cyberpunk 2077 phantom liberty – Trekking with Dennis

Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers may be present for some of the titles on this list.

It’s the last day of June, and by my reckoning that makes it the halfway point of the year! As we bid farewell to the first half of 2023, it’s a good excuse to take a look ahead to some of the entertainment experiences that we’ll hopefully enjoy between now and Christmas! Is it too early to think about Christmas yet?

The first half of 2023 has been blighted by buggy games and crappy PC ports, but there have been some fun experiences along the way, too. When the year’s over I’ll be sure to pick out some of the highlights in my annual “end-of-year awards,” so check back for that if you want to see me handing out some imaginary trophies and statuettes! But for now, I promised you a look ahead!

I’ve picked five films, five television shows, and five games that I’m looking forward to in the second half of 2023. Maybe I’ll inspire you to find something to watch or play – or maybe you’ll hate all of my suggestions! Either way, I hope it will be a bit of fun to take a brief look ahead.

Film #1:
Ladybug and Cat Noir: The Movie
3rd August

If you aren’t familiar with Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir… what have you been doing? The kids’ show is a blast, and has a lot to offer to an older audience, too, as superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir battle to save the city of Paris! Miraculous is making its first appearance on the big screen this summer with a film adaptation that might just take the series back to its roots. I’m looking forward to seeing what the bigger budget of a cinematic adaptation could do for what is already a well-written and entertaining story.

Film #2:
Red One
November/December 2023

Red One is an action-adventure film set at Christmas – and features a star-studded cast. JK Simmons takes on the role of Santa Claus, with Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and Lucy Liu also headlining. Details of the story are thin on the ground, but Amazon Studios apparently intends for Red One to be the first part of an expanded cinematic franchise. Christmas films can become classics – but they can also be naff, overly-sentimental fluff. I’m hoping for some excitement and entertainment from Red One.

Film #3:
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
11th August

Based on a single chapter of the original Dracula novel, The Last Voyage of the Demeter will focus on the crew of a doomed ship who are being stalked by the infamous vampire. The horror film could be a fun one to watch around Halloween! Horror usually isn’t my cup of tea, but a combination of the nautical setting and the connection to a classic work of literature has piqued my curiosity. As the horror genre swarms with zombies, ghosts, demons, and monsters, vampire flicks are relatively few and far between – which is another point in the film’s favour.

Film #4:
Wish
24th November

Wish looks fantastic! The film has been created especially for Disney’s centenary, and aims to be a celebration of everything the studio stands for. Focusing on the magical star that many characters have made their wishes upon, the film looks set to be another modern-day Disney classic. The animation style used for Wish is a blend of hand-drawn and digital, and the film will star Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose. The trailer looked fantastic, with an amazing song to boot, and I can’t wait to see Wish for myself!

Film #5:
Rebel Moon
23rd December

There’s always room for more sci-fi, and Rebel Moon could be the kind of epic that spawns a brand-new franchise! Though I haven’t always been impressed with director Zack Snyder’s films, Rebel Moon seems to have a lot of potential. The film will star Star Trek Beyond’s Sofia Boutella, and looks to pitch a group of heroes against a corrupt imperial government. One to watch, for sure!

Video Game #1:
Star Trek Infinite
TBC 2023

Although I’m still not entirely sure what Star Trek Infinite will be like to play, the game is bringing the Star Trek franchise back to the strategy genre on PC (and Mac) for the first time in a long time – and I’m definitely on board with that idea! Publisher Paradox Interactive has a good reputation, and Star Trek Infinite is being constructed atop a streamlined version of the popular sci-fi strategy title Stellaris. There’s potential here, and I shall be checking out the game when it’s ready.

Video Game #2:
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
26th September

Although I’ve argued that we need to be careful about Phantom Liberty given what happened when Cyberpunk 2077 was released, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least curious about the expansion pack. Described as a “spy thriller,” Phantom Liberty will add a new storyline to Cyberpunk 2077, a new area of the map, and also promises to connect with the base game’s main story, too. There will also be new weapons, new vehicles, and several new characters to engage with. Definitely one to put in the “wait for the reviews” category… but if it launches in good condition, Phantom Liberty could be a blast.

Video Game #3:
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
7th December

Frontiers of Pandora is an open-world action game set in the world of Avatar. It will tell a story independent of the main Avatar films, focusing on a Na’vi character who was trained by humans. This premise sounds genuinely interesting, and could elevate Frontiers of Pandora to something a bit more interesting than just a typical tie-in game. Gameplay was recently shown off as part of Ubisoft’s summer presentation, and the game looks to be in good shape.

