Cyberpunk 2077 has a canonical ending?

[cmallmann78]

Well, after the addition of a new ending (which looks more like the mirror ending of “The Devil” ending with Arasaka, maybe even worse, I don't know, a depressing ending) and all the content of the Phantom Liberty expansion at our fingertips, what would be the canonical ending for Cyberpunk 2077? In my view, the canonical ending is Temperance. In this ending, you give your body to Johnny Silverhand to have another chance to redeem himself for all his mistakes away from Night City. It is an ending that refers to forgiveness, reflection on life and death, on sacrifice, obviously human virtues. You agree to go with Alt, after all what you did was just repeat one mistake after another: killing, stealing, cheating. Why continue this unspeakable decadence? Does not make any sense. In the other endings you are either doomed to die as just a homeless NPC in Night City (if you choose to ask for help from Reed and the NUSA); die within six months with the Nomads (although this is an ending that refers to freedom as an asset of great value – hence the feeling of a “best ending”); die within six months commanding Afterlife, alone, and risk a suicide operation in the Crystal Palace.
It is no surprise that the backdrop where the Temperance finale takes place is in the vertical cemetery. It's there at that bus stop in front of the cemetery that Johnny in V's body truly realizes that forgiveness, empathy and sacrifice for others sets us apart in a world dominated by the horror of stupidity on all levels. There in that cemetery are the remains/belongings of many characters: Alt, David, Jackie, Evelyn, among many others..., including V. I don't know how CDPR will tell the new game in the future, but something tells me that everything will start by referring to this ending in some way.
Temperance is the most humane ending in an inhumane dystopian world.
Note: we have to recognize that Cyberpunk 2077 is a game, let's say, a little depressing.

 

[LadyMiseryAli]

All of them are canon(minus Suicide as that acts like a Game Over).

 

[NoClass77]

It's very likely that if the developers go forward with a direct sequel, there will be a way to import saves and each chosen ending will have different impacts on the world state of Cyberpunk 2.
I agree with you that the Temperance ending is probably the best conclusion for V and Johnny's story. Johnny is arguably too important in the larger Cyberpunk franchise to kill off outright, and V merging with Alt seems like a more meaningful demise than V presumably dying in a space heist or with the Aldecaldos. The Temperance ending is the obvious choice for a default world state for a hypothetical Cyberpunk 2, at least for new players and people who don't have Cyberpunk 2077 saves.

That being said, I hope that aspects of more than one of the endings will be canonical. Some of the revelations in the new ending in particular, like River turning evil and the Padre losing control of Haywood, could be expanded upon and go a lot of interesting places. Likewise Mr. Blue Eyes' space heist should happen, with or without V. I hope to see plot points like those being carried over into a sequel, regardless of the player's chosen ending.

 

[KnightPal45]

Well, after the addition of a new ending (which looks more like the mirror ending of “The Devil” ending with Arasaka, maybe even worse, I don't know, a depressing ending) and all the content of the Phantom Liberty expansion at our fingertips, what would be the canonical ending for Cyberpunk 2077? In my view, the canonical ending is Temperance. In this ending, you give your body to Johnny Silverhand to have another chance to redeem himself for all his mistakes away from Night City. It is an ending that refers to forgiveness, reflection on life and death, on sacrifice, obviously human virtues. You agree to go with Alt, after all what you did was just repeat one mistake after another: killing, stealing, cheating. Why continue this unspeakable decadence? Does not make any sense. In the other endings you are either doomed to die as just a homeless NPC in Night City (if you choose to ask for help from Reed and the NUSA); die within six months with the Nomads (although this is an ending that refers to freedom as an asset of great value – hence the feeling of a “best ending”); die within six months commanding Afterlife, alone, and risk a suicide operation in the Crystal Palace.
It is no surprise that the backdrop where the Temperance finale takes place is in the vertical cemetery. It's there at that bus stop in front of the cemetery that Johnny in V's body truly realizes that forgiveness, empathy and sacrifice for others sets us apart in a world dominated by the horror of stupidity on all levels. There in that cemetery are the remains/belongings of many characters: Alt, David, Jackie, Evelyn, among many others..., including V. I don't know how CDPR will tell the new game in the future, but something tells me that everything will start by referring to this ending in some way.
Temperance is the most humane ending in an inhumane dystopian world.
Note: we have to recognize that Cyberpunk 2077 is a game, let's say, a little depressing.

I hope not because it's not needed. Best option for CD red is to leave V. This shouldn't be another Witcher. Cyberpunk has many different stories to explore.

So everything can be canon and up for players to decide. That way we can say what ending our v got.

 

[LadyMiseryAli]

Everything can be canon if V is in the sequel. I get not everyone wants that, but some of us feel V's story isn't over yet.

