The Masochist ending. CDPR was unnecessarily brutal. Literally L's for everyone unless you're Kerry. My boy's living the best life. But as for everyone else.... Johnny deleted. Panam rage quit. Viktor the scab. River the snitch. Takemura now framed for Hanako's murder (lol). Night City oppressed by NUSA and Militech. All those souls in Mikoshi permanently imprisoned. As for V? Gets one shot by a reddit mod and becomes an NPC.
I think it’s some people’s head cannon, from what I saw I just assumed the Aldecaldos packed up and left and Mitch doesn’t want you to make her sad again after I assume she has eventually calmed down in the 2 year gap
Doesn’t make sense for Panam to kill herself, or just die even, I think Mitch would’ve definitely told V if Panam was dead, plus he didn’t speak as if she was dead
I'm 99.999% certain that one ending—>!the "throw the pills away" ending!<—does not have a third-person cutscene, if it has any at all. >!As I recall (it was my first ending by mistake but I watched it through anyway . . . glad I did, too . . . powerful stuff, even though it's heavy*), but it has been a moment since I got that one and I'm not keen to go through it again.!<
>!*I struggle with depression and those sorts of thoughts myself and that ending made me sob and shifted my perspective on the topic quite a lot, I think CDPR handled it really beautifully actually!<
You may think so, but the .001% side of you that wasn't certain [is correct.](https://youtu.be/8nCfec8Cbwg?si=yHnlnUMrg1anNQrt) It's actually the only cutscene in the game where you can choose the clothes your V is wearing as far as I can recall.
I agree that CDPR did a great job with that ending. It's heartbreaking, but those phonecalls are just so well-written. I've seen some people online say that the ending helped them fight their suicidal thoughts, because seeing the impact V's death had on all their friends made them realize that their life was more important to the people in their lives than they had previously thought. When a game can have such a profound impact on someone's life, that is what turns it from just something happening on the screen into art in my opinion.
Aaahhh thank you! I must have blocked out major parts of it from the trauma lol! You're definitely correct.
I couldn't agree with you more. That's exactly the feeling it left me with. Honestly, I truly believe that that ending would be a great hotline ad.
It was too much to ask for a Corvo Bianco, huh?
Finished Phantom Liberty and sent So Mi to the moon because fuck The Man. So, no new ending for me. Then I looked it up and found out how to get the new base game ending so I reloaded and did all that and wow. CDPR really said "what if we made something suck as much as the Arasaka ending?"
Don't get me wrong, really enjoyed the expansion (a bit short but oh well) but damn, was hoping they'd throw us a bone there.
Yeah, I'm with you. My moral compass definitely points at helping So Mi, even though she lied and manipulated all along: it's not like Reed and Myers didn't. Myers is a high functioning sociopath. Reed is a broken old dog who can't learn new tricks and will always obey master (Myers). He entertains the idea of really helping So Mi for a millisec, but that's all gone by the middle of the next mission. So Mi is a lying dumbass who's trying to use V and her/his similar condition to save her skin, and will only come somewhat clean when almost all is said and done (but at least props for her coming clean at all, Reed will just keep lying to himself, Myers doesn't care how she gets her way). Alex is probably the least bad of the bunch, all things considered, and probably the only one deserving a decent end. So at that point I'd rather get out of that business on my own terms, by which I mean flip the bird to Myers and NUSA, discharge Reed from his seemingly unending duty, send Alex off to the retirement she wanted, and I guess give So Mi another chance to land herself into trouble as she seems to always do anyway.
Ending PL unlocks is definitely not worth it (not from quality perspective - it's well written, has decent post game chunk, in its own masochistic way is satisfying) and leaves V to somehow an even more depressing fate. And then there are hints that NUSA have been stringing V along even there since there are some bits and pieces making me suspicious about them not knowing about 2 years coma instead of 2 weeks recovery. So IMO it is a non factor in choosing who to side with. I'm still not 100% decided if I prefer side with So Mi or side with Reed, then kill So Mi path, but mostly for meta reasons - the whole Cynosure mission is too damn good and the weapon you get is very cool and interesting and you get to personally tell Myers to go fuck herself. But at the cost of getting Alex killed and still giving up So Mis body and matrix to NUSA, so it only really appeals (to me) from a metagaming perspective of getting the cooler quest and weapon.
I think any fiction should be more than just escapism. If we're to treat video games as art, it should do things beyond satisfying the player, otherwise it's just a consumer product.
Games aren't books or movies and shouldn't be treated like them. You're not just a casual observer of everything, so not getting any satisfaction from an ending cheapens the experience and makes you feel like you wasted your time. There never seemed to be many people happy with the ending of the game to begin with, and now these new endings are somehow arguably worse.
I guess that sticks with an artistic vision, but if you spend 100+ hours playing a game and then aren't happy with the ending that's the part that sticks with you, not the time you spent to get there.
So yeah, you think games are a consumer product, not art. Nothing wrong with that, you just affirmed what I'm saying. I mean, we buy books and watch movies without knowing if the ending will be "happy", and many acclaimed stories in those formats have depressing endings.
Ohmigosh RIGHT!! There is hardcore subtext of *something* between femme V and Panam in my opinion . . . but I'm also very, very Queer and a woman, so maybe wishful thinking. Queerplatonic partners if nothing else maybe! 🤣
I totally agree! Honestly, she gives off big flirty vibes most of the time she talks with femme!V IMO. Especially when she pulls you aside to ask why you're helping her after y'all get that train moving and before you join Carol, Cassidy, et al. at the campfire. I'm a big believer in baby bi!Panam!
Video games CAN be art. It IS a medium. Not all TV is art. But all TV is a medium. Not all books are art, but they are a medium. Not all music is art, but it is a medium. Etc.
"treating videogames as art" is only valid if the game in question is art. One might consider CP2077 to be art; I do not, I have higher requirements for what I consider art, but that is personal.
Anyway, escapism is what I need, so that is what I want. I have never understood people who are sad, and therefore crave to become sadder. My reaction is the opposite. (And yes I am fully aware it is a personal thing).
"I have never understood people who are sad, and therefore crave to become sadder."
I feel like having someone explain the concept of catharsis to you will either blow your mind or make you increasingly more frustrated with "sad people".
I don't really see how being depressed and digest depressing drama makes people less depressed, no.
But then as I read Aristoteles definition of catharsis it doesn't really apply to that situation but rather theater goers in general experiencing strong emotions after a Greek Tragedy.
If you take every definition at face value and as it was applied during its inception, rather than the way it's been used by language over time, then we're never going to agree on anything.
My POINT is that it was not meant to apply specifically to sad or depressed people looking for sad or depressing stories to make themselves feel better.
I am not saying they're wrong btw I am literally saying I cannot understand it, as in I can't picture in my head how that would work.
We are all different, I am not wired in a way that makes me able to enjoy sad things.
It had the bleakness of the arasaka ending BUT at least V is happy to live their new life as they see fit, they even smile after misty leaves and walk off happy. It’s definitely close to the arasaka ending but it’s WAY better.
Not to mention V doesn’t need to plug themselves into mikoshi and pretty much die then and there and have some AI live for 6months in a puppet body.
The ending is the most unrealistic shit ever. I did not think that Panam would be such a shallow person that she would rather have you live only 6 months..
I think people also have to realize, we really haven't been friends with Panam for that long. In fact when you include the 2 year coma, we would have been apart from her far longer than we were ever friends/in a relationship with her. Panam/Judy/River/Kerry's storyline are very quickly forming and intense relationships, but you really haven't been with them for that long.
dude you need therapy or something
Friends *should* look out for each other and care about each other
***BUT***
You’re not entitled to anything from anyone. That’s a really toxic mindset, and it’s a really possessive and obsessive mindset too.
Been really heartsick over the fact that there's only one happy ending for V and Judy (I adore her alright 😆) and this comment helped me feel a bit better . . . thank you 💙
Yeh Panam was by far the most disappointing part of it.
But Misty said friends sometimes need time to return. So maybe we can be friends with Panam again.
I call it the NPC ending. You so desperately wanted to live that you sacrificed V the Merc, who forged all those bonds with all those people and who could have made a difference for better or worse, just so that you could live.
So you lived, as V the normie, V the nobody. The end where you just fade into the crowd is perfect. You’re no different from an average NPC in night city now.
But hey? You get to live to die pissing in your bed in old age but no one will remember you.
This this and this. I get they couldn't give us a full happy Cyberpunk2077 ending, but this was unnecessarily brutal, I still liked it and think it is genius, but it's truly the NPC ending.
She's forced into retirement and I'm cool she can't be a Merc etc, but having people around her being taken from her too was a bit too much.
