Seriously the whole game with adult themes but no real horror scare moments, but this mission the way they used the lighting and the idea of beyond the blackway really worked for a horror aspect actually made me jump once or twice. Now I'm wanting a cyberpunk horror game
25 Comments
Didn’t expect her to be a liying bitch to the bitter end, I didn’t trust her from the start but damn talk about dedication to betray literally everyone around you.
The Ai patrolling the hallways was scary af, really didn’t expect that, but enjoyed it alot
This ending and The Devil has the similar vibe for me. It’s like punishing me, the player for making poor choices but in reality only did it for the achievements.
Well, I did it all the NUSA way. Helped Reed, let her live, brought to Myers… However, the NUSA ending turned out to be much more sad than I’ve expected.
Kinda, because everyone on this sub was talking about horror section and not everyone (me included) knows how to use the spoiler thingies
Alien isolation ass mission
It makes sense because V condemns her to death by being overwritten by a parasitic AI that is not at all friendly. It’s the opposite of Johnny who somewhat learns to be better along the way. V literally forces So-Mi to die a fate objectively worse than their own just to survive. So-Mi lied, V banked on cruelty.
The story shows V feeling bad about how Reed and Alex do their jobs. V is warned not to become like them. But when V chooses to go against So-Mi they do become like Reed and Alex. All for survival of “I” and the glory of the republic and a death paid for retirement.
A lot happens but at the end of Phantom Liberty V is no worse for ware and starts back exactly where they were. Siding with Reed actually takes away opportunities from V. V exchanges other opportunities for a once all cure all and the possibility of being given a job within a Mega-Corp government with a soul killing weapon.
Phantom Liberty can be accepted as a fever dream for V.
V can still change and find a way to survive better but So-Mi is royally fu*ked. I cannot think of a single thing she did on her own without any ultimatums, threats, orders or V’s help that makes her deserving of such a thing.
Nope it’s a complete narrative shift. I can’t imagine anyone expecting the game to suddenly turn into survival horror.
I did not expect it and was a bit annoyed that my V being a top tier net runner didn’t really count for anything against a robotic opponent. In a tech dungeon. Where most of the puzzles are opening doors via terminal.
You betrayed her…
I preferred the Reed path over Songbird one. The Cynosure mission is more compelling, the mood is grim and unexpectedly full of thrill with a bit of horror and is overall a cool deviation from the main themes of the game. Also I liked how this path explores more of the deeper lore of CP about Blackwall, Militech, NUSA and their past.
Both fates of Songbird are tragic, sad in a good way, it’s good writing, no happy ending. Especially after the segment where you see Songbird’s past memories, you understand more about the reasons of her ways and motivations… all of this enhance the bitterness of her tragic end.
The Songbird ending path is more straightforward, but less flashed out, it’s more about pure action and escaping through mass shooting. It’s cool, fun to play, but imo it lacks the narrative depth of Reed path. It’s the good ending if you wish a good fate for So-Mi and Alex.
In the end, PL is a masterpiece DLC.
I missed them entirely and only found out about the when a friend called about his experience. I’m jealous since I will never experience it cold and without knowing.
What mission is this, doesn’t ring any bells
Cyberpunk the genre, by a general definition, should always be read within a horror framing.
As cool and flashy as the tech and graphics are, remember that your baseline worldbuilding is *always* based in a dystopia. There don’t need to be jumpscares or terrifying metal monstrosities, but there is supposed to be an underlying tone of discomfort, a “dark mirror” if you will.
A cyber psycho asylum survival horror side game would be sick sort of like the Calisto protocol but with cyberpsychos
Well sure but Erebus and Canto baby!
Honestly this was the most enjoyable to play path. Also getting the eberus, which I basically call the Demon gun (daemon if you’d prefer). Shooting bullets that literally drag people to hell.
In terms of narrative, I never trusted So-Mi, not one second. People ragging on the NUSA fail to understand that So-Mi is indeed as much an NUSA spook as the rest of them. Her empathetic tactics in the beginning of the PL arc are nothing more than basic psychological manipulation tactics used today by the CIA and FBI to gain trust with their assets. It’s so blatantly obvious it’s gross.
So-Mi was ALWAYS going to betray you. Sure working with the NUSA is like kissing frogs, but at the end of the day if you do what they tell you they uphold their end of the bargain. So-Mi doesn’t. So no I don’t feel bad for her.
I do however, worry about what darkness her interactions with the black wall will bring on humanity. Not that I can say anything tho since I keep banishing people to the shadow realm with the Eberus 🤣
My Alien Isolation PTSD kicked in real quick
I thought i could 1v1 the robot with my body build, boy was i wrong
It started like Metal Gear solid then went to Alien Isolation
When that flimsy barrier you are hiding behind fails you……
The Cerberus AI is so bad. I breezed through this mission.. the part that was scary for me was right when you’re about to jump down into the water and Johnny said.
“V, it’s not too late to delta the fuck out”
That part of the game was so unexpected for me, I had to turn it off for a bit. I don’t usually play games where you can’t fight your way out of a situation. I’m a chicken shit and this scared me. After I figured out what I actually had to do, I was able to get passed it. It definitely brought to life the seriousness of the blackwall situation, though.
It was one of my favorite missions in the game. It’s genuinely effective horror.
I didn’t mind the horror, but this was super tedious for me.
In general I don’t like playing stealth games, so I died, I dunno… twenty-thirty times here? It is not funny looking at the loading screen that often. Stealth games most often value the patience and time of the player, when she is learning the patrol routes. I don’t have this kind of patience for games, so I usually skip games which do not allow violent of fast talking options (like.. Thief? I did play Deus ex, cause you can do combat/diplo there). Being forced into a section like this…
​
I also felt a bit cheated. Even turning off the cyberware is a bit unfair, but not allowing to use grenades and non-smart guns, or even baseball bats is silly.
​
Not really scary, not really hard, super tedious and loooooong. I felt… a bit disappointed? Instead of a fun dialog tree, or a fun combat encounter, all I remember from the last mission is the tedium. It is very likely that I will not go on the Reed path again.