Announcing Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

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If they are going to make the expansion "pre-ending" content - then I have to imagine it will be an additional ending(s) that can be achieved. My guesses would be it will add two ending possibilities.

  1. With the focus on Edgerunners recently and how you make your rep by dying - it would not shock me if there is a blaze of glory ending where V dies doing something super awesome.
  2. I also imagine they add another happy ending that includes V being cured.
As for V being cured, I think they'll stick with the Nomad ending, which implies that there's a good chance for the cure. It's the closest thing to good ending any cyberpunk story ever get, and giving another "Congratulations V! You were cured" ending would spoile that. Still the fact that V will be working with NUSA/Militech gives opportunity for another ending if not more, with possible alteration of other endings. If V does good for the federals, V's new friends in high places may help them during other endings. Militech cover team can support V's assault with Rogue, or they can pull back Militech forces protecting Night Corp site during Nomad ending. Possibilities are numerous.
 
Count me among the many who are disappointed and very unhappy with the decision to drop last gen support. This is yet another broken promise concerning this game. Not only will it remain in a non-finished state on the last gen but those unable to afford a PC or a next-gen console are being treated as second class citizens metaphorically. No continuing support and no DLC content for last gen is only going to anger more of the player base and add more negativity towards the game.
 
As for V being cured, I think they'll stick with the Nomad ending, which implies that there's a good chance for the cure. It's the closest thing to good ending any cyberpunk story ever get, and giving another "Congratulations V! You were cured" ending would spoile that. Still the fact that V will be working with NUSA/Militech gives opportunity for another ending if not more, with possible alteration of other endings. If V does good for the federals, V's new friends in high places may help them during other endings. Militech cover team can support V's assault with Rogue, or they can pull back Militech forces protecting Night Corp site during Nomad ending. Possibilities are numerous.

Why would V being cured stop the story from having a cyberpunky ending? Resolving the main conflict of the narrative doesn’t prevent you from resonating the main themes of the story. E.g. it doesn’t have to be “Congrats you were cured!”, it could instead be “you were cured… but look at what it cost you.”
 
I'm sorry, don't beat me, but I have to do it :giggle:
"Here another way to try to be cured... Nice try, but sadly, you're screwed too... Death can't be cheated"

I’m sorry but V‘s goal isn’t to become immortal; she’s trying to not die imminently. MASSIVE difference. I don’t think you’ve ever understood that.

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I’m sorry but V‘s goal isn’t to become immortal; she’s trying to not die imminently. MASSIVE difference. I don’t think you’ve ever understood that.
V already died once at minimum (2, even 3 in function of your choices...) and "resurrected" by lucky circonstances... So instead of dying right after the Heist like common souls in Night City and all of these unfortunate companions, V have a chance to try something and maybe make "good things" on the path... :)
 


Get ready for Phantom Liberty — a spy-thriller expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 set in an all new district of Night City. Coming in 2023 to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Stadia.
My body is so ready. Thank you CDPR for continued support and development of Cyperpunk!

Despite the undoubtedly complex considerations for last-gen support as a policy for the game and company, would like to toss a vote in the "okay-with-it" camp as far as not supporting last-gen for further updates and DLC. The launch window of the base game was such a tricky time given the scale and complexity of the game compared with the larger market share of last-gen consoles given scalping and production bottlenecks of new consoles; though it surely was a monkey wrench in the development process to support last gen, I get it from a financial perspective despite me being in the losing camp on PC (i.e., who knows how much more could have come from CP77 if so much core development wasn't diverted to last-gen support). I also agree now that it is unreasonable to continue supporting 10+ year-old hardware. People that are currently playing (and in the future will play) Cyberpunk are not reasonably going to do so on old hardware, the operative word here being reasonably.

Here's to hoping great things for the future of CDPR! The profound artistry and scale of the Witcher and Cyberpunk give me hope that great new projects are yet to come from you guys (even if I selfishly wish for unending support and content for Cyberpunk).
 
V already died once at minimum (2, even 3 in function of your choices...) and "resurrected" by lucky circonstances... So instead of dying right after the Heist like common souls in Night City and all of these unfortunate companions, V have a chance to try something and maybe make "good things" on the path... :)

Sorry but what does that have to do with anything? That doesn't change the fact that the main conflict of the story is still V trying to get her life back.
 
