It’s still hard to grasp that the Dogtown drama has already spent two solid years in history! Wait, time really flew when you were wrangling rogue AIs, political intrigues, and betrayals that felt more like a blow to the face with a gorilla’s arm. CD Projekt Red had an anniversary tweet for the Phantom Liberty expansion; what followed was one heavy player response: A lot of love, a little pain, and some salted folks who just cannot forgive the launch; but mostly love.
Cyberpunk 2077 via their official Twitter account drops a somewhat melancholic message about how shadows of intrigue, loyalty, and betrayal still cast theirs upon us. And they really ain’t that wrong. The expansion gagged hard on everyone who played it. The reply section is one crazy cocktail of celebrating and strange requests. Somebody went full-out and asked, “kurt hansen why are you dodging adam smashers 1v1 requests.” Well, duh, the entire community wants to see that fight.
However, most say that what Phantom Liberty has come down to in memory is a DLC remembered as a good one. Comments are pouring in, calling it “outstanding,” “the best expansion ever made,” and “one of the greatest games I have ever played”. One player went as far as calling it the “best cyberpunk experience I’ve ever had.” Oh, that’s lofty praise! For a huge portion of the community, this expansion is not just an add-on but the actual center of the Cyberpunk 2077 redemption story.
That redemption is also a recurring theme amongst the comments. That is how you know they fairly acknowledge that rough start. Perhaps Casey Staples mentioned that he returned post upgrade to PS5 Pro and was just, “Damn, so good! Just downloaded Phantom Liberty and am enjoying very much so!! Awesome game!!” Exactly! It had its issues, none could really deny it, but the CDPR effort to fix it and cement it with Phantom Liberty did indeed garner wide acceptance.
Wait, what was I saying? Oh, yes, the anniversary. Lots of players are jumping at this occasion as a reason to re-enter the game. Several replies read, “I’m taking this as a sign to start a new save” or “You are right; I should start a new save.” It’s the trigger for a community-wide re-experience of the Dogtown drama! And, honestly, why wouldn’t it? The story of V, Songbird, Reed, and President Myers is strong as an enunciated narrative. Choices and consequences definitively stay with you, like the tweet said.
Nonetheless, not every comment sounds like a happy-body. Aye, there is always that one. On this occasion, Sinisa Krisan has reopened those old wounds by stating that he pre-ordered the base game and, following that experience, was in no way willing to pay for the DLC himself, even two years later. But the comment spawned a mini-debate with other players instantly defending the current state of the game, telling him it was not really that game anymore and they really ought to go and give it another shot. It’s a whole thing.
The anniversary also brings into focus the rather sore point of platform availability. A couple of replies come from these sullen souls stuck on these older generation consoles and they grumble, “Two years later and still need to get a next (now current) gen console to play this 😔 or “Forever wishing it was comparable with my Xbox.” Sucks, right? But that should go on to stress how much of a next-gen showcase Phantom Liberty really was.
Moving on to just sweet, wholesome greetings: “Happy anniversary my all-time goat 🥹,” said one. Another voice chimed in, “Pain is temporary, Cyberpunk2077 is forever – Nike,” which was oddly fitting, being both funny and mildly philosophical. Demand for more content is high, “Can we have another dlc PLSSS,” piped up the community in unison. Since Phantom Liberty, these guys crave for another story from Night City. Can you blame them? CDPR literally just set the bar incredibly high.
And in all, after two years, the legacy of Phantom Liberty stands tall. It is remembered as an absolutely stellar piece of story-telling having assisted in setting the comeback of Cyberpunk 2077 from the ground. It pushed a game famous for bugs towarding one known for agonizing choices and unforgettable characters. Those very shadows of Dogtown might still linger, but most players view them as silhouettes worth living with. On that note, all this talk about makes me want to play the game all over again. This time, I might choose differently for Songbird… or maybe I would not. There are some stories that one shouldn’t meddle with.
