Phantom Liberty is equal parts espionage thriller and redemption arc for Night City. CDPR doubled down on the immersive sim DNA—tight vertical spaces, overlapping infiltration routes, and NPC schedules that finally react believably when chaos enters the room.

Dogtown's mission design forced me to rotate through builds: EMP quickhacks to drop armored mechs, then a blade-heavy close-quarters push once the lights died. Every gig had side objectives worth chasing, and the new Relic tree meaningfully reshaped my endgame kit.

Above all, the expansion delivers on mood. Idris Elba's Solomon Reed sells the tension of working for a collapsing government, and the divergent endings now feel coherent instead of cinematic flavor text.