I just love how refreshing the star ending is. It really hammers down the idea of there being no happy endings in Night City…the only way you get your happy ending is when you leave all together
Also V can 100% get cured. Alt and hellman aren't medical professionals haha..your body literally just needs a bone marrow flush to rid it of Johnny's T cells, your DNA recognizes proteins not ideas, biotechnica can just flush you out, replace em and cure you in an hour. Absolutely my headcanon since it's silly to act like you have to die or have no tech Also in the PL ending even IF you can't have implants..you can be a goddamn fixer and there's whole gangs of biological dudes in canon, plus..GUNS EXIST. Its just needlessly bleak
I prefer the Sun ending more. Yeah V doesn't leave with his friends but he/she dies doing what they know best. Which is being a Merc/Legend in Night City. Also he kinda adopts Johnny's mentality of if I'm going to die.... I'm going to die strictly on my terms.
@@maskedman5657 Even going for the Star ending, V already made a name in Night City. He/she even gets hired by Lizzy Wizzy and the Peralez without a fixer as middleman.
I would rate the endings in the same order. Riding the tank while leaving NC with Outsider No More in the background is really emotionally rewarding, for me. My first playthrough made me replay craving for a happier or at the very least hopeful aftertaste after the Sun ending. Awesome video and looking forward to the Orion theory!
I think I’m going to do the same. I got the sun ending the first time with my nomad V and it left a very bitter taste in my mouth, leaving me unsatisfied and disappointed. It felt like my V is just living out Jackie’s Dream, and is just depressed, only fighting to survive, not to live. I feel like giving my V the star ending would be giving my V what she truly wants, which is to have family and friends, people that matter to her. Even if she doesn’t find a cure with the Aldecaldos, at least she can die with people she cares about rather than being lonely and depressed as a legend of night city, essentially becoming Rogue 2.0.
Mate I’ve played over 600+ hours 3 different profiles Phantom Liberty included and I just want to commend you for your efforts with an outstanding job… this video Sam awesome 👍🏻
Outside of the deaths in the star ending the biggest disappointment is finding out Saul's real reason for approval for this ideal is his desire to maintain leadership & possibly raid Arasaka for valuable tech. He's honestly the more level headed leadership in the Aldecados even though Panam is right about their previous trajectory. Even Panam felt something off about his approval.
After learning what V meant to the Aldecaldos in the tower ending, my ranking was Sun > Temperance > Tower (Max Johnny relationship). So much for family. At least in these three endings you either die in a blaze of glory with no one else dying or something bittersweet yet peaceful until old age.
The star ending without a doubt is the most wholesome ending especially as a nomad in my opinion, but don't fear the reaper is without a doubt my favorite ending i loved everything about it
Yeah, I'm pretty certain that the endlessly sad outcomes of the Tower ending are largely a consequence of V's absence. Many of V's friends gave up their dreams because V wasn't there to inspire them to be their best selves (especially Viktor), and without the TKO of storming Arasaka Yorinobu wasn't able to quite kill the dragon. It says to me that fighting all the way through to Soulkiller is necessary to bolstering everyone's drive to succeed, as V has become a revolutionary force. With Arasaka crippled after losing its cash cow, it signals to the world that the corporations can be beaten, and Vik will never stop fighting because you never did. That's how what you did mattered. In ways large and small, you helped the world turn just a bit towards the sun.
The Star will always be my official ending. At least for the OG story. It was the first one I picked back when the game first released. Playing on a base Xbox One and loving every minute of it, bugs and all. Currently playing Phantom Liberty for the first time and have no idea how these new endings will go…
After the tower ending Star ending looks and feels a lot better V gets to have a family once again, sided with a family that will fight the entire world, Panam, the definition of here until the very very end A shot at a cure (which I believe he get, and gets to live) and can live happy. A family, a home and the finest girl in the West and South side
On my first playthrough, I started Corpo so decided to honour that backstory. I really enjoyed the Japanese aesthetic so was happy to follow Arasaka. I romanced River and I finally felt that V had something to look forward to in her life. I didn't realise that my choices led me to the Devil ending, and the ending made me feel really sad and alone. I chose not to be uploaded to Arasaka but instead return home for the last 6 months. However, my phone call to River had a really friendly feeling about it, not romantic, which bothered me in a way I can't describe. I assume that V and River met up for the last 6 months of her life but I would have liked to have seen this played out a little. I guess the game did what it meant to - it made me feel and ponder my own relationship in real life. Will choose differently for my next playthrough. Can't wait to explore further.
The Sun, ending on a massive amount of hope, unless you picked Judy and V actually survives beyond 6 months and everything you still lose. At least even Panam leaves a message sounding willing reconnect if V leaves the city. The Star ending, while it does seem on of the best in a lot of ways, Rogue is still alive to let Johnny have some peace, the Aldecados gain a lot of funds, if you keep V in their body, then V gets some more time, but with an unknown promise of maybe extending it. But if it doesn't, you actions get even more Aldecados killed to only get 6 months guaranteed. I have to wonder if the Aldecados in general will continue to see V as a net positive for the group if they still die 6 months later or not. And if V lives longer, how will they feel when raw emotion probably takes over for most over the logical fact that the Aldecados are better off logically (and does anyone actually understand what they prevented Arasaka doing?). Maybe it would end up being one of those things they already know what kind of situation they're in participating attacking corporations, and may see it for the best, but I've seen too much selfishness in too many people to believe that happening fully. I think for me though, whether the Sun or Star ending is best, largely depends on romantic interest. Both achieve the goal of taking down Arasaka, at least in preventing Saburo from being immortal, but if you're also after having ties to a love interest, the ending you pick also dictates which of those are viable. For both the guys, you have to stay in NC, and leave for the girls.
I find it selfish that V would romance anyone knowing that they potentially only have weeks to live (according to Viktor at the end of act 1). Especially in Judy's case considering how she's still dealing with the death of Evelyn.
I call BS on the tower ending. Cause it just needlessly nerfed V. I mean you're telling me a legend was so poor they couldn't hold onto their properties for a mere 2 years? They couldn't hold onto their cars and main house in night city and have plenty of money in the bank? They could've at least have a modified version of this ending where if V has, say, 1 million or more eddies then V still has their properties and such. And V still has their connections. Sure, V wouldn't be a powerhouse, but they'd still have enough influence to hold a comfortable life at the very least. Afterall, night city is also all about money too. And V started from the bottom with even less, I'm sure they can start again. Perhaps not physically powerful but influentially powerful.
I still consider the endings The Sun (invading Arasaka alone, keeping Rogue alive, and becoming a legend in Afrerlife) and The Star leaving with Panam (Male V) or Judy (Female V) the best endings. The Sun seems to me like the ending that the Outlaw or a greedy Corpe would make. The Star is an ending that a Nomad or a more humanized Corpe would make.
While I get the Star is a happier ending, to me, I'll put Don't Fear the Reaper above it. My fav V is street kid, and to me becoming a legend in NC is fulfilling not just as V's aim, but it's also honoring Jackie's legacy. I know this also means that V fails in his/her final character development, breaking out of the cycle of NC and choosing family and friends over personal vanity, but given how V is basically dead without a miracle, it's a final fuck you to the city that he loves and hates. Plus blasting through Saka Tower with Johnny as your hypeman is pure joy.
My main problem with the Don't Fear the Reaper ending was that I actually fully agree with Panam. Why spend the last few months of your life with a bunch of sycophants and shady opportunists when you can be surrounded by family? There was no option to say "Hey man, screw this shady Blue Eyes job, I'll take my chances hoping Panam's contacts can help me"
still wierd that there is a Panam and the Aldacado ending, but not a Judy and the Mox ending. Or i guess Kerri and Samurai ending, or River and NCPD ending. Kerry and River would still probably be the low end of endings more wish their was a Judy ending than the other two.
I chose the suicide ending while I was super depressed... it hit me so damn hard because I felt like I was V and Johnny, Viktor, everyone from that ending screen was talking to me directly. I felt so sad cause I genuinely felt like it was directed to me. That's one of the big pushes that made me at least fight to work on myself. I think this ending is both the worst and the best because first of all, it's depressing as fuck and second it sort of pushed me to be better and in a way saved my life.
I hope the developers have even an idea of how impactful an ending like that has been for a lot of players. It definitely left a mark on me as well, and changed my entire outlook on life. Never stop fighting
Yeah, but the star improved my love life. The Tower is making me increase my relationship with my friends. J Man Silverhand made me bawl with the “Goodbye, V.” Only to realize J Man was the only friend you’ve ever had.
The Star ending is my most favourite ending. Not only does it give us hope that V will survive but if V does die they'll be surrounded by friends and loved ones while being free of Night City.
My theory was always that V actually manages to live longer if he/she leaves with the Aldecaldos. The reason I believe this is because of the Tarot fortune Misty draws for V in The Star's ending. Misty draws The Chariot, The Lovers, & The Sun. The one I want to focus on the most is The Sun. The Sun symbolizes Joy, Celebration, but most importantly it symbolizes Success. I think V manages to prolong his/her life by a few more years by leaving. Less use of cyberware probably expands their life longer.
I just downloaded Cyberpunk 4 days ago. What an amazing game. Panam just texted V and told him she loved him (and she and Saul might have found a way to save V) while I was collecting all the Tarot cards. Finished the tarot cards and Misty told me about the four paths the cards show. Honestly, I dont want get to any of the endings. I think Ill just ride around on Jackies bike, taking out bad guys randomly and bask in the glow of Panam's love lol
The Star ending is actually very weird if you think about it! The terms "a new life", "a new home", "a new beginning" are mentioned several times. However, according to Alt, V has around 6 months to live. And V's body will start giving up well before those 6 months pass. This is basically a death sentence and an extremely short one at that. A person doesnt think about new life and new beginnings when they know they have less than half a year left. It just doesnt happen. V would be depressed, not overly-exited about all this. Also, if V is about to die in 6 months, would they push their love interest to leave Night City behind and start a totally new life just to be together of 6 months? This doesnt make sense either. Why would female V promise happiness to Judy, if she knows she will die in 6 months and Judy will be super depressed from that? Finally, the strangest part is Mitch's holo call during the credits. He asks V how they are doing right now and where they are. However, V escapes Night City together with Mitch. So it would make sense that Mitch should know about her whereabouts and how she is doing, at least in the next few months. I doubt V will ditch the Aldecaldos, with whom she escaped to search for a better life, just so they can die a month or two later alone. All this will make sense only if V actually makes it longer than initially expected.
@@konstantingeorgiev7521Yeah no shit it's weird if you look at it like that, you're missing the core theme of the ending, hope, the star is the tarot of hope
As much as I agree that The Devil is the worst ending, I still think it's my favorite. It even has my favorite scene, with V waking up and doing a tiresome routine over and over again, trying to talk to Johnny and realizing he's not there anymore. It's haunting. And it stuck with me ever since I played it back in 2020.
oh ym fuck my first playthrough i picked this ending for no damn reason and BY GOD it was 2 in the morning and having to do the same shit over and over and over and over and over again made me irrationally angry
I really like that the two worst endings are a result of you just powering through the main quest. Only through slowing down and caring about people can you really have any shot or any closure.
Isnt that ultimately the best thing to do in anyones life? Making connections and caring about people. Everything else in our human experience is for naught.
What would be a really cool feature would be if you get an ending with Alt, before a certain number of days pass, she states that it isn't too late for V, maybe they'll still get coughs and fits, but there's no imminent death
The Star is the best ending for a Noman V. Nomad V lost their original family clan came to night city made a friend, lost a few, but made it out the otherside with a new family. Noman V didn't get chewed up and spit out or lose their soul to Night City. It's almost like a western. A stranger comes to town ends up in the mix and end the end leaves.
I kinda feel the opposite. It's a little embarassing. Like you could've just stick to your values and what made you a nomad in the first place instead of going to the city, taking huge L and going back with your tail between legs. Star ending is imo most satisfying for corpo V, who escaped the soulless prison and finally found people he truly cares about.
One thing I will say is that, while going for Dont Fear the Reaper, having Doom's The Only Thing They Fear is You playing with the cyberpunk music off makes that ending really freaking cool.
Don't Fear the Reaper into Temperance is my favorite ending, by a lot. V already accepted that death was inevitable. No reason to get Rogue or a bunch of nomads killed. If you're lucky, you survived your suicidal charge into Arasaka HQ and Johnny gets a new life as well; even if Rogue and Panam are out for his head.
I should've done this. I just finished it my first time but j did the Sun. Anyways this also works because V gets one last blaze of glory, one last joyride before handing the keys over for good
The Devil ending is unironically my favorite. It's easily the most grim, but I also think it's the best written, and the most thematically impactful in terms of showing the power and horror that these massive corporations actually wield over the lives of others. I also like that if you reject Arasaka's final contract it's one of the only outcomes where the real V actually survives and chooses to live out their final days on their own terms, and isn't casually replaced by a copy from Alt which everyone just kind of glosses over.
Ikr, people seem to ignore the implications of V being Soulkilled in all endings except the Tower and the Devil. And we learn about this problem both from Alt as well as from Johnny himself, so it's not like V doesn't know about it. This is one of the strongest arguments for the tower imo.
Agree with your notion, it is very dark and just shows us a very realistic mirror of what will inevitably happen with unchecked power and wealth. In history, it has always led to horrific things done to the lives of other less fortunate people.
I am fascinated how well this ending is written. I felt like I was actually going insane as I was taking those tests over and over and over again... I did not know when it's going to end. I felt helpless and kept remembering Johnny's words how I am going to regret this decision. Ah, brilliant brilliant game.
I think Arasaka's procedure for removing Johnny was clearly implied to be different from Alt's. And if they already used soul killer on V I doubt they would have bothered with the ceremony of asking if you'd like to join the program and have a copy of yourself made after the fact.@@anosvoldigoat3351
The tower ending is a literal representation of the quote Takemura brings up in the credits afterwards. "Good, strong medicine is bitter to the mouth" V survives and gets a true second chance at life but the cure is literally as bitter as it gets
I like the Tower Ending, for me it is comparable to having gone through but ultimately surviving a horrible disease, coming out alive, but severely disabled (in comparison to Vs capabilities before) and still finding new meaning and hope in life. V pretty much has to learn how to walk again (at least how to walk around in Night City, not being an unstoppable killing machine).
