It’s 2026, and somehow Night City still manages to chew me up and spit me out every single time I load up Cyberpunk 2077. I thought I’d seen it all after clearing the base game twice, but Phantom Liberty? That DLC hit different. This time I’m deep into the ‘The Damned’ quest, and I’ve got to say—nothing prepares you for the blend of spy-thriller vibes and raw netrunner drama that kicks off the moment Solomon Reed calls your holo.
So there I was, V, freshly pseudo-recruited by President Myers and already missing my old gig as a simple merc. Reed, that old-school FIA fossil, rings me up and tells me to meet him at the Moth Bar in Dogtown. No “please,” no “thank you,” just business. Classic Reed. I walk into this joint, and the air is thick with smoke and suspicion. The barkeep, a woman who looked like she’d seen enough bullshit for three lifetimes, introduced herself as Daphne. But the moment Reed started talking, the facade crumbled faster than a cheap Braindance. Turns out Daphne is Alena Xenakis—Alex for short—a former agent from Reed’s crew who’s been lying low. Getting her to spill the beans on where to find a legendary netrunner named Slider wasn’t exactly a walk in the park; I had to lean into my Street Kid charm and drop a few well-placed words about loyalty and second chances. Eventually, though, she caved and gave us the intel we needed.
Let me tell you, convincing Alex was the easy part. The real headache started when we rolled up to the Voodoo Boys’ hideout. If you’ve ever tangled with those Haitian netrunners, you know they don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for a bunch of outsiders poking around. Reed and I stood outside their Dogtown fortress like a couple of gonks, staring at the guards who were giving us the stink eye. Obviously, the front door was a no-go. I spotted a vent tucked away behind a locked gate, and my inner techie started doing backflips. I had just enough Technical Ability to pop that lock—thank God I invested in those attribute points—but if you’re more of a Body build, you can just rip the door off its hinges like a maniac. Either way, I shimmied through that dusty vent and dropped into the belly of the beast.
The moment my boots hit the floor, it was game on. Stealth? I tried. I really did. But the place was crawling with Voodoo Boys, and my patience for sneaking around lasted about thirty seconds before I said “screw it” and started blasting. Quickhacks, smart rifles, the occasional faceful of lead—fastest route to the basement was through every single one of them, and I regret nothing. The basement had this eerie glow, and there he was: Slider, plugged into half a dozen monitors, looking like he’d been living off synthetic coffee and sleepless nights. The guy wasn’t exactly thrilled to see us, but a short conversation convinced him to help track down Songbird. That’s when things went from “bad” to “straight-to-the-net FUBAR.”
A cutscene hit, and So Mi materialized in his rig—flickering, desperate, and clearly not in control. She confessed she’s being held hostage by the one and only Colonel Hansen, a name that made even Slider’s jaw tighten. The connection was so invasive that poor Slider overloaded and flatlined right in front of me. One second he’s the key to saving Songbird, and the next he’s a corpse on a chair. What happened next? More Voodoo Boys, more bullets. Reed and I fought our way out, barely, and then we split up to chase separate leads on the Black Diamond facility where Hansen’s keeping So Mi caged. Before I could even catch my breath, I had to call Mr. Hands—Dogtown’s fixer with a price for everything—to keep the story rolling.
Looking back, ‘The Damned’ was a roller-coaster that reminded me why Phantom Liberty is the best damn expansion Cyberpunk ever got. It’s got that perfect mix of undercover tension, old alliances falling apart, and the kind of moral gray areas that make you stare at the screen long after the credits roll. Even now, in 2026, running through those neon-soaked streets on my upgraded rig, the whole experience felt as fresh as launch day. If you haven’t lived through this quest yet, do yourself a favor and clear your calendar. Just be ready to lose a netrunner or two along the way—that’s Night City for you. Stay chipped, chooms.