Prior to the release of Cyberpunk, I had read an article that they had decided to make the main storyline shorter than in the Witcher games because a fairly high percentage of players never finished the entire thing. I was a bit surprised when I went to complete a main storyline mission and got the "you can't turn back from here" warning. I mopped up ALL the side content (I'm a sick, sick completionist who just can't stop myself from the map marker journey) and then prepared for the fateful meeting with Hanako Arasaka. Hanako informs V that yes, she finally believes V's story about the death of her father, and now she's prepared to offer V help with the biochip that is slowly killing them. Johnny is, of course, not a fan of any dealings with the corporate elite and knows better than to trust any of them. V is left with the unfortunate reality--they have to deal with the chip and the solutions aren't great--if V wants to live, they will need to let Johnny take over (meaning that V ceases to exist in V's body) or they will need to find a way to free Johnny. Things take a more serious turn when the Relic seriously malfunctions and V finds themself awakening at Viktor's ripperdoc office. They managed to drag themselves there, but Viktor informs V that they don't have long and that it's decision time. Misty kindly offers to take V to a quiet spot where they can sit and think about their options. (Apparently these options can vary somewhat depending on actions that the player chooses to take throughout the game)
Option #1: The Devil
Hanako Arasaka offered V help with fixing the chip in exchange for V's assistance in dealing with her brother (the murderous Yorinobu). During the meeting, Hanako is intentionally extremely vague about what exactly that help entails. V can repeatedly press her about exactly what the plan is...but Hanako refuses to reveal anything other than the actions V needs to take. It feels very shady, but since Arasaka made the chip, aren't they V's best option for fixing it? Johnny is completely opposed to this path since he hates the corps and knows that they are a bunch of evil empires trying to grab more and more control.
I picked this option first and immediately it felt wrong. While V is waiting for Hanako to send a car to pick them up, Misty offers to read your tarot. After the reading, V tells Misty that they are helping Arasaka and Misty immediately expresses disgust because, after all, Arasaka killed Jackie. Ouch...kind of forgot about that.
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| Night City is gorgeous. |
The actual mission involves rescuing Hanako from her home where she is being held captive by her brother (the rescue part of the mission is easy). Once V has rescued her, V and company fly to the Arasaka headquarters. Hanako is still very cagey and will only reveal the actions she needs V to take. After infiltrating the building Hanako reveals that Arasaka has made an engram of her father (the murdered Saburo Arasaka). V agrees to testify before the board of the Arasaka corp but Hanako reveals that they knew that Saburo had been murdered and that they really didn't care. Sooo, what the actual hell? It's very obvious that there's more in play here.
V and Hanako head to the board meeting (with Hanako noticeably grabbing a device near where Saburo's engram is stored). V gives their statement, no one is shocked and they all basically state that they knew of the murder. Hanako decides it's time to reveal Saburo's engram to the board and they are all shocked, but weirdly deferential to...a program? Alarms blare and a bunch of decked out Arasaka soldiers open fire on the meeting, killing many of the members. Yorinobu's forces have made it into the building and V now has to fend them off. After a brief gun battle, Hanako directs V to head to the CEO's office to capture Yorinobu. There is a combat/stealth segment as V works through the building to make it to the elevator to reach the office.
Upon reaching the top floor, V is greeted by the hulking metal form of Adam Smasher--the mostly machine bodyguard of Yorinobu. Smasher is a boss fight and has a combination of machine gun and homing missile attacks. Overall, it's not too challenging, and after V defeats Smasher they can choose to spare or kill him. (I spared him--he's basically a head on a pile of burning metal by that point) V can finally enter the CEO's office and capture Yorinobu. Hanako was very specific about not harming him and V is on their last legs anyway. V finds Yorinobu sitting on the floor in ritual robes with a gun at his side (it looks like he was giving serious thought to suicide). V collapses, moves the gun away, and awaits the arrival of Hanako. I fully expected Hanako to enter the room with some guards, to arrest her brother, or possibly kill him, but none of those things happen. She weirdly comforts him and is...apologetic? There's something fishy going on, but by this point, V isn't in any condition to piece together the puzzle. Hanako agrees to take V to where the chip can be fixed.