For me I think it fits more to Johnny’s quote “this is why you don’t bring fallen hero’s back because then they see all they fought for went to sh**” or something like that feel free to correct me it was in the samurai vendor side quest
@@kurojima I don't like the Tower ending simply because it requires you to give the NUSA a living weapon of mass destruction who is also horrendously traumatized. Even for a cure that seems like a really stupid move to make. Songbird should either go to the moon or you're honestly better off killing her.
The tower ending is out of character for Judy and does not even make sense when V send some messages that would make things clear to his loved ones. Instead he sends bland text like „I have to take a break from NC for few days“ *proceeded to get experimental brain surgery as like the first person of his kind* like what ? That people moved on with their lives only is rooted in those unreasonable text messages, screw that tho. Not only that but that he thrown down the stairs at the end by some typical NC trash people is just a spit in the face for betraying songbird(even tho it was clear that she was using you and betraying you in the end)
@waschbar2161 I love the tower ending as a concept, but it wasn't handled well by the writers. They wanted V to end up weak and alone in the world (more precisely, evoke that feeling in the player). All fine and good, the narrative needs to convey the consequences of V's actions and so on. But it feels like they didn't really think about how they'd get there. Like they wrote the epilogue first and then realized they'll have to come up with an explanation for everything (Why would his friends react that way, etc). Maybe there's some deeper meaning that just flew over my head, but it just feels undercooked
I love the ending with the aldecaldos, when V stands up and let's go of the medallion it's like you can feel the weight on V's shoulders completely lift as he/she basically comes to terms with the fact they they might die no matter what but can live the rest of their life completely free with people that will be by their side till the very end.
Johnny standing up, telling you that you finally understand what it means to be a legend and then grabs your arm is so fucking badass man. Got me so damn hyped
Suicide is the worst... They frame it as bueatiful and noble... and then those phone calls. Judy's actress gets all the awards, that call ripped my heart out
What's worse is that if you play Don't Fear the Ripper and die in the process (which you likely will die to buffed Smasher) then it immediately goes into suicide ending and everyone thinks you committed suicide
@@maskedman5657 because it it would just be suicide in that case. V just wanted to go out on their own terms, weapon in hand and fighting till the very end. Taking on Smasher and an army of elite soldiers alone doesn't sound like something you do when you plan to survive.
V is in a very tough spot. It is pretty much guaranted that there is no cure for Vs disease and V and Jonny have at least a vague Notion that for a short term delay on Vs Death, Jonny would have to go to purgatory, either at Arasaka or beyond the Blackwall. Death is inevitable, and its not gonna be pretty, as we learn from Victor. Considering Vs sometimes limiting options (depending on choices made), it seems to me that not everyone would needlessly risk their friends lives just for the slim chance of prolonging the inevitable. And you are pretty much gambling with the lives of your allies in most of these endings. Imagine going through terrible cancer, with no healthcare in the U.S., and an inevitable death. When clinging to life could mean putting enormous debts on your familys shoulders. Its bad enough that these things happen in our world. So i can at least completely understand Vs Suicide option and the thoughts behind them.
You're not passive agressive with Jognny during the Oilflied dialogue for the secret ending, the dude really lied to you before using your body for the first time. Being pissed off about it but still forgiving Johnny afterwards prove that your friendship is sincere and that you're not just a fanboy/girl with no self esteem.
Don't fear the reaper is definitely the most empowering ending and I love the interactions with Johnny throughout. It gave me the same vibes as beating a Souls-Like for the first time, feeling on top of the world and like an indestructable demi-god beats any happier endings for me
What is even more cool about this ending is hearing the Arasaka soldiers absolutely lose it at the sight of V mowing through all of them. You can really hear the fear in their voice
My only complaint about DFTR isn't really a complaint - it's just that they had the perfect opportunity to play the actual song, "Don't Fear The Reaper", and for one reason or another (which is fair enough) they didn't take it. If they do adapt that ending into a later movie or show, that needs to be a thing.
@@cainprescott4937 I would have loved if they played the song, but I think hearing The Rebel Path is just ten times more badass. Since the only other time you hear that song is when you're playing as Johnny in the flashbacks.
The Tower ending for me has a certain ring to it for me because it has a great message overall that V can still overcome great adversity even though things look grim. He/She can make a new meaning for themselves after no longer being a Merc. What pisses me off is Panam. Like i seriously think the developers couldn't get her VA back to run lines.
Yeah, but then again, maybe something bigger is going down in Nomad land. If Arasaka moved out NC and Militech moved in. Only can assume that Aldecaldos are moving south away from the United States. For Militech likely increased their presence between NC and DC, likely going after nomads.
@@CloudBringerYeah but those lines sound extremely formulaic. And you can only ask her like 3 questions. It almost felt like her voice was AI. And yes I know that she's credited as a VA in PL but Companies lie all the time. Or maybe she only had time to do those few lines. Think about it? Why would they not add voice lines for Panam? That seems so massively out of character for her to do. Everyone has voice lines but Somehow Panam doesn't have one farewell voice line? The game gives us the explanation that she moves on and is outside of night city area but I call bs. First off how is Mitch is able to call us then? Also why the heck would Mitch relay the info that Panam doesn't wanna talk to us when it was pretty freaking clear when she didn't pick up the phone the first time? I think CDPr is trying to overly explain why her lack of being there makes sense. Which it really doesn't at all.
From her perspective, V has been gone for 2 years, god knows where. 2 years of utter radio silence are more than enough for someone to simply move on. I feel like the game does a terrible job at giving a sense of "time", but as a reminder, Panam knew us for like, what, 2 weeks? Of course she's not gonna start crying tears of joy as soon as we call her lol, she knows V well enough to have been worried about V and frustrated at V's absence, but that's it
@@maskedman5657 in what world is it out of character? Panam is an extremely emotional character and the player character doesnt warn her that he is about to undergo surgery. Based on her and other nomads voicelines, shes experienced emotional betrayal before and really has a hard time opening up to people. Then the one time she does, that guy disappears for 2 years without warning. I dont see why she would want to talk to us
Dont fear the reaper -> Temperance is easily my favorite. Its just so poetic and beautiful in its own way. It feels like Johnny aged those fifty years since the bombing.That goodbye handshake was also so chilling.
The easiest way for V to return would be for the sequel to start with V's relic being booted up inside a new body, thus justifying apearance/gender customization at the start..
Doing that and having a Mass Effect 2 style bridge where you decided the pivotal events of the previous game would be a great way to start Cyberpunk Orion
@@clarencewalters338 cdpr did this with witcher 3 where you had opportunity to input your choices of witcher 2 so if new game is interconnected it's definitely happening
My first playthrough was Nomad V, and I really liked the way things bookended with the Star ending. Falling out with the Bakkers and ultimately looking for her fortune in Night City, only to find a new family and leave them behind. It may be choosing the relatively quiet life rather than blaze of glory, but it's one that ends happily, has the same sort of glimmer of hope that the Star ending has for V's future, however unlikely, and doesn't hurt that it's the only ending where you can stay with Judy.
Yeah it shows Dex's philosophical question missed a third option. Quiet life assumes you are alone, broke and nobody cares about you. Not even yourself. Blaze of glory is Jonny's life, to die on principal is the point rather than ignore the injustice in the world. The third missing aspect, to ride off surrounded by family and friends even if it might only last a few months. I think Dex didn't realize this last option because he was already a loner due to burning everyone. Well that was his mindset obviously trying to kill V to save his own stupid ass.
In my opinion, Don’t Fear the Reaper is the superior ending because of V’s experience getting to that point. It’s not just a final blaze of glory, but also a way of dealing with the issue without putting friends in harm’s way. After all, V already lost Jackie to Arasaka. They saw what happened to Scorpion when the Aldecados tussled with a corp. So if they have a way of surviving without getting anybody else killed, all the better. And the ending on the Crystal Palace brings it all full circle. Determination to do whatever it takes to survive.
@@damedusa5107 if V is still a canon character in Orion, that is most likely what would happen/have happened in canon. The Sun is the one ending where Mr. Blue Eyes is an active part, and he's speculated to be a major character in the sequels. He's connected to Nightcorp and rogue AIs, the one theme which wasn't a part of this game and would be the logical choice for a sequel to expand on
@@CorelUser if they do, they will have to. Choose the one true ending for canon. For the next game. I don’t think they will. It will be a new character
Hell yeah what makes it so cool is the implication that v just knows after all the stuff he’s learned he’s actually got a decent shot at fighting his way through a fortress single-handedly
I'm a fan of The Devil followed by leaving the station to go back to earth for ~six months. It just plucks all the right heartstrings and is exactly the sort of tone I'd expect from this world
I like how the Aldecaldos and Afterlife endings both could be different routes leading to the same goal. The Aldecaldos mention how they’ll find a way to help V, and according to the lore, they have ties with StormTech, a corporation who actually has a decent shot at having tech that could save V. Meanwhile, the Crystal Palace heist organized by Mr. Blue Eyes promises V both glory and a solution to his problem, and guess who has an office/station located in the Crystal Palace? StormTech
If NUSA's full resources barely save V there's no way anything below that saves V. The Aldecaldos ending only works for V if you immediately call Solomon Reed after and get the surgery.
@@VDA19 You forget that Aldecaldos and other Nomads have secret tech that they arent willing to share with people or even agencies outside of their clan, and with the Hope card its a good possibility V managed to extend his life. Not to forget he also has allied AI from beyond the Blackwall (Alt and maybe So Mi in Liberty) that are extremely powerful
@@VDA19 They weren't spending all their resources, it was Reeds connections in Europe that saved V's body. With all the technology in the game and with the Aldecaldos making off with tens of millions of eddies from Arasaka it's not unreasonable to believe that there are ways to survive this even if it means V needs to find a new body
@@VDA19 realistically Reed should have offed V as quickly as he did the other people that were tools in the storyline to tie up that massive loose end. That he manages to both somehow convince Myers not to make him kill V and offer V help or goes around her back by sending V to Europe makes me think that at best V is used as an experiment and their survival is looked at as a scientific curiosity. Depending how you play out Phantom Liberty it wouldn't surprise me if the government purposely made it so V can't use cybernetics again.
@@VDA19 NUSA couldn't give af about V though, IMO. They did the bare minimum to uphold their end of the deal, and even that they probably didn't even want to do. They don't even bother with physical therapy or anything like that afterwards, just dump V back in NC. Someone like Blue Eyes who actually sees how incredibly useful V is, is likely to put far more effort into saving him than NUSA.
If there's anything positive to say about the Tower ending, it enhances The Star ending. If the cure isn't exclusive from Arasaka, and the FIA can also cure V even though they had to lose their chrome, then there's a significantly greater chance for one of Panam's contacts to find something for V, whether giving V a cure or a new body. In that sense, The Star Ending is even more of a happy ending. (And yeah, I like to think V got cured and spent a nice quiet life with Panam/Judy, chrome or no chrome)
think. do you honestly believe a bunch of roaming nomads, in just 6 months' time will find a cure where one megacorp has failed, and only an actual government facility with top tier rippers has succeeded (with great cost to V, no less)? the star is a feel-good ending, but its no more than that. V dies, surrounded by family and people they love, but they die regardless.
There's a lot more positive to the Tower Ending to that. If you're going for a more realistic ending. Tower is one of the best. V moves on by becoming a Fixer and a mentor to upcoming Mercs and Victor is who V recommends Yung Mercs to go by when they need chrome
Not buying it. A group of nomads who were so broke they were about to disband before you put them on your back and carried them don't have any favors significant enough to find a cure otherwise they'd have called them in already.
As someone who mainly plays a male nomad V, I truly love how full circle The Star ending feel. A nomad V leaves their nomad family. Enters the strange and lonely world of Night City, if your a male V you meet Panam who is a fellow nomad, you grow in Night City together, and after becoming legendary with the final Arasaka raid, you retreat back to the family driven nomad life in your final days, with the hope of finding a cure. It just feels so right imo.
Street kid works better in my opinion. Growing up poor, trying to become a legend, then realising it doesn't really matter and leaving with the loved ones.
@@h0nza_ Yeah, I agree. The thing about doing this ending as Street kid is that you learn the lesson of what is true family and where loyalty really lies. Its only by breaking ties with Night City that you are free, when before you tough you and NC were part of each other.
The Tower is hands down my favourite ending. It rips everything you've worked for away and hurts you in every way it can before picking you up, dusting you off and telling you to keep going. It gave everything it promised and nothing more. Misty can actually pull the tower card in one of the readings and sums it up pretty well "when the tower falls nothing will ever be the same again"
@@ScreenSpidah The thing is, what comes around also goes around. If V is this glory crazed that he needs to live longer to become the NC Legend, then they might as well turn into Adam Smasher V2. The Tower ending is the true ending for us humans of the contemporary society. Any of us would accept a decently paying, safe job in a world of Full-bored Cyborgs and AI that can flatline you instantenuously. Think about it, your 6 months life expectancy limit is raised. Johnny is off of you and you work under / together Reed. It is what real hymans would do
The tower ending is a narrative punishment for siding with Myers and helping Militech just like the devil ending is narrative punishment for literally bringing Saburo Arasaka back to life, how are people still not understanding this?
@@Qendrese3549 i dont think the tower ending is a punishment, you lose all your chrome except for your most basic implants, but you get to live, a fresh start, clean slate, move on from merc life, its more bittersweet than anything. While siding with myers is a terrible decision, the ending is anything but a punishment. comparing it to the devil ending a bit strange because one you get to live just without chrome beyond the basic stuff and the other is you just become a slave, lose all your self purpose, basically break yourself mentally and physically, relinquish all your rights and lose all your free will. both are drastically different and ones clearly ten times better than the other.
I ended up with Sun ending, it seemed like the finale should involve Johnny and Rogue, and then choosing for Johnny to let V have her body. I didn't really like the cliffhanger ending of my V launching herself at the space station and then the credits. I almost never replay games, especially a long one like this, so I really appreciate all the work you put into showing me what the other choices I could have made would have led to. Awesome video.
