Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty: Should You Cure Songbird Or Save Yourself In The Killing Moon? (2024)

In a similar vein to the base game of Cyberpunk 2077, the main story of the Phantom Liberty DLC has several major decisions that can drastically change the story, which rewards are obtained, and endings for both the DLC's story and the story of the main game. Taking place around the time of the later parts of Cyberpunk 2077's main story, Phantom Liberty has V delving into a sectioned-off area of Night City known as Dogtown, pulled into a mission to save the president of the NUSA from a crash by the enigmatic Songbird.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.]

Songbird, whose real name is Song So Mi, is vital to the main story of Phantom Liberty, and a skilled netrunner who serves under the command of NUSA president Rosalind Myers. As the first one to contact V about rescuing Rosalind from Dogtown, and about a potential cure for their condition, Songbird is one of the central characters of the DLC, and with her subsequent capture by Kurt Hansen, Dogtown's warlord leader, rescuing her serves as the driving force for much of the plot - although, of course, several complications arise as V attempts to extract her.

Phantom Liberty Promises A Cure For V — But Getting It Isn't So Simple

Phantom Liberty Puts Several Roadblocks In The Way Of Getting V's Cure

Although Songbird presents herself as an ally to V and the NUSA, one of the major reveals of Phantom Liberty is that Songbird also has a terminal condition — a result of having been forced to breach the Blackwall several times under the orders of Rosalind Myers. Consequently, it's revealed that Songbird was responsible for the crash of Space Force One, having cut a deal with Kurt Hansen for a neural matrix in his possession, which she promises will be able to cure both her and V's conditions.

Complicating matters, though, is the fact that the NUSA wants Songbird back under its command - meaning that, towards the end of Phantom Liberty, players have to choose between siding with Songbird or Reed. This is a major choice that drastically alters the latter portions of the DLC, and will lead to even more branching choices, as the player will eventually need to decide Songbird's fate, potentially even at the cost of the cure that V was promised going into Phantom Liberty.

Phantom Liberty Has A Cure For Songbird Or V - But Not Both

One Of The DLC's Final Quests Forces Players To Choose Between Songbird And V

One of the final missions in Phantom Liberty, "The Killing Moon" has major influence on how the main story of the DLC ends, but also itself stems from a split-path decision in the previous quest, "Firestarter." There, V is given the choice to either side with Solomon Reed and the FIA, taking Songbird into custody or helping Songbird escape, with the second option leading to "The Killing Moon." The quest involves helping Songbird get on a flight to Luna, where a clinic will help her cure her condition and escape the grasp of the NUSA. There are, however, a few major complications in doing so.

Getting Songbird to the monorail she needs to get on to escape involves sneaking through security and contending with an attack by NUSA forces, but finally getting there only leads to another dilemma, as she reveals that the neural matrix can only be used once. Either Songbird or V getting the cure means that the other will go without it and likely die — and to make matters worse, Songbird has been stringing V along the entire time, having always intended to take the cure for herself.

Here, the game gives the player the choice of what to do with Songbird - they can either decide to hand her over to Reed, or decide to still assist her in reaching Luna. Handing her over means that V gets the cure, but also condemns Songbird to either death or life as a tool of the NUSA. On the other hand, helping her get to Luna is the better option for Songbird, but means that V ends Phantom Liberty without the possibility of a cure, essentially sending the player back to one of the base game endings.

Saving Songbird In "The Killing Moon"

Saving Songbird Required Killing Solomon Reed

Helping Songbird to her destination means giving up on the chance of a cure for V, and leads to one of Phantom Liberty's endings that doesn't end the base game as well. When carrying Songbird to the ship, Reed will confront them on the walkway, demanding that V hand Songbird over into FIA custody. Refusing Reed causes a slow-motion shootout to occur, where a single shot from V landing on Reed will kill him, and vice versa. Picking this option ends "The Killing Moon" with Songbird being put on the ship to Luna, with an eventual reveal in later quests that she successfully cured herself.

In terms of material rewards, this path offers two Iconic pieces of equipment. The first, Pariah, is a Tech Pistol that has been used by Reed throughout the story, and can be picked up from the ground next to his body after killing him. The second is the Iconic Cyberware Quantum Tuner, which can restore the cooldown of other Cyberware implants. Aside from the material rewards, however, this option is also the most optimistic ending for Songbird, and in some ways, framed as the "good" ending to Phantom Liberty; however, this option locks out the additional ending to the base game.

Taking The Cure Leads To Phantom Liberty's New Main Game Ending

Phantom Liberty's New Ending Is Still Gives A Bleak Outlook For V

If, instead, V chooses to hand Songbird over to Reed, either immediately after she comes clean about the neural matrix or on the walkway to the ship, a different sequence of events will occur. Songbird is taken in and put under an invasive procedure that alters her personality, putting her back under the control of NUSA and unlikely to ever escape. In exchange, however, Reed offers the NUSA's full assistance with the surgery to cure V's condition using the neural matrix, informing them that the procedure will likely take them out of Night City for a few weeks - after a few more narrative-focused quests, this opens up an additional ending.

In the new ending that this path provides access to, V undergoes the surgery to cure their condition — unfortunately, far from the weeks that Reed promised the surgery would take, V is instead put into a coma for two years, coming back to the realization that Johnny is completely gone, most of their Night City friends and contacts have moved on from them, and their body can no longer handle any combat cyberware, leaving them vulnerable enough to be beaten by two street thugs and killing their chances at becoming a Night City legend. This ending is an utterly bleak gut-punch, but ultimately fitting for the narrative.

Helping Songbird escape and giving the cure over to her in "The Killing Moon" leads to unique loot and a more optimistic ending for the character, but it also means that V ends Phantom Liberty without the cure that they were promised, and doesn't provide a new overall ending to the game. On the other hand, while handing Songbird over does provide a new ending, that ending is bleak for almost every character involved, as V is left essentially without friends or a career, Johnny is seemingly entirely dead, and Songbird is back under the NUSA's control. For players who've already experienced Cyberpunk 2077's other endings, the latter option offers the most narratively but might still be hard to stomach.

Cyberpunk 2077

RPG

Action

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox One , Stadia , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X

Released

December 10, 2020

Developer(s)

CD Projekt Red

Publisher(s)

CD Projekt Red

Engine

REDengine 4

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol