Thanks to phantom liberty you can start to piece together mr blue eyes role. Between that, the peralez appearance, rhynes story, and what certain other characters related to the blackwall say it starts to paint a bigger picture for a sequal. and letting you piece it together instead of explicitly telling you feels so satisfying when it all comes together. Also one point you may have missed, Although some Aldecaldos die they get a lot of tech and become a lot more powerful, this solves their ongoing crisis where they are failing to find work and are looking to corps for help. The loot is the deciding factor on why Saul agrees to help.
Bonus that a certain person dies so that Panam gets escalated to full leader even though after that, she doesn't have enough time to visit you as much as she wants to. That is part of my head canon that V doesn't actually die in the Star ending, they have another 6 months to find an actual cure.
I really appreciate the Star ending because, even though it involves putting your friends in danger, it’s the only ending that challenges the hyper-individualism NC is built on. Instead of the focus on becoming a legend, it’s about leaning on your community for support. In that way it shows the most growth for V's character imo, especially a corpo V. It also works better as a continuation of going the Reed route but granting Songbirds request, than the Sun does. (although if you do go the Songbird route, I think Sun is more fitting) There’s also the issue of the Aldecaldos being on the brink of collapse, ready to go the way of the Bakkers, with Saul desperate enough to take the Biotechnica deal. The night before the raid, Saul makes it clear that the Aldecaldos aren’t just doing this for V, they need to do something bold and risky to stay strong and independent. In every other ending, they're still struggling, with no clear path forward.
Overall I think Corpo V ending up with the nomads is the strongest narrative arc possible in the game, i.e. what you mentioned, a successful rejection of the awful compulsions driving NC further into a dystopian hellscape, and the embracement of a superior - more human - alternative.
And despite putting your friends in danger, it really hammers home that, to them and the nomad culture, it was more of an insult to not call upon them. They go into the ordeal with open eyes, burning their own names into legend. Panam is not happy if you don't call upon her.
For my V it made more sense being a nomad himself. It was his whole life and when push comes to shove there's nobody like family to have your back. It's a lifestyle and culture for them, they know the risks and would do it all over again in a heartbeat for anyone in their family. Its such a beautiful game with such a great story behind it no matter how you look at it.
Two things: I prefer the Star ending if only because of Misty's tarot reading in the epilogue. As the credits roll, she calls and says she's done a tarot reading and, while it may not be as conclusive as she'd like without V being present, she did draw cards indicating a positive outcome for V. She says she thinks V will have a good life in the future. Given the prominence the game places on mysticism - and especially the tarot - I think we're intended to take this seriously. Another thing: I never felt a friendship with Johnny - not in the way I feel about V's other friends in the game. He' a rat and he knows it. He wants it that way. He's the kind of character that is my favorite in a story. He's the kind of person that you never know what he will choose to do or say. He can be good. He can be bad. That kind of moral ambiguity is really hard to pull off convincingly in a story, but I think they nailed it with Johnny. I hate him, but I hate him all the more when he does things I actually like, because he throws my moral compass off. I feel like I'm having trouble distinguishing between right and wrong. Vik said that would happen and the game actually makes you experience it, rather that just telling you about it. That's remarkable story telling.
Great list, you pretty much nailed what I thought as well Just gotta add one thing, though. As far as I know, Aldecaldo's need a big raid to sustain their clan anyways, so it isn't just for V.
@@GophersVids As I see it, over the course of the game, we probably saved a lot more Aldacados than died in the final mission. Those guys were a mess, until we showed up.
@@GophersVidsdid you know or have you seen, you can storm Arasaka with Goro, if you saved him after the parade? Not only that, if you spared Sandayu, he will also help out. You'll windup triple teaming Atom Smasher. Oh and you can alternately take Reed from PL with you as well to the tower. Obviously these endings, much like the others you talked about at the end of the vid, are just variations of another ending.. respectfully. That makes for something like 13'sh endings? I've only seen one other video about it. 😄 Edit Alternatively*
@@GophersVids I've got several hundred hours on Cyberpunk over the years, and honestly, I probably wouldn't be able to say exactly which one's Bob or Teddy... So they've never made an impression on me, ergo their sacrifice is very acceptable. ; -)
For me the Star ending is the best one. V only lives for about 6 months, but that's 6 months with a real genuine community, a family. And your romantic partner. It's 6 months of peace and happiness, and yes you lose many Aldercados, but that's a worthy price so you can all get away from Night City and live in peace in the Arizona desert. A sacrifice so the Aldercados as a community have a future away from corporations, away from night City.
Exactly. The Aldecaldos aren't simply 'friends', they're FAMILY. Refusing their willingness to risk everything for family is also in a way refusing that family and denying them agency. Instead of obsessing about fame and fortune, V embraces belonging and freedom. Best ending for me.
The devil ... while being soulcrushing ... is just SO damn good and brilliant in terms of story telling especially in a dystopian cyberpunk genre context. And the way you go about presenting it makes me just wanna play the game again to experience once more how the game basically slaps the biggest pair of dystopian balls in gaming on the table ...
That was the ending I got in the my first playthrough and, crushing as it was, it set a high bar that none of the other endings lived up to, in my opinion. I did NOT see the twist coming, although in retrospect it makes perfect sense.
For me the favourite is the Temperance ending via the secret path. I just like the idea (as a story) that in the whole game V is trying to find a way to survive, but in the end they just go through hell to give their lives to Johnny. I also like that in that ending Johnny seems to be actively trying to take care of things instead of being a destructive person like he was before through actions such as helping a kid to achieve his dream or the fact that he decides he is never going to smoke again because his body is V‘s gift to him and he will take care of it.
The Temperance ending is going to be my next playthrough, right now I am waiting for Reed to start the Tower ending. (My first time doing the Tower ending.) After Temperance on my next playthrough, I will be done except for the Easy Way Out which I will have to close my eyes and ears at the end as it's the last ending I haven't gotten to yet. ( To get the 100%)
Secret Ending is the best , because this all started with Jackie and V trying to become legends,what better way than this path ,in the Cyberpunk world just surviving Adam Smasher gets you legendary status , how epic is destroying entire Arasaka single handedly
Mike Pondsmith has said in the past (for the pen and paper game) that if the players are too successful, use of Smasher by the DM to annihilate the party is encouraged. Anyone who could defeat him is pretty much a legend by default.
Awesome video, Gopher! I agree with most of your takes, and im surprised to see someone else feeling the same way as me regarding The Star ending haha. I do disagree with your take on the Tower ending though, I don't think living as a "nobody" in Night City necessarily has to be a bad fate and its the only ending where V actually gets to live. Also, side note, did you know that the conversation with Johnny in the RV has two different versions? One is much more heartfelt and accepting than the other (same way to unlock as the secret ending).
V's mind on a new biochip would be the best ending, with that bio chip slowly overwriting V themselves. That way, V would would always fully survive. Even if it's just a copy of V, it's still V. Something Arasaka should easily be able to do.
I know it’s a lot of work, but I wish you made more videos that show and discuss interesting bits from the games you played. As I mostly play games through your playthroughs it is really valuable to hear more about the world and unexplored possibilities, especially from you! Great job and thanks for all the stories you tell!
So, pretty much agree with your placings and the justification. That being said, and maybe this is just me, but I always felt like there was one ending missing from the game based on some of the themes that game touches upon. One where Johnny and V merge for lack of a better term. One where the ending person isn't V but also isn't Johnny. Just someone else new entirely. Because I felt somewhere in Act 2, the game kind of starts asking the question - like when V starts smoking after the Evelyn rescue - at what point do you stop being V? Kind of like a Ship of Thesus question. Anyway, sorry for the rambles but it was a great video!
Agreed. I thought at the time that the Delamain quest was foreshadowing that. Yes you can side with one faction or the other, but the game seems to indicate that the best outcome was merging them and making something new.
Leaving a like and a comment to say I’m excited to check this video out after I’ve finished my next playthrough! Always enjoy when we can listen to your musings on themes and plot
Hi Gopher. Haven't posted in forever, here goes. I mostly agree with your choices. Here's my take. When I beat the game for the first time, I picked to go with Alt. Being in this city, seeing the depravity and it's ugliness. I thought, why stay here... nothing here for me. And I was in good standing with Johnny too. He tried to stop me, saying hey you fought for this why give up now. It was heartwarming. Since it was my 1st go, I completed every quest i think. People I met along the way were upset with me, understandably. Beyond the black wall. I get it, it's a big risk. Out there, behind the black wall, all I am is bits of unoptimized code. But looking at it now, knowing more about rogue agi's and Alt... I think there is no better way to enter that realm. On the other hand, Alt just might assimilate me, and repurpose me somehow. Ahh fuck it I thought, anything's better than that shit stain of a city. Pardon my french. So, that's my number 1. Number 2 is the secret ending. I got into that mess, I have to clean it up. If I die, I die. About Songbird. She made a mistake, she got a choice. I remember a friend of mine who instead of getting a choice got a bullet. To my understanding, she got off easy. At the matrix, where I had to make a choice Song or Reed. She said something that was the final straw. She said, these people will die so that we could live... This is how I see her story. She makes a mistake, Reed gives her a choice - work for us or we hand you over to NetWatch. She takes the pledge! (why?), it's not like they had a gun to her head. Abandons her friends. After awhile gets burned out. Betrays Reed. Sells Myers down the river, to try and get out. Betrays her former colleagues, the twins. And gets them killed. Betrays Hanson, he's dead now too. Amazing expansion, completed multiple times. Can't justify it to myself, siding with Songbird. She made that bed... Anyway, my 2 cents. Thanks for the content! Have a wonderful evening. =]
I think it's notable that the Devil ending is the default one, the one you get if you just pursue the cure to the exclusion of everything else. Cyberpunk 2077 is very much a game about coming to terms with your own mortality and the Devil ending represents I think a failure on V's part to deal with that. The Tower then is another twist on that. Personally I would put the Star and Temperance over Sun and Don't Fear the Reaper. For me personally it feels like in this one neither V (nor Johnny) actually learn from their experiences. They continue to chase the same dream that got them into this mess in the first place and don't realize that this dream is, well, bullshit. In a way you just become a cog in the machine in the utterly messed up world of Cyberpunk and Night City endlessly going on that "one last job" until you get zeroed by some gonk. This is why Panam leaves you behind.
I actually heard a joke the other day about an alternate ending to the movie Hook. Where Captain Hook wins the duel and sends Peter back to London in a body bag. It's a good joke, if a little dark, but it does require a dead Pan delivery.
Getting the cure is also a bad ending cuz Night City kinda represents a type of hell and being left without even the option for implants means not only do you fade away, not only is it giving up everything was about (being a legend), but you are also left at the mercy of basically everyone else in that hell even the most benign implant user, the most benign hacker with a child's starter cyberdeck ...
The Secret Ending where V lives is probably the most Jackie ending: becoming a living legend of Night City. But I think Secret Ending, Adam Smasher kill V is the one that should be canon. Its blaze of glory, but in the end "the [Corp] always wins" which is a good thing. I don't think V is supposed to be on the level of Johnny Silverhand, Morgan Blackhand, Spider Murphy, and Rogue combined, they're a merc. A pretty good one, and with a little help for their friends they can accomplish a lot, but at the end of the day they are not going to change the world, no cyberpunk character should, we are all just cogs in the machine
Gopher, if you have a great relationship with Johnny going into The Tower ending, the conversation is MUCH different. It stops just short of Johnny telling V that he loves them. An absolutely heartbreaking conversation.
I’ve discussed this at length with a friend of mine and while we both think the game is brilliant, we hate the fact that every single ending is so utterly depressing. I hear a lot of people say they are bitter sweet but none of them really have much sweetness to them. It kind of felt to me as though regardless of what I do in that game I lose in the end anyway, it’s just a matter of how I lose.
yeah at least for me "Hope" is the key that puts the star high on top for me, and now i guess the recontextualizing Phantom Liberty does to blue eyes now too. it's the reason i love World of darkness, sure you have a world where most people get senseless bad endings but there's always that light in the dark, that at the end of the day it's not nihilistic and it's possible for you to still drive off into the sun/moonlight leaving the elder vampire/crazed werewolf, evil techno wizard in flames.