Sorry but what does that have to do with anything? That doesn't change the fact that the main conflict of the story is still V trying to get her life back.
We won't restart here, but something that I don't understand it's how "failing" to get her life back can't be the resolution (a sad one, but one anyway).
The game is full of "failing" stories, people who try to realise "something" (a dream, a project, changing the world, whatever...) and sadly, fail... Johnny, Yorinobu, Evelyn, Judy, Saburo to only quote few. V is not a hero, don't change the world, don't cheat death, V is like every souls in Night City (maybe a little more, but still...)

But that just my opinion :)

Edit : After, maybe CDPR already planned the next Cyberpunk game will "restart" during the 6 months and V will find a cure in the intro, so the "failing to find a cure" in Cyberpunk 2077 will no longer be a fail. but unlike series, we will have to wait more longer to know :D
 
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We won't restart here, but something that I don't understand it's how "failing" to get her life back can't be the resolution (a sad one, but one anyway).
The game is full of "failing" stories, people who try to realise "something" (a dream, a project, changing the world, whatever...) and sadly, fail...
(Johnny, Yorinobu, Evelyn, Judy, Saburo to only quote few).

Oh it absolutely CAN be! Don't get me wrong, two of the endings actually achieve this: the rooftop ending and join-Alt ending. BUT the OTHER endings aren't resolved. We actually don't know if V fails OR eventually succeeds in all of the other endings. That's the problem; the main conflict of the story in each of those endings is still unresolved.

Rooftop ending: definitively stops her quest to get her life back (RESOLVED)
Join Alt ending: definitively stops her quest to get her life back (RESOLVED)
Whereas:
Nomad ending: still trying to find a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Secure your Soul ending: still trying to find a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Crystal Palace: subconciously still trying to find a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Return to Earth ending: unclear if she's given up or still looking for a cure (UNRESOLVED)

Hopefully that clears things up?
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Edit : After, maybe CDPR already planned the next Cyberpunk game will "restart" during the 6 months and V will find a cure in the intro, so the "failing to find a cure" in Cyberpunk 2077 will no longer be a fail. but unlike series, we will have to wait more longer to know :D

Yes indeed, and I've actually made this point before; that it's a bit unusual to leave the main conflict of a narrative unresolved unless the intention is to continue the story in a later episode. E.g. you watch an episode of, I dunno, Lost, but it ends in a cliffhanger - but it's okay, because you know the conclusion is meant to happen in a later episode anyway.
 
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Why would V being cured stop the story from having a cyberpunky ending? Resolving the main conflict of the narrative doesn’t prevent you from resonating the main themes of the story. E.g. it doesn’t have to be “Congrats you were cured!”, it could instead be “you were cured… but look at what it cost you.”
Could work. But I'm Judy's fanboy, so I just can't have a better ending than the nomads one :)
 
Rooftop ending: definitively stops her quest to get her life back (RESOLVED)
Join Alt ending: definitively stops her quest to get her life back (RESOLVED)
Whereas:
Nomad ending: still trying to find a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Secure your Soul ending: still trying to find a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Crystal Palace: subconciously still trying to find a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Return to Earth ending: unclear if she's given up or still looking for a cure (UNRESOLVED)
Again it's just me, and I assume "things" which are not clearly showed...
For example :
  • Nomad ending: RESOLVED because it's just words to keep hope, V will die/fail any way. The relic is a "top secret technology" from Arasaka that no one is aware about and how it really work. I can't imagine that Panam miraculousely know someone which can do better than Arasaka experts...
  • Secure your Soul ending: RESOLVED, because Arasakas don't care about V, the contract is clearly a fake (they modify engrams anyway), V will stay in Mikoshi "forever".
  • Return to Earth ending: RESOLVED because as Goro say, Arasaka don't care, almost no one care... V will slowly die alone.
The one that I agree (the end which I like the less^^), the path of glory... Clearly weird to me.
 
Again it's just me, and I assume "things" which are not clearly showed...
For example :
  • Nomad ending: RESOLVED because it's just words to keep hope, V will die/fail any way. The relic is a "top secret technology" from Arasaka that no one is aware about and how it really work. I can't imagine that Panam miraculousely know someone which can do better than Arasaka experts...
  • Secure your Soul ending: RESOLVED, because Arasakas don't care about V, the contract is clearly a fake (they modify engrams anyway), V will stay in Mikoshi "forever".
  • Return to Earth ending: RESOLVED because as Goro say, Arasaka don't care, almost no one care... V will slowly die alone.
The one that I agree (the end which I like the less^^), the path of glory... Clearly weird to me.

