Do romance partners acknowledge each other? - Ending spoilers -

[Fuse_00]

This issue may have been raised previously, but I just noticed the following:
Apparently, the love interests ignore each other in case both characters available for V's gender were romanced at the same time?

I've never payed attention to this since I had only single romance per my single playthrough, but now I've watched some videos on youtube related to other characters, and seems like they don't care about each other in case of multiple romances?

Like, if you romance both Kerry and Panam, they don't give a shit about your "second" love, and only the scene on the balcony at the end decides, which one is your "true" love (the one you choose to call will be you "final" love interest), moreover, if you call Kerry, but also choose nomad ending, Panam will just ignore everything happened between you, like it never happened at all, and at the very end (if V survives) Kerry appears literally in the same scene with Panam, and she still doesn't give a fuck about him

The same is for female V, you can romance both River and Judy, and they will be completely ok with that. Also, if you romance Judy before meeting River, River (or his sister, I don't recall) eventually asks you if you are in relations, and V answers: "No, nothing special" 0_0
Like Judy is nothing special for her, or, most likely, V just forget about Judy's existence...

Well, what I want to say, that is just absurd

In Witcher 3, if you romance both Triss and Yen, that will be noticed by both of them and have consequences. In Dragon Age 2, I remember I flirted with 2 characters, Anders and Fenris, they noticed it too, and later in the game, Fenris asks smth like "what about Anders?" if you continue to flirt with him, also, all other characters noticed that Hawk is in relations too and do comments about it. Even AC Valhalla with it's very shallow romance system allows you to break up with LI if you want to be with something else.

C'mon, CDPR, surely you can do better than that

 

[Guest 4412420]

I can understand why they don't know about each other as all of them lead wildly different lives and their social circles are completely different too. It's them acting like nothing happened if you choose someone else over them that's odd.

 

[Krul2k]

As far as im aware, please correct if wrong, Geralt knew Yen before W3 an had a on/off sort of relationship an Triss took "advantage" of his memory loss to further herself on him, in W3 you just basically choose to stay with one with zero consequence tbh

In DA all it is is like a last warning saying "thats it your committing to this character, no backing out" but until then flirt with whoever you want...........sigh the memories of walking about with both Leliana an Morrigan, that was some hilarious banter


Could they have done it better? I suppose they could've, but the romance interests aint exactly yenn an triss IE best pals or DA options IE party companions, there ppl V meets who have zero connection to each other apart from V so when exactly do you expect to get "told off"?

The simple answer is you dumped one for another but the one you dumped is grown up enough not to particularly be bothered an still be your friend

 

[Fuse_00]

As far as im aware, please correct if wrong, Geralt knew Yen before W3 an had a on/off sort of relationship an Triss took "advantage" of his memory loss to further herself on him, in W3 you just basically choose to stay with one with zero consequence tbh

No, if you romance both Yen and Triss, it will provoke new questline "It takes three to tango", and at the end of the game they both abandon Geralt, and he can have none of them.

In DA all it is is like a last warning saying "thats it your committing to this character, no backing out"

Yes and no - yes, you can't proceed with other character after the final dialog like that, but that is not the only dialogue related to that, I remember it pops up a few times, when both (or maybe even more than 2, I just never tried flirt with more) of characters you flirt with comment this situation, showing jealousy and anger to their "competitor" and such.

Could they have done it better? I suppose they could've, but the romance interests aint exactly yenn an triss IE best pals or DA options IE party companions, there ppl V meets who have zero connection to each other apart from V so when exactly do you expect to get "told off"?

I agree with that actually, but Johnny and V himself/herself have zero comments about it too. As I said fem V doesn't remember that she's in love with Judy when it comes to River, Panam doesn't remember she had relations with V when it comes to Kerry and such.

 

[hulkman2456]

No. The romances are treated in a bubble. V themself don't even get options to tell them they're in a relationship. It also causes contradictions during certain ends. If you pick Kerry, while also screwing with Panam. She just resets no relationship ending. Nothing is brought up. Video messages in credits also don't work right.

 

[Bartinga2077]

"DO ROMANCE PARTNERS ACKNOWLEDGE EACH OTHER? - ENDING SPOILERS -"

In case of River, Stout or Judy, no. Not at all. All three of them are non-existent for each other, and even for the player. They may not have happened at all. To me, they're just gigs illustrating romances. They just offer a way to a heavily censored illustrated climax.

