Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is filled with plenty of memorable sequences, but if there’s a boss fight that doesn’t fail to impress is the Chimera boss fight, which is unlike anything found in both the base game and the expansion. What makes this epic boss fight even better is the amazing sound production, which was handled by Sound Lab in collaboration with CD Projekt Red internal team.
We recently had the chance to have a quick chat about the Chimera boss fight as well as a few other topics with Masanobu ‘Tomi’ Tomita, Senior Supervising Sound Designer, and Gabriel Acosta, Sound Designer at Sound Lab. You can find the full Q&A below.
Cyberpunk 2077 had an already established audiovisual element before the release of
the Phantom Liberty expansion. How did the collaboration with Sound Lab come about,
and what were its main goals?
Masanobu ‘Tomi’ Tomita – The Audio Director that was at CD Projekt Red at the time and I had
worked together for many years, on multiple projects across several different studios. He was
excited to recommend Sound Lab as a partner for Phantom Liberty, as he felt we had the
potential to be a good match for the project. We met and discussed the audio needs with the
amazing internal team of Lead Sound Designer, Krzystof Popiel and Audio Producer, Joanna
Frankowska. The goal was to support the internal team and incorporate fresh sounds and
ideas. After a couple of meetings, tossing around concepts and talking through creative
approaches, we moved forward. I believe it was the first time that CD Projekt Red has
incorporated an audio outsource provider for sound design into their workflow, so it was a bit
of an experiment for them. It was an honor to work on such an iconic title and with such
fantastically talented and nice people.
The Chimera boss fight is among the most unique combat scenarios in the entire game
and I think it’s made even better by the sound production, which is markedly different
from anything in the base game. How did you approach creating sounds for this
confrontation? Were you inspired by other games or media in general?
Tomi – As sound designers, we find our inspiration from the visuals. The Chimera boss was such
an awesome looking beast… it brought all kinds of ideas into my head. I designed Chimera to be
inorganic but at the same time “human” enough to be frightening. For inspiration, I looked at
machines like the Terminator T-1000, which aim for relentless attacks.
Gabriel Acosta – That sequence was just about big sound. Fun, booming action and intense
explosions. That’s was really fun for me to design.
Sound Lab also worked on sound design for two Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
guns, a rocket launcher and a helicopter. Can you tell us why you have worked specifically
on these and how you feel they stand out from the general sound design of the
expansion?
Tomi – Krzystof, as the Audio Lead on the project, assigned us the components he wanted us to
work on. I hope that the sounds that we created for the guns, rocket launcher and helicopter
actually blend with and match the overall aesthetic of the whole expansion. Our job in supporting the internal sound team is to make sure we understand the legacy and theme of the
brand and then bring our own little bit of flair to the table. I like to work on my initial design
and then take a break. I come back later with fresh ears and focus on adding detail and clarity
so the important sounds can really cut through. For each of the sounds that I created, I was
conscious of mixing realistic sounds with imaginary sounds, and my goal was to make them
seem normal at first glance/listen but make you think, “Oh, there is something really different
and sort of cool happening there.
Thanks for your time!
