Cyberpunk 2077 Expansion Adds Idris Elba And Completely Overhauls The Game
Idris Elba voices and does motion capture for Phantom Liberty, the newest DLC for Cyberpunk 2077.
The upcoming expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, called Phantom Liberty, doesn’t only add Idris Elba to the game—though many feel that his addition alone would be sufficient—but it also completely overhauls the entire thing. While you might be skeptical about the overhaul, considering the poor release state of the game and the fact that something that works shouldn’t be messed with, most of the overhaul is actually done below the hood, with apparent improvements at the surface level.
According to VGC, besides expanding the narrative of the original game by adding a whole new section of Night City and including Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077 is also overhauling the original game’s systems. The new expansion adds another storyline that coincides with the main storyline, which is a good thing because it will be accessible through any pre-existing saved game, so anyone who previously completed the game won’t have to run through the game once again just to access the Idris Elba part.
However, it’s worth noting that with the complete overhaul of the core game, which will also roll out as a separate update for those owning the base game, another playthrough might not be a bad idea. For those who have stuck with the game since its original launch, it will be a perfect opportunity to see how it was supposed to run at launch. This could also be a reason for the overhaul; Cyberpunk 2077 was patched up so many times to get it to a working state following a really bad launch that it’s sane to question its integrity.
Choosing to overhaul many of the game’s systems, both under and above the hood, will likely make Cyberpunk 2077 run better on different hardware, which is something that developers used to do pre-launch some ten years ago—you know, when the gaming industry HAD to deliver. Well, according to Pawel Sasko, the game’s creative director, the developers left no stone, brick, or neon light of Night City unturned, meaning that virtually no system of the original Cyberpunk 2077 was left untouched.
The creative director also stated that, before he departs for the USA to establish a team that will work on the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, he wishes to leave the original game in the best shape possible. And he’s slowly getting there; compared to the state of the game at launch, and now, they’re as different as Heaven and Earth. This means that all the main systems of the game have been redone, or at least updated in a major way, including the expansion of the game’s AI and reworking of the AI loops, all of which affect the progression of the game.
The whole list of improvements added to Cyberpunk 2077 nearly sounds like the team at CD Projekt RED has made a whole new game. So, it’s basically a DLC that adds some 16 hours of additional gameplay and a massive 70GB patch (we’re speculating) that’s supposed to keep us entertained while the next game comes out. Considering the time it took on the original game, CD Projekt RED better hurry with their Witcher release.
