[Spoiler Alert] About the endings

[RaimeWasTaken]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Also note that also in the event we choose to live for 6 more months, we still die at Mikoshi regardless. Remember Soulkiller? That's an Engram - Fake V - inhabiting the body of our Real V. Literally dying twice.

Any prior actions as Real V were just made irrelevant, especially with romances. Even they have to put up with our deaths.

Edit: Typo.

Spoiler tag eddited in
Sild.

 

[Bloodartist]

stuff

Spoilers, dude.

 

[Ex-Salaryman]

I'm about to end act 2 and after reading about the endings I don't feel like playing anymore.
The way I see it the suicide ending is the best one,atleast this way V goes out his/her own way.

 

[Vejsa]

A greater irony is that even if we choose to survive for 6 months, we still die at Mikoshi. Soulkiller killed us, only to bring back an engram (Fake V) to inhabit Real V's body for 6 months before it dies too! Suddenly any personal connections made with other characters were just cut, let alone romances. (Now I just straight up feel bad for Judy with the stuff she went through...)

Exactly. V doesn't deserve that, Judy doesn't, What is the fucking point? Why build up the idea that we could give her happiness and then take it all away months later. This is poor writing where the developers didn't see the consequences of the main story on the characters contained within it. And if they did see these consequences then that is just depressing, because it truly means CDPR wanted us to feel hopeless after we finished this game.

 

[MeinChurro]

Yes exactly this. It makes me feel like my entire attempt to find a way to live was useless and I shouldn't have even bothered. Silverhand was right when he told me to kill myself. Same ending just a lil bit earlier in the story.

Yep. As you said in your other post, hopeless. There is literally NO purpose after learning of the endings (or unfortunately spoiled) to ever want to continue with the story. Finding out there is literally no way to save yourself - currently without dlc - removes all initiative. I was unfortunately spoiled, but I don't know what's worse. Find out after the fact that nothing you did mattered, or before the fact that nothing you do will matter.

I already deleted my character. I'll keep playing, but I'll restart as a corpo or something, where I can play as a character where one of these endings is fitting. I am so disappointed.. I seriously, SERIOUSLY hope a DLC fixes this in some way. I'd probably prefer a mid-game DLC where we can fix this completely, rather than salvage the scraps afterwards.

 

[RaimeWasTaken]

Spoilers, dude.

Oh crap my bad.

 

[casbyness]

A greater irony is that even if we choose to survive for 6 months, we still die at Mikoshi. Soulkiller killed us, only to bring back an engram (Fake V) to inhabit Real V's body for 6 months before it dies too! Suddenly any personal connections made with other characters were just cut, let alone romances. (Now I just straight up feel bad for Judy with the stuff she went through...)

What the game needs is an ending where V kills Alt. That's what's causing the real feeling of helplessness in this game. Alt doesn't just kill original V, she assimilates all the Soulkiller engrams as well, getting her own way with no consequences. The real villain of the game is Alt, and you don't get to take her down.

As soon as you meet Alt for the first time and her proposed 'solution' to V's problem is "I'll make an engram of you, then put that copy back into your brain", the game is effectively over. If that's genuinely the best idea anyone has to solve V's problem, V might as well kill themselves right then and there. Alt's answer guarantees original V dies, it isn't actually a solution in any way.

V should be able to find a way to destroy Alt at Mikoshi, before Alt uses Soulkiller on V. There should be a way to reverse the brain damage by overwriting Johnny's engram on the biochip with an engram of V, which then returns V's brain DNA to normal. V could then remove the chip without any issues.

I'd be fine with an ending that's downbeat if V survived, or an ending where V dies but has some kind of positive impact on the world before they go. This game offers neither of those outcomes - every ending is a lose/lose for V and what makes things the most annoying is there's no option to defy or outwit Alt and thwart her scheme.

 

[Krul2k]

So i ended up nothing but confused, i romanced judy, i believe, moved in with her, phoned her from the roof before the choice etc, then once i finished it all an brought V back i wake up beside her an she dumps me lol, did i miss something or is that how her romance ends because ontop of confused i had zero sense of accomplishment, i actually felt more emotion just blowing my brains out an watching the credits than going through the choice i picked at the end then watching those credits.

