You’re crouched behind a server rack. Your heart is actually pounding in your ears, not because of some scripted jump scare, but because you know that if that red light sweeps over your cover, it’s game over. There is no shooting your way out of this. No Sandevistan speed-runs. No Quickhacks. In a game where you usually feel like a neon-soaked god, Cyberpunk 2077 Somewhat Damaged strips every bit of power away from you and turns the experience into a pure, unadulterated slasher flick.
Honestly, it caught most players completely off guard. You spend dozens of hours in Phantom Liberty playing a high-stakes spy thriller, and then, depending on one pivotal choice with Songbird, the genre shifts. It's jarring. It's stressful.
It is, quite frankly, a masterpiece of level design that most people weren't ready for.
The Moment the Game Changes
If you chose to help Reed capture Songbird during "Firestarter," you ended up here. Deep under Night City. In the bowels of a Cynosure facility that looks like it was designed by H.R. Giger on a bad trip. This isn't just another dungeon crawl; it’s a desperate hunt through a graveyard of Old Net technology.
The stakes are personal. You’re chasing So Mi, who is literally falling apart, being consumed by the Blackwall. But you aren't the hunter. Not really. You are the prey. The Cerberus—a massive, multi-legged maintenance robot possessed by an AI from beyond the Blackwall—is the thing that haunts "Somewhat Damaged." It’s relentless. It’s loud. It makes this metallic, screeching sound that tells you exactly how screwed you are if you're out of position.
Most Cyberpunk missions are about the "power fantasy." You have the best chrome. You have the legendary Tier 5+ weapons. Then, the game drops you into a basement and says, "Run." It’s a bold move from CD Projekt Red. They basically took the DNA of Alien: Isolation and grafted it onto an RPG.
Why the Cerberus Works (and Why It’s Terrifying)
The Cerberus isn't just a boss with a health bar. In fact, for 90% of the mission, it doesn't even have one. You can’t hurt it. If it catches you, the animation is brutal—a mechanical spike through the chest, a cold digital eye staring into yours, and then a reload screen.
- Sound Design: You hear it through the vents. You hear the floorboards (or metal plating) groan under its weight.
- The Red Light: It’s a classic trope, but the sweeping red scanner light creates a genuine sense of "if I move, I die."
- Isolation: Your contact with the outside world is severed. It’s just you, a dying Songbird, and a machine that doesn't understand mercy.
V’s internal monologue changes here too. You can feel the desperation. This mission forces you to use the environment in a way the rest of the game rarely does. You aren't looking for flanking positions; you’re looking for a box big enough to hide your head.
Navigating the Cynosure Facility Without Losing Your Mind
The layout of the Cynosure facility in Cyberpunk 2077 Somewhat Damaged is a labyrinth. It’s divided into several sectors—Data Prototyping, Neural Network, and Core Control. Each one requires you to perform some kind of technical task while the Cerberus stalks the halls.
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It’s easy to get lost. Really easy.
The game wants you to feel disoriented. You’re looking for terminals, trying to override security locks, all while keeping one eye on the door. One of the most intense segments involves the "Map Sector." You have to sneak past the bot to initialize four different terminals. If you sprint, you're dead. If you double-jump, you’re dead. You have to move like a ghost.
The Technical Puzzles
You’ll encounter the Alpha, Bravo, Gamma, and Delta terminals. It sounds simple on paper. It is a nightmare in practice.
I remember the first time I played this; I thought I could outrun the bot to the final terminal. I was wrong. The Cerberus has a "teleportation" logic that keeps it perpetually nearby. It’s not "cheating" in the traditional sense, but the AI is programmed to stay in your vicinity to maintain the tension. You have to learn its patrol patterns. You have to hide under desks. You have to wait.
Waiting is the hardest part for a Cyberpunk player. We’re used to 100 MPH action. Here, the game demands 0 MPH.
The Blackwall and the Lore Payoff
Why is this happening? Why is a maintenance bot acting like a demon from a horror movie?
The lore implications of Cyberpunk 2077 Somewhat Damaged are massive. We’ve heard about the Blackwall since the base game. We know it’s the "fence" keeping the rogue AIs out. But in this mission, we see what happens when that fence breaks.
