In the expansion of Cyberpunk 2077 titled “Phantom Liberty,” players are faced with a tough and critical choice – whether to help Songbird or help Reed. This decision holds significant weight as it affects the subsequent Phantom Liberty missions and even determines the ending of the expansion. With the ever-present uncertainty in Cyberpunk 2077, it becomes increasingly challenging to discern who is truly on your side. Moreover, both Reed and Songbird possess clear but divergent goals, intensifying the difficulty of this choice.
The Immediate Consequences
When players successfully navigate the meeting with Kurt Hansen disguised as Aurore Cassel in the “Firestarter” mission, they find themselves in the Dogtown stadium lab with Songbird. Here, the objective is to assist Songbird in extracting the Neural Matrix device, which supposedly offers a cure for V’s malfunctioning Relic and Songbird’s Blackwall AI corruption. However, a crucial junction is reached when it’s time to input Aurore’s access codes into the Neural Matrix, compelling players to determine where their loyalties lie.
Choosing to help Songbird escape by proclaiming “I’m with you” requires players to follow Alex and Reed’s plan. Songbird intends to utilize her netrunning abilities to turn the stadium’s defenses against the enemy, creating a chaotic distraction that allows for both her and the player character to flee and seek a cure. Although this choice aligns with Songbird’s desires, it leads to temporary loss of control and a brief moment of Blackwall corruption, resulting in some damage to the stadium. Furthermore, by not using the ICEbreaker device to neutralize Songbird, players betray Alex and Reed, prompting a fight through the stadium and an escape through sewer tunnels. Subsequently, players must wait several in-game days for Songbird to re-establish contact, marking the beginning of the “The Killing Moon” mission.
On the other hand, selecting the option to help Reed capture Songbird – uttering “One more second…” – sets forth a chain of calamitous events. Despite initial suspicion, Songbird manages to extract the Neural Matrix. However, she alerts Hansen to the problem, leading to his murder of Alex while focusing on the player character. Songbird refuses to cooperate with Reed’s plan, prioritizing her own survival, and Hansen ruthlessly kills Alex. Although the ICEbreaker ultimately establishes a connection with Songbird, she succumbs to her Blackwall corruption and embarks on a cyberpsycho rampage within the Dogtown stadium. Players are then forced to fight their way through the stadium, confront Kurt Hansen, and ultimately be rescued by Reed. With a loose cyberpsycho at large, MaxTac is called in to incapacitate Songbird. This sets the stage for a series of missions, commencing with “Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos,” where players collaborate with Reed to retrieve Songbird.
The Impact on Endings and Gameplay
These choices regarding Songbird and Reed significantly influence the available endings in the expansion, but they do not lock players out of the main Cyberpunk 2077 endings. It is worth noting that both choices offer distinct gameplay experiences and compelling narrative developments. To fully explore the possibilities, players may consider save scrubbing to try both paths.
With the information from this analysis, players now possess a comprehensive understanding of the consequences and ramifications of choosing to help Songbird or Reed in the Phantom Liberty expansion of Cyberpunk 2077. The weight of this decision and the subsequent missions and endings make it a pivotal moment that shapes the player’s journey through Night City.
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