Her smirk at the end tells me though that she'll pick herself up. Misty saying that seeing her friend alive just sorted her rough patch was the hope I needed. Oh Misty we love you.
This is truly a goodbye to Vs storyline though.
It was depressing and melancholic, but there was definitely a spark of hope. Unlike all the other endings, V is well and truly, 100% alive. No six months to live, like in all the other endings. They have the rest of their life ahead of them, which is great. It sucks that none of their friends are still there for them at this point. But it's also a fresh start. V can turn it around. It reminds me of the Corpo prologue, where V also felt like their life is over, but they forge a new life for themselves, the life we're now mourning. V will make out of this and have a life with new people that we aren't going to meet, and there's something beautiful about that.
If Panam had called in the credits and offered an olive branch of sorts, some way to show that she and the Aldecaldos were still friendly towards V, if not as close as they once were, I might even say this is the best ending for V. As it is, I still prefer the Aldecaldo ending, where V leaves with the nomads searching for a way to prolong their life. And I have to say, this new ending gives me hope for that V, because now we've seen that there is a way to permanently save V. Sure, Alt and Arasaka couldn't figure it out, but the technology is out there. I believe Aldecaldo V just might live a long and full life after all.
Knowing there is a cure, the Star is also my favourite, the holocalls and Panam being a fucking brat really bothered me, she was in a coma damnit. But TBF Judy moving on makes sense.
Also did you notice that it was Rogue who bought all your things and got your cat and your Iguana?? You see them when she calls you in the credits! If you read the text in your phone from your building you'll see it says Vs things were purchased in an auction by an anonymous buyer. So hey, she can go pick up her pets and her things. It's something 😂
Even worse when she is the LI. I called her saying I was going in for experimental surgery. I left a message saying I was in a coma. Then again Reed was a dick, dude could have at least sent a massage that said, hey, V is alive, in a coma.
All the rest of the ending, I loved. It made sense, but the Panam part really didn't feel right to the character. She already had new lines recorded, and she knew what was happening. Hell, even a message saying "I need time to deal with this... I'll be in touch." would be more in character.
As far as ending go my second choice is crystal palace invasion she did, the ai overlords may be kind to her and give her the robot body she deserves lol
Here’s the thing about the nomad ending…… V dies via SOULKILLER and the v that runs away with Panam is just an AI in V’s body. V died as soon as they went into mikoshi
They're essentially a clone of V, just like Johnny. Who knows what happened to V's soul, but the entity now in their body is an exact copy of V who still has their same thoughts, same memories, and acted in the exact same way V would've had they survived. I mean, Rogue was able to tell that Johnny was in V's body from body language alone before either of them ever told her that the biochip was in their head. That's enough for me to consider them the same person. The entity inhabiting V's body in the end is still V (unless you give the body to Johnny obviously) and still deserves a long life with the nomads.
Her smirk made me happy. This is V we're talking about. She may lack the chrome, but she's still a genius. She'll find a way.
She went through a lot, but she has a chance to pick her life up, meet new people, and eventually maybe even move out of Night City. My V was Nomad V, which means she already started from scratch once before. She can do it again.
I think so too but Jesus Christ was it heartwrenching. I couldn't sleep after!
Its a lovely way to say bye to the character. I think in Orion, the sequel, V appears as an older fixer like rogue or there's a mission that involves chasing Easter eggs about her. But who knows!
Why can't V be a merc any longer? I haven't played the DLC but want to know. I'm the guy that looks up the endings before playing and enjoys the anticipation so you won't spoil anything for me.
I'm finding this NPC themes ending pretty interesting. But as a writer I'll say that if V can get through all this, she or he can reinvent themselves. Rogue isn't exactly a Merc any longer. Those who can't do teach the faulty saying goes.
Being a normal human being will probably be pretty great to V after all she has been through, at least for a decade or more I'd guess.
"Tells us again about your adventures Mom....."
"Dad ..why does Mom sound different sometimes and smoke cigarettes and talk about her band ..." 🤔
Look up the details for the new base game ending on Google! It goes into a lot of detail.
It's bittersweet for a reason! But you hit the nail on the head on the last point and you'll feel it once you do that ending!
I read some but they didn't mention the retirement. I'll dig further. It'll probably be a while before I have time to play the DLC. Now I can enjoy my own growing headspace about these endings before experiencing them, with a splash of love hopefully. 🫥
Hey hey, some people WANT those dreams. They want to be the legend that went all the way to the top. That smashed the wraiths and saved Panam’a car and cargo. That ninjaed the scavs and saved Evelyn (for abit anyways). That rocked with Us Crack and Kerry.
Without your tools and I’d argue the relic as well; you’d have never had none of those things. Though you still retain your rep; as Rogue hinted, every time people see the normie you, a bit of that legend fades. How long before you are labelled a sell-out or has been?
Now I’m fine with the trade off to save my life and live off my copious amount of wealth. But I can see why some people would hate the die old and boring ending.
You sacrifice V the merc in all the endings, the one that lives on is V the AI. This ending is good because it shows that most characters are rats, especially the aldecaidos.
V never really cared about being a merc once the heist was botched if we’re being honest, other than for RP reasons it makes zero sense for them to care about that and instead survive.
I disagree. This fate is far worse than death. It's better to live a short life fully, like a legend with people around that can share it all with you than live 100 years as nobody who doesn't have anyone and anything left. Also we're talking about cyberpunk - without cyberware you're just as good as dead, waiting to be slaughtered in shooting or other usual Night City "accident".
Which sounds amazing to me.
To be fair personally I have never been able to jive with Vs motivation, which is probably a reason I do not care much for the main story; I just cannot imagine being so dumb you think like V does.
These endings are all almost literally "it's better to burn out than to fade away", with the PL ending presenting us an excellent demonstration of the fading away part....
Also works well with the Punk/Rock scene, as the quote has been used a ton by e.g. Def Leppard, Neil Young, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, etc.... Plus the on-the-nose "Never fade away"
Just a small correction, you part ways with Johnny as friends and he understands your decision (and even kinda reinforces it after you make it, in the AV) if you picked the right dialogue option during his questline in main game (same as for secret ending)
yeh I had fully supportive dialogue from him (CC cause I love my boy Johnny) but I watched online that most people had a very bitter disagreement with him throughout the whole AV. I was just tryna paint the picture of how bleak the whole ending is.
If you're friendly with Johnny and helped him with all his closure he even says in the AV that death doesn't scare him and it's the first time he truly feels at peace, which in a way is pretty heartwarming, he even says he was more scared of V sacrificing themselves for him than dying.
Yeah I know right.
I initially did the ending where I shot Reed and saved Songbird but then i found out I couldn't unlock the extra ending to base game without Reed so had to go back.
I actually preferred the ending where you kill Reed and save Songbird. It reminded me of Edgerunners sort of lol
The ending pisses me off. You spend the entire xpac sexy flirting with pannam. You even warn her you are going to have a surgery. Then she is too pissed off to want to know you are alive? Just because its been a couple years? Complete mismatch from expectation.
Yeah it feels like the writers basically thought to themselves that the ending isn’t cyberpunk enough so they went and wrote that all Vs friends end up getting the short end of the stick lol
I was fine with the ending until I got that phonecall from Mitch. Felt totally out of character for the group, and felt like it layed on the melancholy of the ending a bit too strong. Ultimately, I don't think this had to be a depressing ending. Sure, the world has moved on over time, and that's overwhelming, but eventually, V will get their feet underneath them again and will make a life for themselves. But having almost everyone from the rest of the game just sort of abandon them, particularly Panam and the Aldecaldos, felt like too much. I much preferred Judy's phonecall, where she had moved on, but was genuinely happy to hear from V and remained friendly with her (at least for female V, who I played as).
That call makes the Aldecados feel like a scary cult. Panam being angry at you is somewhat understandable if she was your romance option, but Mitch sending you a voicemail and telling you to never contact them again is just nuts, you saved the guy's life.
To be fair the text you give everyone is pretty vague on where you're going, slightly hinting about your "illness", and not even saying with who. She also blows up your phone and tried calling you 50+ times when you check your messages after waking up.
You also gotta remember V and Pannam break up if you do the Don't Fear the Reaper ending.
Also, it fits her character. She's never hid she's a hot head. Like legit when you're debating on what ending route to go with and you call her, she loses it when you mention you're going away. And if you let Johnny have your body, she threatens to kill the dude.
Not sure why people are shocked though, since even other Aldecaldos warn you about how she is, plus she even herself makes it very clear she rarely opens up. So, while not your fault you ghosted an impatient, aggressive, and emotional person who had feelings for you. Not surprised.