 

[seracy]

I also found that a bit weird, but it also feels like they weren't intended to be as serious as we were expecting since Act 2/3 is only a few weeks/months. The LIs all have pretty small windows of interaction + one hook-up. There's no commitment you need to make to any of them so it's more like you just started dating but haven't quite had the talk about being exclusive. The LIs all have different levels of 'seriousness' to make things more confusing lol.

 

[Krul2k]

No, if you romance both Yen and Triss, it will provoke new questline "It takes three to tango", and at the end of the game they both abandon Geralt, and he can have none of them.



Yes and no - yes, you can't proceed with other character after the final dialog like that, but that is not the only dialogue related to that, I remember it pops up a few times, when both (or maybe even more than 2, I just never tried flirt with more) of characters you flirt with comment this situation, showing jealousy and anger to their "competitor" and such.


I agree with that actually, but Johnny and V himself/herself have zero comments about it too. As I said fem V doesn't remember that she's in love with Judy when it comes to River, Panam doesn't remember she had relations with V when it comes to Kerry and such.

As i said theres circumstances as why what happens happens in DA and Witcher games, there is none in CP, you say love i say you only known each other for probably a week maybe two, remember at the point V "starts" a relationship they've been told they only have weeks to live so in reality you hardly know each other it why i say what i do about romance IE its a start but thats all it is, before that you just had a couple conversations, unlike witcher or DA where months/years could've passed

Johnny commented on V sleeping with River, shares his thoughts also on Judy an Panam but other than what he does say i don't exactly know or understand what he should say, what V does/has with Kerry is no really his business an if they had him say something bad or jokingly, like what he said about River, there probably be some outrage because it was a gay scene so they played it safe an had him say nothing.

 

[VincentS4]

I had a romance with Judy and during the dinner with River there wasn't even an option to tell his family that you are already in a relationship, I had to reject him.

I feel sorry for him, poor River...

Very sad that you can't even make other people acknowledge about your relationship status, truly immersive game...

 

[LordGavus]

I had a romance with Judy and during the dinner with River there wasn't even an option to tell his family that you are already in a relationship, I had to reject him.

I feel sorry for him, poor River...

Very sad that you can't even make other people acknowledge about your relationship status, truly immersive game...

Yeah this bit bugged me the most. If you complete one romance arc you should have the option to tell others about it, especially if asked.

I have no problem that they dont know about each other automatically, its a big city and they run in different circles. But if asked we should get more options than basically just no.

 

[GVArcian]

There are dialogue strings in the game where V can tell Panam they've been spending time with Judy, so at some point there were plans to have the romance interests reference each other.

 

[Hayte]

No. The romances are treated in a bubble. V themself don't even get options to tell them they're in a relationship. It also causes contradictions during certain ends. If you pick Kerry, while also screwing with Panam. She just resets no relationship ending. Nothing is brought up. Video messages in credits also don't work right.

Thats because it isn't really a relationship. Yet. The pace of the game's story is so relentless that its easy to forget V has only really known these people for a matter of days. Weeks at most. Of all the romanceable characters, V knows Judy the longest but most of that time is spent recovering from a gunshot wound to the head and all of that occurs before Judy trusts V enough to even phone them.

The romances are whirlwinds in this game. It takes time to develop an actual relationship and it happens in small, insignificant moments that you don't realize are important until they are gone. Real relationships develop over life times and that can be portrayed in game time but is often done so via time lapses.

For example we see a surrogate father/daughter relationship develop between Joel and Ellie in the Last of Us in "game time", but it is charted to the 4 seasons of the year and most of the development is implied off screen. Even more importantly, it is implied that Joel is presumptuous in thinking of Ellie as a daughter in the year they spend on the road together, because there is a hint he may not be doing it for the right reasons. He never got over the death of Sarah (his biological daughter) and making Ellie into Sarah could be interpreted as his way of making that pain go away.

So on my second Cyberpunk playthrough, I rolled Miss V again and whirlwind romanced Judy (again). Except the quest order was different to my first playthrough due to the fast pace of the story. This time, I completed Pyramid Song before starting Ghost Town.

In Ghost Town there is a ride-a-long with Panam where V mentions that Mitch and Scorpion seem like family. Panam asks V "do you have anyone in your life that you care about?" and the player is presented with 3 dialogue options. None of them acknowledge an existing relationship. I chose the line that goes "not right now, but soon, maybe?"

After thinking about it, I think this is a fitting response. So much of the romance in this game is possibilities for the future. It would be presumptuous to call it a relationship at that moment in time. It is really a mutual infatuation, developed very suddenly out of shared adversity.

