[Spoiler Alert] About the endings

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Do you want more RPGs with happy endings?


  • Total voters
    1,647
I feel you! I swear I feel like my mind is trapped in the game until a new story dlc is released.

Edit: Maybe the Soulkiller was the game after all!
Indeed, I have moved on to other games ( AC:V) but I browse this forum on the daily, I dont think I have ever been this invested in a singleplayer game forum, really, only MP shooters in the recent years, but I want CDPR to succeed.

on the other hand, I also let Oda live. My assumption may be, if we would've been able to talk his interference out of him before, when we had the chance with Takemura, we might not have had to fight Oda at all. Just a thought. This was probably my hardest fight of them all, I have to confess.
Would've been a nice addition so we could'Ve gotten "more karma" on our side :D
Well yes maybe we wouldnt have had to fight him but spoiler alert... we can't unfortunately no matter what you 'choose' you cant convince him...
 
Been thinking about the ending on and off -- suppose that's already a good indication that the game did something right.

Read people here being adamant about their V deserving a happy ending and don't really get it. My V did loads of atrocious things, lots of killing and the main motivation from the start was to 'become a legend' one as hollow as possible. The correct conclusion to a story like that is a bad ending.

Might have been neat to get a really short ending that would have left things ambigious in regards to the player being unsure in the end if it was Johnny or V who retained control and the body but perhaps such things have been a bit overdone.
On the one hand, you're right. Who lives by violence, dies violently and early. From the other, guys are right about one thing - you can make it to the end without killing a single person, reject gigs you abhor and make your very best to help people. Okay, inevitable death of repenting hero is a powerful trop, but you must use it correctly, as in Red Dead Redemption. 6 months problem feels lazy and bad writing, like sudden "rock falls, everyone dies".
If only the game somehow noticed your decisions and gameplay (violent or not), your empathy (how you treat other people), how strongly yours and Johny's psyches are intervined, that would be good ending.
For example, you packed with implants like Smasher, you treated others like shit, you and Johny became best pals (you has his gun, his car and helped him make amends with his friends), and in the end Alt says, that your psyches are intervined, which led to a bad side effects during separation - you will die in 6 months. And your Empathy is so low, that V decides, fuch this world, fuck meatbags, i'm going to cyberspace. Or you can have high Empathy, and keep Johny at distance, sacrificing his friendship, his gear and his quest, but you got normal lifespan in the end.
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Yes. That's one of multiple ways to look at the implied problem.

I could also argue, that V already died in the motel when Mr chill stopped being chill.
In a sense, that would give player a sense of freedom. V died, each breath after this is a gift and blessing, use it wisely. Same feeling you got in Red Dead Redemption 2 after visiting the doctor, who tells you about tuberculosis. You are free, because you're already dead, so burn bright, try your very best to help people around, whatever.
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I think that everyone here will agree that 6 months crap feels sudden "rock falls, everyone dies" of bad DM - lazy writing.
As for the wishful thinking, i got one idea. V can befriend Johny, help him realize what an asshole he are, help him make amends with friends and beloved, and act like a Johny throughout the game - enjoy his friendship, his car, his gear and his approval. But this lead V to high value of johny-meter, and in Mikoshi Alt will say, well, V, yours and Johny's psyches are so intervined that i couldn't separate them without bad side effects - you will die in 6 months.
On a contrary, V can keep Johny at distance, sacrificing his quests and gear, denying him the chance to make amends, do not act like him during gameplay, and in Mikoshi you get separated cleanly and part ways on bad terms. V got normal lifespan. That, in my opinion, would be close to a spirit of Witcher 3 endings - you can't get everything, each gains costs sacrifice.
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I feel you! I swear I feel like my mind is trapped in the game until a new story dlc is released.

Edit: Maybe the Soulkiller was the game after all!
If only we got 6 months crap as a evident result of our entire gameplay, that would feel less injust. For example, V can befriend Johny, enjoy his quests, gear, act like Johny throughout entire gameplay (like narcissic rebel rockerboy) and in Mikoshi Alt will tell V, well, yours and Johny psyche are so simular and intervined, so i can't separate them without bad side effects - you will die in 6 months.
On a contrary, you can keep Johny at distance, do not act like him, sacrificing his friendship, quests and approval, but saving your own life.
 
