamlined progression system that encourages regular visits to Ripperdocs.

Another significant change in the update is the introduction of two new gauges. One of them is the Cyberware capacity gauge, which aligns with the concepts explored in Edgerunners. It limits the number of Cyberware enhancements V can handle at a given time. As your player level increases, V's capacity naturally grows, but there are two perks that expand the limits, allowing for more advanced enhancements.

The second major addition to the system is the armor system. Each additional Cyberware modification now grants a level of armor, increasing damage resistance. This is straightforward, as higher armor levels result in greater resistance. As you level up, you'll unlock stronger versions of your existing mods for purchase. Alternatively, you can use acquired components to upgrade and enhance your mods at a more affordable price.

Overall, these changes to the Cyberware system create a more engaging and active progression system, encouraging players to regularly invest time and resources in enhancing their character, rather than treating it as a forgettable aspect of the game for occasional upgrades.

Game Systems Overhauled

Since launch Cyberpunk has overhauled and added tons of various new features to the Cyberpunk experience, one much requested feature being the Wardrobe which works as a transmog feature that allows you to tailor the way your V looks to your liking, and stats for your clothing has been mostly removed or toned down, meaning that attire is now mainly a fashion statement with minor upgrades, opposed to having to wear mismatched outfits to produce the best stats. Alongside this there are new apartments in each of the districts of Night City that are available for purchase, along with new vehicles that can be purchased with all those hard earned eddies.

Overall Cyberpunks combat and gameplay systems have been fine tuned and refined to a point where the game is now in one of the best positions that it could be, having many of its systems reworked, and integrated, having breathed new life into the existing systems whilst providing new additions that further enhance the overall experience.

Phantom Liberty - DLC

Phantom Liberty marks the final major update for Cyberpunk 2077 before CD Projekt Red shifts its focus to their next project within the Cyberpunk universe. Fortunately, this update is an outstanding expansion and farewell, offering an engaging spy-thriller narrative along with a wealth of additional content. The main storyline alone will provide you with over 20 hours of new gameplay.

Before I delve into the details, I'd like to emphasize something, and I'll clarify why as we go along. If you're a returning player to Cyberpunk, I highly recommend starting a fresh playthrough to fully relish the entire game rather than continuing from your previous save. There have been numerous improvements, fine-tuned details, a graphical makeover, and revisiting Night City alongside Phantom Liberty is a truly rewarding experience. Personally, rediscovering all of Cyberpunk not only gave me a fresh perspective on a game I initially enjoyed, but it also offered a comprehensive experience that will deepen your affection for both Phantom Liberty and the base game, believe me. For those who prefer to dive directly into Phantom Liberty, there's an option to create a new character starting at level 40, but I must reiterate that doing so would mean missing out on many of the best elements of this enhanced experience.

Story

Phantom Liberty delves into V's journey within the walled-off East-side of Pacifica, commonly known as Dogtown. Here, V encounters Songbird, who proposes a deal: a cure in exchange for assistance concerning a presidential matter. Unlike a post-game narrative, Phantom Liberty unfolds during the main story, offering a thrilling and dynamic experience. It thrusts you into a high-stakes conflict involving major players, including the president and NUSA, and the oppressive military force known as the Barghest. The characters introduced are a highlight, from the principled Soloman Reed to the enigmatic Netrunner, So Mi, all of whom keep players guessing about their motives and actions.

Phantom Liberty's mission structure builds upon the action-packed moments of the main storyline while addressing some of its criticisms. Notably, it tackles the issue of choice, offering various outcomes and approaches in its missions. If Phantom Liberty is indicative of CDPR's future approach to choice and consequence, it bodes well for Project Orion's direction.

Phantom Liberty's story underscores the significance of the choices players make. While not all missions provide the same breadth of options as the Malestorm mission, it marks a positive step forward, with choices that lead to lasting implications and moral quandaries. The decisions made in the game often result in shades of grey, leaving players to question the morality of their actions. It is skilfully crafted to make a meaningful impact and provoke thought about the consequences of one's choices.