I like the phantom liberty ending, but i have noticed alot of people get told off by johnny during it, in mine he was very for it, he was happy i was gonna live and encouraged me to see it thru. yea v couldnt be who he was, but the chance to be something else is atleast survival. for me it was a difference between v being a starry eyed kid...and realizing theres other paths in life than glory.
I love the DFTR. It solidifies V as the strongest character in Cyberpunk, and while you may break up with your lover, it makes V the definition of a legend.
I got the Temperance via secret ending my 2nd playthrough. I’ve never cried over a video game before, but that, that made multiple tears run down my face.
24:30 i actually like this a lot, this is really going out in a blaze of glory, taking as much Arasaka bastards with you as you can. Actual suicide mission, V does this to not risk any of your friends, and much more realistic than succesful version of that mission. That's all or nothing situation
I pretty much agree and for many of the same reasons. I admit that I also felt like we had a lot less control of our actions in the endings than I would have liked. We got to write V's story as we went, but in the end we were dictated to and I didn't exactly enjoy that. Having said that, I enjoyed and appreciated the endings that we got. I give CDPR credit for writing good endings even if they didn't go the way I thought they should have. One of the things I enjoy about RPGs over watching movies is getting to write the story for the character I'm playing, not having the ending dictated to me if I don't like it. ...but again, I get it and I don't fault them for it.
13:41 let me correct you on this one. Yes, i wouldn't want to risk their life either, but in that raid Aldecaldos steal a lot of Arasaka tech worth millions of dollars. It is the most successful raid in their history, despite the casualties. Before Mikoshi raid they were broke. They even mentioned that Saul was doing it not only for V, but for themselves as well
I honestly believe that this is not meant to be the end of V's story. And that's why the endings have this bittersweet taste to them. The endings, where V chooses to forgo his freedom in favour of somebody granting him a solution on their terms are the bad ones. But there are several endings, which are united in V deciding to continue kicking, not sacrificing his soul for a way out, and not letting anyone change who he is. I think these are the ones that will matter. The ones where V goes "No, I'm still standing. I will use what time I've got and will do it my way". Just as Skye/Angel told us.
Yeah, pretty much agree all round. Though haven't played Phantom Liberty it's more a coin-flip on whether Johnny or V keeps the body. Feels right that in V's fight for survival they don't drag their friends and loved ones down with them. And for gameplay, going in solo feels badass.
Each of the endings had some sense of finality, but were bleak in tone which is very fitting to the genre. I think some of the endings can have a different meaning for characters you've played as while the lifepaths are very limited they still gave some additional context for who your character was before the game starts. For my corpo character, the Devil ending made a lot of sense and was my favorite with my V betting on Arasaka again and getting himself burned for the last time. I like the choice with rejecting the deal more, especially that little moment when V was humming "Never Fade Away" and showing a middle finger to that doctor. There was a sense of defiance in it, even if the fight was already lost
I can't hear "fitting for the genre" anymore. No, it's not. At the end of Neuromancer, Case got his ability to jack in back, got rid of the toxin that forced him to comply, and got a load of cash on the bank. And while Molly leaves him, he finds a new girlfriend. At the end of Johnny Mnemonic, Johnny and Molly live together among the lo-teks and piece together some of the data he's carried in the past for good profit. (Yes, she "later" tells Case in Neuromancer that Johnny was eventually killed, but that's not part of THIS story but one in which Johnny isn't the protagonist). At the end of Hardwired, Sarah and Cowboy are left with no enemies and a very powerful new friend. Mike Pondsmith, creater of the TTRPG on which CP2077 is based, stated in a GM aid for CP2020 that Cyberpunk was about refusing to have your fate dictated by others or simply going by what the experts said but taking the future by the horns and making it yours.
One thing to keep in mind for the Star ending, this is not just the Aldacados putting themselves on the line to help V. This is them taking the opportunity to raise themselves from the rut they've been in while helping the new family member who has helped them reach the point they can do so. V presents a chance to attack Arasaka in a way that will allow success and escape, taking substantial resources with them. The rewards are great enough to make Saul, notoriously overcautious, to be on board. Good people die, of course, but all of them accept that the risk is worth the reward beyond the potential to help V.
Star is number one for me, simple because it actually made the most sense for my first Character because she was a Nomad. The only reason the Secret Ending didn't hit number one for me (it's number 2) is it felt like the City won. I didn't like that feeling... but it felt right. Oh and I gave Song Bird over to Reed after I found out she lied to me.
I've often felt like CDPR really gave us only one life path. We can start out as a corpo or a street kid, but whatever our choice, we're always pushed toward the Aldacados. I don't want to be an Aldacado. (Heck, even as a nomad, you start the game rejecting that lifestyle.) I love Night City, and I want to stay there (but not as some friendless schmo who can be robbed by a couple of street thugs). There should be a true corpo ending (ie - insiders or former corpos) and a true street kid ending. Given the choices, I prefer the Star ending, but I resent it.
I felt like they were pushing the Sun ending more. And I actually felt like they went out of their way to make the Star ending look unappealing. Even for a nomad V, I found that choice hard to make.
The Star hints that the company the Aldecaldos are planning on working with after leaving Night City are researching tech that could provide a cure for V. Another small detail that makes people consider it the best ending. The Aldecaldos needed to leave NC anyway, especially after launching an attack on Arasaka.
I went with 'The Star' ending before Phantom Liberty, and then 'The Tower' after with the same character. I don't really have much of an opinion on the other endings because I couldn't see myself ever picking them. Good to understand your thoughts better on your phantom liberty playthrough, Gopher. I had been hoping you would pick the tower, but now I can understand why you didn't, even though I don't agree. V getting to live a full lifespan is much more important IMO than going down as a cocktail in the afterlife bar. Plus Songbird lying to and manipulating V was gut wrenching to me, I had little problem with handing her over to the FIA after that betrayal.
Please take a look at the conversation with Johnny during the Tower having high relationship with him. I really felt like I had a good relationship with him, but having picked the "wrong" dialogue earlier gave me the bad conversation which really didnt align with the releationship we had up to this point and really soured that ending to the point I had to find a save editor to get the good conversation.
Would love for you to cover the Phantom Liberty endings as well. I’ve seen a lot of arguments to save S but I just cannot justify that in the end. I feel one ending is just the most appropriate for the theme of the game. An ending where no one gets what they wanted but gets what they deserved.” “A happy ending? For folks like us? Wrong city, wrong people.”
Does the Tower ending make the Devil one even worse in anyone else's opinion? I haven't thought on it too deeply yet but at first glance N.U.S.A being able to cure V probably means that Arasaka could have and deliberately chose not to/to imprison and experiment on V instead. The Star is still my personal favourite ending, but it does admittedly take some philosophy and optimism on my part to see it that way. I kinda see it as a representation that in life you have to sometimes lean on/trust the people you care about to also take care of you. Sometimes it goes bad and you or others get hurt but a life without ever really trusting that someone will care for you the way you do for them is probably not a fulfilling or happy one. My Star Ending V would give his life to protect the Aldecados, and they return the honour. I try to see the beauty in that instead of the sadness.
well, agree 100% with everything there gopher. for me it's: gameplay- secret for brutal story- the devil for feels - nomads & songbird def think mikoshi raid was also a risky opportunity to set up the aldecaldos, as well as help V. think they might have been very doomed otherwise tho and... keep trying not to, but keep falling for that darn songbird charm.
Hot take: My favorite Cyberpunk ending is the same as my favorite Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowind/Fallout ending: Getting bored of being OP and starting a new save to start fresh... and just "be" in the world and have fun. Main quest with great story? Do not need. Do not want.
I feel you on that one. It's the same in Red Dead Redemption 2. Play the game until about chapter 3. Then just roam the world and never progress the main story :)
There is a lot to be said about the endings, I agree with some of it but have a different view of some :) What bothered me with the phantom liberty ending (king of pentacles, king of swords I believe they are called), had some issues. The first being that when you go into the facility for surgery you are told you cant contact your loved ones and friends. Which is weird seeing as Judy will go with you when you choose to side with the Aldecaldos. It felt very forced because there is simply no logical reason that you cant even send them a message explaining whats going to happen or just have Judy(in my case usually) come with you. She then moves on but it felt very contrived, and Panam refused to talk to me, which seemed odd as I was playing female V. Unlike Male V there is no relationship thats abandoned, just friendship. I had a feeling like they forgot to add in a different interaction from the male V one. V then decides to go back to NC, but I wonder why, I am one of those who is all in with the quiet life away from NC, the NUSA offers you a job, time to do something different. Remember taht without Johnny, you would have died at Dex' hand or by that brainvirus at the Red Queens Race or something. Maybe I'm being to logical here, maybe its the player taking over but its not a life without some very real risks. And I would say you are a legend at that point. Every fixer congratulates you when you do all their gigs and tell you you are the best. Rogue then tells you that you are considered a legend, who just like Morgan Blackhand, left and choose a different life. Your return, she says, would shatter that illusion. Betraying Songbird felt wrong, but then she kind of uses you and then gives you the cold shower, left with nothing again. I'd be quite cross. As with Mr Blue Eyes, I remember seeing him when you want to tell Jefferson the truth about how he is being manipulated. He is seen standing across on a balcony. I didnt trust that guy when I saw him and couldnt shake that lack of trust when I met him again at the Afterlife. That ending always felt wrong. Another job to... prove what exactly. A promise for a cure from a guy who would have silenced you earlier in the game because you discovered his schemes and his control of a politician set to become mayor. Jefferson dissapears if you tell him the truth and if you dont, he becomes a puppet. I also noticed that you gave Johnny your body as female V, that sits wrong with me aswell. I just made him a transperson, basicly unless he is suddenly happy not having a "giant c***" anymore. So that ending bugged me aswell. Ask Quarico, because I know/remember she felt the same way. I also heard you saying that the nomad ending just lets V live a few more months, but that isnt set in stone as they tell you they know someone who can help you. That makes it a hopeful ending, one I prefer over the cure that Mr Blue Eyes offer, in all honesty. And yes, some of the nomads die, thats very unfortunate. But it is a choice they make to help you. Those are my thoughts, there is probably more but this will have to do, out of time :)
Well for starters let me just say great video, I'd love more like this for other games. Now onto the topic, let me preface this by saying I am in the camp of "There are no happy endings in Night City" and therefore I typically prefer for things to be quite miserable in this game. While I have watched all endings I haven't actually played all endings, so I am not sure I should rank them exactly as you did so I'll just rank the ones I've done and give smaller notes on the ones I haven't but know enough. 1. The Tower - I love this ending except for one thing. You don't get the Adam Smasher fight and I like giving Johnny that revenge and it's a cool fight. But from a story perspective I really like it, almost everyone around V ends up miserable. Takamura a fugitive, River a dirty cop, Panam will never trust anyone again, Judy moved on from you completely, although she did get married. You get the idea, I like that Vik ends up on a short leash, I love how messed up Night City feels after it, how different and wrong it feels. I like that V is a nobody now, although a fixer seems like a likely position. But will V ever find love again? Companionship? Probably not. This ending feels so very Night City, more than the others to me. I actually really like that final convo with Johnny, it's touching and emotional and outside of Arthur's Horse and Mordin Solus, games don't usually get choked me up. Overall is it depressing? Yes and that is kind of the point, it's the ending I think fits V's story the most. As for Songbird, I mean I usually play a very moral V but in the end it comes down to her or me, to borrow a line from someone... might as well be her. As you mentioned she lies to you and plans to dupe you from the beginning, my first run I had zero sympathy for her. My second I felt for her but once again... her or me. Plus I like Reed a lot more. 2. Secret Ending - It's a badass ending, kick the front door down and mow everything down in your path. The downside for me? No one dies, Rogue dying in The Sun just felt right to me. However you do get to play as V here and that is why this ending gets the edge over the next one. Also this ending really only feels like it works with the Corpo Background for some reason, maybe Street Kid. 3. The Sun - I like Johnny, great character but I don't like the last mission being him. After all this time as V and have him/her take a backseat for the big showdown just felt wrong. However Rogue dies here so it does add to that depression factor and the landing on the roof was quite cool. Much like the secret ending V dies in this one, so that works for his conclusion. 4. The Star - The only thing I like about this ending is the amount of content they packed into it, it feels like the longest ending. At least those that I've played. But still it feels too hopeful, too close to a happy ending in a way and like I've said this game, this character of V, it doesn't fit in my opinion. So those are the endings I have gone through so far, as for what I like about the others or what I don't like, well let me get into that here. I really like the phone calls from the Path of Least Resistance ending, I like how everyone is upset with V, however I think The Tower video calls are better. I also really dislike how this has the least amount of content in it. Any ending giving Johnny the body feels wrong to me, feels like his time has past and he wouldn't even fit in the world anymore. Plus I think he rather go off with Alt in most endings anyway. As much as I like Johnny, him being wiped feels like a fitting conclusion given Night City is a depressing place. The Devil ending has promise for sure, but the only thing I don't like about it is you never really take it to Arasaka at all, in fact you help them so it doesn't feel right, but I gotta give this one a go. Especially to experience just how awful Takamura is as a person. Overall it comes down to what you think fits and what you are looking for out of the ending to this game, for me I am looking for a miserable conclusion to V's miserable journey because when it comes to happy endings? Wrong city, wrong people.
Ah, I´ve waited for this to vent about one ending ;-) But first of all I agree with almost all you´ve said here and the ranking, too. Furthermore, I think CDPR´s storytelling is generally great and most of the endings are very well thought out and thematically coherent and impactful. A wonderful job overall. SPOILERS My complaints are about the Tower ending, which seems fine on the face of it. V makes a choice, with risk involved - about which they are clearly aware, and generally end up with a quiet life, making that a "choosable" possibility. The events unfold somewhat darkly, with a high cost attached, and that´s generally fine, too. What´s *not* fine is how this is written to conveniently strip V of all they have earned and gathered. V, in most cases and certainly in my playthrough, is on top of the world, so to speak: a multi-millionaire with a lot of very powerful friends. They could just buy Victor´s shop and give it to him, if they wanted. They would not be desolate and poor, not a would-be vagrant as the game wants to contrive. What´s worse, it makes me think "my" V loses everything just because they´re stupid and don´t pause running costs from apartments and such ahead of the operation. (and yes they *are* awared, that the whole thing might take longer). Still, even with the loss of all money, V would easily be able to work some connections, and be greeted back to the city as sort of a living legend or at least someone, who could be, f.e., Kerry Eurodyne´s manager. On the flipside, and that´s the other thing making this very annoying, is that the game implies everything going to crap in V´s absence. As if noone but V can take care of business, and your friends just become quasi corpo-slaves without you: no agency there. Sort of an end-of-the-world vibe and it´s *your* fault! :D Obviously V wouldn´t really be that important either way, if that was the trajectory of the world and couldn´t save Night City, but that´s strongly implied. But if V *was* this all-important figure, they wouldn´t just conveniently lose all they´d built, because they were gone for two years and lost their cyberware-capability. Everyone else, in any case, can´t just be a collective damsel for V to constantly save, with no power of their own. That diminshes them and the believability of the world. TLDR: The Tower ending needs Night City and V brought low and aggressively contrives the way that happens, against common sense, character and world believability, and against all the player might have done in the world up until that point. Also, there would have been really interesting things to do with this ending, and I´m upset, that these opportunities weren´t used. Just a few: 1. V could have been cured, but also forced into NUSA service in Night City, becoming "another Reed" or "another Songbird". 2. V´s body could have been kept by the NUSA or stolen by another power and smuggled somewhere, either for Songbird-style research-in-captivity (very dark / creepy), or to be used as an agent in a very far-away place, like Moscow. 3. V could have been chipped by Netwatch or just enlisted by them as an agent *for them* on that Space Mission. 4. V could have been in an induced Coma by the NUSA (using their body for research), and then awoken by "Blue Eyes" to flee that facility and work for him doing the same Space Mission.
So, I just finished the game for the second time and my very first ending was the Rogue one as well, and I still think that is the most fitting one, tying it all up with the same actors that did the attack back in 2023, but I agree that it's not very satisfying. I get the feeling that the heist Mr. Blue Eyes hires you for somehow gets you towards solving V's problem with the deteriorating brain, so it really is something V "must" do. I don't have Phantom Liberty yet, so I don't know what that includes, but I also always thought that V dies during that heist. Second ending I did was the Nomad one, as a Nomad myself. It felt bittersweet. The happily ever after felt good, but it did feel wrong to bring the Aldecaldos along, costing several of their lives. I liked the actual ending the most, but I would still agree with you regarding the two top endings. You also convinced me to actually play the Devil ending, just to experience it once.
@@GophersVids I just played the Devil Ending. It is really dark, you weren't kidding. It's definitely worth playing once, the whole Arasaka story took a turn I wasn't expecting, and it was even really fun, but man, the space station is bleak. And the cherry on top is that Hanako tries to get you back to work for Arasaka for the rest of your short life when you refuse the contract, wow. Again, thanks for recommending it.
I have heard that many players feel that the ending where you meet Mr. Blue Eyes and go to space to do a gig to the Crystal Palace is the most "canon" ending. What do you think?
My first ending was Temperance - that one still hits, deep. But my favorite is ending Songbird to the Moon, soloing Arasaka tower and going for the heist.
I like Temperance, and love how you broke down how getting to it matters, I hadn't given it that aspect much though before. I don't think that Johnny is _done_ in it, just done with Night City. His comment in the mirror at the beginning that "Nobody cares what you look like anyways" makes me think he's at least entertaining the possibility that he'll be stirring up some trouble again. I just feel like he's saying goodbye to the city (partly because Rogue made it clear he had to clear out). And V's still.out there beyond the Blackwall. And Rogue could call off Johnny's persona non grata staus at any time. Basically, I think it's the strongest ending for a sequel becuse you could have V, Johnny, and Rogue all as active parties. It leaves so many possibilities open.
Knowing what we know of all the endings, including the DLC is that V is very much capable of being cured. With that in mind I truly believe the Aldecaldos ending is the best. Takes some head cannon, but I feel V may eventually be able to find a cure with them.
When the game launched the Star Ending was my favorite ending even though some of the Aldecados dying made it bittersweet, V still got at least 6 months and hope or I thought. But them after playing PL it got me thinking that The Tower, as much as I hate losing my friends and leaving Songbird to suffer is the only ending where the Real V gets to live, in all other endings its not V living, just an Engram, some code produced by an AI that imitates V.
Nomad will always be my favourite endings also keep in mind that they go find a cure for V no matter what so its not necesserally V dying.same with The Sun ending you get chance to get a cure, V wants to live really badly and will do anything for it, its shown through the game.
What are your thoughts on the implication that all the mikoshi endings actually involve original V dying? They all involve uploading and then redownloading yourself back into your body, that would make you the same as Johnny, just with access to the original body. Johnny himself even says that hes not *really* Johnny Silverhand, just a program copy.
Yeah, you're dead, and the engram is a new person. Star Trek has a similar problem with it's teleporters. They basically kill you, and then create a copy of you somewhere else. The copy will have all your memories and will probably think it's you, but you died when you got disintegrated. You're consciousness, your sense of self, ends, and a new one begins. In that regards the Tower Ending is probably the only one in which the real V survives.
The sun ending does kill a number of Nomads but I do think they are better for it because they got to loot and salvage arguably Arasaka's best tech. They made it out like bandits. I know it's callous but that's how the dystopia was presented. The game made a great deal out of them ambushing Militech for some legacy tanks. In comparison looting Mikoshi and soulkiller? yup... Furthermore, as soon as the ending starts I loved listening to that newscast bemoaning the *sad* destruction of Arasaka.
(Don't fear) The Reaper/The Sun endings. Everyone is still alive in the end plus you go down a legend. This is probably the closest thing to a "happy ending" we see, well imo at least.
I had ranked the Tower just above both versions of the Devil too, but funnily enough this video made me reevaluate something. Night City is goddamn horrible in a way beyond just being a lousy place to live. The city itself feels like the true villain of the story, a sci-fi eldritch monstrosity that burns people out from the inside until there's nothing left. Side story after side story just reinforces that. When you're riding with Jackie to Konpeki Plaza he starts mentioning all the legends who made their name in Night City, and it strikes me that these "legends" never actually changed anything. Those who have burned brightest are just the shiny lures the city uses to keep people thinking it's the City of Dreams while it feasts on their souls. So, it still sucks that V basically loses all their friends because they've either moved on or their lives have taken a turn for the worst. But having to settle into a quiet life? It may be preferable than becoming another bit of glorified bait for the next gloryhound looking to feed themselves into the machine. It brings a quote from Amnesia to mind; "This world is a machine! A machine for pigs! Fit only for the slaughtering of pigs!" That really feels like it applies to Night City. I still rank it low because you have to sell out Song to Myers and NUSA/Militech and all of them can go choke on a whole basket of dicks, she really doesn't deserve that. But I feel a little better about the end result than before. Regarding the Aldecaldos ending, it's been ages since I last played that one but I could swear Saul mentions them having other reasons to raid Arasaka. Like, they want to help V, but they wouldn't risk the whole family *just* to save V. There's something in it for them too, and you're just the final bit of weight on that decision.
One thing that may be a little bit of a tangent and I can't remember if cp2077 touched on this. It's something that's illustrated quite well in a game called soma, I think. If you're a biologic and they/you make an engram or upload your consciousness, you're just making a file copy. You're not pulling your "soul" out and putting it somewhere else. If your alive and "upload" your consciousness, now there's a copy of you in the virtual reality but the original you just grows old and dies. There's no continuity between the two. So Johnny isn't really Johnny. He's just a copy of Johnny. The real one died. That concept has to turn the CP story on it's head a little bit when you think about it.
There are four versions of the Temperance ending depending on your relashonship with Johnny. Two for playing as V, and two for play as Johnny, before the end. This counts for all the the other endings as well, as you get different convosations, but is more important with Temperance imo. So for example if you are playing as Johnny and have a high relashonship and decide to go with Alt, V will try to stop you, and if you choos to take the body, they will support you. If you have a low relashonship on the other hand you can tell V to f off and steal their body. I dislike doing it myself, but recommend doing at least one "hate Johnny" playthough, for the minor and not so minor differences you can get.
So you actually changed my mind about the Star ending. I was a 'star-ending fan boy' pretty much since the game came out, but I understand the reservations given the amount of dead friends it produces. One aspect of the star ending I like is that it well and truly decimates Arasaka while also uplifting the Aldecaldo's, also I do not feel too terrible about Saul's death given what he implies about it being a calculated political move on his part after he welcomes you to the team. I actually think my favorite ending is the temperance ending via secret ending, because you are right, the only way it makes sense as a choice is if V is making that choice. The Sun ending never sat right with me because to me it felt like V hadn't really learned anything or grown much as a person. After everything he/she is still trying to be the best in Night City which feels like a jab at everything the character did and experienced throughout the entire game that should help them see past that idea. I think my 'in a perfect world' ending would be V doing the solo-run to Arasaka, keeping their body, then deciding to run off with the Aldecaldos / love interest, but that's just not really what Cyberpunk is about. You are a Night City Legend and their stories only end one way (Morgan Blackhand/ Blue Eyes being the possible exception).
As for ranking the endings, I may disagree on specific rankings, but on the whole I really agree with you. Don't Fear the Reaper ending is my favourite, hands-down and my only issue with it is I feel like you should be able to choose your epilogue; Stay in NC or leave with the Aldecaldos but that's a bit of "having your cake and eating it too" I suppose, which is unfortunate because doing that; soloing Arasaka and then leaving with the Nomads (and by extension with Judy, my beloved), would be my ideal ending. (Skip to the next paragraph if you haven't watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners, spoilers for that ahead). That, and an ending, or a variant of an existing ending, where you are SOMEHOW able to get Lucy in on the action. Nothing crazy, but maybe she disables some of Smasher's cyberware from a nearby rooftop or something, during the fight making it a little easier (not that it needs to be any easier lmao), but just enough so Lucy can have SOME satisfaction, some amount of vengeance for... well if you've seen Edgerunners, you know and if you haven't what are you doing go watch it, its very happy and family friendly. Now, I'm not sure if you're aware, I didn't get that impression from the video, but when you do the PL ending, the conversation with Johnny changes DRASTICALLY depending on if you've befriended him. For me, that meant doing everything to unlock the secret ending and THEN choosing to do the PL ending. If you, or anyone reading this, doesn't want the spoiler for how its different, this is your cue to not read the next paragraphs. No seriously, if you're a masochist, stop reading now and go get that version of the ending yourself. Basically the tonal shift does a 180. Instead of him being pissed and guilt tripping and shaming you and everything else, he's entirely okay with it. If you express you feel guilty, he'll say the line that truly made the ending 1000x worse for me "You don't have to feel guilty, because I'm giving you permission. I want you to live V". Admittedly I'm paraphrasing, but that's the general idea and it drives home just HOW good a friend Johnny becomes and makes choosing that ending all the more gutpunching.
As for these endings, I quite agree with your ranking. My general feeling is quite similar. I loved the idea behind each of these endings (today I mean, after playing them months ago) but when I played them, I either viscerally hated the ending or I simply didn't like it: I'm a "paladin" at heart, I like saving the widow and the orphan, and at the end of the adventure sitting on my big treasure, knowing that my character is living happily with his loved ones. But there is none of that in Cyberpunk2077 because there is none of that in the Cyberpunk pen and paper role-playing game franchise. The stories are always half-hearted, bittersweet. And I knew it, having played the tabletop years ago. Well, my bad ahaha. So I loved the game Cyberpunk2077, I love the atmosphere, the adventure, the journey, the story but if one day I had to play it again, I know that at some point, probably before the end sequence, I would just stop and leave the game hanging.
The two endings I do most are going to Arasaka for "help" and the secret solo ending. Both are therapeutic in just letting go. For PL I prefer sending So Mi to the moon and shooting Reed but I miss out on the blueprints. My least favorite, probably very unpopular is ending with Panam.
On the sadness of The Star ending (at least according to Gopher), I completely disagree, because if you read between the lines, you'll figure out Alt was lying to you at the end, based on her own words from earlier.
Secret ending is the only one i would consider if playing again, tho in my first was temperance and i do not really see it as V going away but rather gaining some sort of immortality as part of, and adding a bit to the Alt AI.
@@GophersVidsDo you know the rough average of your playthroughs? I've only gone through it four times (just about to finish that fourth), but I can't seem to see the credits before 200 to 300hrs... Never done a full male playthrough, and there's a few 2.0 builds I'd still like to do. But they always end up huge playthroughs, and I don't really want to select most endings. I will never hand So Mi to NUSA, for example... So it feels like I've almost run out of reasons for replays, builds aside.
Tower ending isn't that bad, really, you lost most of your friends and lose your cyberware, but you still can shoot, you can train and regain muscle over time, you still can fight, Viktor is still with you, and you get a chance to live a long life. You still can recover and become even better after some time, or choose to live a quiet life. But V has a choice, at least
Johny's character is so, so well made, i truly loved and hated him the same time. I had real emotions for that character. This is how you make support characters! Bravo to CDPR! This game is something ill remember for the rest of my life.
Sun > Temperance does have the issues you mentioned, but I think it gives a subjectively better ending for Rogue. She clearly had some regrets from the quiet life, she gets to stand up to smasher and not sit out here. Going into Temperance it's the only version where she doesn't mistakenly hate Johnny for "stealing" V's body. Still not the best, but better.
Some notes on endings I like, which is most of them, and how they might impact a potential V-sequel, obviously very spoiler-y.: 1. Did anyone actually go with Tower, but also choose to work for Reed / the FIA ? I have no idea, what that ending might be like. 2. Secret Ending / The Sun: It´s affirming of what most players would have done for most of the game and V being an exceptional person. You end up rebelling against your very mortality, or I guess your struggle against mortality continues. You will either succeed or die gloriously, "reaching for the stars", as it were, to save yourself. The change with the secret ending feels like getting away with something - having no price to pay, but at least you take the even greater risk of attacking Arasaka alone. These endings seem to directly set up a sequel, obviously, and either one might be "canonized" as *the* beginning of CP 2078. But I hope, they also allow for other endings in setting up the sequel. 3. Temperance: a fair trade, so to speak. Also an act of love and comradery. Johnny has no right to V´s body, but the most generous range of player characters might want to "gift" this to him anyway. It´s still appropriately bitter-sweet, as Johnny has to live with both a loss of a comrade and getting a second chance at life. It will undoubtedly be a new case of crushing survivor´s guilt, but he can get past it and "be worthy" of the sacrifice, as he tried to be with his other fallen comrade from the war. Probably not usable for a V-sequel, unless maybe Alt contacts him, that the V-engram could be given a body from the Crytal Palace and we play as Johnny (at first). 4. The Star: Another perfectly good ending alongside Temperance. Might be the best for many "Vs", as it were. As people here said, very big shift from the individualistic and ego-centric toward the communal. The Aldecaldos suffer losses, but know what they´re getting into and earn the clan a new start. V got to matter in the world in a way very different from Night City´s values, being a true friend and family member, rather than a more flashy "legend" or "hero". We might call it the "personal growth and reform" ending. Potentially usable for a Crystal Palace sequel as well, if V were informed of a way to save themselves, probably by "Blue Eyes". 5. The Devil: Good to have this very dark option as a thematic counterbalance to the other endings. It also makes it understandable, why V might choose such an option out of desperation. Whatever Arasaka might do with them, they might live again in some form. Or Mikoshi might actually be a fine "living" "space" in order to preserve the value of the engrams to the company. Also V might think they get to live forever through this. This could be attractive to "more out there" Vs. Finally, it´s also very usable for a sequel, where Arasaka puts the V-engram in a body to use on Crystal Palace, f.e. 6. It could be possible to use *any* ending for a sequel, if it´s either something enirely unrelated to V, *or* you can play it as either V or a new character. I´d certainly prefer they keep any 2077 ending viable and as part of the canon.
Of the endings I played I'd rank them. Nomad because it feels like a nice hopeful ending, Suicide since what Alt tells V about soulkiller it sounds like an ai copy of V would go back into her body, Johnny's him not telling anyone what happened to V, and Legend of the Afterlife is last cause my V didn't care about being a legend she wanted to live and leave Night City with Judy.
I *almost* feel like the tower ending is even worse than the devil. All throughout Phantom Liberty I had the dawning realisation that Songbird is V; a rat in a cage, with no options left. For me my V choosing to save Song, was also V's choice to actively choose to save their own self. It was enough to save just one person from the fate that we know all too well. For my V, she could let go of the pain and struggles against the world, she could quit 'the game' that is living in a cyberpunk dystopian megacity, and instead choose family, and hope. Even if it means death, and no glory. Because after all, she saved herself, just not her version of herself. So the tower? Turning her over in any regard? Well if the Devil ending where you deny Arasaka your Engram, and keep that one bit of pride is a better ending; then choosing not to accept Song's offer and end her life is the same. You are replacing *your* Devil ending, by giving it to somebody else. I find that to be infinitely more unsettling. I think the only argument for the tower being less worse than the Devil, is simply that you haven't given the same power to Arasaka. But is it really any better with the power you've given to Myers? Hard to say.
I didn't like the Tower for two reasons: One, I didn't like the whole "You are nobody without you Cyberware" narrative. V was a successful merc even at the beginning of the game, where you only have a minimum amount of cyberware. This ending implies V is only as successful as they are because of their cyberware, as if years of experience and training mean nothing. Now obviously without chrome you won't be able to take down the likes of Adam Smasher, but your lack of chrome won't suddenly make you an absolute nobody either. And it makes sense that V was a pushover in that ending, they just went through two years of medical procedures! But according to the game this isn't due to muscle atrophy from being bed-bound for two years, which is perfectly recoverable given enough physical therapy, it's because V can't have chrome anymore. I'm sorry, but I am not buying it. V can recover from this, they can train, they still have all their contacts, all their insider knowledge and they should still have all the money they saved up. I see no reason why this would be the end of V. They could become a fixer or if they really want to continue merc work, they can still do some mid level jobs after they recover. V won't end up a random nobody just because they can't have cyber limbs anyomore. Second, the ending actively makes the other endings worse. Everyone of your former friends have all these horrible fates in this ending, which is obviously terrible. However, I don't see how it would be different in any of the other endings. If Vik ends up a corpo ripperdoc in the Tower, why would it be any different in any of the other base game endings where V also up and disappears? At least previously I could have imagined he keeps his clinic and continues his job he loves. Now it's almost canon he always ends up as a miserable corpo doc after two years. Or at least I don't see how this would change just because he may still have some more contact with V for a few weeks or months in the other ending where V ultimately will also disappear permantently. I feel like this entire ending was intentionally made more miserable than it needed to be because CDPR wanted to defy the expectations of a "golden" DLC ending.
secret ending is number 1, but as far as songbird is concerned. i put her out of her misery, I don't think she even really exists anymore. I believe she's been corrupted by the black wall, and a rouge A.I> is really in charge. the blue-eyed man is also infected, and songbird is a way for the rouge A.I. to escape. you're being played from the start.
Don't Fear The Reaper/Temperance Ending > Soloing Arasaka is peak and giving Johnny a chance to make different choices is the most thematically cohesive choice.
Since there's a spoiler warning on this video, I won't bother beating around the bush. For me the stuff that ruins the Phantom Liberty ending isn't V without Cyberware or anything like that, it's the friendship stuff. There's no point where V is able to fill their friends in on what's going on when they get the cure, which when you have a phone IN your head seems really silly. IF V still had their friends, or even a couple of them when they return to Night City after waking up that's one thing, but no EVERYONE is gone.
Only ending that made sense to me was Silverhand and V going it alone and then i gave him the body because he really had changed, and besides dying in a puddle of your own leaking brain juice is not something i wanted for V. With V behind the blackwall I at least felt that one day he could return just as silverhand had, sure it wont be your body but hey its a new suit to go advertising in. Its the one ending that just made the most logical sense "for me at least" an easy choice to make.
I think which ending is "best" is almost entirely around the idea of autonomy. Specifically it's around who's autonomy you're thinking of when you're making your choices and playing out your V. If we're looking at from the perspective of my (the players) autonomy, I substantively agree with this list. If you're looking at it from the perspective of V it looks very different. My first playthrough I got the full devil ending which, on the surface, is terrible. However my V was the Corpo start. My V was a professional, in control, successful and above all in charge of her own life. Enter Johnny, in a way it felt like V was being violated every time he came to the surface basically rising to the point of V being... that r word that UA-cam isn't so fond of. And the violation wasn't just of the body, it was of the mind and of the (at minimum digital) soul. My perspective (and to be clear, in that play through the one and only opinion of Johnny was piss off interloper, you had your life, this one is mine) was that having Johnny in her body was an endless nightmare that was, on top of everything else, slowly killing her. From that perspective, any eventuality that freed her from the situation was "good" and it felt like the devil ending, while depressing, was the most "appropriate" ending for a Corpo V. Putting her trust in the people that created the technology just made sense. That ending, incidentally, is one of my favorite gaming moments of my life. I felt genuine regret for how it turned out but still felt like I made the choices that my V would have made.
Thanks to phantom liberty you can start to piece together mr blue eyes role. Between that, the peralez appearance, rhynes story, and what certain other characters related to the blackwall say it starts to paint a bigger picture for a sequal. and letting you piece it together instead of explicitly telling you feels so satisfying when it all comes together.
Also one point you may have missed, Although some Aldecaldos die they get a lot of tech and become a lot more powerful, this solves their ongoing crisis where they are failing to find work and are looking to corps for help. The loot is the deciding factor on why Saul agrees to help.
Bonus that a certain person dies so that Panam gets escalated to full leader even though after that, she doesn't have enough time to visit you as much as she wants to.
That is part of my head canon that V doesn't actually die in the Star ending, they have another 6 months to find an actual cure.
I really appreciate the Star ending because, even though it involves putting your friends in danger, it’s the only ending that challenges the hyper-individualism NC is built on. Instead of the focus on becoming a legend, it’s about leaning on your community for support. In that way it shows the most growth for V's character imo, especially a corpo V. It also works better as a continuation of going the Reed route but granting Songbirds request, than the Sun does. (although if you do go the Songbird route, I think Sun is more fitting)
There’s also the issue of the Aldecaldos being on the brink of collapse, ready to go the way of the Bakkers, with Saul desperate enough to take the Biotechnica deal. The night before the raid, Saul makes it clear that the Aldecaldos aren’t just doing this for V, they need to do something bold and risky to stay strong and independent. In every other ending, they're still struggling, with no clear path forward.