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The problem i have with soulkiller that it is said it wipes brain cleanly. Then digitalised all of memories etc. It is no longer a biological machine, but artificial one. Can this transition occur without any loses? (Even alt says something along the lines "correcting errors" towards engram). Can this transition keep the "soul"?
If you say there is no soul, then 100 V in the same bodies, the same memories are still V?
What if there is the soul, are 100 V in the same bodies(Clones), with same memories, create one V?
Nobody says that there can be no losses. At the very least, V doesn't have any serious brain damage.
If there is no soul, the original V is V's memory in the original V's body. V's memory is in another body, even a clone is a copy.
If there is a soul, there will always be only one V. In this case, it is not the body that is primary, but the soul, which cannot be copied, only moved. Here V is the soul of V in any body. In the case of a game, in the body of V.
It seems that the game perceives the personality as something material, as a configuration of the brain that can be recreated by nanites (after all, memory is also a state of brain neurons). And in this case, V at the end looks like a restored V, but not a copy. The same person in the same body, after all. It's my opinion.
 
On the one hand, you're right. Who lives by violence, dies violently and early. From the other, guys are right about one thing - you can make it to the end without killing a single person, reject gigs you abhor and make your very best to help people. Okay, inevitable death of repenting hero is a powerful trop, but you must use it correctly, as in Red Dead Redemption. 6 months problem feels lazy and bad writing, like sudden "rock falls, everyone dies".
If only the game somehow noticed your decisions and gameplay (violent or not), your empathy (how you treat other people), how strongly yours and Johny's psyches are intervined, that would be good ending.
For example, you packed with implants like Smasher, you treated others like shit, you and Johny became best pals (you has his gun, his car and helped him make amends with his friends), and in the end Alt says, that your psyches are intervined, which led to a bad side effects during separation - you will die in 6 months. And your Empathy is so low, that V decides, fuch this world, fuck meatbags, i'm going to cyberspace. Or you can have high Empathy, and keep Johny at distance, sacrificing his friendship, his gear and his quest, but you got normal lifespan in the end.
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In a sense, that would give player a sense of freedom. V died, each breath after this is a gift and blessing, use it wisely. Same feeling you got in Red Dead Redemption 2 after visiting the doctor, who tells you about tuberculosis. You are free, because you're already dead, so burn bright, try your very best to help people around, whatever.
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I think that everyone here will agree that 6 months crap feels sudden "rock falls, everyone dies" of bad DM - lazy writing.
As for the wishful thinking, i got one idea. V can befriend Johny, help him realize what an asshole he are, help him make amends with friends and beloved, and act like a Johny throughout the game - enjoy his friendship, his car, his gear and his approval. But this lead V to high value of johny-meter, and in Mikoshi Alt will say, well, V, yours and Johny's psyches are so intervined that i couldn't separate them without bad side effects - you will die in 6 months.
On a contrary, V can keep Johny at distance, sacrificing his quests and gear, denying him the chance to make amends, do not act like him during gameplay, and in Mikoshi you get separated cleanly and part ways on bad terms. V got normal lifespan. That, in my opinion, would be close to a spirit of Witcher 3 endings - you can't get everything, each gains costs sacrifice.
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If only we got 6 months crap as a evident result of our entire gameplay, that would feel less injust. For example, V can befriend Johny, enjoy his quests, gear, act like Johny throughout entire gameplay (like narcissic rebel rockerboy) and in Mikoshi Alt will tell V, well, yours and Johny psyche are so simular and intervined, so i can't separate them without bad side effects - you will die in 6 months.
On a contrary, you can keep Johny at distance, do not act like him, sacrificing his friendship, quests and approval, but saving your own life.
Thats what i was thinging gonna happen when i reached act 2. But...
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Nobody says that there can be no losses. At the very least, V doesn't have any serious brain damage.
If there is no soul, the original V is V's memory in the original V's body. V's memory is in another body, even a clone is a copy.
If there is a soul, there will always be only one V. In this case, it is not the body that is primary, but the soul, which cannot be copied, only moved. Here V is the soul of V in any body. In the case of a game, in the body of V.
It seems that the game perceives the personality as something material, as a configuration of the brain that can be recreated by nanites (after all, memory is also a state of brain neurons). And in this case, V at the end looks like a restored V, but not a copy. The same person in the same body, after all. It's my opinion.
Doesnt rlymatter how you look at it, V has expiration date of 6 months anyway.
 