V wakes up in cyberspace and gets a few last moments to talk to Johnny. Since V opted to take the help of the corp, Johnny's not exactly friendly and basically tells V they've made a bad choice. V attempts to say goodbye, but by this point Johnny isn't having any of it. It feels bad--Johnny basically turns his back in anger and won't address V. Then, V wakes up in real-life--in a sterile, medical room. The procedure was a success, the chip was fixed and now V just needs to recover from the operation. V is escorted to a room and walks past a bank of windows...that look out onto the stars--it's a space station! Once V is in their room, a doctor comes in to administer some tests--there are several stages that involve simple tasks like answering questions or solving a simple cube puzzle. V has a difficult time solving the puzzle (understandable, give the situation) and then is asked to get on a treadmill and walk. V collapses...okay, that's kind of weird, but still understandable. V heads to bed to get some rest and recover.
Upon waking up, V is greeted by a newscast from Night City that reveals that Saburo's engram was inserted into Yorinobu. Saburo is back at the head of Arasaka...in the body of Yorinobu. Wow! The entire plan was for Saburo to take over Yorinobu's body. The doctor enters the room again and asks V to complete the same battery of tests...and the results are just as disappointing. The cycle of the doctor appearing, administering the tests and then V failing them continues repeatedly--finally, V gets fed up and decides that they're not doing the tests any more. The doctor states that V can call people on Earth that they care about (if they want)--V calls up their love interest and friends and informs them that they are on the space station--weirdly, no one seems that upset by it...even the love interest. They implore V to find a way to get back to Earth. V is frustrated and can vent anger by wrecking the room and then goes to sleep.
The next morning a new visitor drops by--Anders Hellman (or possibly Takemura, if V rescued him). Hellman informs V that despite removing the chip, the damage caused was too extensive...V only has six months to live. Luckily, Arasaka is pioneering Save Your Soul technology that can save engrams of people for possible implantation into a new body. He presents V with the option of signing a contract with Arasaka and agreeing to be made into an engram or leaving the station and returning to Earth to live out their remaining six months. Nothing like choosing between two unsatisfactory choices (and this is what I love about CD Projekt's writing).
I opted to have V choose the upload--you see a brief cutscene of your V heading into a room with a machine and holding the pendant with the bullet that Viktor pulled out of their skull. It's oddly emotional...but freakin' disappointing. For some reason I was very focused on trying to find an option where V got to stay V and could be free of Johnny. The reality of this option though is that V is completely at the whims of Arasaka--signing the contract means they control what happens--there's no guarantee that V would ever even get out of the soul prison. It really is a deal with the devil.
It's very easy to reload an autosave prior to signing the contract and opting not to sign it. If you opt not to have V sign the contract you will see a different cutscene of your V walking to the shuttle bay, looking out the window and seeing Earth, and then putting their hand on the glass above Earth. Annnd...that's it.
I really hated this ending with a passion. One of the main reasons I hated it was because of the fact V gets little closure with her close friends and love interest. V gets one chance to make some calls, but the calls themselves are very short and unsatisfying. There's just not any closure in this ending--you don't know V's fate at all. It's apparent that Arasaka was using V as a guinea pig to gather data about the effects of the Relic--after all, they don't want Saburo/Yorinobu to meet the same fate.
Go figure that I would pick the absolute trash ending the first time around.
Option #2: The Star
I was feeling seriously dissatisfied after picking the horrible ending, so I decided that it was time to fire up the handy pre-choice save and make a different decision. Luckily, this is very easy due to the fact that the game automatically creates a save at the critical juncture and it's just a matter of navigating to the point where V has to choose. Since my number one concern was trying to keep V as V, I opted for the choice that I saw as the middle ground--asking Panam and the Aldecaldo's to help with infiltrating Arasaka. I wasn't immediately keen on this choice because of the fact that V is asking for her friends to place themselves in a dangerous and potentially deadly situation. (*this choice might only be available if you complete all of Panam's storyline and go along with all her shenanigans)
V remembers that Panam tells them that she owes them a favor, so why not call her up and ask her to to participate in a completely bonkers mission? The Aldecaldo's immediately agree to help...even despite all the risks and the fact that people will likely die. Panam picks V up at Misty's and they arrive at the Aldecaldo camp--it's time to start planning for how they will penetrate the defenses of one of the most powerful corporations in Night City. Saul and Panam cook up a plan to steal a high powered drill from a nearby mining facility (heavily guarded by Militech forces) and to use it to drill into the lower area of the Arasaka tower. Luckily for V, they helped the Aldecaldo's steal an armored Basilisk from Militech and it's perfect for the job of decimating the defenses in the mine. Unfortunately though, the Basilisk needed some serious tweaking to get it ready for the conflict...and, there's a chance things could go wrong.