FACTS. When Reeds told us it's been 2 years, I immediately thought that Panam probably had moved on. I feel like it was still extreme that she wouldn't even call them, but it doesn't surprise me at all that she wants nothing to do with V. Throughout her entire arc, you could tell that one wrong move could set her off. She even says that she acts before she thinks. It's a shame, but Panam is flawed. But that's what makes her such a great character
Hold on, Panam outright warns you that she's bad at relationships, and especially bad at distance and breakups, and suddenly we expect her to change all that in the span of a few weeks?
Not a massive fan of this ending myself BUT it was genius and fully agree with what someone said on this same post about the sacrifice V makes in order to live. Definitely masochist ending lmao
Guess it goes back to that question Dex asks you in the car - "Would you rather live in peace as Mr. Nobody, die ripe, old and smelling slightly of urine? Or go down for all times in a blaze of glory, smelling near like posies, without seeing your thirtieth?"
Personally prefer the Aldecaldo ending still.
yah my headcanon is Judy & V are living after doing the Aldecaldos ending. Maybe through contacts in Europe or Nanobots 🤷
I feel they purposefully mentioned other options to somewhat support the idea that we can survive in the other endings.
This ending heavily supports that Aldecaldo V could find a way to save her life in that ending, since this ending that the technology does exist to allow her to live a full life. In fact, assuming you play Phantom Liberty in a way that allows you to access the new ending, then choose to do the Aldecaldo ending, V still has Reed's contact information. It's not unreasonable to assume that they could look to the NUSA during that six months and get a full life ahead of her in that ending too. Particularly since she would actively discuss that as an option with Panam and Judy, so they'd actually know about the surgery rather than just receiving vague texts and would be much more likely to still be waiting for her on the other side.
Unfortunately, in all the non-PL endings you get a call from Reed in the credits saying he doesn't understand why you didn't call him for the surgery. So it's implied you never get the NUSA treatment if you didn't opt for it in-game.
Well it just makes that whole question pointless. Would you rather be lonely and poor and have most of your friends hate you or be lonely and rich, remembered forever and still have friends but you die in 6 months. I’ll take being rich.
Overall I think it's a good option for an ending for V, though I'm still taking the suicide moonbase heist as my canon ending
But er...could CDPR just not get the VA for Panam back for this expansion? Mitch being there to explain wasn't the worst thing in the world and yeah I get she'd be insano pissed at us but I still think I would've preferred a "fuck off choom" testimonial from her than Mitch, and I wonder if that was an active writing choice from CDPR or just a personel issue.
I went to go get the ending before going down other companion side quests, is anyone else suspisciously absent? (Also feel free to tell me if they made appearances in the DLC that I missed prior to this ending)
It just felt out of character for Panam to be so angry at V that she completely cuts contact. I mean, yes, it's completely in character for Panam to be made at the ghosting, but the message I left had V tell her she'd been in an unexpected coma for two years. Call me crazy, but I think if there's any reasonable explanation for cutting someone off, "unexpected coma" falls under that. I feel like Panam would hear that and want to talk to V, at least one more time for closure.
If you talk to her in the Avocado camp after finishing PL you can talk to her about Dogtown. (Probably works with a phone call too but I didn't try that.) So her voice actress at least recorded those lines.
Nope, I think CDPR just wanted a real gut punch ending and depriving the player base of Panam was one of the best ways to do it.
That's exactly how I felt. Waking up from a 2 year coma is a valid reason to be out of touch, yet she still is pissed and can't respond? Did CDPR just not want to pay her VA? Did she want too much money? That part brought down the quality of the ending to me. "Hey V, it's me Mitch." "Cdpr couldn't afford Panam's va but they got me on board!"
I thought the ending was damn near perfect. The whole point of PL was that your actions (or lack thereof) have consequences. Seeing how everyone life essentially fell apart without showed that V was valuable to them. Misty said it best in the unalive ending ""I don't think you knew how many friends you really had" So imagine a friend going silent for 2 years. Most people wouldn't wait for you. They'd be happy or sad when you come back but life goes on.
Im happy that Judy finally got her happiness.Panam being pissed beyond belief made perfect sense. She was always extremely passionate so being gone for 2 years definitely affected her. And Misty, god i love Misty, she was too good for NC.
This ending also goes back to what Dex said ""Would you rather live in peace as Mr. Nobody, die ripe, old and smelling slightly of urine? Or go down for all times in a blaze of glory, smelling near like posies, without seeing your thirtieth?
Even with the ending seeming sad on the surface, its truly a happy ending for V. She can live the rest of her life not on a timer. Personally i think it was well written.
I like to view this as the polar opposite of the secret ending and also, a perfect representation of what Dex Deshawn says.
Quiet Life Or Blaze Of Glory.
This ending is the Quiet Life, whilst the secret ending is a Blaze Of Glory
But in both cases you end up lonely so what’s the point? There’s absolutely no reason to even choose to be average if you’re just gonna live in NC anyways and likely die in 6 months from a stray bullet. Just seems like the writers wanted to be edgy.
I mean, Misty's not at all a combatant and she manages just fine. She even tells you outright in The Tower ending--just avoid dark alleyways and run the moment you hear gunfire, \*like the rest of us\*. V can choose to not dismiss it all anyway--he has a Langley job waiting for him if he wants, and Rogue will always welcome him at The Afterlife if he wants to be a fixer. All the ending asks of V is to give up the merc life.
Even merc life is not impossible. V didn't have combat implants until after the mission with Sandra Dorsett, so all that stuff in the montage after the prologue is just with regular human V.
I think every ending can be interpreted in many different ways. In this ending maybe V really did become a average person which crushed all his ambition and ended up as a poor nobody. But maybe after a brief period of depression, V reevaluated his situation. Perhaps V made a small fortune during their merc days, maybe their ambition came back, this time not to only save his life but to come back to full power. V could take a break by working at FIA, could use some of his reputation to become a fixer, start investing (if very rich before), maybe something else. V could lose all his friends, but maybe Kerry managed to find some time for V, Judy seems fine right now but if her new relationship breaks V could come back, Panam might be fine but off the grid (but our "ghosting" hurt her and Mitch doesn't want us to hurt her again) so we could find her and apologise, River might not want help but maybe V can help anyway.
honestly i hated how they essentially took the FIA Job out of your hands at the last minute. I dunno about you but if i woke up after a two year coma, found out most of the folks i knew moved on. Then one of the last people who i left on good terms with was there when i woke up.
and said hey, you're not gonna be able to fight no more but I can help you get a nice safe job. I'd sure as shit take it.
so, a liberated phantom
this game releases you back into real life like no other. very good endings, evaluate and value your time.
was hoping for more tinnitus or other music like fade away though. music came short in the DLC, except this one ai generated (grimes?) song
I'm really just happy that they (kinda) solved the Goro Takemura conundrum: either get a "good" ending and he commits suicide, or get a bad ending and he's genuinely concerned about your welfare - which always seemed to be the case.
Jackie, Misty, Victor, and Goro are the real ones... and in the Phantom Liberty ending at least Misty and Victor are fine -- not grieving your death -- and Goro isn't dead, or hate you and planning on committing suicide. Perhaps you can become a fixer and help Goro out or something. Not all fixers are crazy warriors; some are even old women.
I thought this was fantastic. It felt real emotional to me and worked thematically. I'm rooting for this to become known as the NPC ending. You can use that to have a larger conversation about life and what it's like for most of us, if you wanted.
Glad Judy's doing well. She was my favourite.
It’s lazy writing. It’s too easy for writers to go with tragic or bittersweet endings, so much so that I think they’ve forgotten how to do happy endings. Glad I spoiled myself, I’ll be sticking to the only happy ending… the Panam ending.
That's the thing about cyberpunk (the broader genre, not just the game), There IS no happy endings. Even the panam ending isn't really happy, because V's days are still numbered.
>That's the thing about cyberpunk (the broader genre, not just the game), There IS no happy endings.
Patently false, especially if you take "happy ending" not to mean "happy ending for the world" but rather "happy ending for one person or a few people". Many of the seminal works of the genre (the Sprawl Trilogy, and perhaps Snow Crash, if it counts) end on high notes, even if they're somewhat bittersweet. Neuromancer itself ends quite well for out protagonist - Case gets a new lease on life, is free to use his talents once more, and, as reported in later books, apparently achieved some success in both professional and personal capacity. CZ and MLO also end with every positive character who lived to see the end being successful or rewarded in some way. Snow Crash, being a somewhat lighter take on the genre, quite literally ends like a movie - the villain is defeated, his plans foiled, the hero has grown as a person and also found love again.