Overall I think Corpo V ending up with the nomads is the strongest narrative arc possible in the game, i.e. what you mentioned, a successful rejection of the awful compulsions driving NC further into a dystopian hellscape, and the embracement of a superior - more human - alternative.
It also weakens Arasaka the most. Not only did you attack them, but you also took a bunch of stuff from them, strengthening the Aldecaldos the most.
And despite putting your friends in danger, it really hammers home that, to them and the nomad culture, it was more of an insult to not call upon them. They go into the ordeal with open eyes, burning their own names into legend. Panam is not happy if you don't call upon her.
For my V it made more sense being a nomad himself. It was his whole life and when push comes to shove there's nobody like family to have your back. It's a lifestyle and culture for them, they know the risks and would do it all over again in a heartbeat for anyone in their family. Its such a beautiful game with such a great story behind it no matter how you look at it.
Two things: I prefer the Star ending if only because of Misty's tarot reading in the epilogue. As the credits roll, she calls and says she's done a tarot reading and, while it may not be as conclusive as she'd like without V being present, she did draw cards indicating a positive outcome for V. She says she thinks V will have a good life in the future. Given the prominence the game places on mysticism - and especially the tarot - I think we're intended to take this seriously. Another thing: I never felt a friendship with Johnny - not in the way I feel about V's other friends in the game. He' a rat and he knows it. He wants it that way. He's the kind of character that is my favorite in a story. He's the kind of person that you never know what he will choose to do or say. He can be good. He can be bad. That kind of moral ambiguity is really hard to pull off convincingly in a story, but I think they nailed it with Johnny. I hate him, but I hate him all the more when he does things I actually like, because he throws my moral compass off. I feel like I'm having trouble distinguishing between right and wrong. Vik said that would happen and the game actually makes you experience it, rather that just telling you about it. That's remarkable story telling.
Great list, you pretty much nailed what I thought as well
Just gotta add one thing, though. As far as I know, Aldecaldo's need a big raid to sustain their clan anyways, so it isn't just for V.
The secret ending used to be my favorite but after I completed the star and saw how happy V was with all her friends and Judi it changed my mind.
It's the happiest ending in isolation. But I could never get over getting Bob and Teddy killed :(
@@GophersVids As I see it, over the course of the game, we probably saved a lot more Aldacados than died in the final mission. Those guys were a mess, until we showed up.
@@GophersVidsdid you know or have you seen, you can storm Arasaka with Goro, if you saved him after the parade? Not only that, if you spared Sandayu, he will also help out. You'll windup triple teaming Atom Smasher.
Oh and you can alternately take Reed from PL with you as well to the tower.
Obviously these endings, much like the others you talked about at the end of the vid, are just variations of another ending.. respectfully.
That makes for something like 13'sh endings? I've only seen one other video about it. 😄
Edit
Alternatively*
But I liked Bob and Teddy :)
@@GophersVids I've got several hundred hours on Cyberpunk over the years, and honestly, I probably wouldn't be able to say exactly which one's Bob or Teddy...
So they've never made an impression on me, ergo their sacrifice is very acceptable. ; -)
For me the Star ending is the best one. V only lives for about 6 months, but that's 6 months with a real genuine community, a family. And your romantic partner. It's 6 months of peace and happiness, and yes you lose many Aldercados, but that's a worthy price so you can all get away from Night City and live in peace in the Arizona desert. A sacrifice so the Aldercados as a community have a future away from corporations, away from night City.
Exactly. The Aldecaldos aren't simply 'friends', they're FAMILY. Refusing their willingness to risk everything for family is also in a way refusing that family and denying them agency. Instead of obsessing about fame and fortune, V embraces belonging and freedom. Best ending for me.
The devil ... while being soulcrushing ... is just SO damn good and brilliant in terms of story telling especially in a dystopian cyberpunk genre context. And the way you go about presenting it makes me just wanna play the game again to experience once more how the game basically slaps the biggest pair of dystopian balls in gaming on the table ...
Absolutely. I was floored by how good it was.
That was the ending I got in the my first playthrough and, crushing as it was, it set a high bar that none of the other endings lived up to, in my opinion. I did NOT see the twist coming, although in retrospect it makes perfect sense.
When you do the devil ending, but you didnt save Takemura and see the difference with Hellman. That made me see a certain character differently.
The only type of overthinking that Gopher engages in, and it's delightful. Thanks a lot for the hard work that led to this.
For me the favourite is the Temperance ending via the secret path. I just like the idea (as a story) that in the whole game V is trying to find a way to survive, but in the end they just go through hell to give their lives to Johnny. I also like that in that ending Johnny seems to be actively trying to take care of things instead of being a destructive person like he was before through actions such as helping a kid to achieve his dream or the fact that he decides he is never going to smoke again because his body is V‘s gift to him and he will take care of it.
The Temperance ending is going to be my next playthrough, right now I am waiting for Reed to start the Tower ending. (My first time doing the Tower ending.)
After Temperance on my next playthrough, I will be done except for the Easy Way Out which I will have to close my eyes and ears at the end as it's the last ending I haven't gotten to yet. ( To get the 100%)
Big thanks! You answered my questions, and now it fits together for me. Brilliantly composed!
Secret Ending is the best , because this all started with Jackie and V trying to become legends,what better way than this path ,in the Cyberpunk world just surviving Adam Smasher gets you legendary status , how epic is destroying entire Arasaka single handedly
Mike Pondsmith has said in the past (for the pen and paper game) that if the players are too successful, use of Smasher by the DM to annihilate the party is encouraged. Anyone who could defeat him is pretty much a legend by default.
Judy's message (if you romanced her) in the PL ending makes that ending hurt so much more than is necessary
Awesome video, Gopher! I agree with most of your takes, and im surprised to see someone else feeling the same way as me regarding The Star ending haha. I do disagree with your take on the Tower ending though, I don't think living as a "nobody" in Night City necessarily has to be a bad fate and its the only ending where V actually gets to live. Also, side note, did you know that the conversation with Johnny in the RV has two different versions? One is much more heartfelt and accepting than the other (same way to unlock as the secret ending).
V's mind on a new biochip would be the best ending, with that bio chip slowly overwriting V themselves.
That way, V would would always fully survive. Even if it's just a copy of V, it's still V.
Something Arasaka should easily be able to do.
Well. Well. Well. A surprising drop from Gopher Samurai
Spoilers for me, but yet I can comment and leave Gopher a thumbs up! See you later, vod!
Same!
Loved the way it seems Johny is the one talking in your voice at the beginning :D
I know it’s a lot of work, but I wish you made more videos that show and discuss interesting bits from the games you played. As I mostly play games through your playthroughs it is really valuable to hear more about the world and unexplored possibilities, especially from you! Great job and thanks for all the stories you tell!
So, pretty much agree with your placings and the justification. That being said, and maybe this is just me, but I always felt like there was one ending missing from the game based on some of the themes that game touches upon. One where Johnny and V merge for lack of a better term. One where the ending person isn't V but also isn't Johnny. Just someone else new entirely. Because I felt somewhere in Act 2, the game kind of starts asking the question - like when V starts smoking after the Evelyn rescue - at what point do you stop being V? Kind of like a Ship of Thesus question.
Anyway, sorry for the rambles but it was a great video!
Agreed. I thought at the time that the Delamain quest was foreshadowing that. Yes you can side with one faction or the other, but the game seems to indicate that the best outcome was merging them and making something new.
Leaving a like and a comment to say I’m excited to check this video out after I’ve finished my next playthrough! Always enjoy when we can listen to your musings on themes and plot
Hi Gopher. Haven't posted in forever, here goes. I mostly agree with your choices. Here's my take. When I beat the game for the first time, I picked to go with Alt. Being in this city, seeing the depravity and it's ugliness. I thought, why stay here... nothing here for me. And I was in good standing with Johnny too. He tried to stop me, saying hey you fought for this why give up now. It was heartwarming. Since it was my 1st go, I completed every quest i think. People I met along the way were upset with me, understandably.
Beyond the black wall. I get it, it's a big risk. Out there, behind the black wall, all I am is bits of unoptimized code. But looking at it now, knowing more about rogue agi's and Alt... I think there is no better way to enter that realm. On the other hand, Alt just might assimilate me, and repurpose me somehow. Ahh fuck it I thought, anything's better than that shit stain of a city. Pardon my french. So, that's my number 1. Number 2 is the secret ending. I got into that mess, I have to clean it up. If I die, I die.
About Songbird. She made a mistake, she got a choice. I remember a friend of mine who instead of getting a choice got a bullet. To my understanding, she got off easy. At the matrix, where I had to make a choice Song or Reed. She said something that was the final straw. She said, these people will die so that we could live... This is how I see her story. She makes a mistake, Reed gives her a choice - work for us or we hand you over to NetWatch. She takes the pledge! (why?), it's not like they had a gun to her head. Abandons her friends. After awhile gets burned out. Betrays Reed. Sells Myers down the river, to try and get out. Betrays her former colleagues, the twins. And gets them killed. Betrays Hanson, he's dead now too. Amazing expansion, completed multiple times. Can't justify it to myself, siding with Songbird. She made that bed...
Anyway, my 2 cents. Thanks for the content! Have a wonderful evening. =]
I think it's notable that the Devil ending is the default one, the one you get if you just pursue the cure to the exclusion of everything else. Cyberpunk 2077 is very much a game about coming to terms with your own mortality and the Devil ending represents I think a failure on V's part to deal with that. The Tower then is another twist on that.
Personally I would put the Star and Temperance over Sun and Don't Fear the Reaper. For me personally it feels like in this one neither V (nor Johnny) actually learn from their experiences. They continue to chase the same dream that got them into this mess in the first place and don't realize that this dream is, well, bullshit. In a way you just become a cog in the machine in the utterly messed up world of Cyberpunk and Night City endlessly going on that "one last job" until you get zeroed by some gonk. This is why Panam leaves you behind.
I actually heard a joke the other day about an alternate ending to the movie Hook.
Where Captain Hook wins the duel and sends Peter back to London in a body bag. It's a good joke, if a little dark, but it does require a dead Pan delivery.
Skif: That was so funny I forgot to laugh.
Getting the cure is also a bad ending cuz Night City kinda represents a type of hell and being left without even the option for implants means not only do you fade away, not only is it giving up everything was about (being a legend), but you are also left at the mercy of basically everyone else in that hell even the most benign implant user, the most benign hacker with a child's starter cyberdeck ...
The Secret Ending where V lives is probably the most Jackie ending: becoming a living legend of Night City. But I think Secret Ending, Adam Smasher kill V is the one that should be canon. Its blaze of glory, but in the end "the [Corp] always wins" which is a good thing. I don't think V is supposed to be on the level of Johnny Silverhand, Morgan Blackhand, Spider Murphy, and Rogue combined, they're a merc. A pretty good one, and with a little help for their friends they can accomplish a lot, but at the end of the day they are not going to change the world, no cyberpunk character should, we are all just cogs in the machine
I know all the endings and did most of them, yet every single time i'm hoping for a new outcome.
Did not have a video like this from Gopher in my cards for the year.
Bless dude, love the vid!
Gopher, if you have a great relationship with Johnny going into The Tower ending, the conversation is MUCH different. It stops just short of Johnny telling V that he loves them. An absolutely heartbreaking conversation.
An Endings Ranked video from Gopher was not on my 2025 bingo list
I’ve discussed this at length with a friend of mine and while we both think the game is brilliant, we hate the fact that every single ending is so utterly depressing. I hear a lot of people say they are bitter sweet but none of them really have much sweetness to them. It kind of felt to me as though regardless of what I do in that game I lose in the end anyway, it’s just a matter of how I lose.
yeah at least for me "Hope" is the key that puts the star high on top for me, and now i guess the recontextualizing Phantom Liberty does to blue eyes now too.
it's the reason i love World of darkness, sure you have a world where most people get senseless bad endings but there's always that light in the dark, that at the end of the day it's not nihilistic and it's possible for you to still drive off into the sun/moonlight leaving the elder vampire/crazed werewolf, evil techno wizard in flames.