Songbird is the vessel. She’s been tapping into the Old Net for years under Myers’ orders, and now the bill is due. The "Somewhat Damaged" title refers to her psyche, her body, and the world’s safety. As you progress, you find these "memory fragments." They are echoes of So Mi’s past—her life in Brooklyn, her recruitment by Reed, her first taste of the Blackwall.
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Understanding So Mi's Desperation
These flashbacks aren't just filler. They explain why she betrayed you (or why she’s so terrified of Reed). You see a young girl who just wanted to live her life, slowly turned into a weapon of mass destruction by the NUSA.
It makes the final choice in the core of the facility incredibly heavy. By the time you reach her, she’s plugged into the system, barely human anymore. She asks you for something that feels like a mercy, but it contradicts everything Reed wants.
Reed wants her alive. He wants to "save" her, though his version of saving looks a lot like a prison. Songbird just wants it to stop. The atmosphere of this mission—the darkness, the constant threat of the machine—perfectly mirrors her internal state. She is trapped in a metal nightmare, and so are you.
Tips for Surviving the Cerberus
If you're currently stuck or planning to jump back in, there are a few things that make this bearable.
- Don't rely on your optics. The Cerberus can scramble your HUD. Trust your ears. The directional audio in this game is top-tier; use it to pinpoint exactly which hallway the bot is clanking through.
- Crouch always. Don't even think about standing up. Your noise level is the primary way the AI finds you.
- Flashlights are your enemy. If you have a mod that adds light or if you're using certain perks, be careful. Shadows are your best friend.
- The "Safe" Zones: There are certain rooms—usually the ones with the terminals—where the bot can’t easily reach you until you interact with the objective. Use that time to breathe and plan your route.
It’s a trial of patience. If you try to play it like a standard FPS, you will die dozens of times. Treat it like a stealth-puzzle game.
The Emotional Gut-Punch of the Ending
When you finally reach the core, the horror movie ends, and the tragedy begins. The confrontation with So Mi is quiet. After all that mechanical screaming and red light, the silence of the core is deafening.
You have a choice. You can fulfill her request, or you can hand her over to Reed.
There is no "happy" ending here. If you give her to Reed, she lives, but she’s a shell. If you kill her, you’ve stayed "loyal" to her final wish, but you’ve lost your only chance at a cure (or so you think). It’s one of the most ethically gray moments in the entire Cyberpunk universe.
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Why People Hate (and Love) This Mission
A lot of players complain about "Somewhat Damaged." I get it. If you built a character specifically for combat, having those skills rendered useless feels like a slap in the face. It’s a forced stealth section in a game that usually rewards multiple playstyles.
But from a narrative standpoint? It’s genius.
It forces the player to feel the same vulnerability that the NPCs in this world feel. We usually play as a "Legend of the Afterlife." In this basement, we’re just a person trying not to get crushed by a relic of a dead age. It puts the "punk" back in Cyberpunk—the struggle against overwhelming, uncaring systems.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you want the "best" outcome or just want to see everything this mission has to offer:
- Find the Erebus and Militech Canto Blueprints: This is the only place in the game to get these. They require "Cynosure Components" found within the facility. The Erebus is a Power SMG that literally talks to you and uses Blackwall energy to delete enemies. The Militech Canto is a Cyberdeck that allows you to use the "Blackwall Gateway" quickhack.
- Don't Skip the Memories: Take the time to walk into the blue-tinted memory zones. They provide the context needed to make the final choice feel earned rather than random.
- Check the Computers: There are emails and logs that explain exactly what Project Cynosure was. It’s some of the darkest lore in the game, involving experimental AI and the "DataKrash" that nearly destroyed the world.
The choice you make at the end of "Somewhat Damaged" determines which of the new endings for the base game you unlock. If you’re looking for the "Tower" ending—the one where V finally gets the surgery—you have to play your cards right here.
Ultimately, Cyberpunk 2077 Somewhat Damaged isn't just a mission. It’s a reminder that in the world of 2077, there are things far scarier than Arasaka or Adam Smasher. There are things behind the curtain of the Net that don't have names, don't have faces, and won't stop until they’ve reclaimed the physical world.
Getting through it is a rite of passage. Just remember to keep your head down and stay out of the red light.