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Well this is one of the things that really pisses me off about this game. Too much symbolism thats based on religion or mysticism. What do they meen with a Soul? How does the wipe work? Can you wipe a brain without killing it? Even nowdays we can pretty much keep ppl who are braindead alive with the help of machines.. Everything just feels poorly though out. EXPLAIN GAME! EXPLAAAIIINNNN!!!
 
This is not realted, but recently saw Watchdogs Gun-Fu gameplay and it looked rly cool.
CDPR had frikin Keanu and you wanna tell me, they didint think about giving us some Gun fu?
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Well this is one of the things that really pisses me off about this game. Too much symbolism thats based on religion or mysticism. What do they meen with a Soul? How does the wipe work? Can you wipe a brain without killing it? Even nowdays we can pretty much keep ppl who are braindead alive with the help of machines.. Everything just feels poorly though out. EXPLAIN GAME! EXPLAAAIIINNNN!!!
Game doesnt need to explain it rly, the copy or not question should be discussed as we do her, but 6 months ruin it.
 
Ok, I get the point.
But again. If personality, in the opinion of the game, is just memory - what's the difference? It is still V's memory, returning to V's body. "File cannot be copied onto itself".
If the personality is something more, it is really a soul that can only be torn out of the body, which leads to death - the same conclusion. V's soul returns to V's body.
I have not seen any mention of the ability to copy "souls" in the game. Each "soul" is unique.
The easiest way to explain this would be to ask youself would you use a Soulkiller if you would be in this situation, knowing everything you know in game. This is that program make a backup copy of your being like memories, skilles and so on. Then it wipe the brain and shut it down. And then in the matter of seconds restarts it with the backup from the biochip.

this would be terrific topic to discuss, and be can only hope that CDPR will do this.

But in the main quest it wasn’t used, and even worst like for some reasons they downplayed this.
V is put in the situation when there is no choice at all - either way die now or get a glimpse of hope that this was not all in vain with endgram.
This renders whole discussion somehow pointless.
 
This is not realted, but recently saw Watchdogs Gun-Fu gameplay and it looked rly cool.
CDPR had frikin Keanu and you wanna tell me, they didint think about giving us some Gun fu?
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Game doesnt need to explain it rly, the copy or not question should be discussed as we do her, but 6 months ruin it.
Rly dont care about the copy part. The thing i know about "souls" and brains dont match what this game tells me about it. Ye sci fi but it atleast has to have some ground in reality for me to even be taken seriously. Oh and choice. thats the most improtant too me. It just feels like they choose some subjects that they knew ppl were gonna disagree about and tossed it in the mixer and here we go. Is a copy the real thing? is god real? yea easy way too make ppl discuss something forever
 
What confuses me a little about the "different" endings is that some are a little too...impactful? for the setting as a whole.

I mean, if Yorinobu is only really featured in one ending taking over his sons body and returning to be Emperor? That seems like a huge deal?

Are the events of 2077 considered canon/relevant for the future of this setting outside of the video-games, or is it its own seperate canon?

Because if the game and its events (Johnny as well...) are supposed to go over to the P&P in some capacity? I mean...then it might get confusing who runs Arasaka etc...?
 
I don't think Mike Pondsmith plans to do any editions after Cyberpunk 2077. I imagine whatever deal he has with CD_Projekt Red gives them control of the universe afterward. But I'm going to assume that Arasaka is going to end up in the hands of his daughter.

The "Devil" ending basically establishes The God Emperor of Mankind and Warhammer 40K with the rich ruling over the poor for all time in a hellish corporate dystopia (it also oddly predicts Altered Carbon).
 
What confuses me a little about the "different" endings is that some are a little too...impactful? for the setting as a whole.

I mean, if Yorinobu is only really featured in one ending taking over his sons body and returning to be Emperor? That seems like a huge deal?

Are the events of 2077 considered canon/relevant for the future of this setting outside of the video-games, or is it its own seperate canon?

Because if the game and its events (Johnny as well...) are supposed to go over to the P&P in some capacity? I mean...then it might get confusing who runs Arasaka etc...?
Considering that almost 20% of players finish the game and only 7-8% get the The Star achievement which means that rest went with the default route it’s hard to imagine that Arasaka ending won’t be a canon one or it will be largely incorporated into some merging ending like in Deus Ex series.
This would be world fitting and would also give CDPR much freedom with writing guter expansions/games.
 
Can they really be called multiple endings if the results are the same? Your only choice is how you decide to go out. Sure, you can get philosophical if you so desire, but it's ultimately the same outcome regardless. Everything V does is in vain.