I like the phantom liberty ending, but i have noticed alot of people get told off by johnny during it, in mine he was very for it, he was happy i was gonna live and encouraged me to see it thru. yea v couldnt be who he was, but the chance to be something else is atleast survival. for me it was a difference between v being a starry eyed kid...and realizing theres other paths in life than glory.
I love the DFTR. It solidifies V as the strongest character in Cyberpunk, and while you may break up with your lover, it makes V the definition of a legend.
I got the Temperance via secret ending my 2nd playthrough. I’ve never cried over a video game before, but that, that made multiple tears run down my face.
honestly the messages of the friends after the ending are... well they are something for sure
Great video and I agree 100%
24:30 i actually like this a lot, this is really going out in a blaze of glory, taking as much Arasaka bastards with you as you can. Actual suicide mission, V does this to not risk any of your friends, and much more realistic than succesful version of that mission. That's all or nothing situation
I pretty much agree and for many of the same reasons. I admit that I also felt like we had a lot less control of our actions in the endings than I would have liked. We got to write V's story as we went, but in the end we were dictated to and I didn't exactly enjoy that. Having said that, I enjoyed and appreciated the endings that we got. I give CDPR credit for writing good endings even if they didn't go the way I thought they should have. One of the things I enjoy about RPGs over watching movies is getting to write the story for the character I'm playing, not having the ending dictated to me if I don't like it. ...but again, I get it and I don't fault them for it.
13:41 let me correct you on this one. Yes, i wouldn't want to risk their life either, but in that raid Aldecaldos steal a lot of Arasaka tech worth millions of dollars. It is the most successful raid in their history, despite the casualties. Before Mikoshi raid they were broke. They even mentioned that Saul was doing it not only for V, but for themselves as well
I honestly believe that this is not meant to be the end of V's story. And that's why the endings have this bittersweet taste to them.
The endings, where V chooses to forgo his freedom in favour of somebody granting him a solution on their terms are the bad ones.
But there are several endings, which are united in V deciding to continue kicking, not sacrificing his soul for a way out, and not letting anyone change who he is.
I think these are the ones that will matter. The ones where V goes "No, I'm still standing. I will use what time I've got and will do it my way".
Just as Skye/Angel told us.
Yeah, pretty much agree all round.
Though haven't played Phantom Liberty it's more a coin-flip on whether Johnny or V keeps the body.
Feels right that in V's fight for survival they don't drag their friends and loved ones down with them.
And for gameplay, going in solo feels badass.
Each of the endings had some sense of finality, but were bleak in tone which is very fitting to the genre. I think some of the endings can have a different meaning for characters you've played as while the lifepaths are very limited they still gave some additional context for who your character was before the game starts. For my corpo character, the Devil ending made a lot of sense and was my favorite with my V betting on Arasaka again and getting himself burned for the last time. I like the choice with rejecting the deal more, especially that little moment when V was humming "Never Fade Away" and showing a middle finger to that doctor. There was a sense of defiance in it, even if the fight was already lost
I can't hear "fitting for the genre" anymore. No, it's not. At the end of Neuromancer, Case got his ability to jack in back, got rid of the toxin that forced him to comply, and got a load of cash on the bank. And while Molly leaves him, he finds a new girlfriend. At the end of Johnny Mnemonic, Johnny and Molly live together among the lo-teks and piece together some of the data he's carried in the past for good profit. (Yes, she "later" tells Case in Neuromancer that Johnny was eventually killed, but that's not part of THIS story but one in which Johnny isn't the protagonist). At the end of Hardwired, Sarah and Cowboy are left with no enemies and a very powerful new friend.
Mike Pondsmith, creater of the TTRPG on which CP2077 is based, stated in a GM aid for CP2020 that Cyberpunk was about refusing to have your fate dictated by others or simply going by what the experts said but taking the future by the horns and making it yours.
One thing to keep in mind for the Star ending, this is not just the Aldacados putting themselves on the line to help V. This is them taking the opportunity to raise themselves from the rut they've been in while helping the new family member who has helped them reach the point they can do so. V presents a chance to attack Arasaka in a way that will allow success and escape, taking substantial resources with them. The rewards are great enough to make Saul, notoriously overcautious, to be on board. Good people die, of course, but all of them accept that the risk is worth the reward beyond the potential to help V.
Star is number one for me, simple because it actually made the most sense for my first Character because she was a Nomad. The only reason the Secret Ending didn't hit number one for me (it's number 2) is it felt like the City won. I didn't like that feeling... but it felt right. Oh and I gave Song Bird over to Reed after I found out she lied to me.
I've often felt like CDPR really gave us only one life path. We can start out as a corpo or a street kid, but whatever our choice, we're always pushed toward the Aldacados. I don't want to be an Aldacado. (Heck, even as a nomad, you start the game rejecting that lifestyle.) I love Night City, and I want to stay there (but not as some friendless schmo who can be robbed by a couple of street thugs). There should be a true corpo ending (ie - insiders or former corpos) and a true street kid ending. Given the choices, I prefer the Star ending, but I resent it.
I felt like they were pushing the Sun ending more. And I actually felt like they went out of their way to make the Star ending look unappealing. Even for a nomad V, I found that choice hard to make.
The Star hints that the company the Aldecaldos are planning on working with after leaving Night City are researching tech that could provide a cure for V. Another small detail that makes people consider it the best ending. The Aldecaldos needed to leave NC anyway, especially after launching an attack on Arasaka.
I went with 'The Star' ending before Phantom Liberty, and then 'The Tower' after with the same character. I don't really have much of an opinion on the other endings because I couldn't see myself ever picking them. Good to understand your thoughts better on your phantom liberty playthrough, Gopher. I had been hoping you would pick the tower, but now I can understand why you didn't, even though I don't agree. V getting to live a full lifespan is much more important IMO than going down as a cocktail in the afterlife bar. Plus Songbird lying to and manipulating V was gut wrenching to me, I had little problem with handing her over to the FIA after that betrayal.
Please take a look at the conversation with Johnny during the Tower having high relationship with him. I really felt like I had a good relationship with him, but having picked the "wrong" dialogue earlier gave me the bad conversation which really didnt align with the releationship we had up to this point and really soured that ending to the point I had to find a save editor to get the good conversation.
Wait, I betrayed Songbird, and eventually granted her wish, and killed her and I still got the cure.
Would love for you to cover the Phantom Liberty endings as well. I’ve seen a lot of arguments to save S but I just cannot justify that in the end. I feel one ending is just the most appropriate for the theme of the game. An ending where no one gets what they wanted but gets what they deserved.”
“A happy ending? For folks like us? Wrong city, wrong people.”
Does the Tower ending make the Devil one even worse in anyone else's opinion? I haven't thought on it too deeply yet but at first glance N.U.S.A being able to cure V probably means that Arasaka could have and deliberately chose not to/to imprison and experiment on V instead.
The Star is still my personal favourite ending, but it does admittedly take some philosophy and optimism on my part to see it that way. I kinda see it as a representation that in life you have to sometimes lean on/trust the people you care about to also take care of you. Sometimes it goes bad and you or others get hurt but a life without ever really trusting that someone will care for you the way you do for them is probably not a fulfilling or happy one. My Star Ending V would give his life to protect the Aldecados, and they return the honour. I try to see the beauty in that instead of the sadness.
Yes, that's will work! nice job :)
well, agree 100% with everything there gopher.
for me it's:
gameplay- secret
for brutal story- the devil
for feels - nomads & songbird
def think mikoshi raid was also a risky opportunity to set up the aldecaldos, as well as help V. think they might have been very doomed otherwise tho
and... keep trying not to, but keep falling for that darn songbird charm.
Hot take: My favorite Cyberpunk ending is the same as my favorite Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowind/Fallout ending:
Getting bored of being OP and starting a new save to start fresh... and just "be" in the world and have fun. Main quest with great story? Do not need. Do not want.
I feel you on that one. It's the same in Red Dead Redemption 2. Play the game until about chapter 3. Then just roam the world and never progress the main story :)
There is a lot to be said about the endings, I agree with some of it but have a different view of some :)
What bothered me with the phantom liberty ending (king of pentacles, king of swords I believe they are called), had some issues. The first being that when you go into the facility for surgery you are told you cant contact your loved ones and friends. Which is weird seeing as Judy will go with you when you choose to side with the Aldecaldos. It felt very forced because there is simply no logical reason that you cant even send them a message explaining whats going to happen or just have Judy(in my case usually) come with you.
She then moves on but it felt very contrived, and Panam refused to talk to me, which seemed odd as I was playing female V. Unlike Male V there is no relationship thats abandoned, just friendship. I had a feeling like they forgot to add in a different interaction from the male V one.
V then decides to go back to NC, but I wonder why, I am one of those who is all in with the quiet life away from NC, the NUSA offers you a job, time to do something different. Remember taht without Johnny, you would have died at Dex' hand or by that brainvirus at the Red Queens Race or something. Maybe I'm being to logical here, maybe its the player taking over but its not a life without some very real risks. And I would say you are a legend at that point. Every fixer congratulates you when you do all their gigs and tell you you are the best. Rogue then tells you that you are considered a legend, who just like Morgan Blackhand, left and choose a different life. Your return, she says, would shatter that illusion.
Betraying Songbird felt wrong, but then she kind of uses you and then gives you the cold shower, left with nothing again. I'd be quite cross.
As with Mr Blue Eyes, I remember seeing him when you want to tell Jefferson the truth about how he is being manipulated. He is seen standing across on a balcony. I didnt trust that guy when I saw him and couldnt shake that lack of trust when I met him again at the Afterlife. That ending always felt wrong. Another job to... prove what exactly. A promise for a cure from a guy who would have silenced you earlier in the game because you discovered his schemes and his control of a politician set to become mayor. Jefferson dissapears if you tell him the truth and if you dont, he becomes a puppet.
I also noticed that you gave Johnny your body as female V, that sits wrong with me aswell. I just made him a transperson, basicly unless he is suddenly happy not having a "giant c***" anymore. So that ending bugged me aswell. Ask Quarico, because I know/remember she felt the same way.
I also heard you saying that the nomad ending just lets V live a few more months, but that isnt set in stone as they tell you they know someone who can help you. That makes it a hopeful ending, one I prefer over the cure that Mr Blue Eyes offer, in all honesty. And yes, some of the nomads die, thats very unfortunate. But it is a choice they make to help you.
Those are my thoughts, there is probably more but this will have to do, out of time :)
Well for starters let me just say great video, I'd love more like this for other games. Now onto the topic, let me preface this by saying I am in the camp of "There are no happy endings in Night City" and therefore I typically prefer for things to be quite miserable in this game. While I have watched all endings I haven't actually played all endings, so I am not sure I should rank them exactly as you did so I'll just rank the ones I've done and give smaller notes on the ones I haven't but know enough.
1. The Tower - I love this ending except for one thing. You don't get the Adam Smasher fight and I like giving Johnny that revenge and it's a cool fight. But from a story perspective I really like it, almost everyone around V ends up miserable. Takamura a fugitive, River a dirty cop, Panam will never trust anyone again, Judy moved on from you completely, although she did get married. You get the idea, I like that Vik ends up on a short leash, I love how messed up Night City feels after it, how different and wrong it feels. I like that V is a nobody now, although a fixer seems like a likely position. But will V ever find love again? Companionship? Probably not.
This ending feels so very Night City, more than the others to me. I actually really like that final convo with Johnny, it's touching and emotional and outside of Arthur's Horse and Mordin Solus, games don't usually get choked me up. Overall is it depressing? Yes and that is kind of the point, it's the ending I think fits V's story the most. As for Songbird, I mean I usually play a very moral V but in the end it comes down to her or me, to borrow a line from someone... might as well be her. As you mentioned she lies to you and plans to dupe you from the beginning, my first run I had zero sympathy for her. My second I felt for her but once again... her or me. Plus I like Reed a lot more.
2. Secret Ending - It's a badass ending, kick the front door down and mow everything down in your path. The downside for me? No one dies, Rogue dying in The Sun just felt right to me. However you do get to play as V here and that is why this ending gets the edge over the next one. Also this ending really only feels like it works with the Corpo Background for some reason, maybe Street Kid.
3. The Sun - I like Johnny, great character but I don't like the last mission being him. After all this time as V and have him/her take a backseat for the big showdown just felt wrong. However Rogue dies here so it does add to that depression factor and the landing on the roof was quite cool. Much like the secret ending V dies in this one, so that works for his conclusion.