Dogtown Exploration

Dogtown is a fantastic and relatively compact location, but it boasts remarkable density, creating an immersive experience thanks to its verticality. This aspect is particularly evident as you explore its diverse locales, ranging from construction sites to abandoned buildings. In addition to these exploratory opportunities, there are engaging supply drop activities that offer a captivating diversion from the various jobs scattered throughout Dogtown. Speaking of these gigs and side jobs, Phantom Liberty introduces an array of new employment opportunities that are truly impressive. The stories, the element of choice, and the moral implications interwoven into many of these quests are masterfully crafted. A consistent theme running through Phantom Liberty's storytelling, both in its main narrative and side content, is the moral ambiguity that underlies the dilemmas presented in these jobs. CDPR has effectively incorporated choice and consequences into many of these tasks, with some callbacks that shed light on the impact of your decisions later on.

Dogtown stands out as an exceptionally designed location, not only for its visual splendor but also for its deliberate integration of cutting-edge RT technology to showcase its stunning visual spectacle. Despite its relatively modest size, Dogtown is a unique area with distinct sub-districts, and the wealth of character packed into this small expanse of land is truly remarkable.

Phantom Liberty introduces a host of new collectible content, a fresh relic tree with a subset of unique abilities, random supply drop events, and a plethora of meaningful side jobs and gigs that collectively breathe life into the vibrant setting of Dogtown.

Visual and Sound Presentation

Which to conclude this segment of performance brings me to the overall Visual design and sound presentation of Cyberpunk 2077 which since its release has been an industry leading juggernaut and now in 2023 is arguably the most beautiful looking game on the market thanks to the new Ray Tracing technology that I mentioned earlier. Cyberpunk's visual design is absolutely incredible, bringing to life many of the different districts to life, from the pristine clean streets of City Center , to the rundown abandoned streets of Pacifica, there is so much detail that is put into every single shot of Night CIty, that it is hard not to stop and admire it in all of its beauty. The sheer variety of store signs, advertisements and branding that plaster themselves on display throughout the city, the towering buildings, the smoke, the lighting, everything about Cyberpunk's visual design shouts out to you, but it is also in its subtle little details that the realism and sense of scale is truly encapsulated.

The visuals are not the only aspect that makes Night City feel like one of the most lively open worlds, to me it is more its usage of sound. The ambiance, whether it is the faint sounds of trains, a crowd of people, conversations you hear in a vacuum as you ride past on your bike, announcements, car horns, there are so many little tiny things that you don't really consider or pay much attention to, that really do matter and bring this sense of feeling to life, making Night City feel like a place you're visiting every time you boot the game up, and a game really hasn't been able to capture me in its universe to that degree since GTA 4.

The Past, Present and Future

Cyberpunk 2077 embarked on a lengthy journey, well over a decade ago. Today, we're looking ahead to the next major release, known as Orion. I approach the future of Cyberpunk with a sense of hope, convinced that while many of the fresh features introduced in Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty enhance the 2077 experience, the development team now possesses a blueprint for their upcoming title. The future of Cyberpunk holds great promise, yet it's not without challenges, particularly as CDPR transitions from their renowned RedEngine to Unreal and establishes a new studio in Boston to lead the Orion project. Additionally, CD Projekt Red is working on two new entries in The Witcher series and a remake of the first Witcher game. Although the release of Phantom Liberty has rebuilt trust in CDPR for many, the path ahead remains ambitious. Personally, I maintain a hopeful and optimistic outlook, considering that these games and the adoption of a new engine represent steps in the right direction.

Conclusion

In Conclusion Cyberpunk is a game that has always been fantastic, there are many valid reasons why this game was negatively received at launch, and CDProjectRed really did drop the ball in 2020 with the state of the game on release. But beneath that big dumpster pile technical issues was a game that was always good and now with the refinements made to its gameplay systems, new inclusions some which should have been in the game at launch, and a brand new exceptional expansion, Cyberpunk is finally a great game, rich with 30+ hours of main story content, tons of side stories, a combat loop that feels so addictive, that even now having seen multiple endings, and completing a good chunk of the side content, I'm eagerly waiting to return to Night City.