Well I have egg on my fabulously dressed face! Turns out I was actually quite near to the end of the DLC pack, Phantom Liberty. And then I finished it, not the game but the DLC. I still have to finish the actual game itself and I shall try to do that pretty soon. Until then, it can really only mean one thing: CyberTom in Cyberpunk: A Night’s Tale
Part 6: To DLC or not to DLC?
As noted above way back in paragraph one, I have not finished the main game. At time of writing I still haven’t. Having bought both at the same time, and when you load up the game you can go right into the DLC if you wish, which I did not wish as I hadn’t played the game yet. I hadn’t actually decided when I was going to start it. I knew Idris Alba was in it, I knew it was the DLC, I knew… that was about it really. So during my playing of the game I reached a point where it was available to access, and I had gotten to the point in the main story of no return, I figured this would be a great chance to jump in feet first into it. I was around level 55 or so, had a few perks fully maxed out, was packing some serious firepower and quickhacks, and let’s be honest here, looking fabulous. Great time to start!
Again, I will try to write this without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn’t played it, or made the same decisions I made. However right at the end it’s going to be a bit tough so sorry in advance. I’ll hide best I can and try to make sense of it. I’m also not taking into account the delay between the base game and the DLC release because we all know that release story for Cyberpunk 2077 and how long it took to get it sorted. But they did so here we go:
It’s good, really good. Except near the end and a few other places, but more on that later shockily. You’re given access to a new area of Night City, Dogtown, which acts as the primary location for most of the story and all new quests/gigs given out. While they don’t all take place there, the new location which uses a part of the map previously unaccessable, this new hive of scum and villany like the rest of the game feels very well crafted and a logical extension to Night City. The way the location has been utilised really shows the amount of effort they put into the DLC by providing new places, new characters and a lot of other little secrets and surprises. As V, you recieve a random message via your brain-telephony-thingy from someone who knows about what’s wrong with your head and wants to help you. Good start. You then have to get into Dogtown and for me, this is where it fell apart.
There’s a platform sequence, in very VERY dark surroundings. It took me a good hour to circumnavigate this tiny little area and I almost gave up on it at this point. I swore a lot, died a lot and got stuck in various places with no way out. I was not impressed I can tell you! Still determination let me get out and carry on, but that really stuck with me on the introduction to the new location. Luckily the location got better. And so did the action. I am not saying what happens here because it’ll spoil a big section of the game - but it’s really cool. I officially say this next section redeemed itself against the stupid platforming bit.
When you’re properly into the story and have a good understanding of why you’re there and what you have to do, you get to meet Solomon Reed, played by the very English Idris Alba. This point is important to note as I like him as an actor, in his native accent. Not putting an American one on, because he can’t hold it. I think every eight or nine words he drops his accent and it drove me nuts because I could really hear them stand out. His performance was great other than that and a welcome addition to a very amazing cast of performers, yet that had to be mentioned because this is my update.
As you move along the story you find out all the in’s and out’s about why what happened and how it lead to happening. Your relationship with these characters grows quite quickly if unlike me you spend other time doing odd random gigs, and opinions formed much faster than the base game. As I think this was designed for people who had already spent many hours in Night City, they didn’t want a long drawn out process on how you grow to feel about these people, it seemed that how I saw this going down and more importantly why was sped up because of that. I did some shooting, some hacking, some running and jumping and air dashing, saw the not too pretty sights and met my favourite fixer, Mr. Hands (the only person in the entire game dressed better than me I may say) and it felt as I went my connection to everyone was faster. Then I did a few more gigs and noticed a pattern forming.
At some point they decided that every side mission had to have some kind of ulterior ending or reason behind why you were doing. Every single f*****g one of them. Every time I started do anything, half way through it I was then given another option on how to proceed based on new information given to me, usually by the person I was going to do something nasty to. It felt like the missions were really pushing the whole having a conscience thing on me which the main game didn’t feel like it did as much. Is that because they always wanted to do that and due to issues getting the original game out that they didn’t but now could, or maybe everyone just didn’t want to go somewhere and do something without a choice to doing it instead of not accepting the mission? Sometimes when you’re playing a game like this you want to go somewhere, shoot someone and not have them then say “Oh by they were much nastier than me, shoot them instead”. Of course they usually say that before you shoot them, but there’s one instance after which is pretty funny.
This whole morality thing really lead to me having a problem with the ending, specifically the last few missions of the thing. It’s going to be pretty spoilery now so if you haven’t played Phantom Liberty please go do something else. I would recommend making flapjacks. Read on at thy peril.
Minor Peril
Right near the end of the DLC you’re given choices on who to help and who to not help (e.g. deaded). During this I actually did something I promised I wouldn’t do at any point of playing which was reload a save file based on a decision I had made. The reason for doing this is because I realised that the endings of the this DLC pack really are terrible, because of how the main characters that lead you to them are equally as terrible, probably more so. By the time you get to make key decisions on how the story has played out, my opinion of everyone involved (bar one) was really just kill 'em all, they’re all a******s. I didn’t want to do anyone any favours or help anyone except myself. Which by the end of it I couldn’t do anyways because they’re all (you get the jist of it by now). So I finished it, without the ending I probably should have had based on my first decision and going back to reload it and play out another, realising that absolutely nothing happened to me that changed my world at all, except for a few upgrades to skills I had, which I really could have gotten without doing it.
Even with my initial choice I wouldn’t have had the super dark ending of not just the DLC but the entire game, which I read about after I finished it, but probably another one that wouldn’t have been as fulfilling to me as the one I got, which was set with a very low bar indeed. For those who want to look, I got the King of Wands ending. Turns out it was the most “V” like one. Not my V!
Perilless now, while I did enjoyed the DLC one big part really didn’t work - I left feeling like this entire experience didn’t need me in it. Having played in a world that could exist without me, I would have wanted a DLC package that focused a bit more on me, and I was the centre of it. This just seemed to play out with me happening to be there and even at the end of it, there’s no reason for it, and when you have a world so unfocused on the main character it’d have been nice to do it a bit difference for this one.
There’s some very cool bits in it. So much so, here’s some bullet points:
- The details and contrasts between the rich and poorer sides of Dogtown are incredible. You really feel like you’re going to a totally different world in a very small distance.
- Introducing new iconic items to help increase stats even higher.
- Changing your face with an item. Which leads to the best part of the entire DLC…
- Aguilar
It’s a damn fine DLC, CD Projekt RED proving yet again they are true masters of openworld story telling and DLC, and adds something to an already incredible world. I’m glad I played it when I did in relation to the main game, glad I got the ending that for me didn’t suck the baddest and it’s in my top three of DLC packs ever. I just can’t help feel that with all I did and some of the huge influence I had in the future of Dogtown, that wanderin’ free, I wish I could be, part of that world.
Damn that’s a lot of words! In turn I may not do two more of these and just do a very last one, we’ll see what the public want. Can you handle two more CyberTom in Cyberpunk: A Night’s Tale’s? Can I?
Until next time, stay safe on the streets of Dogtown everyone!