For multiple choice dialogue I think this also works from a practical perspective. It allows the player to rationalize and make a decision about what to say. To think about what a relationship really is and what it really means. The words subtly change or hint at different motivations or desires but ultimately, the answer will always be the same. Because its too soon to tell.

 

[Fuse_00]

I had a romance with Judy and during the dinner with River there wasn't even an option to tell his family that you are already in a relationship, I had to reject him.

Yep, that is shame we can't mention it, and the other stuff that bothers me a bit, that the only thing which is different for romancable characters in comparison with non romancable, is actual sex scene. I played as male V it all this stuff with River felt wierd, like wtf he invited me to his house, I played with his nephews, helped him to cook dinner, met his sister, all this cringey talking about relations, then he took me to this romantic spot under the stars and such... that is obviously something that should happen with a female he's interested in. Judy's diving quest felt a bit like it was made for female V too, and the scene in bathroom after, but dissonance was not that palpable as with River.

I had not played as female V yet, but if Panam acts the same way as she does for male, like hugs in front of the fire and putting her legs on V while they're sharing sofa, that would be the top cringe

Post automatically merged: Feb 7, 2021

Thats because it isn't really a relationship. Yet. The pace of the game's story is so relentless that its easy to forget V has only really known these people for a matter of days. Weeks at most. Of all the romanceable characters, V knows Judy the longest but most of that time is spent recovering from a gunshot wound to the head and all of that occurs before Judy trusts V enough to even phone them.

The romances are whirlwinds in this game. It takes time to develop an actual relationship and it happens in small, insignificant moments that you don't realize are important until they are gone. Real relationships develop over life times and that can be portrayed in game time but is often done so via time lapses.

For example we see a surrogate father/daughter relationship develop between Joel and Ellie in the Last of Us in "game time", but it is charted to the 4 seasons of the year and most of the development is implied off screen. Even more importantly, it is implied that Joel is presumptuous in thinking of Ellie as a daughter, because there is a hint he may not be doing it for the right reasons. He never got over the death of Sarah (his biological daughter) and making Ellie into Sarah could be interpreted as his way of making that pain go away.

So on my second Cyberpunk playthrough, I rolled Miss V again and whirlwind romanced Judy (again). Except the quest order was different to my first playthrough due to the relentless pace of the story. This time, I completed Pyramid Song before starting Ghost Town.

In Ghost Town there is a ride-a-long with Panam where V mentions that Mitch and Scorpion seem like family. Panam asks V "do you have anyone in your life that you care about?" and the player is presented with 3 dialogue options. None of them acknowledge an existing relationship. I chose the line that goes "not right now, but soon, maybe?"

After thinking about it, I think this is a fitting response. So much of the romance in this game is possibilities for the future. It would be presumptuous to call it a relationship at that moment in time. It is really a mutual infatuation, developed very suddenly.

For multiple choice dialogue I think this also works from a practical perspective. It allows the player to rationalize and make a decision about to say. To think about what a relationship really is and what it really means. The words subtly change or hint at different motivations or desires but ultimately, the answer will always be the same. Because its too soon to tell.

I agree with you at some point, but it doesn't seem like it was the idea of quest directors/writers - I romanced Kerry, and in my ending V sacrificed his body to Johnny, and during the credits video calls Kerry was upset and angry, because he thought V just dropped him and disappeared, so it seems like he treated V more than just one night event and cares about him.
I don't know how other LI react if V dies, but I thing pretty much the same? So it's still feels a bit unnatural when they ignore breaking up with them and cheating during the game

 

[Hayte]

I agree with you at some point, but it doesn't seem like it was the idea of quest directors/writers - I romanced Kerry, and in my ending V sacrificed his body to Johnny, and during the credits video calls Kerry was upset and angry, because he thought V just dropped him and disappeared, so it seems like he treated V more than just one night event and cares about him.
I don't know how other LI react if V dies, but I thing pretty much the same? So it's still feels a bit unnatural when they ignore breaking up with them and cheating during the game

This is not inconsistent with infatuation. The reality is V and Kerry haven't known each other that long and while V is capable of indulging an infatuation with someone they don't know, it is also possible for Kerry to do that too. And he does do that in the ending you described.

I really liked the Kerry story arc despite playing a Miss V (where he is not a romance option at all). Of all the romance stories in Cyberpunk, it is the one that has the most of those insignificant moments I talked about. The ones that really matter.

