Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Designers Show Early Draft of Final Level

CD Projekt RED has released the latest entry in the Blocktober series, where designers Sebastian McBride and Mariusz Kubow shared the creative process behind the mission «The Killing Moon» in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, where V tries to send Songbird to the Moon.

According to McBride, the spaceport went through about five different versions before designers settled on a ring-structured level to make movement during combat more fluid. «The location had to have a very nice flow to it and interesting, yet simple traversal loops were the top priority. All of that is focused around the control booth which I knew would be both a focal point in the space but also integral to the quest flow,» McBride explained.

The setting also features a massive rocket suspended from the ceiling. «There's also the Rule of Cool in play here, as the rocket hanging under the ceiling was added late during the development to add more dynamic elements to the environment, totally-not-just because I've prototyped a big, swinging object and I thought it would be cool for the turrets (or even V) to shoot it down accidentally,» Kubow joked.

A few days ago, IGN released a video analyzing the level «Somewhat Damaged,» where V is pursued by a giant robot. For this, the developers drew inspiration from other horror games like Alien: Isolation, Amnesia, and Resident Evil.

Previous Blocktober episodes are available here and here.