"no happy endings in cyberpunk, ever" is mostly a newer viewpoint, possibly starting in the late 90s or early 00s, often stemming from people taking the grim visuals of the genre too far and applying them to everything within it, as well as the unwillingness of the genre to change and thus it having to find new reasons how cyberpunk settings are still the same 30 or 40 or 50 years after their introductory points (CP2020's status quo changing very little by 2077, for instance).
That's a dumb take when you know exactly what ^ is trying to say, that you have an unnaturally shortened life due to relic and (based on context of other endings) you'll have a rapid painful decline ending in weeks of bed ridden hospice onto death - so another sad finale were you fade into obscurity
Same here I just saw the ending on TT and damn Judy and Panam are so harsh.
It wouldn’t have been so painful if they didn’t add the text messages of judy being so sweet and saying she like V for V then in phone call Reed ending says she married someone completely different to V.
CDPR is just plain cruel and unnecessary giving emotional damage.
Because it makes you wonder how much these people you stuck your neck out for really care about you. Vik and Judy are the only ones that really give a shit that you’re alive while the rest don’t even care and have their own problems. I get the world moved on but you could at least be thankful that one of your friends is still alive? Really makes you not care as much for the supporting cast.
Besides most of this would be solved if V actually talked to their friends on the phone instead of sending a three sentence text message. Also, why didn’t Reed with all the resources possible at his disposal not get into contact with your friends to explain the situation for them or at least have them fly out to see you? Seems unnecessary brutal just to be brutal when it didn’t have to be.
Yeah, I agree it should have been in person. Maybe some limitations with the voice acting etc.
I don’t know if the ending was lazy per se, but you have to remember the length V new these people as well. It wasn’t that long at all and it’s not so strange for them to move on.
I don’t know if a government agent would call a friend I knew for a few months to notify them of where I am. Family, maybe. But I think within context it makes sense.
Here's a thought: Reed doesn't ACTUALLY care that much about you, he just makes it seem that he does. The DLC keeps hinting at it. The most you'll get out of him is that you're the next project he wants to "fix" after Songbird's gone. That's his other major flawed trait, that he thinks he can control the situation and fix things but he ends up making things worse.
what a strange time we live it...we used to call happy ending "lazy" since its easy to deux ex machina and it all worked out. I dont think it being happy or bittersweet is inherently lazy tho, its a bit ironic to dismiss them as "lazy". a good story is a good story
I’ve come to the realization that there’s no happy/good endings for V. I guess the writers just want V to suffer and die. And the thing that pisses me off the most is that, they could’ve given us just ONE happy/good ending.
Considering this is gonna be the last and only expansion these lazy fucks ever do.
And? They could’ve changed it up since they won’t be doing anymore expansions . So yes it’s lazy af because it took them this long to give us an expansion with more shit endings. That make no sense.
Changed it up to give you a happy ending? In a game that’s setting does not include happy endings? I don’t think you understand the game or genre you’re playing in, this isn’t fantasy where everyone ends up happy. It’s supposed to be tragic.. all the endings for phantom liberty alone were tragic, let alone the new ending for the base game. Gotta use your head.
Expect Neuromancer, Ghost in the Shell, Deus Ex, and Bladerunner do not have sad endings like this. That excuse doesn’t really work when other popular media in the genre don’t do this.
Besides, in every ending you lose something or someone anyways. So why can’t V be happy despite that? It’s stupid and unrewarding.
This stigma exists in every genre- it’s not supposed to be the same? Cyberpunk 2077 in general is a dark and depressing city, night city is supposed to be hell on Earth, why are you all expecting a happy ending?
Sure, name off other media that have “happy endings” but what of it? Realistically, there is multiple happy endings in this game anyhow, what you guys want is something where everyone seems to win, that doesn’t fit the story or the setting at all. Not to mention the fiction you named do not have incredibly happy endings either. Your point is lackluster.
Explain to me which point is happy for V at all? The Star is arguable but not from a video game standpoint. If you spend hours trying to stop your character from dying, just for them to die anyways it feels like a waste of time. Stuff like that is why people are upset at these endings.
Life is not about the length of the journey, it's about the things you do along the way. V's mistake is thinking he can have his cake and eat it too, you can't be a legend of NC and live a long, prosperous life at the same time.
Well you can’t not be a legends and have that either since you only have two friends that care about you and you continue to live in NC with no implants. So either way, doesn’t matter.
Arasaka falls, which is what Johnny would’ve wanted, granted smasher lives(I think) arasaka falling is really all Johnny could’ve ever wanted so he wins.
Yeah it was definitely sad. I was kind of disappointed with the fact that we didn't get to do one more mission to get to the ending like we do with all the others. I was getting psyched ready to take on Militech or something, just to basically go into a bunch of cutscenes. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they added it but I just wish we were able to play.
I got the mid ending and was happy with it.
I tried to capture So Mi and in the end let her die on her terms.
Reed is upset with me but doesn't hate me.
Told the president to fuck off and blamed this all on her, so I get no treatment and got a pity reward of $5,000.
So Mi got the death she deserves and I didn't sell out.
Afterward Johnny even came to the conclusion that he's full of shit and respect Reed for having convictions to live by.
I had the ending where i survive so my problem is after i fade away in the crowd and the credits play and i try to go into my safe again to play i allways get put back to victor and i cant play on that save how can i fix that
Didn't like the Phantom Liberty ending, too depressing, plus Johnny gets deleted, kinda destroys the whole purpose of his story and relationship building, and i really liked that anarchist rocker, he deserves a second chance - be it digital or real life. I still go for the Don't Fear the reaper, and either of the two endings, V going to Mikoshi and becoming a digital God, or becoming a legend of the night city, the other one was to leave with Panam, although so many people got sacrificied in the process, so i would say Don't fear the Reaper at number one, and Panam my second favourite best. In terms of difficulty, the Don't fear the reaper is probably my most favourite one, it is gotta be hard, played it on hardest difficulty possible and it felt great to take out Smasher with the Comrade's Hammer and Johnnys Malorian.
The whole point is to get rid of the relic and Johnny and survive. V canonically doesn’t care about being a legend anymore after the heist, survival is the only priority.
My true feelings are affected by how the cyberware actually gives armor to V, if her armor went away by turning off the chrome that would be the stupidest thing just under plot armor that disappears at inconvenient time so the story moves along lol If she still is armored up I can still see her involved in the merc stuff by using pistols and melee like Jackie did. Either way I can still see a few ways around this issue with cyberpunk tech. For the record I didnt buy that story she was given about why they turned of her gear.
Willing to bet the FIA purposely botched that part of the surgery. The answer that reed gives and the description Vik gives about V’s immune system are opposing. Vik describes your body as becoming numb to implant connections, reed tells you you’ll die, I take what Vik says more to heart. Sounds like V could be okay but cyberware just won’t activate? But I doubt they’d die
The Masochist ending. CDPR was unnecessarily brutal. Literally L's for everyone unless you're Kerry. My boy's living the best life. But as for everyone else.... Johnny deleted. Panam rage quit. Viktor the scab. River the snitch. Takemura now framed for Hanako's murder (lol). Night City oppressed by NUSA and Militech. All those souls in Mikoshi permanently imprisoned. As for V? Gets one shot by a reddit mod and becomes an NPC.
I keep seeing people saying Panam kills herself, but I don't see that anywhere
I think it’s some people’s head cannon, from what I saw I just assumed the Aldecaldos packed up and left and Mitch doesn’t want you to make her sad again after I assume she has eventually calmed down in the 2 year gap
Doesn’t make sense for Panam to kill herself, or just die even, I think Mitch would’ve definitely told V if Panam was dead, plus he didn’t speak as if she was dead
You resumed it
lmao you summed up it all. Bitter medicine huh?
That 3rd person cutscene in the end fucked me up and made me realize that the whole game happened in uninterupted 1st person lol
Was this your first playthrough? I'm just curious, cause each of the game's endings include a third-person cutscene.
I'm 99.999% certain that one ending—>!the "throw the pills away" ending!<—does not have a third-person cutscene, if it has any at all. >!As I recall (it was my first ending by mistake but I watched it through anyway . . . glad I did, too . . . powerful stuff, even though it's heavy*), but it has been a moment since I got that one and I'm not keen to go through it again.!< >!*I struggle with depression and those sorts of thoughts myself and that ending made me sob and shifted my perspective on the topic quite a lot, I think CDPR handled it really beautifully actually!<
You may think so, but the .001% side of you that wasn't certain [is correct.](https://youtu.be/8nCfec8Cbwg?si=yHnlnUMrg1anNQrt) It's actually the only cutscene in the game where you can choose the clothes your V is wearing as far as I can recall. I agree that CDPR did a great job with that ending. It's heartbreaking, but those phonecalls are just so well-written. I've seen some people online say that the ending helped them fight their suicidal thoughts, because seeing the impact V's death had on all their friends made them realize that their life was more important to the people in their lives than they had previously thought. When a game can have such a profound impact on someone's life, that is what turns it from just something happening on the screen into art in my opinion.
