Playing through this at the same time as the base game, I really did not anticipate the main story being just as good (if not better in some respects). Phantom Liberty features a spy thriller-esque plot in the world of 2077 and really slams it home.
Taking place (mostly) in a new district of Night City called Dogtown, it is cordoned off from the rest of the city by a private military force. You must enter heavily guarded checkpoints to get in or out, and though small, it feels like a bit of a wasteland. There's a lot of verticality to it thanks to the sand, dirt, and construction which is a nice contrast from the rest of the city - a sort of middleground between it and the badlands.
As mentioned previously, the plot of the DLC is more of a spy-thriller, revolving around Space Force One going down in the volatile district with the president of the NUSA on board. V gets pulled into it with promises of a resolution to his problems, and you go from there. Along the way you'll meet Solomon Reed (Idris Elba) who serves as a fantastic ally through your adventure. In general, the main quests feel a lot longer and more cinematic than the ones in the base game, with more than a couple of them being highlights for me, base-game included.
The expansion also has 10 new gigs too for the district's fixer, and these ones are significantly more involved than the ones in the base game (they're a lot closer to side jobs so I do recommend doing them if you weren't before).
Installing the DLC adds 10 levels to your cap bringing it up to 60, as well as a new "Relic Tree". There are 15 points that can be gathered around Dogtown that you can use to invest in the tree for some unique abilities, although it's a bit awkward. Due to differences in builds, most players are only going to really have a use for 1/3 of the abilities at any given time, and it takes a little bit of the immersion away when this special tree is only tied into this special district. Anyone playing the complete edition would probably know right away what the DLC is because of it. A better integration would've probably been to just roll these new abilities into the existing skill tree, but this is really a minor complaint.
Overall, I can't say enough about how cool this expansion is. It starts and finishes within the scope of 2077's main story, and has some of the best writing and moments in a game that is already full of them. Certainly worth a pickup if the game has grabbed you and reason enough to jump in with the Complete Edition if you're a newcomer to Night City.
Taking place (mostly) in a new district of Night City called Dogtown, it is cordoned off from the rest of the city by a private military force. You must enter heavily guarded checkpoints to get in or out, and though small, it feels like a bit of a wasteland. There's a lot of verticality to it thanks to the sand, dirt, and construction which is a nice contrast from the rest of the city - a sort of middleground between it and the badlands.
As mentioned previously, the plot of the DLC is more of a spy-thriller, revolving around Space Force One going down in the volatile district with the president of the NUSA on board. V gets pulled into it with promises of a resolution to his problems, and you go from there. Along the way you'll meet Solomon Reed (Idris Elba) who serves as a fantastic ally through your adventure. In general, the main quests feel a lot longer and more cinematic than the ones in the base game, with more than a couple of them being highlights for me, base-game included.
The expansion also has 10 new gigs too for the district's fixer, and these ones are significantly more involved than the ones in the base game (they're a lot closer to side jobs so I do recommend doing them if you weren't before).
Installing the DLC adds 10 levels to your cap bringing it up to 60, as well as a new "Relic Tree". There are 15 points that can be gathered around Dogtown that you can use to invest in the tree for some unique abilities, although it's a bit awkward. Due to differences in builds, most players are only going to really have a use for 1/3 of the abilities at any given time, and it takes a little bit of the immersion away when this special tree is only tied into this special district. Anyone playing the complete edition would probably know right away what the DLC is because of it. A better integration would've probably been to just roll these new abilities into the existing skill tree, but this is really a minor complaint.
Overall, I can't say enough about how cool this expansion is. It starts and finishes within the scope of 2077's main story, and has some of the best writing and moments in a game that is already full of them. Certainly worth a pickup if the game has grabbed you and reason enough to jump in with the Complete Edition if you're a newcomer to Night City.