Phantom Liberty

[J4MES OX4D 10,057]

I haven't played Cyberpunk 2077 since its release month although I have kept a very close eye on its patches over the years. A lot has been fixed and many sacrifices have been made, but not much has been added and for all its updates, the game doesn't appear to have radically improved outside of performance and bug fixes. So much was promised and never delivered. The big thing that has always struck me is how barren and plain the game looks now all the problems have been fixed and the reduction in population density to bolster performance. The game was very vibrant with NPC's and vehicles packing the streets but now you're lucky if you see more than 5 other vehicles and 4 pedestrians even at max settings. 

 

The new Phantom Liberty expansion adds a new chapter but also promises to include major overhauls to things like the shambolic police system and also aspects originally promised in the 7 years before the game released. They were still lying about features that didn't exist after the game had gone gold for instance. I just don't know if I can force myself back into the game again and I think they've been bloody lucky as the animated series seemed to swing people's opinions of the game in the other direction even though it still had major issues at the time. I actually think the additional fluff could be more important than the actual expanded story content as long as its not paywalled but it all could just be more PR nonsense in trying to shift DLC at a cost. Don't think I wanna be fooled twice. 

 

Anyone else looking to get back into it with this? 

 

[NCA-Paendrag 2,765]

I finished the game and didnt look back. Wasnt all that.

[foreveryoung 2]

16 hours ago, J4MES OX4D said:

I haven't played Cyberpunk 2077 since its release month although I have kept a very close eye on its patches over the years. A lot has been fixed and many sacrifices have been made, but not much has been added and for all its updates, the game doesn't appear to have radically improved outside of performance and bug fixes. So much was promised and never delivered. The big thing that has always struck me is how barren and plain the game looks now all the problems have been fixed and the reduction in population density to bolster performance. The game was very vibrant with NPC's and vehicles packing the streets but now you're lucky if you see more than 5 other vehicles and 4 pedestrians even at max settings. 

 

The new Phantom Liberty expansion adds a new chapter but also promises to include major overhauls to things like the shambolic police system and also aspects originally promised in the 7 years before the game released. They were still lying about features that didn't exist after the game had gone gold for instance. I just don't know if I can force myself back into the game again and I think they've been bloody lucky as the animated series seemed to swing people's opinions of the game in the other direction even though it still had major issues at the time. I actually think the additional fluff could be more important than the actual expanded story content as long as its not paywalled but it all could just be more PR nonsense in trying to shift DLC at a cost. Don't think I wanna be fooled twice. 

 

Anyone else looking to get back into it with this? 

 

Yup! Totally get where you're coming from! Sometimes, even with all the hype and excitement surrounding a game, it just doesn't live up to our expectations. It's disappointing when that happens, especially when we invest our time and energy into completing it. It's totally okay to feel underwhelmed and move on to other things that capture our interest. There's always a wide variety of games out there, and it's all about finding the ones that truly resonate with us. So, here's to discovering new gaming adventures that truly captivate us and make us say, "Wow, this is incredible!" Cheers! 

[Riff Machine 2,106]

I don't think I'll be playing this.  I wasn't impressed with cyberpunk at all.  Other games just did the formula better.  

 

Also, did anyone else think Keanu sounded a bit rough with the reveal trailer?  

[J4MES OX4D 10,057]

Patch out 21st which is 5 days before the expansion releases

Forget Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077's free 2.0 patch is a staggering upgrade on its own | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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This is not the RPG you played in 2020.

 

I'm quite sceptical about this patch - even the huge amount of updates and fixes previous didn't drastically make the game better. In some cases, sacrifices made seemed to make the game even more shallow and bland. It really needed a total overhaul and reworking so hopefully the patch delivers that. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,057]

Phantom Liberty has been getting some good reviews today. CDPR once again are preventing the media from releasing their own footage but it seems to be a better experience which is further bolstered with the 2.0 patch. It's frustrating that we can't actually see it in raw action but at least users will be given the chance to play the new version before deciding on whether to invest in the expansion. I'm kinda in two minds minds as to whether I should even re-install it just to try but I may give it a go and it could even see me buy into the DLC if the game is radically improved. A part of me simply can't be arsed though! 

[phil bottle 9,822]

I like the game and get  immersed quite easily. It will be nice to see the improvements, if they work lol

 

Personally I would like them to optimise the game better for all types of GPU... but I won't hold my breath.  For this reason alone (because they could if they gave a shit)  I'm not likely to purchase the DLC until its dirt cheap, or free 🖖

[MrBiron 1,458]

I've already bought Phantom Liberty. I enjoyed the game. Now I can play through again with all of the new changes.

[J4MES OX4D 10,057]

Had a brief go at the 2.0 update having not played since 2020 and the game is massively refined since then with a host of improvements. The general UI seems much cleaner too which was crucial, but the really irritating phone bloat is still there and I still utterly loathe some of the sound effects which seem ingrained into the base game. Haven't tested out the police system yet though.  I'll give it a few hours more and the make a decision on whether to continue and possibly get the expansion on top. 

 

Game looks and runs absolutely amazing

[phil bottle 9,822]

Had to annoyingly re-choose all my perks again in a completely different system. I only had 47 lol

Not sure I like the new perk system but I'll spend some time playing around with it before I reach any firm opinion.

 

There's lots of other changes but I'm in the middle of a big mission so I'll have to wait and see before I feedback.

 

Optimisation is weird. If I set my settings to allow max frames it tops out around 54 fps and it uses all my gpu and cpu.

If I cap it at 60 frames I get 59 fps with only about 30% of gpu and cpu being used. Lame 😭😅

[MrBiron 1,458]

I started a new game and after a lot of indecision on what build to use, I decided to go with a sharp shooting netrunner. So pistols, revolvers and snipers plus just hacking everything. And I've just got a monowire for backup. So far I'm having great fun. Hack cameras, blow up all of the explosives after distracting enemies, reboot the optics of any remaining enemies and then blow their heads off. I'm still fairly low level so I'm not too good at hacking people yet.

[J4MES OX4D 10,057]

Played about 5 hours of 2.0 and still undecided as to whether to get the DLC. They've definitely done a good job with fixing the base game and I'm sure the expansion with the complimented improvements is very good but I'm not sure if I'll even bother progressing the main game let alone beginning the Phantom Liberty story. I still feel for all the perks and RPG elements, this is a far too linear game for it to really make a difference. Sure you can do a few variable builds but it doesn't radically change how you approach or complete missions aside from perhaps the combat method and hacking a few things. At its core, this game will always be first and foremost an adventure game in an open world rather than an RPG. They can add all the padding they want but it will never shake off the linear and very basic design. 

[phil bottle 9,822]

I've always liked the game just for the characters alone, they did a good job with that. Plus, driving around listening to certain songs at night in the rain in a very good looking game environment means I have never once fast travelled. I'm glad they've improved it though.