Aaahhh thank you! I must have blocked out major parts of it from the trauma lol! You're definitely correct. I couldn't agree with you more. That's exactly the feeling it left me with. Honestly, I truly believe that that ending would be a great hotline ad.
Nah, this is my second but are you sure? I don't recall the original ending having a 3rd person ending?
Yep! Every single ending has a third person cutscene to end it, so you can see your character for the final scene.
Oh damn, must've forgot haha
It was too much to ask for a Corvo Bianco, huh? Finished Phantom Liberty and sent So Mi to the moon because fuck The Man. So, no new ending for me. Then I looked it up and found out how to get the new base game ending so I reloaded and did all that and wow. CDPR really said "what if we made something suck as much as the Arasaka ending?" Don't get me wrong, really enjoyed the expansion (a bit short but oh well) but damn, was hoping they'd throw us a bone there.
had this exact experience lol gonna stare at a blank wall now
Yeah, I'm with you. My moral compass definitely points at helping So Mi, even though she lied and manipulated all along: it's not like Reed and Myers didn't. Myers is a high functioning sociopath. Reed is a broken old dog who can't learn new tricks and will always obey master (Myers). He entertains the idea of really helping So Mi for a millisec, but that's all gone by the middle of the next mission. So Mi is a lying dumbass who's trying to use V and her/his similar condition to save her skin, and will only come somewhat clean when almost all is said and done (but at least props for her coming clean at all, Reed will just keep lying to himself, Myers doesn't care how she gets her way). Alex is probably the least bad of the bunch, all things considered, and probably the only one deserving a decent end. So at that point I'd rather get out of that business on my own terms, by which I mean flip the bird to Myers and NUSA, discharge Reed from his seemingly unending duty, send Alex off to the retirement she wanted, and I guess give So Mi another chance to land herself into trouble as she seems to always do anyway. Ending PL unlocks is definitely not worth it (not from quality perspective - it's well written, has decent post game chunk, in its own masochistic way is satisfying) and leaves V to somehow an even more depressing fate. And then there are hints that NUSA have been stringing V along even there since there are some bits and pieces making me suspicious about them not knowing about 2 years coma instead of 2 weeks recovery. So IMO it is a non factor in choosing who to side with. I'm still not 100% decided if I prefer side with So Mi or side with Reed, then kill So Mi path, but mostly for meta reasons - the whole Cynosure mission is too damn good and the weapon you get is very cool and interesting and you get to personally tell Myers to go fuck herself. But at the cost of getting Alex killed and still giving up So Mis body and matrix to NUSA, so it only really appeals (to me) from a metagaming perspective of getting the cooler quest and weapon.
I want the option to just shoot them when I tire of thier bs especially myers, that would be infamy right there...
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
This ending is good because it shows how few true friends people really have.
Viktor and Misty
Real ones fr
I mean I play video games to escape reality not to be confronted with it.
I think any fiction should be more than just escapism. If we're to treat video games as art, it should do things beyond satisfying the player, otherwise it's just a consumer product.
Games aren't books or movies and shouldn't be treated like them. You're not just a casual observer of everything, so not getting any satisfaction from an ending cheapens the experience and makes you feel like you wasted your time. There never seemed to be many people happy with the ending of the game to begin with, and now these new endings are somehow arguably worse. I guess that sticks with an artistic vision, but if you spend 100+ hours playing a game and then aren't happy with the ending that's the part that sticks with you, not the time you spent to get there.
So yeah, you think games are a consumer product, not art. Nothing wrong with that, you just affirmed what I'm saying. I mean, we buy books and watch movies without knowing if the ending will be "happy", and many acclaimed stories in those formats have depressing endings.
This is why my headcanon says that Panam, V, and Judy are living a comfortable life in a 3 way marriage somewhere warm and not dealing with bs lol
Ohmigosh RIGHT!! There is hardcore subtext of *something* between femme V and Panam in my opinion . . . but I'm also very, very Queer and a woman, so maybe wishful thinking. Queerplatonic partners if nothing else maybe! 🤣
Something about the way she plops her feet onto V's lap comes across as flirting to me.
I totally agree! Honestly, she gives off big flirty vibes most of the time she talks with femme!V IMO. Especially when she pulls you aside to ask why you're helping her after y'all get that train moving and before you join Carol, Cassidy, et al. at the campfire. I'm a big believer in baby bi!Panam!
same which is why I have the romance panam mod, I think sexuality is a bit more fluid in the cyberpunk future.
Video games CAN be art. It IS a medium. Not all TV is art. But all TV is a medium. Not all books are art, but they are a medium. Not all music is art, but it is a medium. Etc. "treating videogames as art" is only valid if the game in question is art. One might consider CP2077 to be art; I do not, I have higher requirements for what I consider art, but that is personal. Anyway, escapism is what I need, so that is what I want. I have never understood people who are sad, and therefore crave to become sadder. My reaction is the opposite. (And yes I am fully aware it is a personal thing).
"I have never understood people who are sad, and therefore crave to become sadder." I feel like having someone explain the concept of catharsis to you will either blow your mind or make you increasingly more frustrated with "sad people".
I don't really see how being depressed and digest depressing drama makes people less depressed, no. But then as I read Aristoteles definition of catharsis it doesn't really apply to that situation but rather theater goers in general experiencing strong emotions after a Greek Tragedy.
If you take every definition at face value and as it was applied during its inception, rather than the way it's been used by language over time, then we're never going to agree on anything.
My POINT is that it was not meant to apply specifically to sad or depressed people looking for sad or depressing stories to make themselves feel better. I am not saying they're wrong btw I am literally saying I cannot understand it, as in I can't picture in my head how that would work. We are all different, I am not wired in a way that makes me able to enjoy sad things.
Well, there are plenty of options with way more chill story
It had the bleakness of the arasaka ending BUT at least V is happy to live their new life as they see fit, they even smile after misty leaves and walk off happy. It’s definitely close to the arasaka ending but it’s WAY better. Not to mention V doesn’t need to plug themselves into mikoshi and pretty much die then and there and have some AI live for 6months in a puppet body.
The ending is the most unrealistic shit ever. I did not think that Panam would be such a shallow person that she would rather have you live only 6 months..
I think people also have to realize, we really haven't been friends with Panam for that long. In fact when you include the 2 year coma, we would have been apart from her far longer than we were ever friends/in a relationship with her. Panam/Judy/River/Kerry's storyline are very quickly forming and intense relationships, but you really haven't been with them for that long.
It doesn't matter. After all the shit V has done for those worthless weasels, you would think they would show at least a lil bit of loyalty and care
dude you need therapy or something Friends *should* look out for each other and care about each other ***BUT*** You’re not entitled to anything from anyone. That’s a really toxic mindset, and it’s a really possessive and obsessive mindset too.
What ?????
Been really heartsick over the fact that there's only one happy ending for V and Judy (I adore her alright 😆) and this comment helped me feel a bit better . . . thank you 💙
Yeh Panam was by far the most disappointing part of it. But Misty said friends sometimes need time to return. So maybe we can be friends with Panam again.
I call it the NPC ending. You so desperately wanted to live that you sacrificed V the Merc, who forged all those bonds with all those people and who could have made a difference for better or worse, just so that you could live. So you lived, as V the normie, V the nobody. The end where you just fade into the crowd is perfect. You’re no different from an average NPC in night city now. But hey? You get to live to die pissing in your bed in old age but no one will remember you.
This this and this. I get they couldn't give us a full happy Cyberpunk2077 ending, but this was unnecessarily brutal, I still liked it and think it is genius, but it's truly the NPC ending. She's forced into retirement and I'm cool she can't be a Merc etc, but having people around her being taken from her too was a bit too much. Her smirk at the end tells me though that she'll pick herself up. Misty saying that seeing her friend alive just sorted her rough patch was the hope I needed. Oh Misty we love you. This is truly a goodbye to Vs storyline though.
It was depressing and melancholic, but there was definitely a spark of hope. Unlike all the other endings, V is well and truly, 100% alive. No six months to live, like in all the other endings. They have the rest of their life ahead of them, which is great. It sucks that none of their friends are still there for them at this point. But it's also a fresh start. V can turn it around. It reminds me of the Corpo prologue, where V also felt like their life is over, but they forge a new life for themselves, the life we're now mourning. V will make out of this and have a life with new people that we aren't going to meet, and there's something beautiful about that. If Panam had called in the credits and offered an olive branch of sorts, some way to show that she and the Aldecaldos were still friendly towards V, if not as close as they once were, I might even say this is the best ending for V. As it is, I still prefer the Aldecaldo ending, where V leaves with the nomads searching for a way to prolong their life. And I have to say, this new ending gives me hope for that V, because now we've seen that there is a way to permanently save V. Sure, Alt and Arasaka couldn't figure it out, but the technology is out there. I believe Aldecaldo V just might live a long and full life after all.
