Created a forum account just because of this thread.
I have read some, not all of the posts, but one point seems to keep coming up all the time. The notion that the "real" Johnny and V died as soon as they were touched by Mikoshi/Soulkiller. I strongly disagree, because said notion neglects some of the core philosophical questions the Cyberpunk genre poses. Such as:
a) What does it mean to be a human being?
b) What actually is the soul?
c) Who am I and ... what exactly is this "I" I am refering to?
Does the body define you as a human being? Does it define you as a person? If yes, do you die a little bit more, each time you replace or modify a part of your body? Are you dead, if you swap out your complete body (Lizzy Wizzy)? Are you still you? Same for the "soul" or psyche. Is the "soul" your psyche? If you can copy your psyche to a chip and place this chip in another body, are you still you? Are you still alive? If yes - are you still you, if this psyche is influenced in part by an AI or algorythm? No? ... So, what about people who lost all or some of their memories? Does that mean, the person they were before the memory loss is ... dead now? Or partly dead? What does "partly dead" even mean? What if the memories come back? Alive again? Still you? ...
Many heavy questions Cyberpunk gives us to chew on, but that is the beauty of this sub genre. I know the writer(s) of the story considered them, because of the character Misty. Nearing the end, she tells us that people fear change, but that there is actually no need for this. We should only be wary of what we change INTO ...
Meaning, everything V experiences has an effect on him/her and leads to changes. We all change all the time, because of inner and outer influences. Sometimes these influences are big, sometimes they are very small, but in the end we are basically never the same person as before. However, we have a certain compass that makes us still recognizable the next day. Neither Johnny, nor V ever lost their compass ... That is why Johnny can easily be identified as Johnny (e.g by Rogue and Eurodyne) and V as V. Begs the question: ... Is it said compass which defines us as (the "real") us? ...
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Now to the actual topic. Am I satisfied with the endings? Hrm ... Let's dissect this ... From an artistical point of view, all of them are well written and executed. They are able to invoke strong emotions (obviously) and remain logical. Hooowever, ... from a gameplay point of view the selection is lacking big time. See, CDPR, if you create a game that lets us make choices, you also have to make sure these choices really matter in the end. Otherwise most of the players will develop a feeling of "betrayal", for lack of a better word. "So, what did I just do? Did I play a game that is clearly influenced by my own choices, or did CDPR just string me along with a cheap trick to reach an ending THEY wanted ...?"
In my opinion, this does not necessarily mean this game needs a happy end in the classical sense, but at least one ending that gives the player hope. The merging of Johnny and V was mentioned several times here. I agree, that this is a big missed opportunity. I honestly don't understand how you could not implement it. Everything in this game just screams MERGING! Another option that leaves some hope would be V's engram transfered to a bio chip. This at least would open up the possibility for a sequel of some sort, where V would have to go through a similar situation like Johnny - maybe even together with Johnny. Even if this sequel will never be made, at least the player can muse about it. "Hmm ... It's sad, but it's not the end!" The Arasaka ending also could have been a perfect springboard to a less bleak future, where V is healed, but not completely, so that she would have to deal with shortcomings in his/her motoric and cognitive functions - leading to a full live as a fixer at the Afterlive, because he/she cannot do merc work any longer.
I would have wished for at least one such ending, really. As it stands now, ... I, as a player, am not satisfied. Nothing against dark endings, but in a game with choices, I simply expect more ...