One of the best moments in the mission comes in the camp after the plan has been agreed upon--the Aldecaldo's make V an official member of their clan and bestow them with a legendary Aldecaldo's jacket. Step one of the plan involves V attempting to contact Alt Cunningham in cyberspace so that Alt will agree to help with Mikoshi and penetrating the Arasaka defenses. Dealing with the AI is always weird and V can't really be sure that it is trustworthy. After a dangerous bout of netrunning, V receives a powerful virus from Alt and the promise that the AI will help with the plan (this involves barbequeing all of Dakota's netrunning gear..something that she's not thrilled about). It's after this point that V can wander around the camp and talk with the various members of the Aldecaldo's. In their conversation with Mitch it is revealed that clan politics are pretty sketchy (part of what happens might hinge on the decision to get Saul and Panam to work together) and that Saul could possibly be making a power play to keep Panam away from any leadership roles. It's an unsettling discussion and V can sort of confront Saul about it. The meeting wraps up with a sit down and talk with Panam about the past and future of the Aldecaldo's (Cyberpunk is absolutely chocked full of people sitting in scenic locations and taking in the views).
The day of the big mission rolls around and V and Panam hop into the Basilisk and take their place in the Aldecaldo procession. When they reach the mining facility they easily penetrate the outer defenses and everything seems like it might go well...until it doesn't. The Basilisk suddenly loses power and the Aldecaldo's start taking heavy fire. One of them is killed by enemy fire...it's the first loss of potentially many. V is tasked with leading the rest of the Aldecaldo's into the main camp while Panam attempts to fix the Basilisk. The combat isn't anything crazy. Carol and Mitch are tasked with getting the massive drill operational...something that takes time. V's next task is to fend off the waves of angry Militech reinforcements trying to stop the takeover. The Aldecaldo's provide support and there's tons of shooting (and tons of dead Militech soldiers). Unfortunately, the Aldecaldo's take more casualties--another veteran is killed while defending.
The drill finally gets fired up and Panam manages to restore power to the Basilisk. V re-enters the Basilisk and uses it as a battering ram to smash through the entrance to the mine. Saul joins V and Panam as they enter the mine tunnel. It's at this point that they get an urgent distress call that the Aldecaldo's in the mining camp are being overwhelmed...they need support! Mitch offers to take the Basilisk and return--something that is extremely risky since it's not meant to be piloted by one person and it could possibly kill him. V's required to make another tough call--do you risk sending Mitch back or do you call the plan off? I opted to send Mitch back...it seemed like the best and only option. Saul also peels off to offer some support. V and Panam enter the drill and prepare to start it up--it starts and then Panam says to crank it up...everything starts shaking and falling apart--the whole thing is going to explode! Fortunately, it doesn't, but Panam looks to have been electrocuted. Luckily, she is fine (after some very anguished calling her name...it gave me palpitations and, I'm guessing that if you make some different choices that she might not make it).
V and company have reached the lower levels of the Arasaka building. The next task is finding an access point to plug in the virus from Alt. The lower levels are sparsely defended and it's mostly a matter of sneaking around patrols. Upon reaching the access point and installing the virus now it's time to see if Alt will keep her/its word--something that she/it does. The virus gives the AI control of Arasaka's defenses and it immediately wipes out anything human that could pose a risk--something that Saul points out. The Relic starts massively malfunctioning and V is barely keeping it together. Saul, Panam, and V reach a broken door--Saul holds it open to allow V and Panam to crawl through but he suddenly gets pulled back--it's our old friend Adam Smasher...and true to his name, he smashes poor Saul. V and Panam face off with Smasher and take him down. The last step is V entering Mikoshi.