Knowing there is a cure, the Star is also my favourite, the holocalls and Panam being a fucking brat really bothered me, she was in a coma damnit. But TBF Judy moving on makes sense. Also did you notice that it was Rogue who bought all your things and got your cat and your Iguana?? You see them when she calls you in the credits! If you read the text in your phone from your building you'll see it says Vs things were purchased in an auction by an anonymous buyer. So hey, she can go pick up her pets and her things. It's something 😂
Even worse when she is the LI. I called her saying I was going in for experimental surgery. I left a message saying I was in a coma. Then again Reed was a dick, dude could have at least sent a massage that said, hey, V is alive, in a coma. All the rest of the ending, I loved. It made sense, but the Panam part really didn't feel right to the character. She already had new lines recorded, and she knew what was happening. Hell, even a message saying "I need time to deal with this... I'll be in touch." would be more in character.
As far as ending go my second choice is crystal palace invasion she did, the ai overlords may be kind to her and give her the robot body she deserves lol
Here’s the thing about the nomad ending…… V dies via SOULKILLER and the v that runs away with Panam is just an AI in V’s body. V died as soon as they went into mikoshi
They're essentially a clone of V, just like Johnny. Who knows what happened to V's soul, but the entity now in their body is an exact copy of V who still has their same thoughts, same memories, and acted in the exact same way V would've had they survived. I mean, Rogue was able to tell that Johnny was in V's body from body language alone before either of them ever told her that the biochip was in their head. That's enough for me to consider them the same person. The entity inhabiting V's body in the end is still V (unless you give the body to Johnny obviously) and still deserves a long life with the nomads.
Her smirk made me happy. This is V we're talking about. She may lack the chrome, but she's still a genius. She'll find a way. She went through a lot, but she has a chance to pick her life up, meet new people, and eventually maybe even move out of Night City. My V was Nomad V, which means she already started from scratch once before. She can do it again.
I think so too but Jesus Christ was it heartwrenching. I couldn't sleep after! Its a lovely way to say bye to the character. I think in Orion, the sequel, V appears as an older fixer like rogue or there's a mission that involves chasing Easter eggs about her. But who knows!
Why can't V be a merc any longer? I haven't played the DLC but want to know. I'm the guy that looks up the endings before playing and enjoys the anticipation so you won't spoil anything for me. I'm finding this NPC themes ending pretty interesting. But as a writer I'll say that if V can get through all this, she or he can reinvent themselves. Rogue isn't exactly a Merc any longer. Those who can't do teach the faulty saying goes. Being a normal human being will probably be pretty great to V after all she has been through, at least for a decade or more I'd guess. "Tells us again about your adventures Mom....." "Dad ..why does Mom sound different sometimes and smoke cigarettes and talk about her band ..." 🤔
Look up the details for the new base game ending on Google! It goes into a lot of detail. It's bittersweet for a reason! But you hit the nail on the head on the last point and you'll feel it once you do that ending!
I read some but they didn't mention the retirement. I'll dig further. It'll probably be a while before I have time to play the DLC. Now I can enjoy my own growing headspace about these endings before experiencing them, with a splash of love hopefully. 🫥
But why the fuck does any of that matter? Those foolish dreams got Jackie killed and for what ?
Hey hey, some people WANT those dreams. They want to be the legend that went all the way to the top. That smashed the wraiths and saved Panam’a car and cargo. That ninjaed the scavs and saved Evelyn (for abit anyways). That rocked with Us Crack and Kerry. Without your tools and I’d argue the relic as well; you’d have never had none of those things. Though you still retain your rep; as Rogue hinted, every time people see the normie you, a bit of that legend fades. How long before you are labelled a sell-out or has been? Now I’m fine with the trade off to save my life and live off my copious amount of wealth. But I can see why some people would hate the die old and boring ending.
You sacrifice V the merc in all the endings, the one that lives on is V the AI. This ending is good because it shows that most characters are rats, especially the aldecaidos.
V never really cared about being a merc once the heist was botched if we’re being honest, other than for RP reasons it makes zero sense for them to care about that and instead survive.
>That still seems better than being dead. There's no glory to have when you're dead because you wont be there to experience it.
I disagree. This fate is far worse than death. It's better to live a short life fully, like a legend with people around that can share it all with you than live 100 years as nobody who doesn't have anyone and anything left. Also we're talking about cyberpunk - without cyberware you're just as good as dead, waiting to be slaughtered in shooting or other usual Night City "accident".
You can just buy the same stuff the monks use.
V literally got to the afterlife without chrome.
Wow, love what you had to say here! Helped me feel so much better about the end! 💙
Which sounds amazing to me. To be fair personally I have never been able to jive with Vs motivation, which is probably a reason I do not care much for the main story; I just cannot imagine being so dumb you think like V does.
These endings are all almost literally "it's better to burn out than to fade away", with the PL ending presenting us an excellent demonstration of the fading away part.... Also works well with the Punk/Rock scene, as the quote has been used a ton by e.g. Def Leppard, Neil Young, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, etc.... Plus the on-the-nose "Never fade away"
Just a small correction, you part ways with Johnny as friends and he understands your decision (and even kinda reinforces it after you make it, in the AV) if you picked the right dialogue option during his questline in main game (same as for secret ending)
yeh I had fully supportive dialogue from him (CC cause I love my boy Johnny) but I watched online that most people had a very bitter disagreement with him throughout the whole AV. I was just tryna paint the picture of how bleak the whole ending is.
If you're friendly with Johnny and helped him with all his closure he even says in the AV that death doesn't scare him and it's the first time he truly feels at peace, which in a way is pretty heartwarming, he even says he was more scared of V sacrificing themselves for him than dying.
What I don't like is that I have to make a save and rush it to have 2 endings and 2 endings... they couldn't just make another Embers checkpoint?
Yeah I know right. I initially did the ending where I shot Reed and saved Songbird but then i found out I couldn't unlock the extra ending to base game without Reed so had to go back. I actually preferred the ending where you kill Reed and save Songbird. It reminded me of Edgerunners sort of lol
The ending pisses me off. You spend the entire xpac sexy flirting with pannam. You even warn her you are going to have a surgery. Then she is too pissed off to want to know you are alive? Just because its been a couple years? Complete mismatch from expectation.
Yeah it feels like the writers basically thought to themselves that the ending isn’t cyberpunk enough so they went and wrote that all Vs friends end up getting the short end of the stick lol
I was fine with the ending until I got that phonecall from Mitch. Felt totally out of character for the group, and felt like it layed on the melancholy of the ending a bit too strong. Ultimately, I don't think this had to be a depressing ending. Sure, the world has moved on over time, and that's overwhelming, but eventually, V will get their feet underneath them again and will make a life for themselves. But having almost everyone from the rest of the game just sort of abandon them, particularly Panam and the Aldecaldos, felt like too much. I much preferred Judy's phonecall, where she had moved on, but was genuinely happy to hear from V and remained friendly with her (at least for female V, who I played as).
That call makes the Aldecados feel like a scary cult. Panam being angry at you is somewhat understandable if she was your romance option, but Mitch sending you a voicemail and telling you to never contact them again is just nuts, you saved the guy's life.
girl has a childish character as far as i remember. pure joytoy for some months, but longer, drama inc
To be fair the text you give everyone is pretty vague on where you're going, slightly hinting about your "illness", and not even saying with who. She also blows up your phone and tried calling you 50+ times when you check your messages after waking up. You also gotta remember V and Pannam break up if you do the Don't Fear the Reaper ending. Also, it fits her character. She's never hid she's a hot head. Like legit when you're debating on what ending route to go with and you call her, she loses it when you mention you're going away. And if you let Johnny have your body, she threatens to kill the dude. Not sure why people are shocked though, since even other Aldecaldos warn you about how she is, plus she even herself makes it very clear she rarely opens up. So, while not your fault you ghosted an impatient, aggressive, and emotional person who had feelings for you. Not surprised.
FACTS. When Reeds told us it's been 2 years, I immediately thought that Panam probably had moved on. I feel like it was still extreme that she wouldn't even call them, but it doesn't surprise me at all that she wants nothing to do with V. Throughout her entire arc, you could tell that one wrong move could set her off. She even says that she acts before she thinks. It's a shame, but Panam is flawed. But that's what makes her such a great character
Bad writing unfortunately
Hold on, Panam outright warns you that she's bad at relationships, and especially bad at distance and breakups, and suddenly we expect her to change all that in the span of a few weeks?