 

[devivre]

Personally, I think there's way more story potential with a new protagonist.

Besides, I doubt CDPR will be going for a happy ending which is why I don't see much of a point, picking a canon for V to return for a new outcome. Trying to adjust the new story for every outcome might overcomplicate things. And probably no one would pay Keanu Reeves for a role that is optional as it is very expensive.

If the sequel has an entirely new protagonist you could probably address every ending in some way. However, I don't think it will make a significant impact as I'm kinda expecting a very different map (of course, the first chapter could still happen in a small part of night city, but I would be surprised if we'll see much more of it again...). Could be wrong but we'll see.

 

[Seifer97]

cdprojekt has always specified that the next The Witcher would be a trilogy which is not the case for Cyberpunk 2077. I m very attached to the characters present in the game and I would have liked more follow up on the game but unfortunately this is not the case. we will have another character with probably even more budget put in to attract very well-known actors (which I don't really appreciate in a video game)

 

[LadyMiseryAli]

cdprojekt has always specified that the next The Witcher would be a trilogy which is not the case for Cyberpunk 2077. I m very attached to the characters present in the game and I would have liked more follow up on the game but unfortunately this is not the case. we will have another character with probably even more budget put in to attract very well-known actors (which I don't really appreciate in a video game)

Have they specifically said that Cyberpunk isn't going to be a trilogy? I've never seen them say that.

 

[Monkeydust372]

The Witcher and Cyberpunk are very different in that the Witcher source material (I understand, haven't read it) revolves around Geralt. Whereas, Cyberpunk's source material is the world, not V.

I'd expect you'll be able to order a V at the Afterlife, or whatever replaces it, in the next game, but that will be it for references to V. Gets around the cannon ending issue.

I can't see being able to use your save game from 2077 in the next one. It will be in a different engine, and years away. That approach can work if the games are a couple of years apart. But, CDPR are only just setting up the new studio to develop the game, it could be 7 years away, maybe more.

 

[Sync-86]

I heard it will be a direct sequel according to their investor call, while the Witcher is being referred to as a new story. Pre-77 prequels are out of the question due to their contract with Pondsmith, and too much build up happens in 77 for a sequel to take place too far removed from it. So they're gonna have to deal with the outcomes of 77.

That aside, I think the possibility of imported saves is quite high given CDPR's history with the Witcher games. If there's any company that knows how to do this well, its them. Even the game's director is a Dragon Age veteran. Plus if you look at the game's save folder, I've noticed there's an endgame save that's specifically only created after you complete a game ending. The save can't be loaded by the game nor does it show up in the menus, so functionally, it shouldn't even exist, unless they've planned a contingency for save imports in the sequel.

Given how in demand and celebrated reactivity in RPGs like BG3 is, it would be pretty neat if they're able to import our decisions into Orion, and carry on the story that way, creating all sorts of reactivity hooks that build on the decisions in 77. It would be ambitious, but so many players are hungry for a Mass Effect style narrative that builds over several games. Bioware won't be delivering on that in many years, if they're even able to in their current state.

De-canonizing unworkable ending outcomes isn't something they've shied away from before, like they did in Witcher 2 and 3. Imo, removing the Devil ending would significantly make it easier to carry on a story after 77 as its the only ending with Arasaka on the rise. Then you'd end up with three possible states for V if they wish to carry on with them as the protagonist. In my humble opinion, I think a sequel with V would be the right move if they want to remain within the vicinity of 77's world outcomes as it would make for far more meaningful reactivity than a new protagonist.

 

[LadyMiseryAli]

The Witcher and Cyberpunk are very different in that the Witcher source material (I understand, haven't read it) revolves around Geralt. Whereas, Cyberpunk's source material is the world, not V.

I'd expect you'll be able to order a V at the Afterlife, or whatever replaces it, in the next game, but that will be it for references to V. Gets around the cannon ending issue.

I can't see being able to use your save game from 2077 in the next one. It will be in a different engine, and years away. That approach can work if the games are a couple of years apart. But, CDPR are only just setting up the new studio to develop the game, it could be 7 years away, maybe more.

Ordering a "V" at the Afterlife would mean they're dead, when in NONE of the endings is V actually dead. Also, that would basically be spitting in the face of all of us who chose an ending where there was hope for a cure. CDPR would be fools to pull that shit, as it would probably piss off a big part of the fanbase that wants V to be the protag.

 

[Hidden_Gunman]

Have a think about it...there is perhaps a reason why V could have a potential ending where all the cyberware is gone, friends are gone, no recent memories, etc. In other words, a ready setting for a clean start and a new game life.

 

[Seifer97]

Have they specifically said that Cyberpunk isn't going to be a trilogy? I've never seen them say that.