The star ending will always hold a special place in my heart as the first one i achieved. I definitely think Don't Fear the Reaper is the most epic ending, but it doesn't make me smile the same way the Star ending does. Thanks for another great video btw, i always love hearing other people's thoughts on cyberpunk endings. though so far I've yet to meet anyone who thinks the devil ending is the best. maybe some day.
The Star ending is by far the best ending for the game. My V and Panam running off into the sunset with the Nomads. There is so much hope for the future in this ending. I do think they did find a cure for V and lived happily, had a few kids. I just really hope we can continue our Vs ending.
It's very poignant but... Johnny spends the entire game warning you how Arasaka is just gonna use you and abuse you, going with them feels like such a stupid thing to do, specially if you are playing Arasaka lifepath.
The Devil is one of my favorite endings, as it was my first (well, i didn't save Takemura, so it didn't give me the achievement.) playing through it the first time, hearing out Yorinobu and realizing how much i fucked up, Johnny, who i have grown to love, straight up tell me that i made the wrong choice, all the while the music just kicks up at the right time, the series of test cut in with the apathetic calls from everyone except Viktor and Panam, and then the soulcrushing realization that i was going to die. i sat there for five minutes just processing what he just said, and then he gave me the contract. reading the fine print and then rejecting Hellman's offer never felt better. walking off into the shuttle will always send chills down my spine, as Never Fade Away plays and V looks down on Earth, his home, and rips off that necklace, it is just beautiful. doing it with Takemura is even better, as i do like Takemura as a character and it's the only ending (unless you consider his call in the Tower a positive one) that has the two leave on good terms. it cost the world for V to get in this position, but the lack of binds on him to do whatever he wants makes it one of my favorite endings. inversely, everyone loves the Star, and i do, too, but a lot of people are giving, whst i consider too much hope in V living a happily every after with Panam's contacts. it may be the pessimist in me, but i see V simply living out their remaining time with the ones they love before dying, as (nearly) every other ending has that for them.
Suicide ending is the worst and don’t fear the reaper is the best imo Suicide ending makes all your struggles be for nothing Don’t fear the reaper feels like a true final mission and in the end your balling out in a penthouse in night city with a lot of money
Imo, suicide ending is one of the worst, but I'd definitely still put it above the Arasaka and NUSA endings. There's just something about losing yourself to the corps that strikes me as worse than just ending it all with one pull of the trigger.
@@maskedman5657you whored yourself out to them for a cure, had Johnny bite the bullet, gave Songbird a fate worse than death and empowered Myers in the process since she will still be using Song as a WMD, strengthened Militech, allowed them to experiment on you, gave them the Relic chip which they will most definitely be studying and this last one is just a theory, but, Reed tells you your brain is now deaf only to combat implants, which is oddly specific. You can still use cybernetics but not combat grade lol, how convenient is that. Myers tells you she is impressed with the quality of your chrome in a dialogue when you're rescuing her so she is most likely interested in you, or afraid of you becoming a possible nuisance for the NUSA in the future given how you carry them hard on your back throughout the whole DLC and prove yourself to be a menace. She could've very much fucked you over, had her docs "cripple" you and keep you that way in case you'd reject their job proposal. Regardless of this theory, you still did a lot of shit which empowered the NUSA and Militech. Tower ending is basically the devil ending Militech version tbh. Saving Song and raiding Arasaka is the one and only "fuck you" you can give the corps, keeping them at bay with two huge setbacks and stopping a possible war.
@@maskedman5657 You know the NUSA is a puppet of Militech right? Literally the presidents get to be presidents after they have been Militech CEO's....The game really makes a point on showing you how Militech and NUSA are the same thing if you bother reading shards and bio descriptions at all.
Being that Cyberpunk 2077 is my favourite game of all time, this is easily becoming one of my favourite TH-cam channels. Absolutely love your videos bro!
I got Temperence twice back in 2020 when the game was a mess FINALLY returned to the game beating it this morning and I got Sun, which I liked quite a bit more than Temperance If going by quality of storytelling and not how “happy” a given ending is, from what I saw in this video The Devil ending has an argument for #1
It's ''The Tower'' for me. The fact that almost everyone abandons you after 2 years in a coma shows more about them than V. F them haters. This is the only way V survives, and if they're not cool with that, they can go F themselves. But I feel it's Out of Character for Panam to refuse to talk to V at all. Anyway, back to The Tower. I put this as #1 because it's the only one in which V survives, and I feel like V has to survive. Getting to the Big Leagues was Jackie's dream more than V's. My V was a corpo, he'd already tasted the 'Big Leagues', he knew how life up there was. Why would he want to go back? He did it for Jackie, who was basically his brother. V surviving makes Jackie's death worth more, whereas if V dies it was all for nothing. The Tower isn't even that bad, yes V is done fighting, but so what? He can get a cozy job with NUSA and never worry about anything ever again.
Man people getting crazy with romantic endings where V dies after 6 months. Let's be honest Survival > romance. If you choose to not survive then you weren't in the heart of V. If anyone was on V shoes would pick to survive. So tower ending is the most optimistic one. I didn't save Takemura, I didn't like him. He is like other "friends" who using you .Also Johnny is a creep watching every move you make, so I'm glad he is gone too. Only true family is Viktor. Siding with reed getting the cure and hope to find a solution with vik to strengthen the signals to become strong again. Also I get to have private moments with anyone while I'm 100% sure I live rejecting the whole concept of the legend and it's inevitably doom. Cleansing and new start all the way. I believe V can get strong with different technology pieces based on different principles. Don't forget V still a millionaire with cars and machine guns on them
Finally taken the time to give it some real thought but the Client Data that Mr. Blue Eyes wants you to acquire from the Crystal Palace would give him a list of every, every single influential, powerful, shadowy-figure that has ever gone their to party or gamble on the station. Every politician, every mogul, every background actor that works for the mechanisms of power and if what Alt says in her dialogue when you have Canto Mk 6 or Erebus in your possession, then the whole point is to give these Rogue AI's hidden behind the Blackwall, full access to bodies to mold to their own devices. But not just any bodies - they're going after the bodies and minds and identities of those who run every facet of the modern cyberpunk world. The Relic's a backdoor as Alt says. Going over every single ending - there's only one where Rogue AI's and Alt don't win, and the world over doesn't get put on a collision with absolute chaos and existential struggle, as the NUSA backs down quickly. Returning the Emperor to his throne. You lose everything, you lose Johnny, potentially your life(choices outstanding), but returning Saburo to power is the best outcome for the world as a whole. You're not giving Mikoshi to a Rogue AI that is using Alt's semblance, you're not destroying the ecosystem balance of world power, you're not aiding Blue Eyes in whatever scheme is being plotted to enslave and control. Really feels like any other ending actually dooms the world or makes for a real tumultuous future. Somehow the best option, in my opinion, is the Devil you know.
theres a shard that says saburo was planning on nuking night city to start over with a colonial japanese empire and thats why yorinobu rebelled against him, he really isnt that much better than mr blue eyes. The star is still the best ending for me, aldecaldos connections with stormtech and the highrider confederation I would say gives V more than a fair shot at living out the rest of his life, in the Devil V's construct is copied and theres no saying what Arasaka will do with you, they could take V's free will, make adam smasher 2.0, remove his memories... the reason it is called the devil ending is because there are as many endless possibilities to V's suffering as there would be in the real h, e double hockey sticks
I got the Star ending on my first playthrough and, boy am I glad I did since I almost picked Rogue as I failed the secret ending requirement. I started as Corpo Fem V, so said ending is poetic too on top of all the perks you mentioned above. A life as a nameless slave to the very corporation that would be your sworn enemy, unbeknownst to them would bring them into rubbles, the loss of your one and only bro, Jackie, to being accepted into a fast and furious family, and leaving behind the city that eat you up and spit you out, *chef's kiss* what is not to love.
The Star ending is far and away my favorite for several reasons. Biggest one: If you go through the various endings (i.e. for Steam achievements) and watch all of those ending credit messages, other than the suicide one (which imply the messages are done only a couple of days later), the messages imply they are a few months later after the final scene...around the time V should be officially dead from the Relic if you didn't give the body to Johnny. But a female V, romancing Judy, taking the Star ending...Judy's credits message in that instance is the one and ONLY message where you hear V's own voice. And she doesn't sound like she's near death (which would coincide with the expected time for it), she sounds vibrant and healthy.
One thing I’ll say during the Sun ending path is being Johnny and watching V react to Alt’s remarks… it’s super cool to see OUR character from another’s perspective. Always do this ending every playthrough just to see my V, along with the Star, agreeing with you as the best ending.
I feel like people rip on the PL Tower ending too much. Sure, it is sad that people you knew have moved on but that’s just how life goes. People move away, settle down and start a family, or just lose touch. It’s how it is once you hit your late 20s IRL. If you and your friend are in the same town, you might grab a beer together and talk. But that’s it. Maybe it’s because I’m older, but I would 100% pick the quiet life where I occasionally catch up with old friends. Knowing they’re also alive and well. As opposed to dying in a blaze of glory where all my friends eventually move on anyway.
I can't help but wonder about Alt's warning at the end of Voodoo Boys mission when she informs us that using SoulKiller will indeed kill our soul. If she's right than 2 & 3 are arguably the best endings...
Wonder? Alt *confirms* it. The devil ending also confirms it by sheer proxy. The copy of Saburo's engram is PERFECT, indistinguishable from the original and yet it is not. We saw Saburo get murdered AFTER this construct was made, it's an entirely new lifeform. What Alt does is use the original version of Soulkiller, the one that actually KILLS people, uses it on V which kills their soul and makes a copy of it in code which she can then disentangle and reinsert the copy back into the body which now isn't even really V either. So let's say we're V, the second we plug into access point Izanagi, we LOSE ALL CONSCIOUSNESS AND LIFE. You can have whatever idea of the afterlife you want, but the original V is THERE and NOT in their original body. Alt tried telling us this both before and after we meet her the first time.
@@clarencewalters338 Well there's a giant essentialist presumption here. Is there such a thing as a "soul"? Are we our bodies or are we our consciousness. Is our consciousness inextricably tied to flesh or is it the sum of our experiences/memories? This is a common theme in Cyberpunk media & I think the point is to leave it open to interpretation. After all we hardly even know what consciousness is. How could we possibly have an objective understanding of the consequences of fictional tech that transforms it?
@@nomadasol8247 that's the thing though, it's not a presumption. Alt Cunningham MADE the program. If a soul exists, it dies when it gets hit with soulkiller. If we are looking at it from V's perspective our light goes out the second we fall into the coolant and that's IT for us. Now whether there's a true afterlife and V's soul goes there is truly up for debate but a construct is NOT the same consciousness as the person it's based on. When Johnny tries to write it off as "V hops back in their body, nothing changes" Alt corrects that shit REAL quick "Everything changes, you know this well". Alt and Alt's construct auhtored their own versions of soulkiller so they best know the mechanics of it
@@clarencewalters338 Sure but we could also look at the optional dialogue w/ Johnny at the end of the first Joshua Stephenson mission in PieZ where you can ask Johnny this very question or the miss-able dialogue V has w/ the monk brothers after the Clouds mission w/ Judy & Maeko where they hypothesize that a construct is indeed a soul b/c it can suffer. Obviously they have a Buddhist bias but both times Johnny basically asserts that it doesn't matter b/c he's him. To me the game presents the question as just that, a question. Alt certainly makes her position clear but are we to assume she's omnipotent? After all she herself is a construct.
@@nomadasol8247 nobody said constructs don't have souls. Or at least that isn't what I was arguing. Just that the soul of the construct is a copy of a soul. Saburo's construct is a soul but it isn't Saburo's soul. Get what I mean?
You can always take Songbird along with you for the Don't Fear the Reaper ending if you miss having a companion, and are doing the "betray Reed" ending for Phantom Liberty. A the end of stadium, the fast travel is not locked for some reason, so you can travel away while Songbird stays with you. Go meet Hanako, do the endings you want to have with her, then travel back and finish the PL ending. Temperance is especially comical as you see her chasing the bus as it drives away and she tries to keep up with you lol.
Don't fear the reaper is still the best ending for many reasons: 1. Aldelcaldos, Saul and Rouge are alive 2. Adam smasher is dead so we avanged Johnny/Jackie and Maine Crew. 3. Johnny is happy about it 4. V owns afterlife and become NC Legend And most importantly. Remmeber that during automatic love. V tells to skye/angel that he wanted to be legend. He wanted to be remmebered and we as the player we we achieved that completing his dreams. The worst ending in my opinion is the Tower ending where V lost literally everything weapons, apartments, cyberware, friends (Kerry, River, Judy, Panam) and we have bad realationship with johnny at the end. And biggest pain is that Adam Smasher is alive where we lost chance to avenge Johnny/Maine Crew but most importantly we failed to become NC Legend where V always wanted to be legend.
In the Tower Ending you still have Victor and I don't know what you mean by bad relationship with Johnny. Johnny never likes the idea of trusting corps but he can respect Vs decisions in the end.
@@maskedman5657 The ending where Victor is too busy checking on a clients cyber dick to talk to V? The ending where Misty leaves disappointed in V? The ending where V even forgets the pendant that represents their will to live? No amount of sugar coating is gonna turn Tower ending into a positive one, you can headcanon all you want about what V does afterwards but the fact of the matter is that they are alone and without cyberware plus a lot of old enemies, I wouldnt rank their chances or survival very high.
nope there's still 90% and you a still edgerunner for some reason. And i doubt it that some random nomads find cure for V then Mr.Blue eyes who have cure for the songbird and probably can also cure V.@@pachaSilverPants
Strong agree with the reasoning here. I also preferred Don't Fear The Reaper up until The Tower when I realised how important The Star ending was. I also didn't know you could take Judy as I only did Star on male V, and knowing she's happy makes it all the sweeter. ❤
I feel like whenever people discuss the PL ending some things go over a lot of peoples heads. Yeah V loses all their friends and their chrome for good, but they actually get to live their life, a new beginning. It’s a lot like real life and I think that’s why it hits me so hard. In life you are going to lose friends, you are going to lose jobs, you are going to lose the people and things you love the most, but the beautiful part about that is that when these parts of our life end, it always means the start of something new. It’s an ending about acceptance and maturity, which i feel a lot of people don’t seem to really understand because they may have trouble with acceptance in their own lives, which is completely ok, everybody is different. Personally I think it’s a beautiful ending and definitely the best for me.
