Exploring Cyberpunk 2077

+
I can't pin down from my memory anything solid where exactly Hanaka was assassinated but few things that were big me regarding exploring the game.

First trivia: If Takemura is alive there's dialogue option about fate of Yorinobu for V referring to that being like "Shakespearean level shit...". That may actually be a jab at Shakespeare. He did copy a lot of older stories and made versions of those for audience of his era. If you know about mythology of ancient Greeks. I wrote about almost a year go. that but I intentionally left out certain part. God Cronus was a god of chaos. My past writing about parallel isn't that great but that's how I felt when I played the Devil (had Takemura alive) about situation, people becoming property, slave for a mad god.

Exploring the game and possible jab at Shakespeare, it's bit more obvious if player also plays Devil / Hellman version. Takemura doesn't use word god, while Hellman very specifically refers Arasaka's as gods several times.

Devil ending is also exploring about what cyberpunk genre does regarding transhumanism. So technology solving being mortal doesn't actually solve issues of the human condition, instead we get new problems. In game all that has achieved to maintain peace after corpo wars, here they are, back in square one.

My first playthrough, I my V went with the Aldecaldos, I played Devil and the Sun couple of weeks later. There's this distrust, in Devil V gets to know that Arasaka board actually knew what was going on, but didn't wanted Saburo back. It's telling about corpo mindset and culture, there people can't trust anyone. That is polar opposite to Aldecaldos, whom main strength is their trust to each other.

In context of exploration, I didn't expect Devil to let V out of the hook completely but that CDPR had guts to go all that way to dystopian nightmare, that was a surprise.

There's also more to certain NPC's than what's on the surface. Sure Takemura wants revenge, but what is really driving him is his loyalty and sense of duty, he is sort of manifestation of certain ideal and there's some summary I wrote here how it connects to other things. It's not that great summary, there are little things, say Rogue / Johnny I should have written that this idea about unconditional love, if this is an idea that is something bigger than homo sapiens, but it summarizes few things. To be honest, it's been a year for me on these forums and I'm kinda sick of repeating myself.
 
OK, reading about it I found there is one extra Johnny's path ending where V gets to Mikoshi basically alone (with Johnny's help). Waiting for 5 mintues on the roof there is of course something that you'd hardly come up with.

The ending for the most part goes like Rogue's path, except Rogue remains alive.

But some things aren't clear in that story:

1. Why did Rogue give Afterlife over to V in that scenario? For some reason it wasn't explained in the short dialogue with Rogue in the club.
2. Who helped V get out of Arasaka tower after returnng from the cyberspace? Unlike other scenarios no one was waiting in the server room and V would be no doubt quite dizzy and in bad shape after coming back. I suppose V just got out without help?
3. Why didn't Rogue call V in the credits in that scenario? May be just an omission? I'd say it makes sense for Rogue to call and not to ask to pass messages to Johnny like in some other cases (that never made sense really there either).

Overall I think this is the least tragic ending of all, though Goro and Hanako are still probably dead after it.
 
1. Why did Rogue give Afterlife over to V in that scenario? For some reason it wasn't explained in the short dialogue with Rogue in the club.
Not so sure, but she simply pass the hand to the "new legend".
2. Who helped V get out of Arasaka tower after returnng from the cyberspace? Unlike other scenarios no one was waiting in the server room and V would be no doubt quite dizzy and in bad shape after coming back. I suppose V just got out without help?
Also not so sure, but V have kill everybody in the area and Alt could also keep "the hand" on the security system until V get out.
3. Why didn't Rogue call V in the credits in that scenario? May be just an omission? I'd say it makes sense for Rogue to call and not to ask to pass messages to Johnny like in some other cases (that never made sense really there either).
Also not so sure, but it's V in the AfterLife, so she already know that Johnny is gone for good :(
Unlike in the other endings where she don't know or she's dead. In the endings where she call V, it's just about "if he/she know a way to contact Johnny" and not really to get news from V.
 
Well, I'd guess in any other scenarios when Johnny leaves with Alt or even is shredded, V would want let Rogue know what happened simply becasue she cares and to avoid exactly such kind of confusion. So I found Rogue asking to pass messages to Johnny in those cases out of place.

Overall those endings calls felt kind of awkward in some combinations, but I get that they may be tried to avoid recording too many in their final development stretch and reused some even when they didn't fully fit.

And separately, I wonder if in the expansions Alt and Johnny will play a role as AIs as well?
 