I read that when they announced a sequel for cyberpunk and the witcher, trilogy for the witcher, which will not be the case for cyberpunk. moreover with the new ending of the DLC, it would be totally impossible to adapt gameplay without cyberware (I mean it would not be interesting for the player).
I really think that for CDprojekt Night city is the main character of cyberpunk2077. a developer nevertheless made it clear that Orion would not necessarily take place in Night City.
like many people we got very attached to V, johnny, judy, panam etc but I think we won't see them again. it's a shame that there wasn't more follow-up on this game in order to really close their stories

Post automatically merged: Nov 30, 2023

Action of Cyberpunk Orion Could Move Byond Night City

CD Projekt RED screenwriter Magdalena Zych revealed that the Cyberpunk sequel doesn't have to be „bound” to Night City at all, as the story can unfold „wherever uber-capitalism develops.”.

www.gamepressure.com

 

[offonoffon30]

Probably all of them are since they all point to V's end as a merc after 2077. No matter what you choose as your ending, V's fate as a protagonist is sealed with him/her disappearing from the scene either alone or best case with some Nomad friends. Pretty much "Leave and never return". Seems like we're getting a new cast for next Cyberpunk and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[LadyMiseryAli]

I read that when they announced a sequel for cyberpunk and the witcher, trilogy for the witcher, which will not be the case for cyberpunk. moreover with the new ending of the DLC, it would be totally impossible to adapt gameplay without cyberware (I mean it would not be interesting for the player).
I really think that for CDprojekt Night city is the main character of cyberpunk2077. a developer nevertheless made it clear that Orion would not necessarily take place in Night City.
like many people we got very attached to V, johnny, judy, panam etc but I think we won't see them again. it's a shame that there wasn't more follow-up on this game in order to really close their stories

Post automatically merged: Nov 30, 2023

Action of Cyberpunk Orion Could Move Byond Night City

CD Projekt RED screenwriter Magdalena Zych revealed that the Cyberpunk sequel doesn't have to be „bound” to Night City at all, as the story can unfold „wherever uber-capitalism develops.”.

www.gamepressure.com

That article doesn't say anything about V not being the protag nor does it say that Night City isn't the backdrop. Just that it doesn't HAVE to be. We know nothing right now so saying that it's guaranteed that V and the others aren't in the sequel is misinformation

 

[Netrunner2go]

I'd expect you'll be able to order a V at the Afterlife, or whatever replaces it, in the next game, but that will be it for references to V. Gets around the cannon ending issue.

Yeah most probably. And since we won’t be able to play the casino heist at all I kinda would like it because on one hand it would be subtile but also would have a deeper meaning - it’s what V wanted to achieve from the get go: becoming a legend. ^^

 

[MartineDee]

Not every V wants to be a legend, it's what Jackie only invariably wants.

 

[tavellone]

I'm quite certain Phantom Liberty's new ending was written to be canon. It ensures that V has no canon love interest and that their character can be vague enough to be neither male nor female, not be a specific lifepath, not a specific build, I mean the ending literally makes them into an absolute nobody. It also sets the stage very clearly for how Night City is post 2077, with Militech having a larger role in Night City. It also handily gets rid of every character in 2077, with Panam gone, River essentially out of the picture, Judy in another city, Misty gone. It makes it a lot easier to write around player choice if most of the characters affected by player choice are gone. I have my gripes with how the ending smashes over player choices and character relationships to do this, but I understand why it is done, which is not to alienate die hard fans of one love interest or character. Better to piss everyone off equally, right? It also solidifies So MI's fate, Reed's fate and Myer's fate. I doubt Reed will have any role in a sequel, but no doubt Myers at the least is a relevant character for any sequel. It also keeps Adam Smasher alive and given how they did him real dirty in the game originally, I'm betting they wanted to give him more use, particularly after how he was portrayed and received in Edgerunners. I also found it particularly strange how some Merc who was literally a nobody weeks earlier manages to take out a Borg who can wipe out scores of mercs without even exerting any serious effort, all while close to death with a half melted brain.

 

[Sync-86]

Or they do it like this.

Seriously, in Mass Effect 1 and 2 tons of characters can die, including the entirety of your crew from ME2, your decisions can have huge ramifications on the galaxy, and the way they deal with it is by accounting for your choices across games.

 

[MartineDee]

I'm quite certain Phantom Liberty's new ending was written to be canon. It ensures that V has no canon love interest and that their character can be vague enough to be neither male nor female, not be a specific lifepath, not a specific build, I mean the ending literally makes them into an absolute nobody.

Be so as it may.

I've heard many times about this presumed emptiness of V and their story. I usually share back how I see it. All the gaps and holes can be filled by the player, and I wish even more was possible.

Hopefully at some point the games will come with AI power that enables the player to play their character however they like. No dialogue options constraints for those who don't want them. That will be a blast for goldenmouths like me.