After playing the scariest mission in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, I'm going to need CDPR to make a fully-fledged survival horror RPG right now

Just like Johnny Silverhand, Somewhat Damaged has been living in my brain rent-free since I finished Cyberpunk 2077's DLC last week. The Phantom Liberty mission comes seemingly out of nowhere, a consequence of not only turning your back on one of the most net-savvy people in the entire game, but for thinking there is such a thing as good deeds going unpunished here in Dogtown.

While sneaking through the abandoned Cynosure facility while evading a giant mech spider might not be everyone's cup of tea, my horror junkie heart was immediately in the zone. The nods to deep space terror Alien: Isolation are obvious enough, but I think CD Projekt Red deserves a huge pat on the back for delivering one of the most well-designed survival horror levels in a non-horror game ever. It just shows another one of many tricks up the developer's evidently roomy sleeves, and I'm here to gush over every last detail Somewhat Damaged has to offer.

Well, shit

I'm sure the above sentiment rang true for many of us the first time we dove to the depths of Cynosure in hot pursuit of Songbird after betraying her trust in Phantom Liberty. If losing comms with Reed isn't enough of an indicator that something ominous is afoot, the traces of Blackwall left behind by So Mi should do it. Black and red pools of code gather like blood on the floor, the walls, everywhere Songbird has touched as we chase her deeper and deeper into the facility. It's not until we come to a control room where she takes over the screens in front of us, cast in the same palette of black against vivid red lighting, that our fate is sealed.

Unpleasant, brutal, and downright dark things are peppered across the world of Cyberpunk 2077, from would-be Mayor Peralez and his wife being mind controlled to that one Bloody Ritual cyberpsycho encounter. But Somewhat Damaged is the first instance where horrific themes become the stuff of actual horror games – right down to being unable to fight back. Trapped in Cynosure, V and Songbird's presence triggers the facility to come to life again – as well as a giant, mechanical spider-like robot called Cerberus, intent on hunting down the intruder. Packing a one-hit kill attack, being seen is tatamount to instadeath.

Moments of powerlessness are few and far between, usually reserved for the odd mission where V is forced to relinquish their weapons to get into a nightclub. However, here in the presence of the newly-awakened Cerberus bot, we do have access to our weapons, quickhacks, or Sandevistans if we wish to use them. They'd just be utterly pointless, because the best thing to do here is hide from danger rather than confront it. Cerberus is a manifestation of all the techno-warnings you've heard on your Cyberpunk journey so far, the embodiment of man made technology superseding its maker and becoming a monster in itself. No amount of chrome can turn you into an impenetrable machine, after all – unless you're Lizzy Wizzy – and now, all that's left is the most human of emotions: fear.

Keep running

The total one-eighty approach to combat for the duration of this mission is what makes it such a thrilling experience. Any survival horror fan probably had the same reaction I did once they clocked what was going on: a moment of excitement, followed by muscle memory kicking in. Staying out of sight of the robot is easy enough when you remember the cardinal rule of cat-and-mouse horror games. Namely to listen up and avoid actively looking at the thing. Hugging pillars and walking around them, keeping Cerberus safely on the other side, is usually enough to keep yourself out of sight, and luckily for us in Cyberpunk, audio cues let you know how close you are to the lurking enemy – and thankfully, it's also a bit stupid.

But not only is Somewhat Damaged meant to be punishing, meant to catch us off-guard, it's also a huge telling off from the powers that be. Choices made in Phantom Liberty stand out from the rest of Cyberpunk's missions for the sheer fact that they are all so morally grey. There are no right or wrong answers in Dogtown, no pure good or pure evil – as there arguably is a lot of the time in the base game. Rather, the shades in-between are what matter the most in this warring city-state, as well as V's interpretation of them in line with their own values, beliefs, and ideals.

Somewhat Damaged jars against that ethos because it reads– to me, at least – like a clip behind the ear from CD Projekt Red. Putting players who chose Reed over So Mi through such an ordeal, stripping everything we knew about Cyberpunk away and throwing them headfirst into a horror game, it's not hard to see why it can feel like being chastised for making a categorically wrong decision. Reed represents the might of the NUSA, after all, and handing a living breathing Songbird over to President Myers results in one of the most sobering and bleak Cyberpunk 2077 endings of all. Somewhat Damaged is comeuppance, giving a betrayed So Mi one last chance to show V why they made the wrong decision. We are then offered a moment of redemption when she asks to be put out of her misery. Whether V accepts it or not is part of the horror; you and Songbird are both doomed, looking down the barrel of your own ill-fated mortalities. Have you not been through enough down here with that thing, or will you stick to your guns and put your faith in the NUSA?

Now on my second Cyberpunk playthrough – yes, back to back – I'm already kind of sad I won't get to play Somewhat Damaged this time around. Much as I'm grateful to have experienced it that first time, I hear CDPR's message loud and clear. I'll do better by Songbird now, promise – just don't sic Cerberus on me. That being said, if the developer ever fancies throwing us horror fans another bone in Cyberpunk sequel Project Orion (or a brand new IP), I have every confidence it'll pull things off effortlessly.

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