Summary
- Phantom Liberty adds a substantial chunk of content to Cyberpunk 2077, but its exact size is smaller than the base game's Night City map.
- Dogtown, the new combat zone in Phantom Liberty, is smaller than Night City but still provides interesting character with its broken-down infrastructure and black market.
- While Dogtown may not expand the playable area significantly, it offers a dense NPC population and a solid amount of story content and side activities.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty adds a substantial chunk of content to the base game, but establishing the exact size of that addition requires some examination of the map. Initially released in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077's world of Night City impressed in many ways, but it wasn't without its handful of disappointments. The new expansion Phantom Liberty seeks to address criticisms and boost the game to its full potential, with an accompanying Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update delivering a number of overhauls to players who haven't purchased the DLC as well.
The new area that Phantom Liberty focuses on is a combat zone called Dogtown, located on the southern end of the overall Night City map in the Pacifica district. Its nature is very distinct from the subdistricts of Pacifica available in the base game, as the area is walled off and controlled by a private army. Initially walled off due to a colonel's unwillingness to part with his military holdings, Dogtown was never again restructured thanks to the profitability of its black market leading higher-ups in the city to ultimately turn a blind eye.
Dogtown Is Much Smaller Than Night City In Cyberpunk 2077
Since Dogtown is only one part of the overall sprawl of Night City, it should come as no surprise that the DLC covers significantly less ground than the base game. Dogtown certainly isn't a slight addition, but it's not one focused on vastly expanding the playable area. This isn't a bad thing by any means, as much of Night City struggled with a sense of facade in Cyberpunk 2077. Dogtown unfortunately doesn't entirely overcome this core problem, but its broken-down infrastructure and areas like the black market are fundamentally interesting enough to provide the DLC location with a healthy dose of character.
Sprawl Isn't The Only Size Factor In Phantom Liberty
The other aspect that comes into play when examining the size of Dogtown is just how much content is actually packed into that space. Cyberpunk 2077 features more verticality in general than many open-world games — particularly compared to the fantasy setting of developer CD Projekt Red's own The Witcher series — but some areas of the map are much flatter than others. Dogtown is one zone that trends toward the sky. It's also full of people, with a dense NPC life that further helps to make its streets feel fully realized.
Those looking for an expansion that adds as many miles to the map as The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine DLC won't find something entirely comparable in Phantom Liberty's Dogtown. That being said, the area still makes for a respectably-sized addition, and Phantom Liberty is no slouch when it comes to story content and side activities. Phantom Liberty overall adds a solid fraction of the base game's size to Night City, making for a Cyberpunk 2077 expansion with moderate sprawl.