 

[KakitaTatsumaru]

Wish we could hear comment from CDPR why it was so hard to put ONE good ending among 7 ending....

Not forcibly even a real "good ending", but at least having the possibility to use every opportunity to get rid of johnny, even if you have to do bad things and totally screw him to do so, that would totally be in C2020 spirit: no good, no bad, only choices and having to live with it.

 

[AdamTaylor]

Hopefully CDPR can pull a Bioware or Bethesda and add in a new ending that makes better sense and gives us a massively better ending than the crap ones we have now.

 

[RaimeWasTaken]

There should be a way to reverse the brain damage by overwriting Johnny's engram on the biochip with an engram of V, which then returns V's brain DNA to normal. V could then remove the chip without any issues.

Yes, I was thinking of something likes this with a DLC of sorts. We know Arasaka operates in other areas outside of Night City, so perhaps by slim chance (given how Soulkiller is perceived as a myth) there may be other facilities that also know about the Soulkiller. Perhaps an extension of Hellman's design, or an entirely new design? A software update for our current biochip to not be so invasive but more cooperative?

If it is a new design, perhaps it merely copies the soul without killing it, allowing a recovery for V (preferably before Alt uses Soulkiller on us as to keep Real V alive.) One design to be weaponised, one design to be commercialized? It's unlikely though, seeing as how Arasaka was out to literally control people, as opposed to the latter.

Plenty of opportunities there, I hope it doesn't happen after the end of the game, though.

 

[Metropolice]

Am guessing I don't need to mark anything as spoiler because the thread title does it already and it's to be expected.

That's it. Rest is cosmetic choices, but basically your choices doesn't matter- you die anyway.

Depends on how you define "dying" - if I get it right, a "copy" of you exists in one ending, safely tucked away in Arasaka's lap. Or labs. Databases. Vaults. You get the idea.

A potential follow-up connection to the next game, assuming we get to step in the shoes of "V" again as a continuation of this game's protagonist.

It's very odd how the story is written as if Johnny's engram is Johnny himself back from the dead, instead of acknowledging that it's just a copy that's acting as random neuro-malware and killing an innocent person.

It's not like there are or were no clues. In my pro-Arasaka ending I went down with the "princess" and after the first engram contact, requested to see Jackie Welles post-mortem engram. Granted, they got it from a deceased person but at one point V can either bid farewell or coldly say "I've seen enough, it's not him".

It's not the same person but a copy if I got it right and there's no one to one transfer possible. It would be like copy-pasting a file or folder and deleting the first after that - the copied one never is the same folder.

Long story short, I think this is the big "reveal" or "twist": It seems like you said on first glance or for a while - until you realize it's not. At least, I did or think I did in my game.

Saved my V - well, did I really? Just a copy, that is.

 

[KakitaTatsumaru]

What the game needs is an ending where V kills Alt. That's what's causing the real feeling of helplessness in this game. Alt doesn't just kill original V, she assimilates all the Soulkiller engrams as well, getting her own way with no consequences. The real villain of the game is Alt, and you don't get to take her down.

As soon as you meet Alt for the first time and her proposed 'solution' to V's problem is "I'll make an engram of you, then put that copy back into your brain", the game is effectively over. If that's genuinely the best idea anyone has to solve V's problem, V might as well kill themselves right then and there. Alt's answer guarantees original V dies, it isn't actually a solution in any way.

V should be able to find a way to destroy Alt at Mikoshi, before Alt uses Soulkiller on V. There should be a way to reverse the brain damage by overwriting Johnny's engram on the biochip with an engram of V, which then returns V's brain DNA to normal. V could then remove the chip without any issues.

I'd be fine with an ending that's downbeat if V survived, or an ending where V dies but has some kind of positive impact on the world before they go. This game offers neither of those outcomes - every ending is a lose/lose for V and what makes things the most annoying is there's no option to defy or outwit Alt and thwart her scheme.

That's one of the game problem in general: the game doesn't let you play someone witty, or else Corpo V wouldn't even have been fired from Arasaka to begins with.