Last edited:
Well, I'd guess in any other scenarios when Johnny leaves with Alt or even is shredded, V would want let Rogue know what happened simply becasue she cares and to avoid exactly such kind of confusion. So I found Rogue asking to pass messages to Johnny in those cases rather strange.
I'm not sure that V and Rogue are really "friend". The last "contact" between V and Rogue, it's in the car during "Blistering Love" (and before it's just to find Smasher). So it's really only in this "secret" ending where V could have discuss with Rogue about Johnny's fate.
2. Who helped V get out of Arasaka tower after returnng from the cyberspace? Unlike other scenarios no one was waiting in the server room and V would be no doubt quite dizzy and in bad shape after coming back. I suppose V just got out without help?
And another guess, in the other endings, V get out the Arasaka tower only with one person (Panam or Crispin Weyland). I can't see Panam "carrying" V on her shoulder to get out of the tower. So I guess V can at least walk on his/her own and there aren't really any enemies on the path :)
I wonder if in the expansions Alt and Johnny will play a role as AIs as well?
Who know ? Maybe, maybe not :)
 
I started a new V 2 weeks ago and one of the missions I have done is "Bloody Sport" and looks like I am going to do this the hard way because I have not got enough strength to force open the door at the back-left and not enough tech to open the hatch at the top. Looks like I have to go through the front door. Great!
I shorted the air condition and broke the guard's neck.
Then I carried the guard to the back of the building, where the door is. Some NPCs did not like what I was doing, and one of them went through the back-left door that V cannot force open! WHAT. V see's her chance and went through that door (where that NPC went through) dumped the guard in the stairwell, disabled a camera, disposed two more guards, pick some loot up and escort the hostage to the nearest car without alerting others in the building.
 
Last edited:
Then I carried the guard to the back of the building, where the door is. Some NPCs did not like what I was doing, and one of them went through the back-left door that V cannot force open! WHAT.
It happens "often", for example in the Clouds (Automatic Love) with the door (body) right next to the toilets :)
 
OK, reading about it I found there is one extra Johnny's path ending where V gets to Mikoshi basically alone (with Johnny's help). Waiting for 5 mintues on the roof there is of course something that you'd hardly come up with.
Yeah, so the secret ending, (Don't fear) the Reaper. You need to select very specific dialogue options in conversation with Johnny at oil fields and later in game wait on the rooftop certain amount of time for option to open. Requirements for unlocking secret ending has changed since release and there are lot of guides that aren't up to date, but I found that this guide was accurate. It's those steps I took in my latest playthrough with 1.30 and it worked for me.
And an interesting cliffhanger with Mr. Blue Eyes, whom Vik confirms to be some very mysterious figure in the message in the spaceship computer.
Yeah and he might be quite a big figure indeed. It's speculated if he is Morgan Blackhand, but there's no way to know for sure.
 
Reading more about him, some connect Mr. Blue Eyes to those who were behind trying to control Jefferson Peralez. I wonder if in such case he is an android.
For me, he's more like the prxoy (doll) controlled by Hanako in the Sunset Motel, a simple remote controlled doll (by an unknown force/entity) :)
(The Hananko proxy have aslo glowing eyes during the "control", but simple "orange" instead of blue).
 
There are things unknow, who was behind the murder of Lucius Rhyne? Weldon Holt arranged Rhyne to be in certain place, but was it really Holt or was Holt just doing a favor?

What is Night Corp doing? Where they are in Night City power games?
 
Just wanted to sum up, that overall I enjoyed the game quite a lot, so not sure why some claim it's bad and all the negativity I've seen around. While it's not the Witcher 3 (it just felt smaller in scope somehow), but it's still very good. The main story line and side quests are interesting and very well written and there are memorable characters throughout the world as well (though I wish some of them got more story time, but there are expansions for that I guess?).

So thanks CDPR for a good game and also an additional thanks for making it available for Mesa developers before the release, so they could make it playable on Linux sooner. As a Linux gamer I appreciate it!
 
Last edited:
Just wanted to sum up, that overall I enjoyed the game quite a lot, so not sure why some claim it's bad and all the negativity I've seen around. While it's not the Witcher 3 (it just felt smaller in scope somehow), but it's still very good. The main story line and side quests are interesting and very well written and there are memorable characters throughout the world as well (though I wish some of them got more story time, but there are expansions for that I guess?).
May take to '22 Q4 before story DLC is released.

What comes to reception, what can be said is that there's huge disconnect between some of the feedback and achievement stats for game completion. For negativity, there are several factors at play there and the winning move, still even it's been a bit over a year since launch, is not to go into too much details about certain things.

On general level there are environmental factors. Discourse in the internet has become more and more polarized, especially during past decade. Social media platforms are sort of terrifying echo chambers, model examples of post-modern bubbles and it's not that simple if what common things is based on something factual or is it more like subscribing to religion.

There are things lost then. You mentioned Witcher and I played that but sequel then, I played that 3-5 hours and it made me realize that fantasy just isn't for me. Is it a bad game, based on franchises success, no. I hardly can believe that. Fantasy novel, movie or a game, what's the point of blaming product for what's it's stands within its genre? The cyberpunk then, I got to genre in early '90s via novels and game is relevant work in that genre, even it happens to be in a form of a video game. But in very polarized culture there is this discourse, product is for "me" or it's outright terrible for whatever reasons and that.