Part of what the CDPR people were stating from the very beginning was the idea they wanted to do a cyberpunk game with the theme of dealing with DeathTM. The theme of "do you want to live a long and safe life or go down in the blaze of glory" was brought up repeatedly. So the idea of escaping death was something they wanted to clamp down hard on. So all the endings are either "you're doomed" or "you are going to continue fighting for your life no matter what even if it's hopeless."

It's, oddly enough, a very Japanese sort of story.

However, CDPR seems to have completely missed how UTTERLY DISENGAGING this is for people in an open world sandbox. Especially with the design of the side quests because while V might, if they're dying, want to raise money for an orphanage or do good deeds before they die--V wanting to do a bunch of criminal activity for money he can never spend is an immersion breaker.

I'm hoping Phantom Liberty will have motivations beyond "the government is paying me." However, I wouldn't want another Voodoo Boyz "Sucker, we can't cure you!" either.
 
However, CDPR seems to have completely missed how UTTERLY DISENGAGING this is for people in an open world sandbox.
Very possible, but CDPR want to make an open world and a fanfic... to quote Mike Pondsmith : "Cyberpunk 2077 is a fanfic made by fans for fans"
To quote an interview : "Mike Pondsmith, the guy who kill my character in cyberpunk" (i.e in the first TTG).

So I think CDPR didn't try to make the most popular story (to please as much players as possible), they made a fanfic for fans which for sure didn't please everyone :)
So maybe "open world + Mike Pondsmith cyeberpunk genre" was a mistake, but I love it :)
 
Part of what the CDPR people were stating from the very beginning was the idea they wanted to do a cyberpunk game with the theme of dealing with DeathTM. The theme of "do you want to live a long and safe life or go down in the blaze of glory" was brought up repeatedly. So the idea of escaping death was something they wanted to clamp down hard on. So all the endings are either "you're doomed" or "you are going to continue fighting for your life no matter what even if it's hopeless."
For me the disagreement wasn't with the outcome. It was with how the outcome was achieved. Nearly all bad outcomes for V trace back to active decisions made by the character. All of those events must happen for the story to function. Incidentally, you have little ownership over any of them. This didn't sit well for what was supposedly a choices and consequences heavy RPG. Consequences happening as a result of choices the character makes when the player lacks ownership over them.

I can think of numerous other RPG's where this doesn't come up. The character makes a critical decision. The player has ownership of it. When the player cannot make the decision it's because the event is beyond the control of the character.
However, CDPR seems to have completely missed how UTTERLY DISENGAGING this is for people in an open world sandbox. Especially with the design of the side quests because while V might, if they're dying, want to raise money for an orphanage or do good deeds before they die--V wanting to do a bunch of criminal activity for money he can never spend is an immersion breaker.
Well, some people find this disconnect acceptable. I'm not a fan of it myself. Primarily because games function better when the constituent parts work together. If open world is a feature it should be paired with a story fitting this concept.

Here is to hoping they can work some magic to avoid those concerns with the expansion.
 
Again it's just me, and I assume "things" which are not clearly showed...
For example :
  • Nomad ending: RESOLVED because it's just words to keep hope, V will die/fail any way. The relic is a "top secret technology" from Arasaka that no one is aware about and how it really work. I can't imagine that Panam miraculousely know someone which can do better than Arasaka experts...
  • Secure your Soul ending: RESOLVED, because Arasakas don't care about V, the contract is clearly a fake (they modify engrams anyway), V will stay in Mikoshi "forever".
  • Return to Earth ending: RESOLVED because as Goro say, Arasaka don't care, almost no one care... V will slowly die alone.
The one that I agree (the end which I like the less^^), the path of glory... Clearly weird to me.

I feel like maybe there's confusion on what "resolution" actually is? When something is resolved, it's clear. When something is unresolved, it's unclear.
You've said, "things which are not clearly shown". Yep... because it's unresolved.
You're basically filling in blanks (which is fine, btw). The fact that you're having to do that is because those endings have not been resolved for you. Which, again, you're perfectly entitled to do - and honestly I'm happy for you that you're content with that - but clearly your imagination is not a substitute for my experience, and vice versa.

Btw you mentioned how the game is full of failing stories, which is absolutely true, but I'd argue you're being selective. Consider the following 4 character arcs:

Panam, Judy, River, and Kerry.