Unlike V you're not living in NC with no money or chrome (which both are definitely needed to survive) you didn't piss off gangs of serial killers, sociopaths, and gang bangers. You also don't have a Colombian hit woman (who is feared among many criminals) promising to come visit you down the road for pretending to be her in Dogtown. There are no jobs in NC for the common man and if there is it pays jack-all, and Rouge warns V to stay away from the club. The more she visits the more her legend title loses it's power so she can't be a fixer/ hired there. She isn't Morgan blackhand, so her being solo without chrome (Even if he had thele basics) is beyond that. V has nothing and is now homeless and will mostly like die from a stray bullet or an old gang /someone she pissed off with finish her off. If you mention leaving NC, remember the rest of the world is basically F'd. It's why she came back to NC. Not a really hopeful ending IMO. Another setting and world I agree with what you say.
When you end as Jonny. V reaction could be difference. He can actualy compain about you givin him body. If in dialog about Would You Take a Bullet For Me? On tapeworm mission you choose "Yes"
For me "Don't fear the reaper" should've give the player to choose the ending he/she wants as a reward. Something like choosing between 2 or 3 options : - go back to the aldecados - king of Afterlife - ... That would have been my n°1 ending of them all. The fun gameplay of Fear the reaper + Panam ending 👌
I always choose the star ending with Judy and since phantom liberty sending So Mi to the moon. I always felt Cyberpunk was V’s story and phantom liberty was So Mi’s. They both wanted the same things in the end to live and know that there is someone out there that would definitely give a dang about them. And would fight to their last breaths to save them. V is that for So Mi and So Mi and the Nomads are that for V. (As were Johnny and Jackie).
I feel like personal connection and trusting your friends was a huge theme in this game, and these endings kinda hammer that home. The devil/tower endings also kinda tell you that trusting a corp / the govt over your friends won’t end well for you
No matter what ending, they always kind of leaving you wanting to go back to the simpler times, just hanging out with Jackie as a couple of dreamers in a city that’s trying to keep you down.
Your videos truly put in the work nobody else on this planet has done and I (and many others) thank you. Really, thank you for all your hard work - I know these videos aren't easy to make but we really appreciate everything you do.
As always, a terrific video that gives me lots to consider. I too think The Star ending is best. It gives V at least a few months where they're with family and friends, away from Night City. It also has enough hints about the possibilities to find a cure that don't require Arasaka or NightCorp. Panam mentions "connections with nomads," which could include the secretive Technomancers clan and StormTech. The Reaper ending to me is one where you accept that it's a suicide mission that you won't survive. If you survive, you're legend. If you died, well, you die alone but leaving your friends alive. I'm very interested to see what your theories regarding curing V are, and if they line up with mine
To me the best ending is unironcally The Devil. During the game we always hear about how the corps are evil so that was the last thing I tried but honestly? Thinking about it, Arasaka did nothing against us, even though we provked them lots and lots of times, they completely ignore us. At the end of the Devil there's no indication they gonna betray us or just leave us to be forgotten, we spend days in their station, most of the time completely knocked out, if they wanted just to remove our brain or kill us they could have done it any time. They didn't had to bring Takemura all the way from Earth to try to talk us into accepting their plan, so this end made me think that Hanako and Soburo really wants to have V around
I agree 100% with the order of this list. The Star ending is really the warmest. And surprisingly it's the one who has the most action as well because of the raid with the Basilisk.
I still think the Devil is by far not the worst ending in the game and i think its entirely reasonably for V to actually take it. As it stands, when you are on the rooftop making your decision on who to trust with being able to remove the construct from your head, Arasaka is easily the most powerful entity and the one that knows by far the most about how the relic works. Of course, in hindsight this will not have meant all too much because it turns out that you are too far gone (something that all the endings have in common anyways). A pragmatic V that just wants to live, with the information she has when she is on the rooftop would most likely side with Arasaka. I think there is this kind of weird idea that you are "selling your soul to the enemy" if you choose this ending, but that kind of confuses me. Its not like V will forever be in Arasakas pockets, its just a one time thing (except when she agrees to be stored in Mikosh) and then she can go her ways. As for the yorinobu part: I just dont think that theory is true at all. Nothing about Yorinobu makes him look any more trustworthy than any other Corpo, his goal to "tear arasaka apart from the inside" could just be a lie and if it isnt, its wholly ineffective, dangerous and useless. I think he is just an wholly manipulative person that will tell you anything if it means he gets away with his stuff. If hes not that, he is stupid and will never achieve his goals. Easy as that. Either way he is not the "hero" of the game, and i dont think the "Devil" is the worst ending (at least if you really try to get into the mind of V, with all the information she has at the moment of makign her choice)
I think the Temperance ending is WAY worse if you do the path where Johnny goes with Rogue to fight Arasaka, because it's Johnny making the decision and not V. It's a lot better when Johnny wants to keep his promise but V says for him to keep the body anyway
I think what makes The Star Ending so special, and in my mind, the only ending I'll ever choose, is it shows that Dex's stance of "Quiet Life or Blaze of Glory" isn't as binary as he makes it out to be, and what exactly it means to be a legend. Imo, The Sun ending isn't worth it to become a legend to a brutal city full of corrupt people, especially when you've lost the human connections (well Panam and Judy, Kerry seems to stick with Male V in the Sun ending). With The Star Ending, with my V, the ending shows that V can go out in a Blaze of Glory in order to achieve that Quiet Life. The Aldecaldos are willing to go out in a Blaze of Glory to help V, because they see her as family. The true Glory isn't becoming a legend to a city, it's becoming a legend to the connections, the family she's made. Helping Kerry step out of his own shadow, helping River with his family and conflict with the force, winning fights to see Vik proud, seeing eye-to-eye with Johnny and the two becoming comrades, bonding with Panam and her becoming a surrogate sister who V needed after losing Jackie, falling in love with Judy after the two lost their closest friends and consistently got burned in Night City. These moments are what make V a legend in people's hearts, and I'd say that's what it takes to truly become a legend. Not to a city, but to the people you love.
(Don´t Fear) The Reaper. Everyone will Die, the Question is when and how? In Accepting that and taking Control, you take Control of your Life, your Actions and therefore have a Say in the Outcome. It is the Perfect ending when you are Friends with Jonny and rescued Songbird. It is all a big fat blast and you just enjoy it and do the right thing, or care to much of everyone else in a World where you control only so litte.
Correction about the sun and reaper ending! There is possible dialogue at the penthouse that implies that Panam will wait for V to come back from the heist
I hate that you don't know what you are getting yourself into with the different choices, and decisions are made off screen. I got the sun ending as I didn't want to risk Pam's life, and in the end she leaves.
I think this tierlist is spot on actually. Maybe I'd have put the ending where Johnny takes over a bit lower since you're basically ghosting (and hurting) your friends. The Star was my first ending and I'm happy it was, it's the only ending that can be considered a happy one.
The Devil Ending is the most unambiguously bleak, but also the best written. The Tower Ending wasn't that well-written, and makes it out to be worse than it should be. That said, the idea of giving the government back it's massively unethical and destructive super-weapon makes it an overall bad choice.
The ending that felt right for me was to have Johnny and Rogue go in, and not get any of V's friends involved. Then for Johnny to choose to let V have her body back really felt impactful after the relationship had grown together. Rogue already lived a long life and would be proud of Johnny and of what was accomplished. Rogue's death hurt, but it added to the story. It really just felt right for those two to be involved.
I'd rather give johnny the body than any of the PL endings, having your supposed "love interests" abandon you and be forced to live as a normal person is worse than death
but it's life. Look at peeps like Jackie, he ain't there to love or be loved. At least, in that ending, you're there, rogue went that route, she ended up alright. Tower might be my favorite ending, because you get what you sought, and get to live and tell the tale. Move on, live.
@Brianf1977 Why wouldn't the love intrests move on? You ghost them for 2 years, it's not like your a couple who has been married for years, V literally meets them and know them for like a month tops.
Love your passion for this game Sam. Nice to see so many people that love this game as much as I do. I’ve watched almost all your cyberpunk vids and always look forward to the next one. Agree with your list too. The Star is hands down my favourite and the best ending in my opinion for all the reasons you stated. Even down to the amazing acoustic guitar track that plays when you leave night city in the tank, which I just had to learn to play myself
My only complaint with The Tower ending is that two years isn't really that long for things to change so drastically. I guarantee people here have friends/family they haven't spoken to in two years, and they're still probably relatively the same. Five years feels like a more realistic event-altering time skip.
You have to consider that a lot of the characters already were about to leave. Panam & the gang wanted to go away and set up camp some place else, Judy always talked about leaving NC and so did Misty after Jackie's death. And Johny ... is just gone.
Honestly becoming a headhunter for Arasaka sounds really cool imagine cyberpunk 2 where you play as a engram of v inside a super cyborg then going rogue. Similar to the ghost runner games
I’ve played all endings multiple times. Love this game!! I agree the aldacado’s ending w/judy is my favorite. But… just as amazing as this game is, also is ALL of your videos Sam! You are a hero ;)
I’m definitely going to be in the minority here but I actually liked the Tower Ending, yea V lost majority of his friends and can’t use any cyberware he’s just a regular guy but that doesn’t mean his life is over in fact it’s a beginning of a new life for him, I’d like to imagine he went out to see the world finally, got to meet new people and maybe even become a ripper doc like he said he’s still got Misty and Vik for advice if he needs it and who knows maybe he settled down with someone like Judy did and got to be happy, I just don’t think this ending is all negative
Same. After all, if 2 years passed and even after explaining the situation of you being in coma people don't reply, they really were not your friends after all. Panam goes crazy and we can see she is mentally unstable, yet the best ending is supposed to be expending the last months of your live with her? Nah
I still think the Reaper is better than Star. In Star you lose like 2 of your family members along with dozens of nameless ones, only for the payoff to be a small extension of your life, and little to no promise of a REAL fix in Arizona. But with Reaper, you not only storm the biggest MegaCorp on the planet BY YOURSELF, but no one dies in the process. The best part is you achieve the top, like Jackie wanted, and all of your friends still care about you alive and well, happy for you and waiting to see you again. Plus your chances of saving your life are MUCH higher raiding a Supercorp Rich techline Space Station than going to some Techheads in Arizona.
For me dont fear the reaper is best when you choose to give V's body to Johnny, especially if you made a promise to him that youd give your life for him at the motel and its kind of touching to see johnny try to convince V to change his mind by at first trying to provoke V by staing stuff like their just giving up without a fight until finally he admits he is just afraid for V even though he himself was fine with going with Alt which really shows how strong of a bond the 2 have managed to build up
Nope. The only good ending would be one where johnny gets removed from V's brain, V gets to live and gets to ride off into the sunset with Panam. Any other ending, aside from a female V with Judy, is trash.
Honest to god the thing that killed me and made me think "this was a horrible choice" with the tower ending was talking to Vik. Hearing the guy who loved what he did and was always there for us just sound so beaten down and broken to a point where he hates what he does just made me realise "we have our whole like but what is life in this world. A life of a shitty 9-5 (or, lets be real, 9-8 since there is no such thing as a break) after losing everything we had with no real hope of getting it back?" I value Tower for having the theme of being able to push past tragedy and suffering to keep going no matter what and that is the most realistic aspect of it, but the fact that you just lost everything weighs on me heavily. Also, Adam Smasher presumably lives in the Tower so I imagine that's a bit of a catch for edgerunner fans lol.
My favorite part of Don't Fear The Reaper/Temperance is Johnny physically trying to stop you from taking that ending. It's sad, and I'm tearing up typing and remembering it. It's been years since I saw it, but it stuck with me. At the same time, it is the most selfless ending, and it makes Johnny's actions after that make much, much more sense.
I have evolved since I first started playing cyberpunk. I no longer click on videos because panam is in the thumbnail but rather because of the youtuber 🙂
I just love how refreshing the star ending is. It really hammers down the idea of there being no happy endings in Night City…the only way you get your happy ending is when you leave all together
Also V can 100% get cured. Alt and hellman aren't medical professionals haha..your body literally just needs a bone marrow flush to rid it of Johnny's T cells, your DNA recognizes proteins not ideas, biotechnica can just flush you out, replace em and cure you in an hour. Absolutely my headcanon since it's silly to act like you have to die or have no tech
Also in the PL ending even IF you can't have implants..you can be a goddamn fixer and there's whole gangs of biological dudes in canon, plus..GUNS EXIST. Its just needlessly bleak
I prefer the Sun ending more. Yeah V doesn't leave with his friends but he/she dies doing what they know best. Which is being a Merc/Legend in Night City.
Also he kinda adopts Johnny's mentality of if I'm going to die.... I'm going to die strictly on my terms.
@@maskedman5657that's not enough for me. Family and friends are what I value more thus the star ending is objectively better.
@@maskedman5657True, but we also know that being a legend in NC isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
@@maskedman5657 Even going for the Star ending, V already made a name in Night City. He/she even gets hired by Lizzy Wizzy and the Peralez without a fixer as middleman.
I would rate the endings in the same order. Riding the tank while leaving NC with Outsider No More in the background is really emotionally rewarding, for me. My first playthrough made me replay craving for a happier or at the very least hopeful aftertaste after the Sun ending. Awesome video and looking forward to the Orion theory!
I think I’m going to do the same. I got the sun ending the first time with my nomad V and it left a very bitter taste in my mouth, leaving me unsatisfied and disappointed. It felt like my V is just living out Jackie’s Dream, and is just depressed, only fighting to survive, not to live. I feel like giving my V the star ending would be giving my V what she truly wants, which is to have family and friends, people that matter to her. Even if she doesn’t find a cure with the Aldecaldos, at least she can die with people she cares about rather than being lonely and depressed as a legend of night city, essentially becoming Rogue 2.0.
Mate I’ve played over 600+ hours 3 different profiles Phantom Liberty included and I just want to commend you for your efforts with an outstanding job… this video Sam awesome 👍🏻
Am I the only one who was depressed for the entire day after Saul died during The Star??