V jacks into Mikoshi and meets up with Alt and Johnny. It's here that V gets stuck with essentially the same news/choices as in The Devil ending--Alt has uploaded the Soulkiller program and separated V and Johnny's personas. The bad news is that the Relic processes have caused too much damage--V only has six months to live. V is presented with a slightly different set of options--they can opt to enter cyberspace with Alt (meaning they retain their body/consciousness, but must exist as an AI like Alt); they can give their body to Johnny (meaning they will live since V's body is accepting of Johnny--but this means that V isn't V anymore...) and re-enter the world; of they can choose to keep V's body but accept the fact that V only has six months to live. Unlike The Devil option, Johnny seems more willing to accept V's choices in this ending--he states that he's willing to join Alt in cyberspace if V wants to keep their body.
I opted to have V enter the well and re-enter the world knowing that their time was limited. After making this choice, V wakes up inside of Panam's car. Panam is sitting on the edge of the dam where she initially hung out with V (early in her storyline) and she invites V over to take a final look at Night City--the plan is that the Aldecaldo's are leaving Night City and the Badlands. V and Panam share a moment (with a moment of unpleasant reminder when Panam tells V that their nose is bleeding--a sign of their illness) before heading to a rendezvous with the remaining Aldecaldo's.
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| 100% team Judy. |
Once they reach the rendezvous point V is informed that they have a visitor--since Judy was my LI, she is there to join V! I was very happy that this ending included a way to tie-in V's relationship (something that might be different if you choose someone else due to the fact that Judy states that she wants to leave Night City) and V and Judy get to share some nice moments of saying goodbye to Night City. From there, everyone loads up and heads to the Aldecaldo tunnel that will allow them to sneak out undetected by the many parties who are pursuing both V and the Aldecaldos. The ending wraps up with a nice moment of Panam and V sitting atop the Basilisk--V takes off the bullet pendant and releases it--a signifier of a new beginning.
I enjoyed this ending and was very happy that it was so much better than The Devil ending. It's a happier ending, but it's still bittersweet--the Aldecaldo's took heavy losses including their leader and some of their most veteran members, they have to flee from Night City, and V is dying. On the other hand, the Aldecaldo's accept V as a full clan member in a very heartwarming way and V gets to leave with Judy (some closure that I felt was definitely lacking in The Devil). I would be interested to see if this ending changes with a few different earlier choices in Panam's storyline.
Option #3: The Sun/Temperance
The third option is to let Johnny take the reins and storm the Arasaka HQ. Of course, such an impossible task would require some serious help so he recruits the help of the best fixer in Night City--Rogue. Rogue isn't immediately on board though and requires a bit of finessing before she agrees--she and Johnny also make their feelings known, something that didn't pan out during the earlier "date" mission.
Rogue uses all her connections as the "queen of Night City" can calls in every favor to come up with a plan for how they can successfully reach Mikoshi. The plan is insane--using a Militech bomber to blow a hole in the side of the building, enter through said hole, and then use special anti-grav jump boots to descend to the lower levels to where Mikoshi is located. But, the biggest part of her plan hinges on her ability to blow up a satellite and knock out communications to all of NC--whoa! The entire vibe of the mission is recreating the good ol' days of yore and storming the castle.
I felt like the mission itself had some of the easiest combat of all the ending options--you really don't face a ton of resistance. There are some guards to take out the various levels. Things take a turn when you reach that damn jammed gate outside of Mikoshi (since I had played through the other endings I knew that Smasher was lurking)--this time, it's Rogue that faces his metal wrath. Smasher grabs her and stabs her right in the chest. Rogue isn't one to go down without a fight though and manages to jam a grenade into Smasher's chassis. It doesn't kill him, but it's her last act of defiance. Then, Johnny fights off Smasher and gets to choose his fate (I shot him this time...seriously, screw that guy, and I firmly believe that Johnny would shoot him).
Once Johnny reaches Mikoshi and plugs in it feels like a reverse of the scene from The Stars ending. Johnny meets V in cyberspace and they briefly converse about how weird everything is--it's weird seeing V from Johnny's perspective. Then, Alt pops up and drops the "six months to live" bomb. Now, as Johnny you have to make the choice, and it's strangely difficult. Johnny can re-enter the real world through the well, but he'll be stuck in V's body or he can choose to enter cyberspace and give V back their body (with the same shitty outcome of V only having a few months left). Another lose-lose situation.