Fantasy enables certain things, say it might be perhaps bit blurry where Mass Effect series was, sci-fi or fantasy, but in ME2 Genophage or something, there was this Salarian scientist that introduced that story line and it's a good take on moral dilemma and scenario where choices are between something terrible or even worse, not light and dark as that then enables, even forces players to ponder about ethics. I was feeling my age already back in the day when I played ME2 but I can't say it was a bad game. Different settings and core ideas enable certain things, but may not be convenient for everything. Economical scenarios for example are difficult in magical universes, be that magic fireball or mass effect.

In this polarized culture even more is lost then. In context of exploring cyberpunk. Think of Arasaka's and people behind Militech, could be any megacorp but these are what we get most familiar with. Now, think of something else. In 1991 Soviet Union collapsed and Russia adapted capitalism, in the process labor unions power to fulfill their function in society was diminished. Now let's get back to 2077 think of certain scenarios V encounters in game and Arasaka's and Militech and such and let's use other word for them than corpo, oligarch.

One factor, though just one, I can't help but to think that for some reason, worst thing CP 2077 did is that it broke certain glass ceiling in story driven games. It's sort of weird as Outer Worlds was released few months before and it sure delivered too on writing department. Thinkin games and if we think of games as form of expression, Outer Worlds and CP 2077 has to happen someday if video games are to become something taken seriously outside of whatever is gaming culture bubble.

It's a good point you raised. Unfortunate as it is, I feel trying to discuss about it further could easily make this topic loaded in a way which wouldn't be constructive.

Anyay, it has been great to read about your journey in game and that it's was a good journey. (y)
 
I brought TW3 more like a comparison to previous games, since it was also made by CDPR. I like both fantasy and cyberpunk genres!

I think the effort they put in writing in both is great, TW3 just feels bigger overall. Not sure if it's becasue they worked on it longer, or because CP2077 had different challenges that changed the scope to address them.
 
I brought TW3 more like a comparison to previous games, since it was also made by CDPR. I like both fantasy and cyberpunk genres!

I think the effort they put in writing in both is great, TW3 just feels bigger overall. Not sure if it's becasue they worked on it longer, or because CP2077 had different challenges that changed the scope to address them.
After years it's happened. Gilrond and I agree on something 100%. That apocalypse is nigh.

Currently re-re-replaying Witcher 3 - it feels much, much larger. Freed a village from deserters, standing on the dock staring out at the water, looking at the map and my journal and knowing the crazy amount of story and places that aren't even on there yet...

Gregski and I have opined that 2077 was the new-franchise version of Witcher 1, not Witcher 4. So imagine what Cyberpunk 3 will be like in scope.

Presuming that's the direction CDPR is heading, of course.
 
After years it's happened. Gilrond and I agree on something 100%. That apocalypse is nigh.

Heh, may be the next big event will be CDPR making Linux games again, lol. Not too far fetched though if Steam Deck will end up successful. And this time Valve are backing it with a stronger marketing and resources push, so I guess we'll see. Cyberpunk 2 for Linux proper sold on GOG would be very cool.

Plus CDPR already have a working partenrship with Linux developers who made Stadia version of the game (QLOC?). So it's just a few steps away from the desktop releases in their future versions (assuming they want to continue that partnership).

Gregski and I have opined that 2077 was the new-franchise version of Witcher 1, not Witcher 4. So imagine what Cyberpunk 3 will be like in scope.

Presuming that's the direction CDPR is heading, of course.
Yeah, that makes sense. Getting into the new setting and all is in itself an effort so time could be used differently in the first game in the series vs sequels where some core ideas are already ironed out.
 
Last edited:
Heh, may be the next big event will be CDPR making Linux games again, lol. Not too far fetched though if Steam Deck will end up successful. And this time Valve are backing it with a stronger marketing and resources push, so I guess we'll see. Cyberpunk 2 for Linux proper sold on GOG would be very cool.
I just tried to access a you can't-touch-it-folder in Windows because I wanted to move an app inside it to a different drive. Nope. Don't have access to my own bloody folder - supposed to uninstall/reinstall a 70 gig app. Nonsense. Windows still sucks.

Everything sold on Linux would be cool. Won't happen though. Being better isn't worth diddly compared to marketing and market penetration. Hard pre-cyberpunk world we live in.

I found the gameplay systems they tried in 2077 to be more ambitious than in Witcher by far, but the scope of story and setting was smaller.

I'm interested to see not only Cyberpunk 2 and 3, but how these wider gameplay systems (stealth, stat-based checks, driving options, traffic, verticality, more perk/skill options) impact the next Witcher game. Still hoping for a make your own character in the Witcher setting.
 
Top Bottom