Outside of the deaths in the star ending the biggest disappointment is finding out Saul's real reason for approval for this ideal is his desire to maintain leadership & possibly raid Arasaka for valuable tech. He's honestly the more level headed leadership in the Aldecados even though Panam is right about their previous trajectory. Even Panam felt something off about his approval.
After learning what V meant to the Aldecaldos in the tower ending, my ranking was Sun > Temperance > Tower (Max Johnny relationship). So much for family. At least in these three endings you either die in a blaze of glory with no one else dying or something bittersweet yet peaceful until old age.
The star ending without a doubt is the most wholesome ending especially as a nomad in my opinion, but don't fear the reaper is without a doubt my favorite ending i loved everything about it
Yeah, I'm pretty certain that the endlessly sad outcomes of the Tower ending are largely a consequence of V's absence. Many of V's friends gave up their dreams because V wasn't there to inspire them to be their best selves (especially Viktor), and without the TKO of storming Arasaka Yorinobu wasn't able to quite kill the dragon. It says to me that fighting all the way through to Soulkiller is necessary to bolstering everyone's drive to succeed, as V has become a revolutionary force. With Arasaka crippled after losing its cash cow, it signals to the world that the corporations can be beaten, and Vik will never stop fighting because you never did. That's how what you did mattered. In ways large and small, you helped the world turn just a bit towards the sun.
The Star will always be my official ending. At least for the OG story. It was the first one I picked back when the game first released. Playing on a base Xbox One and loving every minute of it, bugs and all.
Currently playing Phantom Liberty for the first time and have no idea how these new endings will go…
After the tower ending
Star ending looks and feels a lot better
V gets to have a family once again, sided with a family that will fight the entire world, Panam, the definition of here until the very very end
A shot at a cure (which I believe he get, and gets to live) and can live happy. A family, a home and the finest girl in the West and South side
On my first playthrough, I started Corpo so decided to honour that backstory. I really enjoyed the Japanese aesthetic so was happy to follow Arasaka. I romanced River and I finally felt that V had something to look forward to in her life. I didn't realise that my choices led me to the Devil ending, and the ending made me feel really sad and alone. I chose not to be uploaded to Arasaka but instead return home for the last 6 months. However, my phone call to River had a really friendly feeling about it, not romantic, which bothered me in a way I can't describe. I assume that V and River met up for the last 6 months of her life but I would have liked to have seen this played out a little. I guess the game did what it meant to - it made me feel and ponder my own relationship in real life. Will choose differently for my next playthrough. Can't wait to explore further.
The Sun, ending on a massive amount of hope, unless you picked Judy and V actually survives beyond 6 months and everything you still lose. At least even Panam leaves a message sounding willing reconnect if V leaves the city.
The Star ending, while it does seem on of the best in a lot of ways, Rogue is still alive to let Johnny have some peace, the Aldecados gain a lot of funds, if you keep V in their body, then V gets some more time, but with an unknown promise of maybe extending it. But if it doesn't, you actions get even more Aldecados killed to only get 6 months guaranteed. I have to wonder if the Aldecados in general will continue to see V as a net positive for the group if they still die 6 months later or not. And if V lives longer, how will they feel when raw emotion probably takes over for most over the logical fact that the Aldecados are better off logically (and does anyone actually understand what they prevented Arasaka doing?). Maybe it would end up being one of those things they already know what kind of situation they're in participating attacking corporations, and may see it for the best, but I've seen too much selfishness in too many people to believe that happening fully.
I think for me though, whether the Sun or Star ending is best, largely depends on romantic interest. Both achieve the goal of taking down Arasaka, at least in preventing Saburo from being immortal, but if you're also after having ties to a love interest, the ending you pick also dictates which of those are viable. For both the guys, you have to stay in NC, and leave for the girls.
I find it selfish that V would romance anyone knowing that they potentially only have weeks to live (according to Viktor at the end of act 1). Especially in Judy's case considering how she's still dealing with the death of Evelyn.
I call BS on the tower ending. Cause it just needlessly nerfed V. I mean you're telling me a legend was so poor they couldn't hold onto their properties for a mere 2 years? They couldn't hold onto their cars and main house in night city and have plenty of money in the bank? They could've at least have a modified version of this ending where if V has, say, 1 million or more eddies then V still has their properties and such. And V still has their connections.
Sure, V wouldn't be a powerhouse, but they'd still have enough influence to hold a comfortable life at the very least. Afterall, night city is also all about money too. And V started from the bottom with even less, I'm sure they can start again. Perhaps not physically powerful but influentially powerful.
I still consider the endings The Sun (invading Arasaka alone, keeping Rogue alive, and becoming a legend in Afrerlife) and The Star leaving with Panam (Male V) or Judy (Female V) the best endings.
The Sun seems to me like the ending that the Outlaw or a greedy Corpe would make.
The Star is an ending that a Nomad or a more humanized Corpe would make.
While I get the Star is a happier ending, to me, I'll put Don't Fear the Reaper above it. My fav V is street kid, and to me becoming a legend in NC is fulfilling not just as V's aim, but it's also honoring Jackie's legacy. I know this also means that V fails in his/her final character development, breaking out of the cycle of NC and choosing family and friends over personal vanity, but given how V is basically dead without a miracle, it's a final fuck you to the city that he loves and hates. Plus blasting through Saka Tower with Johnny as your hypeman is pure joy.
My main problem with the Don't Fear the Reaper ending was that I actually fully agree with Panam. Why spend the last few months of your life with a bunch of sycophants and shady opportunists when you can be surrounded by family? There was no option to say "Hey man, screw this shady Blue Eyes job, I'll take my chances hoping Panam's contacts can help me"
still wierd that there is a Panam and the Aldacado ending, but not a Judy and the Mox ending. Or i guess Kerri and Samurai ending, or River and NCPD ending. Kerry and River would still probably be the low end of endings more wish their was a Judy ending than the other two.
I chose the suicide ending while I was super depressed... it hit me so damn hard because I felt like I was V and Johnny, Viktor, everyone from that ending screen was talking to me directly. I felt so sad cause I genuinely felt like it was directed to me. That's one of the big pushes that made me at least fight to work on myself. I think this ending is both the worst and the best because first of all, it's depressing as fuck and second it sort of pushed me to be better and in a way saved my life.
I hope the developers have even an idea of how impactful an ending like that has been for a lot of players. It definitely left a mark on me as well, and changed my entire outlook on life. Never stop fighting
@Assault-Roomba amen to that, brotha/sista. Been working on myself harder ever since.
@@naamloos1031 All you can do is keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. It gets easier and easier the longer you walk.
Yeah, but the star improved my love life. The Tower is making me increase my relationship with my friends. J Man Silverhand made me bawl with the “Goodbye, V.” Only to realize J Man was the only friend you’ve ever had.
Judys last call in that ending can make a statue cry.
The Star ending is my most favourite ending. Not only does it give us hope that V will survive but if V does die they'll be surrounded by friends and loved ones while being free of Night City.
My theory was always that V actually manages to live longer if he/she leaves with the Aldecaldos. The reason I believe this is because of the Tarot fortune Misty draws for V in The Star's ending. Misty draws The Chariot, The Lovers, & The Sun. The one I want to focus on the most is The Sun. The Sun symbolizes Joy, Celebration, but most importantly it symbolizes Success. I think V manages to prolong his/her life by a few more years by leaving. Less use of cyberware probably expands their life longer.
I just downloaded Cyberpunk 4 days ago. What an amazing game. Panam just texted V and told him she loved him (and she and Saul might have found a way to save V) while I was collecting all the Tarot cards. Finished the tarot cards and Misty told me about the four paths the cards show. Honestly, I dont want get to any of the endings. I think Ill just ride around on Jackies bike, taking out bad guys randomly and bask in the glow of Panam's love lol
@@rxdawg75 Fair enough
The Star ending is actually very weird if you think about it! The terms "a new life", "a new home", "a new beginning" are mentioned several times. However, according to Alt, V has around 6 months to live. And V's body will start giving up well before those 6 months pass. This is basically a death sentence and an extremely short one at that. A person doesnt think about new life and new beginnings when they know they have less than half a year left. It just doesnt happen. V would be depressed, not overly-exited about all this.
Also, if V is about to die in 6 months, would they push their love interest to leave Night City behind and start a totally new life just to be together of 6 months? This doesnt make sense either. Why would female V promise happiness to Judy, if she knows she will die in 6 months and Judy will be super depressed from that?
Finally, the strangest part is Mitch's holo call during the credits. He asks V how they are doing right now and where they are. However, V escapes Night City together with Mitch. So it would make sense that Mitch should know about her whereabouts and how she is doing, at least in the next few months. I doubt V will ditch the Aldecaldos, with whom she escaped to search for a better life, just so they can die a month or two later alone.
All this will make sense only if V actually makes it longer than initially expected.
@@konstantingeorgiev7521Yeah no shit it's weird if you look at it like that, you're missing the core theme of the ending, hope, the star is the tarot of hope
As much as I agree that The Devil is the worst ending, I still think it's my favorite.
It even has my favorite scene, with V waking up and doing a tiresome routine over and over again, trying to talk to Johnny and realizing he's not there anymore. It's haunting. And it stuck with me ever since I played it back in 2020.
You like a haunted life huh ok then
oh ym fuck my first playthrough i picked this ending for no damn reason and BY GOD it was 2 in the morning and having to do the same shit over and over and over and over and over again made me irrationally angry
@@tatzecombruh i’ve just done my first play through and got that ending im pissed
@@tatzecom Hey, I was doing it at 4 in the morning. We Arasaka demons are all crazy, I guess.
@@tatzecom I did it once just to see how it played out. I got bored and noped out about halfway through the repetitive shit. 😅
I really like that the two worst endings are a result of you just powering through the main quest. Only through slowing down and caring about people can you really have any shot or any closure.
Isnt that ultimately the best thing to do in anyones life? Making connections and caring about people. Everything else in our human experience is for naught.
I love this game
Life message right there
i did all side quest even dlc but i did the wrong choices so i ended up with the bad ending
What would be a really cool feature would be if you get an ending with Alt, before a certain number of days pass, she states that it isn't too late for V, maybe they'll still get coughs and fits, but there's no imminent death
The Star is the best ending for a Noman V. Nomad V lost their original family clan came to night city made a friend, lost a few, but made it out the otherside with a new family. Noman V didn't get chewed up and spit out or lose their soul to Night City. It's almost like a western. A stranger comes to town ends up in the mix and end the end leaves.
I kinda feel the opposite. It's a little embarassing. Like you could've just stick to your values and what made you a nomad in the first place instead of going to the city, taking huge L and going back with your tail between legs.
Star ending is imo most satisfying for corpo V, who escaped the soulless prison and finally found people he truly cares about.
For me its always dont fear the reaper or the star ending. Others are hopeless
this is the wae
@@Max-fr8wt I read that in Mando's voice
Same. And sometimes, i rush to the rogue ending for Johnny's lore and the assault rifle reward.
@@hyperturbotechnomike i rushed the other endings for their loot aswelll especially rogue and her pistol.
One thing I will say is that, while going for Dont Fear the Reaper, having Doom's The Only Thing They Fear is You playing with the cyberpunk music off makes that ending really freaking cool.
Don't Fear the Reaper into Temperance is my favorite ending, by a lot. V already accepted that death was inevitable. No reason to get Rogue or a bunch of nomads killed. If you're lucky, you survived your suicidal charge into Arasaka HQ and Johnny gets a new life as well; even if Rogue and Panam are out for his head.
I think it’s just Panam. Rogue calls Johnny out for it but she essentially says don’t call me, and never come back to night city
I should've done this. I just finished it my first time but j did the Sun.
Anyways this also works because V gets one last blaze of glory, one last joyride before handing the keys over for good
The Devil ending is unironically my favorite. It's easily the most grim, but I also think it's the best written, and the most thematically impactful in terms of showing the power and horror that these massive corporations actually wield over the lives of others. I also like that if you reject Arasaka's final contract it's one of the only outcomes where the real V actually survives and chooses to live out their final days on their own terms, and isn't casually replaced by a copy from Alt which everyone just kind of glosses over.
Ikr, people seem to ignore the implications of V being Soulkilled in all endings except the Tower and the Devil. And we learn about this problem both from Alt as well as from Johnny himself, so it's not like V doesn't know about it.
This is one of the strongest arguments for the tower imo.
Agree with your notion, it is very dark and just shows us a very realistic mirror of what will inevitably happen with unchecked power and wealth. In history, it has always led to horrific things done to the lives of other less fortunate people.
I am fascinated how well this ending is written. I felt like I was actually going insane as I was taking those tests over and over and over again... I did not know when it's going to end. I felt helpless and kept remembering Johnny's words how I am going to regret this decision. Ah, brilliant brilliant game.
Nope . Real v was already dead . U meet with engram johnny who is ripped out of ur head . That means soul killer was used on v already
I think Arasaka's procedure for removing Johnny was clearly implied to be different from Alt's. And if they already used soul killer on V I doubt they would have bothered with the ceremony of asking if you'd like to join the program and have a copy of yourself made after the fact.@@anosvoldigoat3351
The tower ending is a literal representation of the quote Takemura brings up in the credits afterwards. "Good, strong medicine is bitter to the mouth"
V survives and gets a true second chance at life but the cure is literally as bitter as it gets
I like the Tower Ending, for me it is comparable to having gone through but ultimately surviving a horrible disease, coming out alive, but severely disabled (in comparison to Vs capabilities before) and still finding new meaning and hope in life. V pretty much has to learn how to walk again (at least how to walk around in Night City, not being an unstoppable killing machine).
For me I think it fits more to Johnny’s quote “this is why you don’t bring fallen hero’s back because then they see all they fought for went to sh**” or something like that feel free to correct me it was in the samurai vendor side quest
@@kurojima I don't like the Tower ending simply because it requires you to give the NUSA a living weapon of mass destruction who is also horrendously traumatized. Even for a cure that seems like a really stupid move to make. Songbird should either go to the moon or you're honestly better off killing her.
