The legendary Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt was released in 2020, and a major expansion is set to be released at the end of September 2023. Pre-orders started on June 11th, revealing key details from trailers and developer interviews. The official Russian voiceover has been confirmed.

What does the espionage thriller "Phantom Liberty" bring? Is it truly a significant expansion that enhances and refines the game's storyline, or is it an attempt to address the issues of the first part? Let's dive in.

What Will Change

Some elements of the game have been refined, while others have been completely reworked and improved. This expansion is truly expansive and impactful for gameplay.

Full list of changes:

• New storyline and characters;
• New gameplay mechanics;
• Location of Dogtown;
• Additional ending;
• Expansion of the original Night City map;
• Completely revamped police system;
• Ability to transfer saves between the base game and the expansion;
• Car chases;
• Enhanced and improved enemies;
• New open-world activities not available in the base version;
• Changed and improved interface elements;
• New radio station;
• Ability to shoot while driving;
• Implants that affect the character's attributes instead of clothing;
• Improved AI;
• Updated perk and skill system, and more.

Some of the changes will also affect the base game, but it's unknown which ones. For instance, the perk system will be available only to DLC owners. As for the rest, it's hard to say at the moment.

Story and location

According to leaks, the storyline of Phantom Liberty unfolds prior to the finale of the first part, though the exact time period is unspecified.

Setting: Dogtown, a.k.a. the Dog City, resembles a typical future ghetto. It's a rundown district with abandoned buildings, litter, construction debris, and partially destroyed structures.

Protagonist: V, a mercenary from Night City, is the main character. Depending on player choice, V can be a woman or a man. During the story, V encounters a partner named So Mi (Songbird), who assists in the search for a cure. However, in exchange for the cure, So Mi demands V's help in aiding the new president, Rosalind Myers.

V has a chip implanted in their head, belonging to Johnny Silverhand, who was killed in 2023. The presence of the biometric chip constantly foreshadows V's death. The implant gradually transforms V's personality to match Johnny's behavior, potentially leading to a complete breakdown of the protagonist's identity.

Another key character is Solomon Reed, a secret agent of the FRU and a temporary partner to V. The introduction to him occurs after aiding the president.

The main antagonist is Kurt Hansen, leader of the "Barghest" group, former U.S. colonel, and ruler of Dogtown. He will be pursuing the newly inaugurated president.

Overall, the expansion immerses players in the marginal districts of Night City, where the main objective is to save Rosalind's life in exchange for treatment.

System Requirements

For smooth gameplay without freezes, the requirements are:

• Processor: Core i7-12700 or Ryzen 7 7800X;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Graphics Card: GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, Radeon RX 5700 XT;
• SSD: 60-70 GB.

With this configuration, the game can be played at maximum settings with a 2K resolution.

Minimum requirements for those who want to watch the game and try the gameplay at least on low settings:

• Processor: Intel Core i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600;
• RAM: 12 GB;
• Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, Radeon RX 580 8 GB;
• SSD: 60-70 GB.

In essence, Phantom Liberty is a full-fledged narrative branch that's directly tied to the base game.

A more comprehensive opinion about the game can be formed only on September 26th, so we await the official release.