Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty Makes a Case For V as a…

Summary

Cyberpunk 2077's upcoming Phantom Liberty DLC will greatly enhance V's melee combat abilities, introducing new finishers and cybernetic implants.
The intense violence and power of Phantom Liberty's melee gameplay helps to make V a strong contender to be added as a DLC fighter in Mortal Kombat 1.
Considering how many crossover characters are already planned for Mortal Kombat 1, V would not feel out of place in the slightest.

Excitement is growing around the inbound Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, which is expected to release on September 26. As the only major expansion for the game, Phantom Liberty comes alongside an impressive overhaul to a lot of the title's core gameplay features such as combat abilities and available weaponry.

In particular, Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC is set to significantly bolster V's affinity for melee combat, introducing a range of new melee finishers and cybernetic implants for the protagonist to wield. While players could improve the melee proficiency of V in Cyberpunk 2077's base-game, the changes set to come with Phantom Liberty will make the merc a truly feared and lethal close-quarters opponent. Intriguingly, the sheer brutality of Phantom Liberty's melee gameplay makes V a prime candidate to become a DLC fighter in the newly released Mortal Kombat 1, with the game already having huge plans for DLC crossovers with other IPs.

Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty: V and Mortal Kombat 1

It is clear that the reception of Phantom Liberty has a lot riding on it, with many fans being hopeful for the smooth Cyberpunk launch that they so desperately wanted back in 2020. With the notoriously controversial launch of 2077's base game, it is clear to see why CD Projekt Red has bundled so many ambitious gameplay overhauls into Phantom Liberty.

To give the expansion its own identity away from the base game, Phantom Liberty comes with a range of new weapons, vehicles, and perks, all while tweaking how past game mechanics operate. Melee combat was a huge beneficiary of these changes, with players now having even more choice behind what melee build works best for them. These features have already been revealed by Projekt Red, with videos showcasing V deflecting incoming fire with a katana, smashing enemies to pieces with the Gorilla Arms modification, and slicing people to flaming ribbons with the Mantis Arms mod.

The level of gore and brutality that is present throughout these new melee finishers is reminiscent of the fatalities of the Mortal Kombat franchise, which recently launched its ambitious reboot Mortal Kombat 1. Interestingly, the melee weapon arsenal and the sheer power behind V as a character thanks to their cybernetic upgrades puts the character on a similar power scale to many of the fighters in Mortal Kombat 1.

In this way, it makes perfect sense that V should be added to Mortal Kombat 1 as a DLC fighter in the near future, with the similar release windows of the game and Phantom Liberty making for a mutually beneficial crossover. This idea comes alongside news of many other DLC crossover characters in MK1, with heroes such as Homelander and Omni-Man already being confirmed as playable fighters that will be added in the near future.

The potential crossovers for Mortal Kombat 1 fighters is limitless, with a recent datamine supposedly finding that characters like Ghostface and He-Man will eventually appear in-game. Many of these figures have been chosen as DLC fighters due to their intense power and penchant for gorey brutality, and Cyberpunk 2077's V fits this description now more than ever. With players being able to choose between a range of cybernetic fighting styles, and with there already being great inspiration for potential V fatalities, the 2077 protagonist seems to be a perfect fit for a future Mortal Kombat 1 DLC crossover.