The tower ending is out of character for Judy and does not even make sense when V send some messages that would make things clear to his loved ones. Instead he sends bland text like „I have to take a break from NC for few days“ *proceeded to get experimental brain surgery as like the first person of his kind* like what ? That people moved on with their lives only is rooted in those unreasonable text messages, screw that tho. Not only that but that he thrown down the stairs at the end by some typical NC trash people is just a spit in the face for betraying songbird(even tho it was clear that she was using you and betraying you in the end)
@waschbar2161 I love the tower ending as a concept, but it wasn't handled well by the writers. They wanted V to end up weak and alone in the world (more precisely, evoke that feeling in the player). All fine and good, the narrative needs to convey the consequences of V's actions and so on.
But it feels like they didn't really think about how they'd get there. Like they wrote the epilogue first and then realized they'll have to come up with an explanation for everything (Why would his friends react that way, etc).
Maybe there's some deeper meaning that just flew over my head, but it just feels undercooked
I love the ending with the aldecaldos, when V stands up and let's go of the medallion it's like you can feel the weight on V's shoulders completely lift as he/she basically comes to terms with the fact they they might die no matter what but can live the rest of their life completely free with people that will be by their side till the very end.
but you are gonna die in less than a year, deteriorating and suffering.
"If I gotta die, rather fall into my grave gun in hand and on fire. And not drag anyone with me."
Cue Rebel Path.
Time to party like it's 2023
Don’t Fear The Reaper and The Star ending are the best. 💯
By far the best!
Johnny standing up, telling you that you finally understand what it means to be a legend and then grabs your arm is so fucking badass man.
Got me so damn hyped
Suicide is the worst... They frame it as bueatiful and noble... and then those phone calls. Judy's actress gets all the awards, that call ripped my heart out
What's worse is that if you play Don't Fear the Ripper and die in the process (which you likely will die to buffed Smasher) then it immediately goes into suicide ending and everyone thinks you committed suicide
@@maskedman5657 because it it would just be suicide in that case. V just wanted to go out on their own terms, weapon in hand and fighting till the very end.
Taking on Smasher and an army of elite soldiers alone doesn't sound like something you do when you plan to survive.
@@maskedman5657 picking a fight with Smasher IS suicide ;)
V is in a very tough spot. It is pretty much guaranted that there is no cure for Vs disease and V and Jonny have at least a vague Notion that for a short term delay on Vs Death, Jonny would have to go to purgatory, either at Arasaka or beyond the Blackwall. Death is inevitable, and its not gonna be pretty, as we learn from Victor. Considering Vs sometimes limiting options (depending on choices made), it seems to me that not everyone would needlessly risk their friends lives just for the slim chance of prolonging the inevitable. And you are pretty much gambling with the lives of your allies in most of these endings. Imagine going through terrible cancer, with no healthcare in the U.S., and an inevitable death. When clinging to life could mean putting enormous debts on your familys shoulders. Its bad enough that these things happen in our world. So i can at least completely understand Vs Suicide option and the thoughts behind them.
Idk, as someone who is suicidal, I feel that ending so much
You're not passive agressive with Jognny during the Oilflied dialogue for the secret ending, the dude really lied to you before using your body for the first time. Being pissed off about it but still forgiving Johnny afterwards prove that your friendship is sincere and that you're not just a fanboy/girl with no self esteem.
It's a really interesting set of dialogue choices. You sort slap some sense into Johnny, telling him that you're bros but he's still an asshole.
Don't fear the reaper is definitely the most empowering ending and I love the interactions with Johnny throughout. It gave me the same vibes as beating a Souls-Like for the first time, feeling on top of the world and like an indestructable demi-god beats any happier endings for me
imagine if this was a movie scene. The Theatre would go absolutely Nuts
What is even more cool about this ending is hearing the Arasaka soldiers absolutely lose it at the sight of V mowing through all of them. You can really hear the fear in their voice
@@maskedman5657i want it to be an animated special man so bad
My only complaint about DFTR isn't really a complaint - it's just that they had the perfect opportunity to play the actual song, "Don't Fear The Reaper", and for one reason or another (which is fair enough) they didn't take it.
If they do adapt that ending into a later movie or show, that needs to be a thing.
@@cainprescott4937 I would have loved if they played the song, but I think hearing The Rebel Path is just ten times more badass. Since the only other time you hear that song is when you're playing as Johnny in the flashbacks.
"I'm not crying, you're crying."
bro you're damn right I'm crying
The Tower ending for me has a certain ring to it for me because it has a great message overall that V can still overcome great adversity even though things look grim. He/She can make a new meaning for themselves after no longer being a Merc.
What pisses me off is Panam. Like i seriously think the developers couldn't get her VA back to run lines.
She has new voice lines in Phantom Liberty (if you talk to her about Dogtown) so that's not it
Yeah, but then again, maybe something bigger is going down in Nomad land. If Arasaka moved out NC and Militech moved in. Only can assume that Aldecaldos are moving south away from the United States. For Militech likely increased their presence between NC and DC, likely going after nomads.
@@CloudBringerYeah but those lines sound extremely formulaic. And you can only ask her like 3 questions. It almost felt like her voice was AI. And yes I know that she's credited as a VA in PL but Companies lie all the time. Or maybe she only had time to do those few lines.
Think about it? Why would they not add voice lines for Panam? That seems so massively out of character for her to do. Everyone has voice lines but Somehow Panam doesn't have one farewell voice line? The game gives us the explanation that she moves on and is outside of night city area but I call bs.
First off how is Mitch is able to call us then? Also why the heck would Mitch relay the info that Panam doesn't wanna talk to us when it was pretty freaking clear when she didn't pick up the phone the first time?
I think CDPr is trying to overly explain why her lack of being there makes sense. Which it really doesn't at all.
From her perspective, V has been gone for 2 years, god knows where. 2 years of utter radio silence are more than enough for someone to simply move on. I feel like the game does a terrible job at giving a sense of "time", but as a reminder, Panam knew us for like, what, 2 weeks? Of course she's not gonna start crying tears of joy as soon as we call her lol, she knows V well enough to have been worried about V and frustrated at V's absence, but that's it
@@maskedman5657 in what world is it out of character? Panam is an extremely emotional character and the player character doesnt warn her that he is about to undergo surgery. Based on her and other nomads voicelines, shes experienced emotional betrayal before and really has a hard time opening up to people. Then the one time she does, that guy disappears for 2 years without warning. I dont see why she would want to talk to us
Dont fear the reaper -> Temperance is easily my favorite.
Its just so poetic and beautiful in its own way. It feels like Johnny aged those fifty years since the bombing.That goodbye handshake was also so chilling.
The easiest way for V to return would be for the sequel to start with V's relic being booted up inside a new body, thus justifying apearance/gender customization at the start..
Doing that and having a Mass Effect 2 style bridge where you decided the pivotal events of the previous game would be a great way to start Cyberpunk Orion
@@clarencewalters338 cdpr did this with witcher 3 where you had opportunity to input your choices of witcher 2 so if new game is interconnected it's definitely happening
that's the perfect story, keeping same skills, personality, memories, and knowledge...
Don’t know if it would be possible but i would love to just continue with my V, having panam at my side.
@@lukelukey4155 the problem is our V has no cure, right? I kept the game saved just in case the devs one day decide to launch a continuing game.
My first playthrough was Nomad V, and I really liked the way things bookended with the Star ending. Falling out with the Bakkers and ultimately looking for her fortune in Night City, only to find a new family and leave them behind. It may be choosing the relatively quiet life rather than blaze of glory, but it's one that ends happily, has the same sort of glimmer of hope that the Star ending has for V's future, however unlikely, and doesn't hurt that it's the only ending where you can stay with Judy.
Yeah it shows Dex's philosophical question missed a third option.
Quiet life assumes you are alone, broke and nobody cares about you. Not even yourself.
Blaze of glory is Jonny's life, to die on principal is the point rather than ignore the injustice in the world.
The third missing aspect, to ride off surrounded by family and friends even if it might only last a few months.
I think Dex didn't realize this last option because he was already a loner due to burning everyone. Well that was his mindset obviously trying to kill V to save his own stupid ass.
In my opinion, Don’t Fear the Reaper is the superior ending because of V’s experience getting to that point. It’s not just a final blaze of glory, but also a way of dealing with the issue without putting friends in harm’s way. After all, V already lost Jackie to Arasaka. They saw what happened to Scorpion when the Aldecados tussled with a corp. So if they have a way of surviving without getting anybody else killed, all the better. And the ending on the Crystal Palace brings it all full circle. Determination to do whatever it takes to survive.
Big leagues, broder.
Agreed. Would be nice if the next game starts at that ending, floating to the space station.
@@damedusa5107 if V is still a canon character in Orion, that is most likely what would happen/have happened in canon. The Sun is the one ending where Mr. Blue Eyes is an active part, and he's speculated to be a major character in the sequels. He's connected to Nightcorp and rogue AIs, the one theme which wasn't a part of this game and would be the logical choice for a sequel to expand on
@@CorelUser if they do, they will have to. Choose the one true ending for canon. For the next game. I don’t think they will. It will be a new character
Hell yeah what makes it so cool is the implication that v just knows after all the stuff he’s learned he’s actually got a decent shot at fighting his way through a fortress single-handedly
I'm a fan of The Devil followed by leaving the station to go back to earth for ~six months. It just plucks all the right heartstrings and is exactly the sort of tone I'd expect from this world
I like how the Aldecaldos and Afterlife endings both could be different routes leading to the same goal.
The Aldecaldos mention how they’ll find a way to help V, and according to the lore, they have ties with StormTech, a corporation who actually has a decent shot at having tech that could save V.
Meanwhile, the Crystal Palace heist organized by Mr. Blue Eyes promises V both glory and a solution to his problem, and guess who has an office/station located in the Crystal Palace? StormTech
If NUSA's full resources barely save V there's no way anything below that saves V. The Aldecaldos ending only works for V if you immediately call Solomon Reed after and get the surgery.
@@VDA19 You forget that Aldecaldos and other Nomads have secret tech that they arent willing to share with people or even agencies outside of their clan, and with the Hope card its a good possibility V managed to extend his life. Not to forget he also has allied AI from beyond the Blackwall (Alt and maybe So Mi in Liberty) that are extremely powerful
@@VDA19 They weren't spending all their resources, it was Reeds connections in Europe that saved V's body. With all the technology in the game and with the Aldecaldos making off with tens of millions of eddies from Arasaka it's not unreasonable to believe that there are ways to survive this even if it means V needs to find a new body
@@VDA19 realistically Reed should have offed V as quickly as he did the other people that were tools in the storyline to tie up that massive loose end. That he manages to both somehow convince Myers not to make him kill V and offer V help or goes around her back by sending V to Europe makes me think that at best V is used as an experiment and their survival is looked at as a scientific curiosity. Depending how you play out Phantom Liberty it wouldn't surprise me if the government purposely made it so V can't use cybernetics again.
@@VDA19 NUSA couldn't give af about V though, IMO. They did the bare minimum to uphold their end of the deal, and even that they probably didn't even want to do. They don't even bother with physical therapy or anything like that afterwards, just dump V back in NC. Someone like Blue Eyes who actually sees how incredibly useful V is, is likely to put far more effort into saving him than NUSA.
If there's anything positive to say about the Tower ending, it enhances The Star ending. If the cure isn't exclusive from Arasaka, and the FIA can also cure V even though they had to lose their chrome, then there's a significantly greater chance for one of Panam's contacts to find something for V, whether giving V a cure or a new body. In that sense, The Star Ending is even more of a happy ending.
(And yeah, I like to think V got cured and spent a nice quiet life with Panam/Judy, chrome or no chrome)
think. do you honestly believe a bunch of roaming nomads, in just 6 months' time will find a cure where one megacorp has failed, and only an actual government facility with top tier rippers has succeeded (with great cost to V, no less)?
the star is a feel-good ending, but its no more than that. V dies, surrounded by family and people they love, but they die regardless.
There's a lot more positive to the Tower Ending to that. If you're going for a more realistic ending. Tower is one of the best. V moves on by becoming a Fixer and a mentor to upcoming Mercs and Victor is who V recommends Yung Mercs to go by when they need chrome
Not buying it. A group of nomads who were so broke they were about to disband before you put them on your back and carried them don't have any favors significant enough to find a cure otherwise they'd have called them in already.
Agreed wholeheartedly, OP.
@@argentumlunaris You seem to forget a single point that changes all that, they have V now with them, with his contacts and skills.
As someone who mainly plays a male nomad V, I truly love how full circle The Star ending feel.
A nomad V leaves their nomad family. Enters the strange and lonely world of Night City, if your a male V you meet Panam who is a fellow nomad, you grow in Night City together, and after becoming legendary with the final Arasaka raid, you retreat back to the family driven nomad life in your final days, with the hope of finding a cure.
It just feels so right imo.
Street kid works better in my opinion. Growing up poor, trying to become a legend, then realising it doesn't really matter and leaving with the loved ones.
@@h0nza_Corpo is the most drastic but a really refreshing take
@@reskriptor7779 Hell yeah, corpo gang 💪
Male Nomad V is so fucking boring. It's what everyone chooses and is so overdone.
@@h0nza_ Yeah, I agree. The thing about doing this ending as Street kid is that you learn the lesson of what is true family and where loyalty really lies. Its only by breaking ties with Night City that you are free, when before you tough you and NC were part of each other.
The Tower is hands down my favourite ending. It rips everything you've worked for away and hurts you in every way it can before picking you up, dusting you off and telling you to keep going.
It gave everything it promised and nothing more.
Misty can actually pull the tower card in one of the readings and sums it up pretty well "when the tower falls nothing will ever be the same again"
Just finished PL this evening and got this ending organically. It crushed my soul, ngl. So depressing, it was impossible to see the upsides.
@@ScreenSpidah The thing is, what comes around also goes around. If V is this glory crazed that he needs to live longer to become the NC Legend, then they might as well turn into Adam Smasher V2. The Tower ending is the true ending for us humans of the contemporary society. Any of us would accept a decently paying, safe job in a world of Full-bored Cyborgs and AI that can flatline you instantenuously. Think about it, your 6 months life expectancy limit is raised. Johnny is off of you and you work under / together Reed. It is what real hymans would do
The tower ending is a narrative punishment for siding with Myers and helping Militech just like the devil ending is narrative punishment for literally bringing Saburo Arasaka back to life, how are people still not understanding this?