Video Game #4:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass Waves 5 & 6
Summer/Holiday 2023

Last week’s Nintendo Direct broadcast showed off two new characters and one new racetrack that will be coming in Wave 5 of the Booster Course Pass this summer. After that there’s only one more wave to come – which will probably be toward the end of the year. The Booster Course Pass has reignited my interest in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and having new racetracks to jump into has given the game a shot in the arm. I’m hoping that Nintendo will put a lot of effort into the final two additions to the game.

Video Game #5:
Starfield
6th September

Given Bethesda’s reputation and the appalling condition of Fallout 76 in 2018, Starfield is another game that must remain in the “wait for the reviews” column! But if you’re a regular reader here on the website, you’ll know it’s my most-anticipated game right now. I cannot wait to get stuck into this open-galaxy sci-fi role-playing game, customising my character, my spaceship, and my colony, and getting lost in the world that Bethesda has created. I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping that Starfield will launch in a polished state – and that it can live up to the sky-high expectations that Bethesda and Microsoft have set.

Television Series #1:
Futurama
24th July

Futurama is coming back… again! Although the series came to a pretty definitive end in 2013 – following two cancellations and resurrections – Disney and Hulu have opted to bring it back once more. I’m on board with that idea – and I’ll be curious to see what a revived Futurama can bring to the table in 2023. The show was great fun in its earlier iterations, with an intriguing blend of sci-fi wackiness and topical humour, and I have high hopes for more of the same when Fry and the Planet Express crew return.

Television Series #2:
The American Buffalo
16th October

This two-part miniseries by Ken Burns will tell the remarkable tale of the near-extinction and resurrection of the American bison, looking at the history of hunting, what the species meant to native peoples, and how it was saved from extinction in the 20th Century. Ken Burns is one of the world’s leading documentary filmmakers, and I’ve long enjoyed his work.

Television Series #3:
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Late 2023

The premise of Skeleton Crew is giving me Star Trek: Prodigy vibes, as a group of youngsters will find themselves lost in a galaxy far, far away. Jude Law is taking on the lead role of a Jedi, and may serve as a kind of mentor to the group. Story details are still thin on the ground, but there’s enough to think that Skeleton Crew might be something a bit different from a franchise that has struggled to break away from its illustrious past. The series may also connect in some way with The Mandalorian, as it’s set in the same time period.

Television Series #4:
Good Omens Season 2
28th July

Although it’s been a while since the first season of this adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s story, Season 2 is finally upon us! David Tennant and Michael Sheen are returning as the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale respectively, and the continuation looks set to be a ton of fun. After Crowley and Aziraphale managed to prevent the end of the world last time around… what will they get up to this time?

Television Series #5:
Foundation Season 2
14th July

The first season of Foundation was outstanding, successfully adapting a very dense work of hard sci-fi in an understandable way. I’m very interested to see what Season 2 might have to offer, and how it might bring together some of the different story threads that the series has in play. Apple has done a great job so far, but Foundation has room to grow. Its complex premise and large cast of characters doesn’t make it the easiest show to follow, but it’s absolutely worth sticking with Foundation.

So that’s it!

We’ve taken a look at a handful of films, video games, and television shows that I hope will be enjoyable between now and the end of the year. In late December I’ll be dishing out some of my annual end-of-year awards to the best of the best, so check back then to see which of the entertainment experiences above made the cut!

What am I most excited about right now? It’s hard to pick just one thing, but I’m very curious to see if Starfield truly lives up to the high expectations that have been set. I’m also really looking forward to Futurama’s return, as well as seeing if Rebel Moon will be “the next big thing” in sci-fi!

I’ll be here throughout the summer, reviewing episodes of Strange New Worlds, sharing my thoughts on new and upcoming projects, and much more! I don’t promise reviews of everything listed above, but I’ll try to share my thoughts and impressions on at least some of these titles. I hope the first half of 2023 has gone well for you, and that you’re looking forward to some fun and exciting entertainment experiences as we pass the halfway point of the year.

All properties discussed above are the copyright of their respective owner(s). Some images used above courtesy of IGDB and IMDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers are present for Cyberpunk 2077.

Although the game was blighted by an appalling launch and received plenty of thoroughly-deserved criticism – including from yours truly – Cyberpunk 2077 managed to pull off a somewhat decent recovery. The bugs and glitches have largely been fixed, and at time of writing, the game is in a playable state. Finally.

In fact, development on Cyberpunk 2077 has been going so well that CD Projekt Red is now ready to show off the game’s first major expansion: Phantom Liberty. The DLC will add a new area of the map, a new questline, new characters, and more. Fans of the game are already getting excited, and pre-orders for Phantom Liberty are now available. On Steam, the expansion has quickly become one of the platform’s top sellers – and that’s probably going to be the case on other platforms and storefronts, too.