I really have no idea where they intend to go with story DLC.
 
Can they really be called multiple endings if the results are the same? Your only choice is how you decide to go out. Sure, you can get philosophical if you so desire, but it's ultimately the same outcome regardless. Everything V does is in vain.

I really have no idea where they intend to go with story DLC.
The Deus Ex series done this twice with good results where different endings ending as one. Even in this game you can see this in the making - Yorinobu says this that 50 years ago nuke turn this tower into rubble, and now it’s standing like nothing ever happen.
In Witcher 3 we could this happen all the time. No matter what you did in Velen, still situation went there into disarray, At the end of the game you could only pick your poison - sacrifice Ciri’s life in order to semi save continent (which was lore breaking) or chose between Diskra/Emphyr/Radovid.

I think that this not an issue since the problem with endings doesn’t lie in the world stage terms. Mentioned here TW3 had a dark world stage endings, it was a success because it give you large control over events, closure the the Gerald and his allies story arcs and was here even uplifting to the lore’s limits.

This is where CP77 fails. Endings in personal (V’s) terms seems like are completely disconnected from the rest of the game and is about to end abruptly with the main character demise without any meaningful justification in story.
 
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Can they really be called multiple endings if the results are the same? Your only choice is how you decide to go out. Sure, you can get philosophical if you so desire, but it's ultimately the same outcome regardless. Everything V does is in vain.

I really have no idea where they intend to go with story DLC.

Exactly. Nothing you can do in the story has any influence on the details of the endings. Just having that influence could turn each ending from happy to miserable and vice versa. Which would be a good way for all types of players to finish the story the way they like to finish stories.
 
You got a bullet to the brain. It’s a common story. Young in your career a job goes south and your fixer decides to cut your loose end. Night city swallowed you and spat you out. That would normally be the end for everyone else.

V manages to cheat death for a while but lives on borrowed time. We just get to decide what to do in that last days.

The endings fit the premise of the main story perfectly.

The side stories and gigs on the other hand are V living her live, making friends and building relationships. Side quest V instills hope. The endings don’t fit the side quest V that well. I guess that might be the source of the disconnect.
 
Considering that almost 20% of players finish the game and only 7-8% get the The Star achievement which means that rest went with the default route it’s hard to imagine that Arasaka ending won’t be a canon one or it will be largely incorporated into some merging ending like in Deus Ex series.
This would be world fitting and would also give CDPR much freedom with writing guter expansions/games.

The Arasaka Ending is basically the end of the world. Its establishing an immortal evil God Emperor and his master race of body snatching vampires.

Its kind of hard to imagine that as anything canon.

It's pretty much the "Geralt gives Ciri to the Emperor and she dies" ending.
 
You got a bullet to the brain. It’s a common story. Young in your career a job goes south and your fixer decides to cut your loose end. Night city swallowed you and spat you out. That would normally be the end for everyone else.

V manages to cheat death for a while but lives on borrowed time. We just get to decide what to do in that last days.

The endings fit the premise of the main story perfectly.

The side stories and gigs on the other hand are V living her live, making friends and building relationships. Side quest V instills hope. The endings don’t fit the side quest V that well. I guess that might be the source of the disconnect.
Dark ending of the Nier Automata fits the game as a dark ending of Cabine in the Woods fits the movie. Both are critically acclaimed since from beginning to the end all things are in line.
With CP77 this is not a case.

game gives you hint that the whole struggle is futile and this would fit if not the end where you even going with the engram ending are going to die nevertheless. This is where crash come.
Not only you didn’t have much choice despite that game was advertised that you can shape your story but then you have cruel Deus ex machina that in the age of technological and medicial wonders you are about to die just like this - because DNA is the thing, duh.
 
Dark ending of the Nier Automata fits the game as a dark ending of Cabine in the Woods fits the movie. Both are critically acclaimed since from beginning to the end all things are in line.
With CP77 this is not a case.

game gives you hint that the whole struggle is futile and this would fit if not the end where you even going with the engram ending are going to die nevertheless. This is where crash come.
Not only you didn’t have much choice despite that game was advertised that you can shape your story but then you have cruel Deus ex machina that in the age of technological and medicial wonders you are about to die just like this - because DNA is the thing, duh.

I'm not sure what you're saying other than, "I don't like that no matter which ending happens, V doesn't live even though the Nomad ending suggests they will."

Ambiguity exists but only the Suicide Ending and Johnny Ending have them die onscreen.
 
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