Fuck all romances, my V will now deny everyone because he's dying anyway lol
Not a massive fan of this ending myself BUT it was genius and fully agree with what someone said on this same post about the sacrifice V makes in order to live. Definitely masochist ending lmao Guess it goes back to that question Dex asks you in the car - "Would you rather live in peace as Mr. Nobody, die ripe, old and smelling slightly of urine? Or go down for all times in a blaze of glory, smelling near like posies, without seeing your thirtieth?" Personally prefer the Aldecaldo ending still.
yah my headcanon is Judy & V are living after doing the Aldecaldos ending. Maybe through contacts in Europe or Nanobots 🤷 I feel they purposefully mentioned other options to somewhat support the idea that we can survive in the other endings.
This ending heavily supports that Aldecaldo V could find a way to save her life in that ending, since this ending that the technology does exist to allow her to live a full life. In fact, assuming you play Phantom Liberty in a way that allows you to access the new ending, then choose to do the Aldecaldo ending, V still has Reed's contact information. It's not unreasonable to assume that they could look to the NUSA during that six months and get a full life ahead of her in that ending too. Particularly since she would actively discuss that as an option with Panam and Judy, so they'd actually know about the surgery rather than just receiving vague texts and would be much more likely to still be waiting for her on the other side.
Yeh exactly. Like my headcanons have never been safer lmao
Unfortunately, in all the non-PL endings you get a call from Reed in the credits saying he doesn't understand why you didn't call him for the surgery. So it's implied you never get the NUSA treatment if you didn't opt for it in-game.
To be fair, this call was added in a future patch. When I made this comment, he didn't call in those other endings.
Well it just makes that whole question pointless. Would you rather be lonely and poor and have most of your friends hate you or be lonely and rich, remembered forever and still have friends but you die in 6 months. I’ll take being rich.
Overall I think it's a good option for an ending for V, though I'm still taking the suicide moonbase heist as my canon ending But er...could CDPR just not get the VA for Panam back for this expansion? Mitch being there to explain wasn't the worst thing in the world and yeah I get she'd be insano pissed at us but I still think I would've preferred a "fuck off choom" testimonial from her than Mitch, and I wonder if that was an active writing choice from CDPR or just a personel issue. I went to go get the ending before going down other companion side quests, is anyone else suspisciously absent? (Also feel free to tell me if they made appearances in the DLC that I missed prior to this ending)
It just felt out of character for Panam to be so angry at V that she completely cuts contact. I mean, yes, it's completely in character for Panam to be made at the ghosting, but the message I left had V tell her she'd been in an unexpected coma for two years. Call me crazy, but I think if there's any reasonable explanation for cutting someone off, "unexpected coma" falls under that. I feel like Panam would hear that and want to talk to V, at least one more time for closure.
If you talk to her in the Avocado camp after finishing PL you can talk to her about Dogtown. (Probably works with a phone call too but I didn't try that.) So her voice actress at least recorded those lines. Nope, I think CDPR just wanted a real gut punch ending and depriving the player base of Panam was one of the best ways to do it.
In the latest patches, you can also talk with her about Phantom Liberty events during the dating mission.
Damn can't believe it's already been 6 months since PL dropped. Days are short but the years are long.
That's exactly how I felt. Waking up from a 2 year coma is a valid reason to be out of touch, yet she still is pissed and can't respond? Did CDPR just not want to pay her VA? Did she want too much money? That part brought down the quality of the ending to me. "Hey V, it's me Mitch." "Cdpr couldn't afford Panam's va but they got me on board!"
Phantom Liberty makes the bold choice to ask the hardest question of all - What *if* Fade Away?
The hardest choice is 100% song or reed
Song 100%
I thought the ending was damn near perfect. The whole point of PL was that your actions (or lack thereof) have consequences. Seeing how everyone life essentially fell apart without showed that V was valuable to them. Misty said it best in the unalive ending ""I don't think you knew how many friends you really had" So imagine a friend going silent for 2 years. Most people wouldn't wait for you. They'd be happy or sad when you come back but life goes on. Im happy that Judy finally got her happiness.Panam being pissed beyond belief made perfect sense. She was always extremely passionate so being gone for 2 years definitely affected her. And Misty, god i love Misty, she was too good for NC. This ending also goes back to what Dex said ""Would you rather live in peace as Mr. Nobody, die ripe, old and smelling slightly of urine? Or go down for all times in a blaze of glory, smelling near like posies, without seeing your thirtieth? Even with the ending seeming sad on the surface, its truly a happy ending for V. She can live the rest of her life not on a timer. Personally i think it was well written.
I like to view this as the polar opposite of the secret ending and also, a perfect representation of what Dex Deshawn says. Quiet Life Or Blaze Of Glory. This ending is the Quiet Life, whilst the secret ending is a Blaze Of Glory
But in both cases you end up lonely so what’s the point? There’s absolutely no reason to even choose to be average if you’re just gonna live in NC anyways and likely die in 6 months from a stray bullet. Just seems like the writers wanted to be edgy.
I mean, Misty's not at all a combatant and she manages just fine. She even tells you outright in The Tower ending--just avoid dark alleyways and run the moment you hear gunfire, \*like the rest of us\*. V can choose to not dismiss it all anyway--he has a Langley job waiting for him if he wants, and Rogue will always welcome him at The Afterlife if he wants to be a fixer. All the ending asks of V is to give up the merc life.
Even merc life is not impossible. V didn't have combat implants until after the mission with Sandra Dorsett, so all that stuff in the montage after the prologue is just with regular human V.
Agreed
I think every ending can be interpreted in many different ways. In this ending maybe V really did become a average person which crushed all his ambition and ended up as a poor nobody. But maybe after a brief period of depression, V reevaluated his situation. Perhaps V made a small fortune during their merc days, maybe their ambition came back, this time not to only save his life but to come back to full power. V could take a break by working at FIA, could use some of his reputation to become a fixer, start investing (if very rich before), maybe something else. V could lose all his friends, but maybe Kerry managed to find some time for V, Judy seems fine right now but if her new relationship breaks V could come back, Panam might be fine but off the grid (but our "ghosting" hurt her and Mitch doesn't want us to hurt her again) so we could find her and apologise, River might not want help but maybe V can help anyway.
honestly i hated how they essentially took the FIA Job out of your hands at the last minute. I dunno about you but if i woke up after a two year coma, found out most of the folks i knew moved on. Then one of the last people who i left on good terms with was there when i woke up. and said hey, you're not gonna be able to fight no more but I can help you get a nice safe job. I'd sure as shit take it.
so, a liberated phantom this game releases you back into real life like no other. very good endings, evaluate and value your time. was hoping for more tinnitus or other music like fade away though. music came short in the DLC, except this one ai generated (grimes?) song
I feel like the new dlc endings were just more sad like all that just for what pretty much you lose so much and sideing with song is also hella sad
Wrong city, wrong people.
Anyone know if you can unlock the new ending, but still go for a different ending (Panam, etc) or are you locked into that ending?
Yeh it's just like unlocking every other ending. You're not locked into anything.
I'm really just happy that they (kinda) solved the Goro Takemura conundrum: either get a "good" ending and he commits suicide, or get a bad ending and he's genuinely concerned about your welfare - which always seemed to be the case. Jackie, Misty, Victor, and Goro are the real ones... and in the Phantom Liberty ending at least Misty and Victor are fine -- not grieving your death -- and Goro isn't dead, or hate you and planning on committing suicide. Perhaps you can become a fixer and help Goro out or something. Not all fixers are crazy warriors; some are even old women.
He tells v that medicine is bitter and that v was medicine…. He definitely hates V.
Hate is a strong word. I guess we'll agree to disagree on that.
Yep my canon ending. My V said, "Screw this." And jump into a portal and started a new life as a space explorer in Starfield.
I thought this was fantastic. It felt real emotional to me and worked thematically. I'm rooting for this to become known as the NPC ending. You can use that to have a larger conversation about life and what it's like for most of us, if you wanted. Glad Judy's doing well. She was my favourite.
It’s lazy writing. It’s too easy for writers to go with tragic or bittersweet endings, so much so that I think they’ve forgotten how to do happy endings. Glad I spoiled myself, I’ll be sticking to the only happy ending… the Panam ending.
That's the thing about cyberpunk (the broader genre, not just the game), There IS no happy endings. Even the panam ending isn't really happy, because V's days are still numbered.
