This DLC for Cyberpunk is huge, if it wasn’t so knitted into the story and map of the base game then it really could be its own stand-alone release. It is set in a section of the Night City map, called Dogtown, that is locked off until you start these missions.
In the beginning, you are contacted by a netrunner named Songbird who is able to appear in your perception and hold conversations with you without anyone hearing, much like Johnny’s construct does in the main game. She is currently in a crashing plane with the president of NUSA after it was shot by the man, named Kurt Hansen, who runs this new place.
The premise reminds me a bit of BioShock, a solitary man has decided to create his own little space separated from any kind of government interference. There are no police, no taxes, people are free to do what they like. You then enter Dogtown on your own, as an outsider encountering a variety of characters all trying to bring you to their side. This is less of a planned utopia than BioShock’s Rapture was though. Kurt Hansen doesn’t seem to have such lofty ideals, he is simply running it as a mercenary state. I enjoyed the setting quite a lot, the smaller space worked well I think. Night City in the main game is quite sprawling, and at points it feels like it just undermines the cyberpunk theme.
The story is a spy thriller. You meet a man named Solomon Reed, played by Idris Elba, who is a spy trying to rescue the president, and later Songbird, after she is captured by Kurt Hansen. The whole story is full of double-crosses, everyone is betraying someone. In fact you are forced to choose who to betray as well at a pivotal point of the story. These betrayals are never about anything as trite as power though. People are just trying to survive, or to escape, or to follow their stubborn principles. There’s a strong theme of people ending up being forced into hurting people that they truly respect or love. I found this really quite effective. In the ending I betrayed Reed and helped Songbird escape to the Moon in the hope that she gets treatment for a condition which is killing her. I found this to be poignant. I know there are actually multiple endings, but I’ve no inclination to go and see the others, because what I played felt right to me.
The credits during the ending seem to go on forever in this game, I can’t believe how many people worked on it.