All of those stories are actually resolved and don't have to end in failure (there's failure and hardship along the way, sure, but depending on your choices, that's not necessarily where they end up).
  • Panam is struggling at first, but she gets her truck, she can get revenge, get the panzer, and make the Aldecaldo's stronger in the end.
  • Judy's story has failure along the way (first with Evelyn, then with Clouds) but then her focus shifts away from that and onto healing herself and moving on, which she can succeed at. That forms the conclusion of her story arc.
  • River's story can end in success too; he saves his nephew and becomes stronger with his family.
  • Aaaaand, same with Kerry. Miserable to start with but can "come back to life" thanks to V.
So there ya go. The fact that "failure" is a theme didn't stop those characters from getting resolution nor did their stories end in failure if you chose to help them. So using that as an excuse to not conclude V's story in all endings - and to argue that she should fail in ALL endings regardless of choice - just doesn't square with how those other characters are handled.
 
  • Panam is struggling at first, but she gets her truck, she can get revenge, get the panzer, and make the Aldecaldo's stronger in the end.
  • Judy's story has failure along the way (first with Evelyn, then with Clouds) but then her focus shifts away from that and onto healing herself and moving on, which she can succeed at. That forms the conclusion of her story arc.
  • River's story can end in success too; he saves his nephew and becomes stronger with his family.
  • Aaaaand, same with Kerry. Miserable to start with but can "come back to life" thanks to V.
In fact, it always thank to V.
  • Panam, without V... probably stay out the the clan and being lost alone in Night City.
  • Judy, her life is a long suit of fails/sadness. But I agree, she can leave Night City and have a "better" life.
  • Kerry, well... without V, I think he would end "very badly". He was at his wit's end. In french it means that he want to end his "sad life".
  • River, it also end well because of V... I think we all know how it end if V don't help him at the end.
To quote Mike P. again : V is not a hero, she can't change the world, but she can help friends, save lifes, make good things around her... So among all the bad things and fails which happen in Night City, thanks to V, some "good things" can happen.

But again, (for me), in the Devil Ending it's all resolved (and I don't use my imagination here^^)
If V choose to go in Mikoshi, it's "clear" it is a dead end... The contract is an absolute lie, engrams don't have any rights, Arasaka don't care about V and already forget her. The same if V return on earth, no one care about V and Goro clearly say that she will die no matter what if she choose this path...
After you can say they talk bullshits, but it's clearly stated. If you return on earth, you know V will die. If you go in Mikoshi, you know it's a lie and a prison...

And the Nomad ending, it's also clear (to me) that "we'll find a cure" from Panam is the same kind of words than when Jackie said in the Konpeki "Don't worry V, we'll manage to get out alive". Clearly some words to reassure yourself... But I agree, It's more subject to interpretation than the Devil ending :)

Edit : If I had to bet, I'd bet on a sequel that resolves the 2077 endings to begin its own story rather than an ending that resolves everything in that expansion.
 
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In fact, it always thank to V.
  • Panam, without V... probably stay out the the clan and being lost alone in Night City.
  • Judy, her life is a long suit of fails/sadness. But I agree, she can leave Night City and have a "better" life.
  • Kerry, well... without V, I think he would end "very badly". He was at his wit's end. In french it means that he want to end his "sad life".
  • River, it also end well because of V... I think we all know how it end if V don't help him at the end.
To quote Mike P. again : V is not a hero, she can't change the world, but she can help friends, save lifes, make good things around her... So among all the bad things and fails which happen in Night City, thanks to V, some "good things" can happen.

But again, (for me), in the Devil Ending it's all resolved (and I don't use my imagination here^^)
If V choose to go in Mikoshi, it's "clear" it is a dead end... The contract is an absolute lie, engrams don't have any rights, Arasaka don't care about V and already forget her. The same if V return on earth, no one care about V and Goro clearly say that she will die no matter what if she choose this path...
After you can say they talk bullshits, but it's clearly stated. If you return on earth, you know V will die. If you go in Mikoshi, you know it's a lie and a prison...

And the Nomad ending, it's also clear (to me) that "we'll find a cure" from Panam is the same kind of words than when Jackie said in the Konpeki "Don't worry V, we'll manage to get out alive". Clearly some words to reassure yourself... But I agree, It's more subject to interpretation than the Devil ending :)

Edit : If I had to bet, I'd bet on a sequel that resolves the 2077 endings to begin its own story rather than an ending that resolves everything in that expansion.

Yes, always thanks to V, that's literally what I was explaining to you. Unfortunately you seem to have missed the point I was making there though. You've been arguing that V's story should always end in failure simply because failure is a theme. And I was showing you how 4 sub-plots in the story don't end in failure, which means that whole idea is basically nonsense.
 
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