Cyberpunk 2077 has seen incremental updates over the last couple of years, with the game progressively appearing more impressive year-on-year. The latest and only expansion, Phantom Liberty, is a final punctuation mark, standing as a testament to CD Projekt's tireless toil these last few years. On the foundations of the sweeping changes from 2.0, CD Projekt was able to address some of the base game's most disappointing aspects and fix some fundamental issues with quests.

For one, Phantom Liberty's quests feel a little bit more open-ended, with players having a lot more agency when it comes to key decisions. This is true for not just the main quest, but also Gigs and Side Missions, which feel far more rewarding and deeper this time around. Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion is a solid ride from start to finish and the game's insistence on player choice to combat monotony and encourage replay value is an inspired decision.

The expansion carries forward the legacy of CD Projekt's fantastic expansions a la Blood & Wine and Hearts of Stone for The Witcher 3. The game is a tightly-scoped yet ambitious foray that rarely ever makes a misstep - both in terms of gameplay or story. Right until the final credits roll, Phantom Liberty weaves a tale of espionage and paranoia that will have players second-guessing every character's motives and consistently keeping them on edge. CD Projekt's final flourish on Cyberpunk 2077 ends in a dangerously addictive expansion that has a lot of replay value, perhaps even more so than the base game.  

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty: 17 Hours of Pure Paranoia and Chaos

Gameplay

The biggest change the 2.0 update brings to the table is easily the new Perks and Skill Progression systems. For one, it gives the game more of an RPG feel than any other system in the game. Previously, "builds" weren't really a thing in the game as my gameplay style didn't have to necessarily match what I dump my Attribute and Perks points into. The game combats this by introducing a new "Skill Progression" system that takes into account your play style.  

For instance, playing as a stealthy Netrunner through Gigs and Quests will automatically level your "Netrunner", "Headhunter", and "Shinobi" Skills. While if you're going guns blazing into firefights, you'll gain XP for "Solo". This gives you access to certain key gameplay benefits such as increased movement speed, perk points, etc. Thus, incentivizing players to stick to their build, resulting in a more specialized character rather than a "Jack of All Trades" type character.

Melee combat has also received a massive upgrade in terms of balancing, making them infinitely more viable in both the base game and Phantom Liberty. The improved gunplay and melee balancing are all great things, but it also means you're going to want to play on a higher difficulty if you seek a challenge. On the Normal difficulty, my V was able to plough through multiple waves of enemies without ever breaking a sweat. While that is a perfectly okay way to experience the game, you might want to up the difficulty level if you are over Level 45 heading into Phantom Liberty. 

My favourite part about Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty comes from its vastly superior questing as compared to the base game. Side Jobs and Gigs are a far more rewarding experience this time around. For one, every Gig you take up in Dogtown is going to take you upwards of 30-40 minutes to finish and it is replete with important player choice, character development, and most importantly, interesting characters. The district's most powerful Fixer, Mr Hands, has about 10 Gigs for V and each of them presents a unique challenge to the player, both in terms of gameplay as well as the choices they're going to have to make.

Another key area of the game that is sure to excite fans of open-world titles is the introduction of a vastly more competent Police department in Cyberpunk 2077's Night City. Gone are the omnipotent drones that manifest themselves into existence exactly where you're stood, replaced by active NPCs spread all over the city - keeping a watchful eye. Upon witnessing the crime, the player will gain a Wanted Level, much in the vein of games like Grand Theft Auto. To that end, the drill is pretty standard from that point. Continuing to wreak havoc will cause the Police to react more aggressively and evading them is a massively more challenging affair now.

Making the chase a lot more interesting is the fact that you can now shoot out of your vehicle and the police actually chase you now. The vehicular combat is ramped up several notches by introducing the new weaponized vehicles, allowing players to use mounted machine guns and missiles. Finally making it to a 5-star Wanted Level is a taxing challenge and players are rewarded for this extraordinary feat by facing up against MaxTac - Night City's apex predators. MaxTac is the absolute boss of bosses in the game and is liable to rip you to shreds in a matter of seconds. 

This open-ended approach to quests is precisely what I felt missing from the base game, which is a feeling echoed by the majority of the Cyberpunk 2077 community. It is truly impressive what the dev team has been able to pull off with side quests and Gigs. That is not to say that the Main Quest doesn't get any of that love. For one, despite the brevity of the story - Phantom Liberty's main quest is filled with a ton of variety, including a very James Bond-style level and a hilariously obvious nod to the character in both the name of the quest as well as a weapon you receive during the quest.