 

[Krul2k]

Did anyone end the game not allowing Johnny to take over V once?

 

[AdamTaylor]

I do think the game needs a happy ending or two. At least a "life goes on" type of ending. V doesn't have to retire rich or anything, it can just end with a "we survive to fight another day" type of ending.

 

[KakitaTatsumaru]

Hopefully CDPR can pull a Bioware or Bethesda and add in a new ending that makes better sense and gives us a massively better ending than the crap ones we have now.

Minus Bioware failed at it too.

 

[MeinChurro]

Not forcibly even a real "good ending", but at least having the possibility to use every opportunity to get rid of johnny, even if you have to do bad things and totally screw him to do so, that would totally be in C2020 spirit: no good, no bad, only choices and having to live with it.

I thought I was the only one that didn't like Johnny? I didn't like him in his own flashbacks, and I definitely HATED him after what he did to V in her/his apartment (I did it on female and it was WAY too far; irredeemable). I thought how quickly the game immediately goes to pretty much friendly interactions offputting. If you only follow the story it had some pace, but if you DARED to do any side content you and him are buddy buddy. Yeah, nah. I will never give that Johnny copy my body ever in any of my playthroughs.

 

[BunnyBana]

A potential follow-up connection to the next game, assuming we get to step in the shoes of "V" again as a continuation of this game's protagonist.

The copy idea kinda works really well for a sequal/DLC gameplay wise.

Hey V! We got you a new body to download into [opens character creation screen]. Also we totally lost all your skill date and so your have to relearn stuff [starts at level 1 with nothing again]. And you're kinda a new person too [ you have nothing from the last game rep/money wise].

 

[RaimeWasTaken]

What the game needs is an ending where V kills Alt. That's what's causing the real feeling of helplessness in this game. Alt doesn't just kill original V, she assimilates all the Soulkiller engrams as well, getting her own way with no consequences. The real villain of the game is Alt, and you don't get to take her down.

As soon as you meet Alt for the first time and her proposed 'solution' to V's problem is "I'll make an engram of you, then put that copy back into your brain", the game is effectively over. If that's genuinely the best idea anyone has to solve V's problem, V might as well kill themselves right then and there. Alt's answer guarantees original V dies, it isn't actually a solution in any way.

V should be able to find a way to destroy Alt at Mikoshi, before Alt uses Soulkiller on V.

One thing I overlooked here is how she dealt with the intruders at the Voodoo Boys' place. Little to no effort, zapped. If V could do this, it would have to be beyond her reach. Though I do agree with the rest.

 

[Metropolice]

You can still be dark and have a satisfying resolution -without- reducing the main character to a corpse because you can't think of another way to raise stakes.

Exactly. Given the ending I picked (very pro-Corp / Arasaka) and given how it all unfolded, I not only expected a fix to my problem (what you get is ... well, it's just making a copy of you but not saving your self. The space inbetween the words is intentional but might as well be none. Yourself, your own self.

The game even hints at me going back to my roots. You can of course write it off as simple motivational line to get my character to do something but my ending would've felt satisfied if the game ended how it began: In Arasaka's employ or lap but in different, higher fashion. Someone who actually hit the major leagues, but in this particular ending or on this path, a corpo one. That would've positively blown me off my chair. 100%. It's what I hoped would happen as I neared the ending and made deals with the daughter. I didn't think the ending I got was "bad", but it wasn't subjectively fully satisfying or the expected and "best" outcome either.

The copy idea kinda works really well for a sequal/DLC gameplay wise.

Hey V! We got you a new body to download into [opens character creation screen]. Also we totally lost all your skill date and so your have to relearn stuff [starts at level 1 with nothing again]. And you're kinda a new person too [ you have nothing from the last game rep/money wise].

I actually think this is a good way to tie in the protagonist into the next games, as copy. Depending on the time frame this would need some sort of reference check, akin to the Mass Effect games, either through save games or a mock up interview upon engram download where you can decide or say what went down in the last game in a nutshell.

It somehow would be required. Alternatively, I would expect that they either offer life paths again (but flesh them out more) or give us, the players, the option to pick our own path, meaning we get to decide where we go and who we team up with.