Two Years On, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's Edgerunners Memorials Still Wreck Me

It’s 2026, and I’m still wandering the rain-slicked streets of Night City like it’s my second home. Cyberpunk 2077 has been through a redemption arc wilder than anything Hollywood could script, and the Phantom Liberty expansion — now a couple of years old — remains the crown jewel of that comeback. I fired up the game last week just to soak in the atmosphere, maybe knock over a few scav dens, and boy, was I in for a treat. I stumbled back into the Columbarium in North Oak, and right there, I felt that familiar gut punch all over again. CD Projekt Red didn’t just sprinkle a few Easter eggs for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners fans; they built a quiet, heartbreaking shrine that still gets me every single time.

I’ve got to hand it to the devs — when they pay tribute, they go all in. The anime took home Anime of the Year back in 2023, and its gritty, no-plot-armor storytelling left an entire fanbase emotionally shredded. You don’t just watch Edgerunners; you carry it around like a bruise. So it’s no shocker that Phantom Liberty wove the crew’s legacy directly into Night City’s DNA. And the centerpiece? A row of holographic memorials in the Columbarium, placed by Lucy, the sole survivor. Talk about a love letter that also rips your heart out.

Let me walk you through it, because I need you to understand why I spent ten minutes just standing there, controller idle, staring at the screen. The niche for Rebecca is flanked by her signature headpiece and a pair of shotguns, one of which you can actually track down on the map if you’re the treasure-hunting type. The Edgerunner insignia glows softly above her, and if you’ve seen the show, you know exactly why that insignia now feels heavier than a brick. To the left, a shared plaque honors Pilar, Dorio, and Maine — the muscle and madness that first pulled David Martinez into the life. Lucy’s message on their marker reads, “You were the only family I ever had.” I’m not crying; you’re crying. (Okay, fine, we’re both crying.)

David himself gets his own spotlight, naturally. His holograph displays the same Edgerunner emblem alongside the infamous Sandevistan implant — the piece of chrome that launched a thousand daydreams about slowing time. And right beneath his memorial rests the marker for his mother, Gloria. She wasn’t crew, but Lucy made sure she stayed close to her son. That detail alone tells you everything about how carefully CD Projekt Red handled this crossover. It’s not fan service for the sake of a cheap pop; it’s world-building that respects the weight of the story Netflix told.

But the Easter eggs don’t stop at the Columbarium. Oh no, they’re dotted all over the city like little scars that refuse to fade. David’s Santo Domingo apartment? The layout is a dead ringer for V’s own Japantown pad — same cramped corners, same sense of exhausted survival. You can visit the Ripper Doc shop in Arroyo District that patched up the crew, though the doc has long since cleared out, leaving only ghosts and old magazines behind. Then there are the bars: Jacked and Coke, Turbo, Totentanz — each one a neon-soaked memory from the anime’s run. And if you’ve got a sharp eye, you’ll spot fleeting recreations of key scenes, like a certain alleyway confrontation or the quiet moments that punched just as hard as the action.

One reference, though, lives rent-free in my head. The anime had a habit of ending episodes with Lucy gazing up at the moon, a symbol of her impossible dream to escape Night City. Phantom Liberty snuck that image into the moon tarot card, and the first time I drew it, I actually said “whoa” out loud to an empty room. That’s the power of good narrative design — it connects dots across mediums and makes you feel like you’re sharing a secret language with the creators.

It’s wild to think how far this franchise has come. A launch so bumpy it became an industry cautionary tale, and now here we are in 2026, still peeling back layers of a DLC that feels more alive than most full-price games. The Edgerunners content in Phantom Liberty isn’t just a nod to a popular anime; it’s a permanent scar on the map, a reminder that Night City doesn’t do happy endings. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Next time you’re cruising through Westbrook, do yourself a favor — swing by the Columbarium, read every plaque, and then just… sit with it. You’ll understand why, two years later, this is still the stuff I can’t shut up about.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. If you’ve been sleeping on it, consider this your wake-up call, choom.

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