Story

Prior to the release of Phantom Liberty, while I was impressed by the leaps the game has taken in terms of gameplay - I was far more excited about the story. Safe to say, CD Projekt does not disappoint and delivers yet another harrowing tale in Night City that is sure to leave players feeling bittersweet yet again. The overarching theme of "Night City always wins" is prevalent throughout Phantom Liberty as it is in Edgerunners and the base game. However, this time, you're wrapped up in business that will have you question pretty much everything.

The story kicks off with V being contacted by a mysterious netrunner, Songbird, who says that they might be able to fix V's Relic condition. This sets V on a path that has him rescuing a President, working with a dangerous spy, and tango with a warlord. Throughout your time with these characters, the sense of paranoia around whether you're being played is palpable. The main quest is structured extremely well and despite a muddy section right after the explosive opening, Phantom Liberty picks up the pace in a big way and throws a number of curveballs your way.

There is more than just the main quest here in terms of story as there's an interesting subplot with Mr Hands as well. The elusive Fixer appears to be making a powerplay and wants to shift the dynamic of Dogtown in a big way. This is where you come in and strategically strengthen Mr Hands' position in the district. While I enjoyed the main quest a lot, the Mr Hands subplot somehow felt just as rich, if not more. 

While Idris Elba graces most of the marketing and promotional material, his character, Solomon Reed didn't feel nearly as significant as he was made out to be. While Reed is certainly a compelling character that has layers to him that I did not expect - the expansion's primary focus is Songbird. Much of the story revolves around her and it helps that she is massively interesting. Phantom Liberty takes learnings from the base game and strives to develop each character outside of their 2-line description. Each character feels like they have their own set of motivations, fears, and most importantly, goals. Idris Elba's Reed is a lot more subdued character than Keanu's Silverhand but there are certainly moments where he's finally let off his leash.

Unfortunately, some characters do not get this multi-layered treatment. Specifically, characters like President Myers and Kurt Hansen (the main villain) leave a lot to be desired. Save for a memorable quest where you play as Kurt Hansen himself (shout to Idris Elba's Choke Hold during this mission), the character never really felt like much of a threat. The same goes for President Myers, who seems to transform into a whole other character should you make different choices towards the end.

Visuals and Performance

While the console version looks about the same, with key improvements to character models (Keanu now has human-like textures on his face), the PC version of the game looks positively gorgeous. Performance doesn't appear to be an issue on the PS5 - no crashes, pesky bugs or annoying glitches in the 11 hours I've logged into the game. The vastly superior UI makes for a far better experience, leaving me baffled as to why the older UI ever felt adequate. 

On the graphics side of things, Cyberpunk 2077 remains gorgeous for the most part and I'd highly recommend the PC version to most players if you want to see the game running at its best. Even on a console, the game looks pretty great - with Ray Tracing turning City Central and Corpo Plaza into a retrowave enthusiast's playground. While console players will not have access to Path Tracing, the game is still pretty to look at.  Dogtown is devastatingly grimy and the way it's lit makes for a rather interesting visual treat. The harsh, heavy lighting makes for truly memorable and moody set pieces that will be forever etched in the player's minds.

Final Word: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty marks the completion of CD Projekt's and Cyberpunk 2077's redemption run and it is safe to say that the game is definitely worth its price tag and then some. The same goes for the expansion that will easily deliver upwards of 15-20 hours of solid gameplay. The seamless performance and the lack of any major bugs or glitches should finally be of some comfort to those who have been waiting on the fence for the last few years. 

Phantom Liberty is a delightful dip into paranoia and it makes for one heck of an experience. The game does away with convoluted plots and strives for a much more concise and lean story experience that, in my opinion, is far more rewarding. The expansion makes for a solid companion piece for the game and even affects the base game by offering players a secret base game ending - which should delight fans who wanted an Epilogue. 

Sega’s popular Virtua Fighter series is set to make a return, the publisher has confirmed, some 18 years after the launch of its most recent numbered installment, Virtua Fighter 5.

Since then, there’ve been numerous updated releases of Virtua Fighter 5 with 2021’s Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, itself a remaster of the earlier Final Showdown, alongside mobile installments, and even an arcade update for Virtual Fighter 3. What’s missing from the series, though, is a brand-new game.

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What To Expect From Sega’s New Virtua Game

Sega’s new global head of transmedia, Justin Scarpone, has offered some hope in an interview with VGC. "So we have a suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket," he explained, "which we announced last year at The Game Awards; Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi."

"And we have another Virtua Fighter being developed," Scrapone added, before covering over the revelation completely, "And then in certain instances, we're also doing animation series, or live-action films to augment that and be part of those roadmaps."

Despite announcing a plethora of legacy game revivals last year - including Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Golden Axe, “and more” - details remain limited. Sega has shared a little about its Crazy Taxi update -- calling it an open-world, massively multiplayer game that’s “AAA” in scope.

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Sega Teases Shadow The Hedgehog Design In New Sketches

One of the best parts of Sonic x Shadow Generations, released last week, is the wealth of music, stories, and art in the game’s Collection. Acquired hidden emblems throughout each stage can be used as keys to unlock treasure chests throughout the White Space central hub zone and, with a quick shift of location, Shadow can check out his history through some wonderful artwork.

Earlier, Hoshino worked as an artist and character designer on several games such as Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Sonic Adventure, and Sonic Heroes. Shadow the Hedgehog as a character was first launched in 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2 as the ‘Ultimate Lifeform,’ before appearing in his own standalone game in 2005 where he wields a gun. Hoshino worked as an art director on both projects. With further details provided by Hoshino, the sketches reveal early concepts for not only Shadow’s design, but the proposed weaponry, and bad guy Black Doom.

"I wanted to create a deep, mature story suited to backstory. Shadow was created with the idea of him being a lead character and not just part of a cast of characters," Hoshino tells Eurogamer of working on the Shadow the Hedgehog game, where that promise was fulfilled.

The recent Silent Hill 2 remake will be enhanced for PS5 Pro. Released for PS5 and PC in October, Silent Hill 2 sold over a million copies in its first three days, instantly becoming a huge hit. Soon, PS5 Pro users will be able to enjoy the new version of this classic title.

While some gamers were skeptical of Bloober Team’s ability to remake the classic Silent Hill 2, the game was praised for its combat and atmosphere. With Silent Hill 2 receiving mostly positive reviews from critics, it obtained an average score of 87 on the review aggregate site OpenCritic.

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Bloober Team and Konami Improving The Game

Now, the Silent Hill 2 remake has been tagged as “PS5 Pro Enhanced” on the PS Store, indicating that Bloober Team and Konami have decided to upgrade the game for the launch of Sony’s new console model. Sadly, there are currently no details on how exactly the upgraded version will work.

The current version of Silent Hill 2 for PS5 has both Performance Mode and Quality Mode, enabling gamers to run the game at 1440p with 30fps, or 1080p with 6-FPS, respectively.

Given the scenario, it’s likely that the PS5 Pro Update will make way for greater resolutions and frame rates at the same time. It’s also likely that the Bloober Team will unveil a new Silent Hill 2 update soon to implement these changes.

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When Is The Game Coming To PS5 Pro

What’s surprising about the PS5 Pro Enhanced version of Silent Hill 2 is that it was not properly announced before. Recently, Sony released a list of games confirmed to get PS5 upgrades. While the list included popular titles such as Alan Wake 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7, Rebirth, Horizon Forbidden West, and others, it did not include the remake of Konami’s classic horror game.

The PS5 Pro will break cover on November 7, and it has been a very controversial topic since its original announcement. The console is being released at a hefty price of $700 in the US, and it may be even more expensive in other countries.

Despite the new model offering a 45% faster GPU and advanced ray tracing, the high price prompted a discussion about whether the console was worth it, as a normal PS5 would still run the same games and be considerably less expensive.

Steam Game Recording is officially out of beta and available to all users, giving PC, Mac, and Steam Deck players a built-in way to record and share audio and video from their gaming sessions.

The console joins many other ways PC gamers have been able to record their highlights, including as a feature of tools like the Xbox Game bar, Nvidia GeForce, and AMD’s Adrenalin.

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Valve Updates Steam Game Recording

The version of the Steam client is also the first to drop support for Windows 7 and 8 machines, as well as Macs running macOS 10.13 and 10.14 after the company announced the move at the beginning of this year.

After an automatic update, players can start recording manually using a hotkey or set it to trigger automatically, with options to restrict the length, quality, and storage space that Steam can use. Valve says it works with any game, including now-Steam games that enable Steam Overlay to run. The recording is off by default -- users will find its settings in a new Game Recording tab in Steam’s settings.

The company has updated Steam Game Recording with a handful of new features that weren’t there when the beta period began in June, including adding “advanced” export options and the ability to configure game-specific settings. Valve also added Session View, which includes a “Recordings & Screenshots manager with game-specific tags and data.”

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Valve To Stop Releasing New Steam Deck Models Yearly

The Steam Deck will not be getting yearly updates. At least that’s what one of its designers has suggested. But a Steam Deck 2 will likely happen at some point. During an interview with Reviews.org (via The Verge), Steam Deck designer Lawrence Yang said, "We’re not going to do a bump every year. There’s no reason to do that."

