Ever since the release of the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase, more and more information regarding the title, its upcoming downloadable content and its soon-to-be sequel keep dropping. The upcoming downloadable content seems to be more than just any old story content, with it bringing mass changes to the base game in an update alongside the DLC’s release, and the director of Phantom Liberty isn’t stopping there, as he’s planning on jumping into the sequel as soon as the expansion has released.
Cyberpunk 2077 – A Gaming Franchise is Born
Not much is known about the sequel as of yet, which is hardly surprising considering at most it’ll be in its infancy, if development has even started. However what is likely is that the wholesale changes that the update and Phantom Liberty will be bringing to the game are just a trial for what the sequel will have. Fans will remember less than fondly the huge promises that the developers and studio made and how poorly they delivered on them with the launch of the first game.
This hopefully is a lesson that the studio has learned from, and they take their time in developing the sequel so instead of us being disappointed come launch, we’re blown away. It seems this may not be the case however, with the developer already describing the sequel, codenamed ‘Orion’ as something that will “will fully unleash the potential that this universe offers”.
All that said, with director Gabe Amatangelo taking the reins of both the expansion and the sequel, one thing will be for certain, he’ll ensure that there’s a certain amount of connectivity within the game and it’s universe.
This is already indicated by his willingness to include a cyberpsychosis feature, something heavily featured in the anime and to a lesser degree the base game. Players will have a meter that’ll indicate how much cyberware they can install in themselves. Install too much? Cyberpsychosis takes over and you’ll lose control of your actions. How far and how permanent this is isn’t known, but it’s an interesting mechanic that’ll further make you think about how you control V and what you do with your version of the character.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty – Reeves and Elba
The upcoming expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 looks to right the many wrongs from the game’s original launch. but alongside the expansion comes a separate, free trailer that’ll completely change more or less every mechanic in the game, bringing it closer to the developer’s original vision. With news that the expansions director will be jumping into the sequel after it drops, it does beg the question how much of the expansion and update is meant as a test for the sequel, however far away it may be.
Phantom Liberty throws players straight back into Night City, giving them a new, different ending where player’s don’t end up a test subject in space or commit suicide in two of the four endings, instead receiving a phone call from a mysterious voice promising to help with that charismatic and problematic Johnny Silverhands in your head.
Described as “a spy-thriller story set in a whole new area of Night City. As V, take on an impossible mission of espionage and survival.”, it looks like players will have their work cut out for them as they once again attempt to solve the Silverhands problem as well as being involved in a tale of espionage and cyberpsychosis. This time around though, Keanu Reeves isn’t the only celebrity involved, with Idris Elba joining the ranks of Night City as Solomon Reed, an experienced NUSA Federal Intelligence Agency agent who, along with his colleague Alex, recruits V to help rescue the NUSA President Rosalind Myers after her spacecraft crashes in the new district, Dogtown.
Whether Elba and Reeves join Gabe Amatangelo in the sequel isn’t known yet, no more than any concrete details on the sequel as such, but Phantom Liberty represents a huge chance at the franchise restoring faith with fans. If Phantom Liberty is a success, it’ll allow the studio some breathing room with the sequel, and maybe even some good will. For now though we’ll have to wait and see.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty is due out September 26th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC only, with previous generations of consoles missing out unfortunately. Will you be picking up the expansion?
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