On my playthroughs, it seemed like hardly a minute went by without V blowing some shit up or this dude dying or getting abducted because its a life or death matter and fuck! V is dead if this doesn't happen.

So then V meets Kerry and what suprised and enthralled me about his romance arc is that the writers left in some of those quiet moments that ended up really endearing me towards his character. Going for a coffee with Kerry was really cool. Watching old Samurai gig tapes and reminiscing about better times. Small, insignificant moments that meant a lot because as a player, I needed the game to slow down so I could think and reflect on everything that is happening.

Going to see Us Cracks was really cool because hes thinking about going in guns blazing and V is thinking, how about we just buy tickets and watch the show? So when he shows up in a bomber jacket with the shadiest looking sun glasses ever, I burst out laughing and I like people who make me laugh like that.

 

[UgzAube]

I couldn't bring myself to enjoy two characters at the same time, so my V was just lesbian.

I can understand that details can get in the way, but basically I personally find it unhealthy to have two romantic relationships. Even in a video game.

So I didn't pay attention to it.

 

[OG_VELI]

I had not played as female V yet, but if Panam acts the same way as she does for male, like hugs in front of the fire and putting her legs on V while they're sharing sofa, that would be the top cringe

The leg part is there for both genders, but everything else romantic or flirty is strictly for male V.

Also, Panam's romance is way more in-depth than others. You can clearly see the relationship developing throughout her questline. She and male V go through stages, from a kiss after rescuing Saul to talks about their relationship and intimacy afterward. There is always romantic energy going on between them, which is not really the case for other love interests. Or at least not up until their final, where the relationship may start mission.

I romanced Judy and feel that I got the shorter end of the stick.

 

[CyberDiligence]

I fully agree with you but maybe V is that kind of person who doesn't give a fuck and romancing two people at the same time is no big deal for them Or the game actually is trying to say that those are not romances but romanticized one night stands (even if stated otherwise by the NPCs). I romanced both Judy and River but I investigated further with Judy and:
- When talking to Panam and if already in a relationship with Judy V can say something like "oh I KINDA have somebody but it's on and off" to my surprise. Am I roleplaying an asshole?
- There's no way to tell River that V is not into men. or not into him. Every interaction during the dinner ends up awkwardly if you're not supporting his plan of getting into V's pants.
- There's a whole plethora of ex-boyfriends that V can entertain River with but no ex-girlfriends she can mention while talking to Judy. You can't even pick one, you have to discuss all of them if you pick this particular dialogue option.
- The list of ex-boyfriends for my poor lesbian V was hidden in some strange dialogue choice. I would never assume it would lead to that and I was even more surprised than River.
- There's no way of telling Kerry that V is a relationship or with who. Believe me, I tried.
- Even Johnny who is in V's head after should know who V is in a relationship with. And I know that the rooftop choice is the final choice but even the voice in my head is confused or unsure. There's no conversation with Johnny about the relationships (or I missed something which is entirely possible) after the questlines.
- Quality over Quantity is some kind of joke
- I can't stop Panam from flirting stating that actually Judy would have something against it.
There's a whole topic of how V plays dumb learning about Laguna Bend either from River or from Judy and still pretends she never heard of this place before.
Long story short - those are not romances or even love interests but one-time things or friends with benefits.

 

[hulkman2456]

I don't know how other LI react if V dies, but I thing pretty much the same? So it's still feels a bit unnatural when they ignore breaking up with them and cheating during the game

There's really not much acknowledgement. With River being the one who figured it out. Most people don't know your circumstances, with exception suicide ending. A lot of the voice mails are recycled between endings.

 

[Kyrielle]

For those who are saying that these are flings, have you met Panam Palmer? Girl is intense. She sees V as family and is literally ride or die by the end of the game, and I'm pretty sure she's the type to draw weapons if she thinks her man is cheating. For Panam to have no opinion about Kerry appearing in the Aldecados ending, if she had been romanced previously, just doesn't seem in character for her.

CDPR, please consider a patch that adds Panam chasing male V across the Badlands with a rocket launcher if he cheats on her.

 

[larrackell]

For those who are saying that these are flings, have you met Panam Palmer? Girl is intense. She sees V as family and is literally ride or die by the end of the game, and I'm pretty sure she's the type to draw weapons if she thinks her man is cheating. For Panam to have no opinion about Kerry appearing in the Aldecados ending, if she had been romanced previously, just doesn't seem in character for her.

CDPR, please consider a patch that adds Panam chasing male V across the Badlands with a rocket launcher if he cheats on her.

God that'd be so funny to see.