4. The Star - The only thing I like about this ending is the amount of content they packed into it, it feels like the longest ending. At least those that I've played. But still it feels too hopeful, too close to a happy ending in a way and like I've said this game, this character of V, it doesn't fit in my opinion.
So those are the endings I have gone through so far, as for what I like about the others or what I don't like, well let me get into that here. I really like the phone calls from the Path of Least Resistance ending, I like how everyone is upset with V, however I think The Tower video calls are better. I also really dislike how this has the least amount of content in it.
Any ending giving Johnny the body feels wrong to me, feels like his time has past and he wouldn't even fit in the world anymore. Plus I think he rather go off with Alt in most endings anyway. As much as I like Johnny, him being wiped feels like a fitting conclusion given Night City is a depressing place. The Devil ending has promise for sure, but the only thing I don't like about it is you never really take it to Arasaka at all, in fact you help them so it doesn't feel right, but I gotta give this one a go. Especially to experience just how awful Takamura is as a person.
Overall it comes down to what you think fits and what you are looking for out of the ending to this game, for me I am looking for a miserable conclusion to V's miserable journey because when it comes to happy endings? Wrong city, wrong people.
Ah, I´ve waited for this to vent about one ending ;-) But first of all I agree with almost all you´ve said here and the ranking, too. Furthermore, I think CDPR´s storytelling is generally great and most of the endings are very well thought out and thematically coherent and impactful. A wonderful job overall.
SPOILERS
My complaints are about the Tower ending, which seems fine on the face of it. V makes a choice, with risk involved - about which they are clearly aware, and generally end up with a quiet life, making that a "choosable" possibility. The events unfold somewhat darkly, with a high cost attached, and that´s generally fine, too.
What´s *not* fine is how this is written to conveniently strip V of all they have earned and gathered. V, in most cases and certainly in my playthrough, is on top of the world, so to speak: a multi-millionaire with a lot of very powerful friends. They could just buy Victor´s shop and give it to him, if they wanted. They would not be desolate and poor, not a would-be vagrant as the game wants to contrive. What´s worse, it makes me think "my" V loses everything just because they´re stupid and don´t pause running costs from apartments and such ahead of the operation. (and yes they *are* awared, that the whole thing might take longer). Still, even with the loss of all money, V would easily be able to work some connections, and be greeted back to the city as sort of a living legend or at least someone, who could be, f.e., Kerry Eurodyne´s manager.
On the flipside, and that´s the other thing making this very annoying, is that the game implies everything going to crap in V´s absence. As if noone but V can take care of business, and your friends just become quasi corpo-slaves without you: no agency there. Sort of an end-of-the-world vibe and it´s *your* fault! :D Obviously V wouldn´t really be that important either way, if that was the trajectory of the world and couldn´t save Night City, but that´s strongly implied. But if V *was* this all-important figure, they wouldn´t just conveniently lose all they´d built, because they were gone for two years and lost their cyberware-capability. Everyone else, in any case, can´t just be a collective damsel for V to constantly save, with no power of their own. That diminshes them and the believability of the world.
TLDR: The Tower ending needs Night City and V brought low and aggressively contrives the way that happens, against common sense, character and world believability, and against all the player might have done in the world up until that point.
Also, there would have been really interesting things to do with this ending, and I´m upset, that these opportunities weren´t used. Just a few: 1. V could have been cured, but also forced into NUSA service in Night City, becoming "another Reed" or "another Songbird". 2. V´s body could have been kept by the NUSA or stolen by another power and smuggled somewhere, either for Songbird-style research-in-captivity (very dark / creepy), or to be used as an agent in a very far-away place, like Moscow. 3. V could have been chipped by Netwatch or just enlisted by them as an agent *for them* on that Space Mission. 4. V could have been in an induced Coma by the NUSA (using their body for research), and then awoken by "Blue Eyes" to flee that facility and work for him doing the same Space Mission.
So, I just finished the game for the second time and my very first ending was the Rogue one as well, and I still think that is the most fitting one, tying it all up with the same actors that did the attack back in 2023, but I agree that it's not very satisfying. I get the feeling that the heist Mr. Blue Eyes hires you for somehow gets you towards solving V's problem with the deteriorating brain, so it really is something V "must" do. I don't have Phantom Liberty yet, so I don't know what that includes, but I also always thought that V dies during that heist.
Second ending I did was the Nomad one, as a Nomad myself. It felt bittersweet. The happily ever after felt good, but it did feel wrong to bring the Aldecaldos along, costing several of their lives. I liked the actual ending the most, but I would still agree with you regarding the two top endings.
You also convinced me to actually play the Devil ending, just to experience it once.
I'm glad you decided to experience that ending. But please, brace yourself. I was not exaggerating when I said it was dark.
@@GophersVids I just played the Devil Ending. It is really dark, you weren't kidding. It's definitely worth playing once, the whole Arasaka story took a turn I wasn't expecting, and it was even really fun, but man, the space station is bleak. And the cherry on top is that Hanako tries to get you back to work for Arasaka for the rest of your short life when you refuse the contract, wow.
Again, thanks for recommending it.
I have heard that many players feel that the ending where you meet Mr. Blue Eyes and go to space to do a gig to the Crystal Palace is the most "canon" ending. What do you think?
The first Ending I ever did was the Secret Ending back when it first dropped. I've also done Temperance for PL.
My first ending was Temperance - that one still hits, deep.
But my favorite is ending Songbird to the Moon, soloing Arasaka tower and going for the heist.
I like Temperance, and love how you broke down how getting to it matters, I hadn't given it that aspect much though before. I don't think that Johnny is _done_ in it, just done with Night City. His comment in the mirror at the beginning that "Nobody cares what you look like anyways" makes me think he's at least entertaining the possibility that he'll be stirring up some trouble again. I just feel like he's saying goodbye to the city (partly because Rogue made it clear he had to clear out).
And V's still.out there beyond the Blackwall. And Rogue could call off Johnny's persona non grata staus at any time. Basically, I think it's the strongest ending for a sequel becuse you could have V, Johnny, and Rogue all as active parties. It leaves so many possibilities open.
Knowing what we know of all the endings, including the DLC is that V is very much capable of being cured. With that in mind I truly believe the Aldecaldos ending is the best. Takes some head cannon, but I feel V may eventually be able to find a cure with them.
When the game launched the Star Ending was my favorite ending even though some of the Aldecados dying made it bittersweet, V still got at least 6 months and hope or I thought. But them after playing PL it got me thinking that The Tower, as much as I hate losing my friends and leaving Songbird to suffer is the only ending where the Real V gets to live, in all other endings its not V living, just an Engram, some code produced by an AI that imitates V.
Nomad will always be my favourite endings also keep in mind that they go find a cure for V no matter what so its not necesserally V dying.same with The Sun ending you get chance to get a cure, V wants to live really badly and will do anything for it, its shown through the game.
What are your thoughts on the implication that all the mikoshi endings actually involve original V dying? They all involve uploading and then redownloading yourself back into your body, that would make you the same as Johnny, just with access to the original body.
Johnny himself even says that hes not *really* Johnny Silverhand, just a program copy.
Yeah, you're dead, and the engram is a new person. Star Trek has a similar problem with it's teleporters. They basically kill you, and then create a copy of you somewhere else. The copy will have all your memories and will probably think it's you, but you died when you got disintegrated. You're consciousness, your sense of self, ends, and a new one begins. In that regards the Tower Ending is probably the only one in which the real V survives.
The sun ending does kill a number of Nomads but I do think they are better for it because they got to loot and salvage arguably Arasaka's best tech. They made it out like bandits. I know it's callous but that's how the dystopia was presented. The game made a great deal out of them ambushing Militech for some legacy tanks. In comparison looting Mikoshi and soulkiller? yup... Furthermore, as soon as the ending starts I loved listening to that newscast bemoaning the *sad* destruction of Arasaka.
Never finished my first playthrough, so I've seen any of these. Had no idea there was so many endings.
(Don't fear) The Reaper/The Sun endings. Everyone is still alive in the end plus you go down a legend. This is probably the closest thing to a "happy ending" we see, well imo at least.
I had ranked the Tower just above both versions of the Devil too, but funnily enough this video made me reevaluate something. Night City is goddamn horrible in a way beyond just being a lousy place to live. The city itself feels like the true villain of the story, a sci-fi eldritch monstrosity that burns people out from the inside until there's nothing left. Side story after side story just reinforces that. When you're riding with Jackie to Konpeki Plaza he starts mentioning all the legends who made their name in Night City, and it strikes me that these "legends" never actually changed anything. Those who have burned brightest are just the shiny lures the city uses to keep people thinking it's the City of Dreams while it feasts on their souls. So, it still sucks that V basically loses all their friends because they've either moved on or their lives have taken a turn for the worst. But having to settle into a quiet life? It may be preferable than becoming another bit of glorified bait for the next gloryhound looking to feed themselves into the machine. It brings a quote from Amnesia to mind; "This world is a machine! A machine for pigs! Fit only for the slaughtering of pigs!" That really feels like it applies to Night City.
I still rank it low because you have to sell out Song to Myers and NUSA/Militech and all of them can go choke on a whole basket of dicks, she really doesn't deserve that. But I feel a little better about the end result than before.
Regarding the Aldecaldos ending, it's been ages since I last played that one but I could swear Saul mentions them having other reasons to raid Arasaka. Like, they want to help V, but they wouldn't risk the whole family *just* to save V. There's something in it for them too, and you're just the final bit of weight on that decision.
WELL NEVER FADE AWAY!!!!!
One thing that may be a little bit of a tangent and I can't remember if cp2077 touched on this.
It's something that's illustrated quite well in a game called soma, I think.
If you're a biologic and they/you make an engram or upload your consciousness, you're just making a file copy. You're not pulling your "soul" out and putting it somewhere else.
If your alive and "upload" your consciousness, now there's a copy of you in the virtual reality but the original you just grows old and dies. There's no continuity between the two. So Johnny isn't really Johnny. He's just a copy of Johnny. The real one died.
That concept has to turn the CP story on it's head a little bit when you think about it.
The Blue Eyes Ending is my favorite. But in OG Cyberpunk fashion there is No Good ending just Shades of Gray.
There are four versions of the Temperance ending depending on your relashonship with Johnny. Two for playing as V, and two for play as Johnny, before the end. This counts for all the the other endings as well, as you get different convosations, but is more important with Temperance imo.
So for example if you are playing as Johnny and have a high relashonship and decide to go with Alt, V will try to stop you, and if you choos to take the body, they will support you. If you have a low relashonship on the other hand you can tell V to f off and steal their body.
I dislike doing it myself, but recommend doing at least one "hate Johnny" playthough, for the minor and not so minor differences you can get.
So you actually changed my mind about the Star ending. I was a 'star-ending fan boy' pretty much since the game came out, but I understand the reservations given the amount of dead friends it produces. One aspect of the star ending I like is that it well and truly decimates Arasaka while also uplifting the Aldecaldo's, also I do not feel too terrible about Saul's death given what he implies about it being a calculated political move on his part after he welcomes you to the team.
I actually think my favorite ending is the temperance ending via secret ending, because you are right, the only way it makes sense as a choice is if V is making that choice. The Sun ending never sat right with me because to me it felt like V hadn't really learned anything or grown much as a person. After everything he/she is still trying to be the best in Night City which feels like a jab at everything the character did and experienced throughout the entire game that should help them see past that idea.
I think my 'in a perfect world' ending would be V doing the solo-run to Arasaka, keeping their body, then deciding to run off with the Aldecaldos / love interest, but that's just not really what Cyberpunk is about. You are a Night City Legend and their stories only end one way (Morgan Blackhand/ Blue Eyes being the possible exception).
As for ranking the endings, I may disagree on specific rankings, but on the whole I really agree with you. Don't Fear the Reaper ending is my favourite, hands-down and my only issue with it is I feel like you should be able to choose your epilogue; Stay in NC or leave with the Aldecaldos but that's a bit of "having your cake and eating it too" I suppose, which is unfortunate because doing that; soloing Arasaka and then leaving with the Nomads (and by extension with Judy, my beloved), would be my ideal ending. (Skip to the next paragraph if you haven't watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners, spoilers for that ahead). That, and an ending, or a variant of an existing ending, where you are SOMEHOW able to get Lucy in on the action. Nothing crazy, but maybe she disables some of Smasher's cyberware from a nearby rooftop or something, during the fight making it a little easier (not that it needs to be any easier lmao), but just enough so Lucy can have SOME satisfaction, some amount of vengeance for... well if you've seen Edgerunners, you know and if you haven't what are you doing go watch it, its very happy and family friendly.