@@Qendrese3549 i dont think the tower ending is a punishment, you lose all your chrome except for your most basic implants, but you get to live, a fresh start, clean slate, move on from merc life, its more bittersweet than anything. While siding with myers is a terrible decision, the ending is anything but a punishment. comparing it to the devil ending a bit strange because one you get to live just without chrome beyond the basic stuff and the other is you just become a slave, lose all your self purpose, basically break yourself mentally and physically, relinquish all your rights and lose all your free will. both are drastically different and ones clearly ten times better than the other.
I ended up with Sun ending, it seemed like the finale should involve Johnny and Rogue, and then choosing for Johnny to let V have her body. I didn't really like the cliffhanger ending of my V launching herself at the space station and then the credits. I almost never replay games, especially a long one like this, so I really appreciate all the work you put into showing me what the other choices I could have made would have led to. Awesome video.
The star ending will always hold a special place in my heart as the first one i achieved. I definitely think Don't Fear the Reaper is the most epic ending, but it doesn't make me smile the same way the Star ending does.
Thanks for another great video btw, i always love hearing other people's thoughts on cyberpunk endings. though so far I've yet to meet anyone who thinks the devil ending is the best. maybe some day.
The Star ending is by far the best ending for the game. My V and Panam running off into the sunset with the Nomads. There is so much hope for the future in this ending. I do think they did find a cure for V and lived happily, had a few kids. I just really hope we can continue our Vs ending.
I’d argue The Devil is the best written out of all them
I wouldn't be hasty to disagree
Why tho?
@@maskedman5657takemura stays your homie, therefore objectively the best ending
@@yourehereforthatarentyou At the cost of Arasaka treating you like a labrat? That's not a friendship my boi
It's very poignant but... Johnny spends the entire game warning you how Arasaka is just gonna use you and abuse you, going with them feels like such a stupid thing to do, specially if you are playing Arasaka lifepath.
The Devil is one of my favorite endings, as it was my first (well, i didn't save Takemura, so it didn't give me the achievement.) playing through it the first time, hearing out Yorinobu and realizing how much i fucked up, Johnny, who i have grown to love, straight up tell me that i made the wrong choice, all the while the music just kicks up at the right time, the series of test cut in with the apathetic calls from everyone except Viktor and Panam, and then the soulcrushing realization that i was going to die. i sat there for five minutes just processing what he just said, and then he gave me the contract. reading the fine print and then rejecting Hellman's offer never felt better. walking off into the shuttle will always send chills down my spine, as Never Fade Away plays and V looks down on Earth, his home, and rips off that necklace, it is just beautiful. doing it with Takemura is even better, as i do like Takemura as a character and it's the only ending (unless you consider his call in the Tower a positive one) that has the two leave on good terms. it cost the world for V to get in this position, but the lack of binds on him to do whatever he wants makes it one of my favorite endings. inversely, everyone loves the Star, and i do, too, but a lot of people are giving, whst i consider too much hope in V living a happily every after with Panam's contacts. it may be the pessimist in me, but i see V simply living out their remaining time with the ones they love before dying, as (nearly) every other ending has that for them.
Suicide ending is the worst and don’t fear the reaper is the best imo
Suicide ending makes all your struggles be for nothing
Don’t fear the reaper feels like a true final mission and in the end your balling out in a penthouse in night city with a lot of money
#dontfearthereaper
Imo, suicide ending is one of the worst, but I'd definitely still put it above the Arasaka and NUSA endings. There's just something about losing yourself to the corps that strikes me as worse than just ending it all with one pull of the trigger.
@@TheAkrillionHow do you lose yourself to corps in NUSA?
@@maskedman5657you whored yourself out to them for a cure, had Johnny bite the bullet, gave Songbird a fate worse than death and empowered Myers in the process since she will still be using Song as a WMD, strengthened Militech, allowed them to experiment on you, gave them the Relic chip which they will most definitely be studying and this last one is just a theory, but, Reed tells you your brain is now deaf only to combat implants, which is oddly specific. You can still use cybernetics but not combat grade lol, how convenient is that. Myers tells you she is impressed with the quality of your chrome in a dialogue when you're rescuing her so she is most likely interested in you, or afraid of you becoming a possible nuisance for the NUSA in the future given how you carry them hard on your back throughout the whole DLC and prove yourself to be a menace. She could've very much fucked you over, had her docs "cripple" you and keep you that way in case you'd reject their job proposal. Regardless of this theory, you still did a lot of shit which empowered the NUSA and Militech. Tower ending is basically the devil ending Militech version tbh. Saving Song and raiding Arasaka is the one and only "fuck you" you can give the corps, keeping them at bay with two huge setbacks and stopping a possible war.
@@maskedman5657 You know the NUSA is a puppet of Militech right? Literally the presidents get to be presidents after they have been Militech CEO's....The game really makes a point on showing you how Militech and NUSA are the same thing if you bother reading shards and bio descriptions at all.
Being that Cyberpunk 2077 is my favourite game of all time, this is easily becoming one of my favourite TH-cam channels. Absolutely love your videos bro!
I got Temperence twice back in 2020 when the game was a mess
FINALLY returned to the game beating it this morning and I got Sun, which I liked quite a bit more than Temperance
If going by quality of storytelling and not how “happy” a given ending is, from what I saw in this video The Devil ending has an argument for #1
I gotta go with “Don’t Fear the Reaper”.
I’d rather fix my own mistakes without putting my chooms in danger. All in or bust.
It's ''The Tower'' for me. The fact that almost everyone abandons you after 2 years in a coma shows more about them than V. F them haters. This is the only way V survives, and if they're not cool with that, they can go F themselves. But I feel it's Out of Character for Panam to refuse to talk to V at all.
Anyway, back to The Tower. I put this as #1 because it's the only one in which V survives, and I feel like V has to survive. Getting to the Big Leagues was Jackie's dream more than V's. My V was a corpo, he'd already tasted the 'Big Leagues', he knew how life up there was. Why would he want to go back? He did it for Jackie, who was basically his brother. V surviving makes Jackie's death worth more, whereas if V dies it was all for nothing.
The Tower isn't even that bad, yes V is done fighting, but so what? He can get a cozy job with NUSA and never worry about anything ever again.
Man people getting crazy with romantic endings where V dies after 6 months. Let's be honest Survival > romance. If you choose to not survive then you weren't in the heart of V. If anyone was on V shoes would pick to survive. So tower ending is the most optimistic one. I didn't save Takemura, I didn't like him. He is like other "friends" who using you .Also Johnny is a creep watching every move you make, so I'm glad he is gone too. Only true family is Viktor. Siding with reed getting the cure and hope to find a solution with vik to strengthen the signals to become strong again. Also I get to have private moments with anyone while I'm 100% sure I live rejecting the whole concept of the legend and it's inevitably doom. Cleansing and new start all the way. I believe V can get strong with different technology pieces based on different principles. Don't forget V still a millionaire with cars and machine guns on them
Finally taken the time to give it some real thought but the Client Data that Mr. Blue Eyes wants you to acquire from the Crystal Palace would give him a list of every, every single influential, powerful, shadowy-figure that has ever gone their to party or gamble on the station. Every politician, every mogul, every background actor that works for the mechanisms of power and if what Alt says in her dialogue when you have Canto Mk 6 or Erebus in your possession, then the whole point is to give these Rogue AI's hidden behind the Blackwall, full access to bodies to mold to their own devices. But not just any bodies - they're going after the bodies and minds and identities of those who run every facet of the modern cyberpunk world. The Relic's a backdoor as Alt says.
Going over every single ending - there's only one where Rogue AI's and Alt don't win, and the world over doesn't get put on a collision with absolute chaos and existential struggle, as the NUSA backs down quickly. Returning the Emperor to his throne. You lose everything, you lose Johnny, potentially your life(choices outstanding), but returning Saburo to power is the best outcome for the world as a whole. You're not giving Mikoshi to a Rogue AI that is using Alt's semblance, you're not destroying the ecosystem balance of world power, you're not aiding Blue Eyes in whatever scheme is being plotted to enslave and control.
Really feels like any other ending actually dooms the world or makes for a real tumultuous future. Somehow the best option, in my opinion, is the Devil you know.
theres a shard that says saburo was planning on nuking night city to start over with a colonial japanese empire and thats why yorinobu rebelled against him, he really isnt that much better than mr blue eyes. The star is still the best ending for me, aldecaldos connections with stormtech and the highrider confederation I would say gives V more than a fair shot at living out the rest of his life, in the Devil V's construct is copied and theres no saying what Arasaka will do with you, they could take V's free will, make adam smasher 2.0, remove his memories... the reason it is called the devil ending is because there are as many endless possibilities to V's suffering as there would be in the real h, e double hockey sticks
I got the Star ending on my first playthrough and, boy am I glad I did since I almost picked Rogue as I failed the secret ending requirement.
I started as Corpo Fem V, so said ending is poetic too on top of all the perks you mentioned above.
A life as a nameless slave to the very corporation that would be your sworn enemy, unbeknownst to them would bring them into rubbles, the loss of your one and only bro, Jackie, to being accepted into a fast and furious family, and leaving behind the city that eat you up and spit you out, *chef's kiss* what is not to love.
The Star ending is far and away my favorite for several reasons. Biggest one: If you go through the various endings (i.e. for Steam achievements) and watch all of those ending credit messages, other than the suicide one (which imply the messages are done only a couple of days later), the messages imply they are a few months later after the final scene...around the time V should be officially dead from the Relic if you didn't give the body to Johnny. But a female V, romancing Judy, taking the Star ending...Judy's credits message in that instance is the one and ONLY message where you hear V's own voice. And she doesn't sound like she's near death (which would coincide with the expected time for it), she sounds vibrant and healthy.
One thing I’ll say during the Sun ending path is being Johnny and watching V react to Alt’s remarks… it’s super cool to see OUR character from another’s perspective.
Always do this ending every playthrough just to see my V, along with the Star, agreeing with you as the best ending.
41:39 but that's just a theory, A GAME THEORY. Thanks for watching :D
Matpat is 👑
I feel like people rip on the PL Tower ending too much. Sure, it is sad that people you knew have moved on but that’s just how life goes. People move away, settle down and start a family, or just lose touch. It’s how it is once you hit your late 20s IRL. If you and your friend are in the same town, you might grab a beer together and talk. But that’s it.
Maybe it’s because I’m older, but I would 100% pick the quiet life where I occasionally catch up with old friends. Knowing they’re also alive and well. As opposed to dying in a blaze of glory where all my friends eventually move on anyway.
I can't help but wonder about Alt's warning at the end of Voodoo Boys mission when she informs us that using SoulKiller will indeed kill our soul. If she's right than 2 & 3 are arguably the best endings...
Wonder? Alt *confirms* it. The devil ending also confirms it by sheer proxy. The copy of Saburo's engram is PERFECT, indistinguishable from the original and yet it is not. We saw Saburo get murdered AFTER this construct was made, it's an entirely new lifeform. What Alt does is use the original version of Soulkiller, the one that actually KILLS people, uses it on V which kills their soul and makes a copy of it in code which she can then disentangle and reinsert the copy back into the body which now isn't even really V either. So let's say we're V, the second we plug into access point Izanagi, we LOSE ALL CONSCIOUSNESS AND LIFE. You can have whatever idea of the afterlife you want, but the original V is THERE and NOT in their original body. Alt tried telling us this both before and after we meet her the first time.
@@clarencewalters338 Well there's a giant essentialist presumption here. Is there such a thing as a "soul"? Are we our bodies or are we our consciousness. Is our consciousness inextricably tied to flesh or is it the sum of our experiences/memories? This is a common theme in Cyberpunk media & I think the point is to leave it open to interpretation. After all we hardly even know what consciousness is. How could we possibly have an objective understanding of the consequences of fictional tech that transforms it?
@@nomadasol8247 that's the thing though, it's not a presumption. Alt Cunningham MADE the program. If a soul exists, it dies when it gets hit with soulkiller. If we are looking at it from V's perspective our light goes out the second we fall into the coolant and that's IT for us. Now whether there's a true afterlife and V's soul goes there is truly up for debate but a construct is NOT the same consciousness as the person it's based on. When Johnny tries to write it off as "V hops back in their body, nothing changes" Alt corrects that shit REAL quick "Everything changes, you know this well". Alt and Alt's construct auhtored their own versions of soulkiller so they best know the mechanics of it
@@clarencewalters338 Sure but we could also look at the optional dialogue w/ Johnny at the end of the first Joshua Stephenson mission in PieZ where you can ask Johnny this very question or the miss-able dialogue V has w/ the monk brothers after the Clouds mission w/ Judy & Maeko where they hypothesize that a construct is indeed a soul b/c it can suffer. Obviously they have a Buddhist bias but both times Johnny basically asserts that it doesn't matter b/c he's him. To me the game presents the question as just that, a question. Alt certainly makes her position clear but are we to assume she's omnipotent? After all she herself is a construct.
@@nomadasol8247 nobody said constructs don't have souls. Or at least that isn't what I was arguing. Just that the soul of the construct is a copy of a soul. Saburo's construct is a soul but it isn't Saburo's soul. Get what I mean?
You can always take Songbird along with you for the Don't Fear the Reaper ending if you miss having a companion, and are doing the "betray Reed" ending for Phantom Liberty. A the end of stadium, the fast travel is not locked for some reason, so you can travel away while Songbird stays with you. Go meet Hanako, do the endings you want to have with her, then travel back and finish the PL ending. Temperance is especially comical as you see her chasing the bus as it drives away and she tries to keep up with you lol.
Don't fear the reaper is still the best ending for many reasons:
1. Aldelcaldos, Saul and Rouge are alive
2. Adam smasher is dead so we avanged Johnny/Jackie and Maine Crew.
3. Johnny is happy about it
4. V owns afterlife and become NC Legend
And most importantly. Remmeber that during automatic love. V tells to skye/angel that he wanted to be legend. He wanted to be remmebered and we as the player we we achieved that completing his dreams.
The worst ending in my opinion is the Tower ending where V lost literally everything weapons, apartments, cyberware, friends (Kerry, River, Judy, Panam) and we have bad realationship with johnny at the end. And biggest pain is that Adam Smasher is alive where we lost chance to avenge Johnny/Maine Crew but most importantly we failed to become NC Legend where V always wanted to be legend.