But let’s cool our jets, shall we?

Pre-ordering practically any game isn’t a good idea, especially if it’s a digital download with absolutely no danger of scarcity. The tactics corporations have resorted to in order to encourage pre-orders – like exclusive in-game content or even early access – are pretty shady, too. Pre-ordering made sense back when games were sold on cartridges or discs in brick-and-mortar shops on the high street, but it doesn’t any more.

And let’s not forget which game Phantom Liberty is an add-on for. Cyberpunk 2077 was broken to the point of being unplayable at launch, especially on last-gen consoles, and it took a long time for developers CD Projekt Red to get it running properly. Or, to put it another way: they released the game before they’d actually finished making it, and it took months of additional development time to actually do the job that should have been done before the game’s catastrophic launch in December 2020.

I’m disappointed to see that Phantom Liberty is beginning to attract the same level of hype as Cyberpunk 2077 did. Have players learned nothing from what happened? Perhaps we’re all just gluttons for punishment, because if Phantom Liberty starts racking up pre-orders… then I don’t even know what to say. Players will deserve any and all future broken-at-launch, “release now, fix later” games.

I don’t hate Cyberpunk 2077. By the time I got around to playing it in full, the majority of its most egregious bugs and glitches had been fixed, and while the gameplay itself was nothing to write home about – and was actually outdated in more ways than one – it was a visually attractive title, its open world was densely-packed and fun to explore, and it had a solid, engaging story that I was happy to follow to its conclusion. While I wouldn’t ever rate it in my “top games of all-time,” it was decent. An above-average title for sure.

And if you want to know more about my own hands-on experience with Cyberpunk 2077, you can read my thoughts on the game by clicking or tapping here.

Johnny Silverhand looks out over Night City.

Additionally, when CD Projekt suffered a cyber attack in 2021, I even defended the company, saying that the hack it had fallen victim to was nothing to celebrate. So I hope you understand that I’m not approaching this topic as some kind of dyed-in-the-wool “hater” of either Cyberpunk 2077 or the corporation that developed and published it.

Instead, I’m trying to be the voice of reason! Outside of a very small number of cases, pre-ordering just isn’t a good idea any more. And when looking at the absolute abomination that was Cyberpunk 2077 when it launched, how anyone could think pre-ordering Phantom Liberty is a good idea is beyond me. If there was ever a release that warranted a “wait for the reviews” approach, it’s this one.

I absolutely want Phantom Liberty to be good. The trailer was genuinely interesting, and while a “save the President” story isn’t exactly original, I’d be up for a return to the dystopian world that Cyberpunk 2077 built. Expanding the game’s map is a neat idea, too, and the trailer even seemed to tease some kind of tie-in with the main story. All of these things seem like they have potential.

But I won’t be pre-ordering Phantom Liberty. I won’t be picking it up on release day, either. Instead, I’m going to take the “wait and see” approach that CD Projekt Red has done so much to earn. If reviews look promising, and if the game launches in a bug-free state, I’ll absolutely consider picking it up this autumn. For £25 here in the UK (and I assume $30 or so in the US), it feels like a good buy – and one I can almost certainly find room for in my budget.

But that’s only if Phantom Liberty arrives without the problems that plagued Cyberpunk 2077. I’d hope that CD Projekt Red would have learned the lessons of that disaster – especially as it saw the company’s share price take a big hit. But companies are manipulative, and CD Projekt Red has a track record of lying and dishonesty that must be taken into account. The expansion was recently shown off at Summer Game Fest – but its trailer was carefully edited, and journalists and influencers who got their hands on the game only got to spend about an hour with it… and were only allowed to show off pre-made footage that CD Projekt Red gave them.

None of these points need to be problems on their own. But in the context of Cyberpunk 2077′s launch, I confess a degree of scepticism. I hope it’s entirely unwarranted – truly, I do. I want Phantom Liberty to be fun, exciting… and fully-playable. But I also wanted that of the base game, and the truth is that it took well over a year before it was in that position.

Before Cyberpunk 2077 had even released, I warned here on the website about the dangers of hype. I said then that I was certain that excitement for the game was out-of-control, and that CD Projekt Red’s marketing was failing to handle the situation appropriately. As we gear up for Phantom Liberty, let’s try not to repeat those mistakes.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles in September, and the base game is out now. Cyberpunk 2077 is the copyright of CD Projekt Red. Some promotional screenshots and artwork courtesy of CD Projekt and/or IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Tag: cyberpunk 2077 phantom liberty

We’re halfway through 2023!

Maybe we should calm down about Phantom Liberty…