Now, I'm not sure if you're aware, I didn't get that impression from the video, but when you do the PL ending, the conversation with Johnny changes DRASTICALLY depending on if you've befriended him. For me, that meant doing everything to unlock the secret ending and THEN choosing to do the PL ending. If you, or anyone reading this, doesn't want the spoiler for how its different, this is your cue to not read the next paragraphs.
No seriously, if you're a masochist, stop reading now and go get that version of the ending yourself.
Basically the tonal shift does a 180. Instead of him being pissed and guilt tripping and shaming you and everything else, he's entirely okay with it. If you express you feel guilty, he'll say the line that truly made the ending 1000x worse for me "You don't have to feel guilty, because I'm giving you permission. I want you to live V". Admittedly I'm paraphrasing, but that's the general idea and it drives home just HOW good a friend Johnny becomes and makes choosing that ending all the more gutpunching.
I really agree with you about The Star. Personally, I find it as quite unsatisfying.
How long it did take to match the beats of your script to Johny's movements at the start there? Masterfully done :)
As for these endings, I quite agree with your ranking. My general feeling is quite similar.
I loved the idea behind each of these endings (today I mean, after playing them months ago) but when I played them, I either viscerally hated the ending or I simply didn't like it: I'm a "paladin" at heart, I like saving the widow and the orphan, and at the end of the adventure sitting on my big treasure, knowing that my character is living happily with his loved ones. But there is none of that in Cyberpunk2077 because there is none of that in the Cyberpunk pen and paper role-playing game franchise. The stories are always half-hearted, bittersweet. And I knew it, having played the tabletop years ago. Well, my bad ahaha.
So I loved the game Cyberpunk2077, I love the atmosphere, the adventure, the journey, the story but if one day I had to play it again, I know that at some point, probably before the end sequence, I would just stop and leave the game hanging.
The two endings I do most are going to Arasaka for "help" and the secret solo ending. Both are therapeutic in just letting go.
For PL I prefer sending So Mi to the moon and shooting Reed but I miss out on the blueprints.
My least favorite, probably very unpopular is ending with Panam.
On the sadness of The Star ending (at least according to Gopher), I completely disagree, because if you read between the lines, you'll figure out Alt was lying to you at the end, based on her own words from earlier.
Secret ending is the only one i would consider if playing again, tho in my first was temperance and i do not really see it as V going away but rather gaining some sort of immortality as part of, and adding a bit to the Alt AI.
Gopher, did you do 10+ playthroughs of this game, or did you reload to experience the other endings?
Oh I did over 10 before 2.0 dropped. And I've probably played as many 2.0 play throughs too :)
@@GophersVidsDo you know the rough average of your playthroughs? I've only gone through it four times (just about to finish that fourth), but I can't seem to see the credits before 200 to 300hrs...
Never done a full male playthrough, and there's a few 2.0 builds I'd still like to do. But they always end up huge playthroughs, and I don't really want to select most endings. I will never hand So Mi to NUSA, for example... So it feels like I've almost run out of reasons for replays, builds aside.
Tower ending isn't that bad, really, you lost most of your friends and lose your cyberware, but you still can shoot, you can train and regain muscle over time, you still can fight, Viktor is still with you, and you get a chance to live a long life. You still can recover and become even better after some time, or choose to live a quiet life. But V has a choice, at least
Johny's character is so, so well made, i truly loved and hated him the same time. I had real emotions for that character. This is how you make support characters! Bravo to CDPR! This game is something ill remember for the rest of my life.
The Star is the best, especially as male V.
Sun > Temperance does have the issues you mentioned, but I think it gives a subjectively better ending for Rogue. She clearly had some regrets from the quiet life, she gets to stand up to smasher and not sit out here.
Going into Temperance it's the only version where she doesn't mistakenly hate Johnny for "stealing" V's body. Still not the best, but better.
Solo ending is the most epic one. The true dream of Night City, to sacrifice yourself for the legend.
I think the Aldecaldos ending is the best one.
28:57 SPOILER
It depends on your relationship with Johnny. He’ll commandeer the body and just take it
Some notes on endings I like, which is most of them, and how they might impact a potential V-sequel, obviously very spoiler-y.:
1. Did anyone actually go with Tower, but also choose to work for Reed / the FIA ? I have no idea, what that ending might be like.
2. Secret Ending / The Sun: It´s affirming of what most players would have done for most of the game and V being an exceptional person. You end up rebelling against your very mortality, or I guess your struggle against mortality continues. You will either succeed or die gloriously, "reaching for the stars", as it were, to save yourself. The change with the secret ending feels like getting away with something - having no price to pay, but at least you take the even greater risk of attacking Arasaka alone. These endings seem to directly set up a sequel, obviously, and either one might be "canonized" as *the* beginning of CP 2078. But I hope, they also allow for other endings in setting up the sequel.
3. Temperance: a fair trade, so to speak. Also an act of love and comradery. Johnny has no right to V´s body, but the most generous range of player characters might want to "gift" this to him anyway. It´s still appropriately bitter-sweet, as Johnny has to live with both a loss of a comrade and getting a second chance at life. It will undoubtedly be a new case of crushing survivor´s guilt, but he can get past it and "be worthy" of the sacrifice, as he tried to be with his other fallen comrade from the war. Probably not usable for a V-sequel, unless maybe Alt contacts him, that the V-engram could be given a body from the Crytal Palace and we play as Johnny (at first).
4. The Star: Another perfectly good ending alongside Temperance. Might be the best for many "Vs", as it were. As people here said, very big shift from the individualistic and ego-centric toward the communal. The Aldecaldos suffer losses, but know what they´re getting into and earn the clan a new start. V got to matter in the world in a way very different from Night City´s values, being a true friend and family member, rather than a more flashy "legend" or "hero". We might call it the "personal growth and reform" ending. Potentially usable for a Crystal Palace sequel as well, if V were informed of a way to save themselves, probably by "Blue Eyes".
5. The Devil: Good to have this very dark option as a thematic counterbalance to the other endings. It also makes it understandable, why V might choose such an option out of desperation. Whatever Arasaka might do with them, they might live again in some form. Or Mikoshi might actually be a fine "living" "space" in order to preserve the value of the engrams to the company. Also V might think they get to live forever through this. This could be attractive to "more out there" Vs. Finally, it´s also very usable for a sequel, where Arasaka puts the V-engram in a body to use on Crystal Palace, f.e.
6. It could be possible to use *any* ending for a sequel, if it´s either something enirely unrelated to V, *or* you can play it as either V or a new character. I´d certainly prefer they keep any 2077 ending viable and as part of the canon.
Of the endings I played I'd rank them.
Nomad because it feels like a nice hopeful ending, Suicide since what Alt tells V about soulkiller it sounds like an ai copy of V would go back into her body, Johnny's him not telling anyone what happened to V, and Legend of the Afterlife is last cause my V didn't care about being a legend she wanted to live and leave Night City with Judy.
I *almost* feel like the tower ending is even worse than the devil. All throughout Phantom Liberty I had the dawning realisation that Songbird is V; a rat in a cage, with no options left. For me my V choosing to save Song, was also V's choice to actively choose to save their own self. It was enough to save just one person from the fate that we know all too well. For my V, she could let go of the pain and struggles against the world, she could quit 'the game' that is living in a cyberpunk dystopian megacity, and instead choose family, and hope. Even if it means death, and no glory.
Because after all, she saved herself, just not her version of herself.
So the tower? Turning her over in any regard? Well if the Devil ending where you deny Arasaka your Engram, and keep that one bit of pride is a better ending; then choosing not to accept Song's offer and end her life is the same. You are replacing *your* Devil ending, by giving it to somebody else. I find that to be infinitely more unsettling.
I think the only argument for the tower being less worse than the Devil, is simply that you haven't given the same power to Arasaka. But is it really any better with the power you've given to Myers? Hard to say.
I didn't like the Tower for two reasons:
One, I didn't like the whole "You are nobody without you Cyberware" narrative. V was a successful merc even at the beginning of the game, where you only have a minimum amount of cyberware. This ending implies V is only as successful as they are because of their cyberware, as if years of experience and training mean nothing. Now obviously without chrome you won't be able to take down the likes of Adam Smasher, but your lack of chrome won't suddenly make you an absolute nobody either. And it makes sense that V was a pushover in that ending, they just went through two years of medical procedures! But according to the game this isn't due to muscle atrophy from being bed-bound for two years, which is perfectly recoverable given enough physical therapy, it's because V can't have chrome anymore. I'm sorry, but I am not buying it. V can recover from this, they can train, they still have all their contacts, all their insider knowledge and they should still have all the money they saved up. I see no reason why this would be the end of V. They could become a fixer or if they really want to continue merc work, they can still do some mid level jobs after they recover. V won't end up a random nobody just because they can't have cyber limbs anyomore.
Second, the ending actively makes the other endings worse. Everyone of your former friends have all these horrible fates in this ending, which is obviously terrible. However, I don't see how it would be different in any of the other endings. If Vik ends up a corpo ripperdoc in the Tower, why would it be any different in any of the other base game endings where V also up and disappears? At least previously I could have imagined he keeps his clinic and continues his job he loves. Now it's almost canon he always ends up as a miserable corpo doc after two years. Or at least I don't see how this would change just because he may still have some more contact with V for a few weeks or months in the other ending where V ultimately will also disappear permantently.
I feel like this entire ending was intentionally made more miserable than it needed to be because CDPR wanted to defy the expectations of a "golden" DLC ending.
secret ending is number 1, but as far as songbird is concerned. i put her out of her misery, I don't think she even really exists anymore. I believe she's been corrupted by the black wall, and a rouge A.I> is really in charge. the blue-eyed man is also infected, and songbird is a way for the rouge A.I. to escape. you're being played from the start.
Don't Fear The Reaper/Temperance Ending >
Soloing Arasaka is peak and giving Johnny a chance to make different choices is the most thematically cohesive choice.
Since there's a spoiler warning on this video, I won't bother beating around the bush. For me the stuff that ruins the Phantom Liberty ending isn't V without Cyberware or anything like that, it's the friendship stuff. There's no point where V is able to fill their friends in on what's going on when they get the cure, which when you have a phone IN your head seems really silly. IF V still had their friends, or even a couple of them when they return to Night City after waking up that's one thing, but no EVERYONE is gone.
Only ending that made sense to me was Silverhand and V going it alone and then i gave him the body because he really had changed, and besides dying in a puddle of your own leaking brain juice is not something i wanted for V. With V behind the blackwall I at least felt that one day he could return just as silverhand had, sure it wont be your body but hey its a new suit to go advertising in. Its the one ending that just made the most logical sense "for me at least" an easy choice to make.
I think which ending is "best" is almost entirely around the idea of autonomy. Specifically it's around who's autonomy you're thinking of when you're making your choices and playing out your V. If we're looking at from the perspective of my (the players) autonomy, I substantively agree with this list. If you're looking at it from the perspective of V it looks very different.
My first playthrough I got the full devil ending which, on the surface, is terrible. However my V was the Corpo start. My V was a professional, in control, successful and above all in charge of her own life. Enter Johnny, in a way it felt like V was being violated every time he came to the surface basically rising to the point of V being... that r word that UA-cam isn't so fond of. And the violation wasn't just of the body, it was of the mind and of the (at minimum digital) soul.
My perspective (and to be clear, in that play through the one and only opinion of Johnny was piss off interloper, you had your life, this one is mine) was that having Johnny in her body was an endless nightmare that was, on top of everything else, slowly killing her. From that perspective, any eventuality that freed her from the situation was "good" and it felt like the devil ending, while depressing, was the most "appropriate" ending for a Corpo V. Putting her trust in the people that created the technology just made sense.
That ending, incidentally, is one of my favorite gaming moments of my life. I felt genuine regret for how it turned out but still felt like I made the choices that my V would have made.