In the Tower Ending you still have Victor and I don't know what you mean by bad relationship with Johnny. Johnny never likes the idea of trusting corps but he can respect Vs decisions in the end.
@@maskedman5657 The ending where Victor is too busy checking on a clients cyber dick to talk to V? The ending where Misty leaves disappointed in V? The ending where V even forgets the pendant that represents their will to live? No amount of sugar coating is gonna turn Tower ending into a positive one, you can headcanon all you want about what V does afterwards but the fact of the matter is that they are alone and without cyberware plus a lot of old enemies, I wouldnt rank their chances or survival very high.
nope there's still 90% and you a still edgerunner for some reason. And i doubt it that some random nomads find cure for V then Mr.Blue eyes who have cure for the songbird and probably can also cure V.@@pachaSilverPants
@@pachaSilverPants song get cured by mr blue eyes so.
Strong agree with the reasoning here. I also preferred Don't Fear The Reaper up until The Tower when I realised how important The Star ending was. I also didn't know you could take Judy as I only did Star on male V, and knowing she's happy makes it all the sweeter. ❤
I feel like whenever people discuss the PL ending some things go over a lot of peoples heads. Yeah V loses all their friends and their chrome for good, but they actually get to live their life, a new beginning. It’s a lot like real life and I think that’s why it hits me so hard. In life you are going to lose friends, you are going to lose jobs, you are going to lose the people and things you love the most, but the beautiful part about that is that when these parts of our life end, it always means the start of something new. It’s an ending about acceptance and maturity, which i feel a lot of people don’t seem to really understand because they may have trouble with acceptance in their own lives, which is completely ok, everybody is different. Personally I think it’s a beautiful ending and definitely the best for me.
Unlike V you're not living in NC with no money or chrome (which both are definitely needed to survive) you didn't piss off gangs of serial killers, sociopaths, and gang bangers. You also don't have a Colombian hit woman (who is feared among many criminals) promising to come visit you down the road for pretending to be her in Dogtown. There are no jobs in NC for the common man and if there is it pays jack-all, and Rouge warns V to stay away from the club. The more she visits the more her legend title loses it's power so she can't be a fixer/ hired there. She isn't Morgan blackhand, so her being solo without chrome (Even if he had thele basics) is beyond that.
V has nothing and is now homeless and will mostly like die from a stray bullet or an old gang /someone she pissed off with finish her off. If you mention leaving NC, remember the rest of the world is basically F'd. It's why she came back to NC.
Not a really hopeful ending IMO. Another setting and world I agree with what you say.
When you end as Jonny. V reaction could be difference. He can actualy compain about you givin him body. If in dialog about Would You Take a Bullet For Me? On tapeworm mission you choose "Yes"
For me "Don't fear the reaper" should've give the player to choose the ending he/she wants as a reward. Something like choosing between 2 or 3 options :
- go back to the aldecados
- king of Afterlife
- ...
That would have been my n°1 ending of them all. The fun gameplay of Fear the reaper + Panam ending 👌
I always choose the star ending with Judy and since phantom liberty sending So Mi to the moon. I always felt Cyberpunk was V’s story and phantom liberty was So Mi’s. They both wanted the same things in the end to live and know that there is someone out there that would definitely give a dang about them. And would fight to their last breaths to save them. V is that for So Mi and So Mi and the Nomads are that for V. (As were Johnny and Jackie).
I feel like personal connection and trusting your friends was a huge theme in this game, and these endings kinda hammer that home. The devil/tower endings also kinda tell you that trusting a corp / the govt over your friends won’t end well for you
No matter what ending, they always kind of leaving you wanting to go back to the simpler times, just hanging out with Jackie as a couple of dreamers in a city that’s trying to keep you down.
The Star all the way
How old are u ?
@@pRiMeEmIrP911 I'm turning 30.
As another person trapped in NYC who can't afford to move elsewhere I agree. Maybe that's why I love cyberpunk so much.
Your videos truly put in the work nobody else on this planet has done and I (and many others) thank you. Really, thank you for all your hard work - I know these videos aren't easy to make but we really appreciate everything you do.
As always, a terrific video that gives me lots to consider. I too think The Star ending is best. It gives V at least a few months where they're with family and friends, away from Night City. It also has enough hints about the possibilities to find a cure that don't require Arasaka or NightCorp. Panam mentions "connections with nomads," which could include the secretive Technomancers clan and StormTech. The Reaper ending to me is one where you accept that it's a suicide mission that you won't survive. If you survive, you're legend. If you died, well, you die alone but leaving your friends alive. I'm very interested to see what your theories regarding curing V are, and if they line up with mine
To me the best ending is unironcally The Devil. During the game we always hear about how the corps are evil so that was the last thing I tried but honestly? Thinking about it, Arasaka did nothing against us, even though we provked them lots and lots of times, they completely ignore us.
At the end of the Devil there's no indication they gonna betray us or just leave us to be forgotten, we spend days in their station, most of the time completely knocked out, if they wanted just to remove our brain or kill us they could have done it any time. They didn't had to bring Takemura all the way from Earth to try to talk us into accepting their plan, so this end made me think that Hanako and Soburo really wants to have V around
I agree 100% with the order of this list. The Star ending is really the warmest. And surprisingly it's the one who has the most action as well because of the raid with the Basilisk.
I still think the Devil is by far not the worst ending in the game and i think its entirely reasonably for V to actually take it. As it stands, when you are on the rooftop making your decision on who to trust with being able to remove the construct from your head, Arasaka is easily the most powerful entity and the one that knows by far the most about how the relic works. Of course, in hindsight this will not have meant all too much because it turns out that you are too far gone (something that all the endings have in common anyways). A pragmatic V that just wants to live, with the information she has when she is on the rooftop would most likely side with Arasaka. I think there is this kind of weird idea that you are "selling your soul to the enemy" if you choose this ending, but that kind of confuses me. Its not like V will forever be in Arasakas pockets, its just a one time thing (except when she agrees to be stored in Mikosh) and then she can go her ways.
As for the yorinobu part: I just dont think that theory is true at all. Nothing about Yorinobu makes him look any more trustworthy than any other Corpo, his goal to "tear arasaka apart from the inside" could just be a lie and if it isnt, its wholly ineffective, dangerous and useless. I think he is just an wholly manipulative person that will tell you anything if it means he gets away with his stuff. If hes not that, he is stupid and will never achieve his goals. Easy as that. Either way he is not the "hero" of the game, and i dont think the "Devil" is the worst ending (at least if you really try to get into the mind of V, with all the information she has at the moment of makign her choice)
I think the Temperance ending is WAY worse if you do the path where Johnny goes with Rogue to fight Arasaka, because it's Johnny making the decision and not V. It's a lot better when Johnny wants to keep his promise but V says for him to keep the body anyway
I think what makes The Star Ending so special, and in my mind, the only ending I'll ever choose, is it shows that Dex's stance of "Quiet Life or Blaze of Glory" isn't as binary as he makes it out to be, and what exactly it means to be a legend. Imo, The Sun ending isn't worth it to become a legend to a brutal city full of corrupt people, especially when you've lost the human connections (well Panam and Judy, Kerry seems to stick with Male V in the Sun ending).
With The Star Ending, with my V, the ending shows that V can go out in a Blaze of Glory in order to achieve that Quiet Life. The Aldecaldos are willing to go out in a Blaze of Glory to help V, because they see her as family. The true Glory isn't becoming a legend to a city, it's becoming a legend to the connections, the family she's made. Helping Kerry step out of his own shadow, helping River with his family and conflict with the force, winning fights to see Vik proud, seeing eye-to-eye with Johnny and the two becoming comrades, bonding with Panam and her becoming a surrogate sister who V needed after losing Jackie, falling in love with Judy after the two lost their closest friends and consistently got burned in Night City. These moments are what make V a legend in people's hearts, and I'd say that's what it takes to truly become a legend. Not to a city, but to the people you love.
(Don´t Fear) The Reaper.
Everyone will Die, the Question is when and how?
In Accepting that and taking Control, you take Control of your Life, your Actions and therefore have a Say in the Outcome.
It is the Perfect ending when you are Friends with Jonny and rescued Songbird.
It is all a big fat blast and you just enjoy it and do the right thing, or care to much of everyone else in a World where you control only so litte.
Correction about the sun and reaper ending! There is possible dialogue at the penthouse that implies that Panam will wait for V to come back from the heist
I hate that you don't know what you are getting yourself into with the different choices, and decisions are made off screen. I got the sun ending as I didn't want to risk Pam's life, and in the end she leaves.
I think this tierlist is spot on actually. Maybe I'd have put the ending where Johnny takes over a bit lower since you're basically ghosting (and hurting) your friends. The Star was my first ending and I'm happy it was, it's the only ending that can be considered a happy one.
The Devil Ending is the most unambiguously bleak, but also the best written. The Tower Ending wasn't that well-written, and makes it out to be worse than it should be. That said, the idea of giving the government back it's massively unethical and destructive super-weapon makes it an overall bad choice.
The ending that felt right for me was to have Johnny and Rogue go in, and not get any of V's friends involved. Then for Johnny to choose to let V have her body back really felt impactful after the relationship had grown together. Rogue already lived a long life and would be proud of Johnny and of what was accomplished. Rogue's death hurt, but it added to the story. It really just felt right for those two to be involved.
Exactly
"Nobody else died to grant us this opportunity in the Don't Fear the Reaper Ending"
The 700 Arasaka guards just trying to feed their family: 💀
I'd rather give johnny the body than any of the PL endings, having your supposed "love interests" abandon you and be forced to live as a normal person is worse than death
but it's life. Look at peeps like Jackie, he ain't there to love or be loved. At least, in that ending, you're there, rogue went that route, she ended up alright.
Tower might be my favorite ending, because you get what you sought, and get to live and tell the tale. Move on, live.
@Brianf1977 Why wouldn't the love intrests move on? You ghost them for 2 years, it's not like your a couple who has been married for years, V literally meets them and know them for like a month tops.
Imagine playing through the whole game just to get a shit ending like the Devil lmaoo
Love your passion for this game Sam. Nice to see so many people that love this game as much as I do. I’ve watched almost all your cyberpunk vids and always look forward to the next one.
Agree with your list too. The Star is hands down my favourite and the best ending in my opinion for all the reasons you stated. Even down to the amazing acoustic guitar track that plays when you leave night city in the tank, which I just had to learn to play myself
My only complaint with The Tower ending is that two years isn't really that long for things to change so drastically. I guarantee people here have friends/family they haven't spoken to in two years, and they're still probably relatively the same. Five years feels like a more realistic event-altering time skip.
You have to consider that a lot of the characters already were about to leave. Panam & the gang wanted to go away and set up camp some place else, Judy always talked about leaving NC and so did Misty after Jackie's death. And Johny ... is just gone.
Honestly becoming a headhunter for Arasaka sounds really cool imagine cyberpunk 2 where you play as a engram of v inside a super cyborg then going rogue. Similar to the ghost runner games
The best ending is not doing the ending
Be an immortal cyborg ninja indefinetely
I’ve played all endings multiple times. Love this game!! I agree the aldacado’s ending w/judy is my favorite. But… just as amazing as this game is, also is ALL of your videos Sam! You are a hero ;)
I’m definitely going to be in the minority here but I actually liked the Tower Ending, yea V lost majority of his friends and can’t use any cyberware he’s just a regular guy but that doesn’t mean his life is over in fact it’s a beginning of a new life for him, I’d like to imagine he went out to see the world finally, got to meet new people and maybe even become a ripper doc like he said he’s still got Misty and Vik for advice if he needs it and who knows maybe he settled down with someone like Judy did and got to be happy, I just don’t think this ending is all negative
Same. After all, if 2 years passed and even after explaining the situation of you being in coma people don't reply, they really were not your friends after all. Panam goes crazy and we can see she is mentally unstable, yet the best ending is supposed to be expending the last months of your live with her? Nah
I agree the Star is the best ending but damn I want to be a legend.
I still think the Reaper is better than Star. In Star you lose like 2 of your family members along with dozens of nameless ones, only for the payoff to be a small extension of your life, and little to no promise of a REAL fix in Arizona.
But with Reaper, you not only storm the biggest MegaCorp on the planet BY YOURSELF, but no one dies in the process. The best part is you achieve the top, like Jackie wanted, and all of your friends still care about you alive and well, happy for you and waiting to see you again. Plus your chances of saving your life are MUCH higher raiding a Supercorp Rich techline Space Station than going to some Techheads in Arizona.
For me dont fear the reaper is best when you choose to give V's body to Johnny, especially if you made a promise to him that youd give your life for him at the motel and its kind of touching to see johnny try to convince V to change his mind by at first trying to provoke V by staing stuff like their just giving up without a fight until finally he admits he is just afraid for V even though he himself was fine with going with Alt which really shows how strong of a bond the 2 have managed to build up
Nope. The only good ending would be one where johnny gets removed from V's brain, V gets to live and gets to ride off into the sunset with Panam. Any other ending, aside from a female V with Judy, is trash.
Honest to god the thing that killed me and made me think "this was a horrible choice" with the tower ending was talking to Vik. Hearing the guy who loved what he did and was always there for us just sound so beaten down and broken to a point where he hates what he does just made me realise "we have our whole like but what is life in this world. A life of a shitty 9-5 (or, lets be real, 9-8 since there is no such thing as a break) after losing everything we had with no real hope of getting it back?"
I value Tower for having the theme of being able to push past tragedy and suffering to keep going no matter what and that is the most realistic aspect of it, but the fact that you just lost everything weighs on me heavily. Also, Adam Smasher presumably lives in the Tower so I imagine that's a bit of a catch for edgerunner fans lol.
If Night City doesn’t allow for happy endings, then the only way to get it is to leave and never look back.
My favorite part of Don't Fear The Reaper/Temperance is Johnny physically trying to stop you from taking that ending. It's sad, and I'm tearing up typing and remembering it. It's been years since I saw it, but it stuck with me. At the same time, it is the most selfless ending, and it makes Johnny's actions after that make much, much more sense.
I have evolved since I first started playing cyberpunk. I no longer click on videos because panam is in the thumbnail but rather because of the youtuber 🙂
I'd say the tower is one of the best three. Because you can see in the final shot, that V has accepted it.