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| Gotta love the random outfits. |
The first time, I had Johnny stay in cyberspace and let V return to their body (keeping on trend with my V lives pattern). V wakes up in a swanky new apartment...with Judy (or your chosen LI...but it should be Judy...just sayin') by their side. Things seem peachy, but this is the one scenario where V's limited lifespan comes to the forefront--V hops into the shower and is coughing up blood, something that they're trying to hide from Judy. Basically, V seems to have made it--they're top dog in Night City and living the life of a top mercenary. Judy wants to talk though...and it's not a good talk. Even though V is dying, Judy still wants to leave NC and states that she feels alone...that V is more invested in being the top fixer--V just got dumped. V boards a waiting Delamain AV and heads to Afterlife--where they've apparently taken over Rogue's place. V attends a meeting with a mysterious client who is offering an extremely dangerous job--V's got nothing to lose and accepts the job. The next scene is on a space ship where V is preparing to storm a space casino. The airlock opens and V floats out....you see the air leak out of the helmet and you know--this was a suicide mission. Going out in a blaze of glory at the top of the food chain...that's what this ending is. Being at the top felt very hollow though.
With a quick reload of an earlier save I reversed my decision and allowed Johnny to enter the well and take control of V's body. With all these endings, this is really the only one where V gets to live (longer than 6 months)--but, it's Johnny in V's body...and, not V at all, so does that even count? Johnny wakes up in his apartment and it's clear that he's packing up to leave town. He gathers up Rogue's gun, a small bag, and a bus ticket. Then, he heads down the hall to enlist the help of a neighbor kid to drive him to the bus. Johnny and the kid have a nice relationship--Johnny is helping the kid learn to play the guitar and giving him advice about music. It appears that Johnny has matured. Johnny tells the kid that they have a few stops to make before the bus.
During the drive, Johnny imparts lots of musical advice on the kid and he's shockingly not an asshole about it. The first stop is at a music store where Johnny wants to pick out a new guitar. Johnny and the kid have some more nice moments of student/teacher vibes as they browse classic guitars. Johnny picks out a snazzy, classic model using all his guitar expertise. They return to the car and Johnny asks the kid to drive him to the cemetery. Once they've arrived, Johnny searches for a niche and finds the one marked for Rogue. He leaves Rogue's gun in the niche and says goodbye. Then, surprisingly, he finds a different niche and it's for V. He leaves the bullet pendant and also says his goodbye to V (which was strangely tear jerking). Then, he boards the bus. The kid runs after him to tell him he forgot the guitar...an intentional act. The scene cuts away as you see V/Johnny rolling away from NC on the bus--Johnny is heading for a new beginning. I felt weird about this ending--it's another mixed bag--V's body is alive, Johnny is alive....but it's just not right. The worst part comes during the credits (different characters will leave V messages which can be different depending on the ending)--Judy calls V and is very distraught--wanting to know why V hasn't called and if they're still alive--it really tugs at the heartstrings.
Option #4: Forget it all.
I don't think I could ever choose it, but Viktor gives V a pistol along with the pills...there's always the option to just end it all. I guess that the upside is that the only person who gets hurt in this scenario is V/Johnny.
So, what's the best ending?
In true CD Projekt Red story writing fashion...there aren't really any happy endings to be found. If your true goal is for V to stay V...well, V's lifespan is going to be exceptionally short in any of them. With that in mind, my ultimate goal for my V was that she would spend the last part of her life being happy. The ending that I felt the most positive about was The Star--V is accepted into the Aldecaldo's and she and Judy get to ride off into the sunset--granted, they do have to leave Night City, but Judy's message during the credits is very positive. The other ending I felt somewhat positive about was the one where Johnny takes over V's body...but...it also just felt weird because it's not V.
I guess the moral of the entire story boils down to the question Dexter DeShawn asks V early in the game--does he/she want a quiet life or do they want to go out in a blaze of glory? V gets to rise to the top as a legend but pays the price. The quiet life involves getting uploaded into the soul prison or staying in cyberspace--does that even count as being alive?
Thanks to CD Projekt for making my head and heart hurt. Even though players don't get a happy ending, I enjoyed the pain of making the tough choices. I'm in love with Night City and can't wait to feel the pain all over again.
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