He explained that he thought it wasn’t fair to users to provide only incremental improvements each year. He said, "...we do want to wait for a generational leap in computing without sacrificing battery life before we ship the real second generation of Steam Deck." This aligns with previous statements from Valve. On many occasions in 2023, Valve employees stated that a more powerful Steam Deck would be years away-- late 2025 at the earliest.

Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais explained that part of the Steam Deck brand is that every model can play the same games; Valve doesn’t want to change that until Steam Deck performance gets a significant jump without compromising on the battery life. During the interview, Yang did note that the company is working on a Steam Deck successor.

Users don’t have to take great pains to preserve their Switch to make sure they can still play their favorite games on it years and years from now. Nintendo has revealed in its earnings report that the upcoming successor to the Switch will have backward compatibility and will be able to run games made for the current console.

Moreover, Switch Online will also be available on the Switch 2, which means their saves stored on the cloud will be carried over and they will be able to play NES, SNES, and Game Boy games on the new console.

The company explained that it’s making Switch Online available on the upcoming console because it thinks it’s important for Nintendo’s future to "carry over the good relationship" it has built with its more than 100 million annual playing users to the new device.

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How Will Current Games Work On Nintendo Switch 2

The main way to do this is to make use of the Nintendo Account, which ties a user’s history to one account and allows the company to "maintain a continuous relationship" with them across console generations.

Before the Nintendo Account was introduced, Nintendo had no easy way to carry a user’s history and purchase the next console. "As a result, our relationship with the consumers was interrupted when a new system was purchased," it said.

The company assured to give out more information about the Switch 2 "at a later date," though it didn’t say when exactly. In a recent event where we thought the new console could be launched, Nintendo introduced an alarm clock instead.

Considering its earnings results, it looks like people could choose to wait for the new console instead of buying the current Switch. The company had to downgrade its sales forecast for the fiscal year due to a big decline in console sales compared to the same periods last year.

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Nintendo Switch 2 Launch “Very Unlikely” Before 2025

Nintendo is now “very unlikely” to launch its highly-anticipated Switch 2 hardware this year, a games industry analyst has told Eurogamer. The recent financial results from Nintendo revealed a larger-than-expected drop in hardware and software sales for the current Switch, as the console ages and its release calendar quietens.

The results also passed by without even talking about Switch 2 being shown - and perhaps with Nintendo’s new hardware not due to arrive until sometime in 2025 - for good reason.

During an interaction with Eurogamer, industry analyst Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese game industry consultancy Kantan Games, said any mention of the anticipated Switch 2 now would only further hamper Switch 1 sales during the console’s last holiday season.

Almost a year ago, Rockstar Games released the first trailer for GTA 6, which marks the franchise’s first sequel since Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013. Fans had been hoping that today’s fiscal report for Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, would include a new GTA 6 trailer.

While that did not happen, Take-Two did confirm that the GTA sequel is still on track for a fall 2025 release. While speaking with CNBC, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that some of the company’s old games have slipped from their planned release dates.

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Rockstar Confident About GTA 6 Launch Timeline

However, Zelnick expressed his confidence that GTA 6 would make its release window. Zelnick also emphasized that the extended development of the game is more centered on enhancing the experience rather than removing out.

"In the case of an extraordinary title, for which there are extraordinary expectations, it's not really about bugs, it's about creating an experience that no one's seen before, and Rockstar Games seeks perfection in what they do," explained Zelnick. "And perfection is indeed hard to measure, it is more subjective than objective."

The company noted in this year’s fiscal statements that GTA 5 has sold 205 million copies to date across all platforms, while Red Dead Redemption 2 had 67 million copies to its name.

Take-Two also revealed that Borderlands 4 and Mafia: the Old Country is set to be released during the company’s fiscal 2026, which should fall between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. The other upcoming games mentioned by name, CSR Racing 3 and Judas, have no specific release window yet.

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Former Developer Claims GTA 6 Will ‘Blow People Away’

Game designer Ben Hinchliffe has worked at Rockstar Games for over 10 years, and he contributed to games like Grand Theft Auto V, Read Dear Redemption II, and Grand Theft Auto VI before parting ways with the company in 2022. During a recent interview, Hinchliffe briefly discussed GTA VI, saying he believes the game will “blow people away” and be a smashing success when it comes to sales.

"It will sell an absolute ton, as it always does. People will be talking about it for ages afterward, just like they do with GTA 5," Hinchliffe told GTA VI O'clock. "I think they've raised the bar again. They always do, and they have done again with GTA 6."

When asked about what he’s most excited about GTA VI, Hinchliffe said he’s keen on seeing how the game has evolved since he left in 2022. He did not give out any information, as it is expected to be a secretive project. Hinchliffe now works at Sniper Elite VR studio Just Add Water.