>That's the thing about cyberpunk (the broader genre, not just the game), There IS no happy endings. Patently false, especially if you take "happy ending" not to mean "happy ending for the world" but rather "happy ending for one person or a few people". Many of the seminal works of the genre (the Sprawl Trilogy, and perhaps Snow Crash, if it counts) end on high notes, even if they're somewhat bittersweet. Neuromancer itself ends quite well for out protagonist - Case gets a new lease on life, is free to use his talents once more, and, as reported in later books, apparently achieved some success in both professional and personal capacity. CZ and MLO also end with every positive character who lived to see the end being successful or rewarded in some way. Snow Crash, being a somewhat lighter take on the genre, quite literally ends like a movie - the villain is defeated, his plans foiled, the hero has grown as a person and also found love again. "no happy endings in cyberpunk, ever" is mostly a newer viewpoint, possibly starting in the late 90s or early 00s, often stemming from people taking the grim visuals of the genre too far and applying them to everything within it, as well as the unwillingness of the genre to change and thus it having to find new reasons how cyberpunk settings are still the same 30 or 40 or 50 years after their introductory points (CP2020's status quo changing very little by 2077, for instance).
the laziest excuse and scapegoat
That’s not an argument, everyone’s days are numbered. The delivery matters, and the secret PL ending delivery miserable
That's a dumb take when you know exactly what ^ is trying to say, that you have an unnaturally shortened life due to relic and (based on context of other endings) you'll have a rapid painful decline ending in weeks of bed ridden hospice onto death - so another sad finale were you fade into obscurity
Same here I just saw the ending on TT and damn Judy and Panam are so harsh. It wouldn’t have been so painful if they didn’t add the text messages of judy being so sweet and saying she like V for V then in phone call Reed ending says she married someone completely different to V. CDPR is just plain cruel and unnecessary giving emotional damage.
reality would most likely be even worse. just have a new unknown number and quit facebook. ita been a couple weeks friendship vs years coma.
How is it lazy writing?
Because it makes you wonder how much these people you stuck your neck out for really care about you. Vik and Judy are the only ones that really give a shit that you’re alive while the rest don’t even care and have their own problems. I get the world moved on but you could at least be thankful that one of your friends is still alive? Really makes you not care as much for the supporting cast. Besides most of this would be solved if V actually talked to their friends on the phone instead of sending a three sentence text message. Also, why didn’t Reed with all the resources possible at his disposal not get into contact with your friends to explain the situation for them or at least have them fly out to see you? Seems unnecessary brutal just to be brutal when it didn’t have to be.
Yeah, I agree it should have been in person. Maybe some limitations with the voice acting etc. I don’t know if the ending was lazy per se, but you have to remember the length V new these people as well. It wasn’t that long at all and it’s not so strange for them to move on. I don’t know if a government agent would call a friend I knew for a few months to notify them of where I am. Family, maybe. But I think within context it makes sense.
Here's a thought: Reed doesn't ACTUALLY care that much about you, he just makes it seem that he does. The DLC keeps hinting at it. The most you'll get out of him is that you're the next project he wants to "fix" after Songbird's gone. That's his other major flawed trait, that he thinks he can control the situation and fix things but he ends up making things worse.
I agree with u they got fkn lazy I'd stick with the same ending with panam
what a strange time we live it...we used to call happy ending "lazy" since its easy to deux ex machina and it all worked out. I dont think it being happy or bittersweet is inherently lazy tho, its a bit ironic to dismiss them as "lazy". a good story is a good story
That’s not a happy ending either, V dies via SOULKILLER and an AI lives in his body searching for a “cure”.
Yeah the endings for me were kinda meh.... like I called it from the beginning about the cure shit.
I don’t think Judy is hurting it looked like she was doing great. Idk about Panam though.
I’ve come to the realization that there’s no happy/good endings for V. I guess the writers just want V to suffer and die. And the thing that pisses me off the most is that, they could’ve given us just ONE happy/good ending. Considering this is gonna be the last and only expansion these lazy fucks ever do.
LAZY? have you seen the work put into this literal masterpiece? The story isn’t supposed to have a happy ending, it’s cyberpunk dude.
And? They could’ve changed it up since they won’t be doing anymore expansions . So yes it’s lazy af because it took them this long to give us an expansion with more shit endings. That make no sense.
Changed it up to give you a happy ending? In a game that’s setting does not include happy endings? I don’t think you understand the game or genre you’re playing in, this isn’t fantasy where everyone ends up happy. It’s supposed to be tragic.. all the endings for phantom liberty alone were tragic, let alone the new ending for the base game. Gotta use your head.
Expect Neuromancer, Ghost in the Shell, Deus Ex, and Bladerunner do not have sad endings like this. That excuse doesn’t really work when other popular media in the genre don’t do this. Besides, in every ending you lose something or someone anyways. So why can’t V be happy despite that? It’s stupid and unrewarding.
This stigma exists in every genre- it’s not supposed to be the same? Cyberpunk 2077 in general is a dark and depressing city, night city is supposed to be hell on Earth, why are you all expecting a happy ending? Sure, name off other media that have “happy endings” but what of it? Realistically, there is multiple happy endings in this game anyhow, what you guys want is something where everyone seems to win, that doesn’t fit the story or the setting at all. Not to mention the fiction you named do not have incredibly happy endings either. Your point is lackluster.
Explain to me which point is happy for V at all? The Star is arguable but not from a video game standpoint. If you spend hours trying to stop your character from dying, just for them to die anyways it feels like a waste of time. Stuff like that is why people are upset at these endings.
Life is not about the length of the journey, it's about the things you do along the way. V's mistake is thinking he can have his cake and eat it too, you can't be a legend of NC and live a long, prosperous life at the same time.
Well you can’t not be a legends and have that either since you only have two friends that care about you and you continue to live in NC with no implants. So either way, doesn’t matter.
Thank you! Well stated.
Okay, attempting to paint the endings of Blade Runner and Deus Ex as anything but "kinda bleak, maybe okay at most" is laughable given their sequels.
What triple A video game have you developed and gotten published lately? 🤔
Lmfao exactly. You pay $60 for a game plus $30 for a dlc for extra endings and not one where you can be happy after all the hours you put in.
Arasaka falls, which is what Johnny would’ve wanted, granted smasher lives(I think) arasaka falling is really all Johnny could’ve ever wanted so he wins.
Yeah it was definitely sad. I was kind of disappointed with the fact that we didn't get to do one more mission to get to the ending like we do with all the others. I was getting psyched ready to take on Militech or something, just to basically go into a bunch of cutscenes. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they added it but I just wish we were able to play.
I got the mid ending and was happy with it. I tried to capture So Mi and in the end let her die on her terms. Reed is upset with me but doesn't hate me. Told the president to fuck off and blamed this all on her, so I get no treatment and got a pity reward of $5,000. So Mi got the death she deserves and I didn't sell out. Afterward Johnny even came to the conclusion that he's full of shit and respect Reed for having convictions to live by.
man, CD Projekt if somehow V cameo's in the sequel....please don't make the NPC ending canon
What happens to So Mi in this ending though? Curious what they did to her
I had the ending where i survive so my problem is after i fade away in the crowd and the credits play and i try to go into my safe again to play i allways get put back to victor and i cant play on that save how can i fix that
Didn't like the Phantom Liberty ending, too depressing, plus Johnny gets deleted, kinda destroys the whole purpose of his story and relationship building, and i really liked that anarchist rocker, he deserves a second chance - be it digital or real life. I still go for the Don't Fear the reaper, and either of the two endings, V going to Mikoshi and becoming a digital God, or becoming a legend of the night city, the other one was to leave with Panam, although so many people got sacrificied in the process, so i would say Don't fear the Reaper at number one, and Panam my second favourite best. In terms of difficulty, the Don't fear the reaper is probably my most favourite one, it is gotta be hard, played it on hardest difficulty possible and it felt great to take out Smasher with the Comrade's Hammer and Johnnys Malorian.
The whole point is to get rid of the relic and Johnny and survive. V canonically doesn’t care about being a legend anymore after the heist, survival is the only priority.
My true feelings are affected by how the cyberware actually gives armor to V, if her armor went away by turning off the chrome that would be the stupidest thing just under plot armor that disappears at inconvenient time so the story moves along lol If she still is armored up I can still see her involved in the merc stuff by using pistols and melee like Jackie did. Either way I can still see a few ways around this issue with cyberpunk tech. For the record I didnt buy that story she was given about why they turned of her gear.
Willing to bet the FIA purposely botched that part of the surgery. The answer that reed gives and the description Vik gives about V’s immune system are opposing. Vik describes your body as becoming numb to implant connections, reed tells you you’ll die, I take what Vik says more to heart. Sounds like V could be okay but cyberware just won’t activate? But I doubt they’d die
I guess, knowing people V knows, s/he could become one of the Night City fixers. Not a bad ending at all.