Played through three endings, random thoughts (spoilers)

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This darn game, man. Just finished the suicide one and I'm over here crying. All the endings I've tried so far left me emotional. The first one where you work with Hanako felt sad, lonesome, and there was the guilt of helping make the world a worse place. I chose it because I wanted V to try and take action on her own. Trying to prolong her life without getting her other friends involved, and without a focus on Johnny. I chose to make her live out her 6 months. Also when I heard about Jackie's body being taken away by Arasaka for some reason I held out hope of encountering him again. When you do, it was sad, but made sense.

The ending with Panam started off feeling the opposite. V wasn't alone, was a part of a community. But she put all if them in danger. I'm wondering if this is the happy ending. Despite the heartbreaking losses, I guess there's hope for V's future. Glad I played a nomad, because it felt like V was going back to her roots. Gotta say when River basically dumps V, that was a surprise. His messages were so sweet in all of the endings I watched (especially the Arasaka one). Then he gets there and says V doesn't need him when she says she does. I understand wanting to stay and help his family, and not wanting to tie V down since he couldn't be there, but idk. It made that ending even more bittersweet along with Saul's traumatic death. Although I feared for Saul's life during most of the Aldecados related missions. His death came just when I thought he might be safe. And why was Vik so gruff with V? Because she didn't take the pills enough earlier? Otherwise who would rush to kill themselves? And is she basically an engram in her own body?

The suicide ending fit the tone of the game well, I mean all of the ones I was did. I could understand the choice and not wanting to cause more bloodshed. The messages from V's friends were well done, showing their grief reflected through their different personalities. Another thing, for some reason it was jarring seeing a third person cutscene with V. Like my mind was loving and rejecting it at the same time because that wasn't a thing anywhere else. Wish there could have been more. I found myself invested in these characters, this world and had the motivation to see the story through. Really enjoyed the experience. That said, I think I need a long break before trying to play the other endings. I guess my heart needs it.

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With the way the game ends, being unresolved. I personally prefer the suicide ending. Because it actually definitively ends V's story. None of the, I hope you don't mind DLC or some sequel baiting. I actually have control over V's ending with that one.
 
This was a great read good job finishing the game I can't wait to read more when the DLC comes out :)

Thank you!
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With the way the game ends, being unresolved. I personally prefer the suicide ending. Because it actually definitively ends V's story. None of the, I hope you don't mind DLC or some sequel baiting. I actually have control over V's ending with that one.

I agree about the suicide ending and V actually having some control in their fate. So far they'd kinda been a pawn in other's games. In my mind I feel like those other two endings are resolved in that most likely they're still going to die in six months. Although I guess you don't know if V goes back to merc work in NC (sad thought) those last six months, and Panam's contacts figure how to help V out. Not sure how different the other 4 are. For some reason I don't feel like they'd continue V's story. Or at least I can't figure out how. But I'm really curious what dlc would make sense with a game like this.
 
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You're not alone in these thoughts on the endings. It really drives home the thematic message in Cyberpunk being about "saving yourself" rather than saving the world, and that comes at a price always.

What I find interesting in each ending is that the game shifts completely to a 3rd person point of view. I see it being symbolic as the end of your journey as V.

1st person is the journey and 3rd person is the end of the journey.
 
Interesting. I've seen it spoken of, but limited what I know about the endings. Is this the one where you have to do something different before Act 3 to get it?
well, you have to either have high % (70)with Johnny, or you have to talk to him a certain way at the grave. But you might be able to still do it on your current playthrough, depends what you did before.
 
The ending with Panam started off feeling the opposite. V wasn't alone, was a part of a community. But she put all if them in danger. I'm wondering if this is the happy ending. Despite the heartbreaking losses, I guess there's hope for V's future. Glad I played a nomad, because it felt like V was going back to her roots.
Played Nomad myself and was very surprised about Aldecados ending with Panam. Losses are unfortunate, but they didn't had that much options to begin with probably had to go after the goods anyway, or end up like Bakkers, which I understood from the context, was corpo slaves or something, nothing good.

There were a lot of war vets there. Panzer boys are nod to the cyberpunk novel Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams, but I digress. They knew what was at stake and risks they were taking. In my playthrough losses were minimal though.

I played later Johnny and Rogue ending and Arasaka ending and each has different things to say. My V's canon is Aldecados ending though. For me it was even in that situation a path of life. Nomads are very different from city folks as clans social fabric hasn't collapsed, second best education available in setting, Panam as clan leader. And opportunity to turn yet new page in life of V. Time to grow the fuck up samurai!

well, you have to either have high % (70)with Johnny, or you have to talk to him a certain way at the grave. But you might be able to still do it on your current playthrough, depends what you did before.
Dialogue choice option appear to be false. It didn't worked for me and I have seen other posts (in reddit though) describing the same. That advice get still passed around as it's still on websites which don't check facts but just copy stuff. Relationship at 70% is the way to get it. For me it's genius move that there's option for that but it's a result of tradeoff.
 
The secret ending is technically the best because you take down Arasaka without involving your friends

But there are several things that bothers me personally :

-The most obvious is the difficulty, if we lose we are directly in the credits. Which can be frustrating.

-Just like the Rogue ending, if your romance is Judy or Panam, they leave you.

- I have the impression, that V never questioned himself. Preferring to become a legend at all costs, while throughout the game, we have this questioning, if in the end it's worth it. Notably with all the people that V meets on his journey.
 
The secret ending is technically the best because you take down Arasaka without involving your friends

But there are several things that bothers me personally :

-The most obvious is the difficulty, if we lose we are directly in the credits. Which can be frustrating.

-Just like the Rogue ending, if your romance is Judy or Panam, they leave you.

- I have the impression, that V never questioned himself. Preferring to become a legend at all costs, while throughout the game, we have this questioning, if in the end it's worth it. Notably with all the people that V meets on his journey.

secret ending is basically presented as a suicide ending, its supposed to be unlikely to succeed.
 
This darn game, man. Just finished the suicide one and I'm over here crying. All the endings I've tried so far left me emotional. The first one where you work with Hanako felt sad, lonesome, and there was the guilt of helping make the world a worse place. I chose it because I wanted V to try and take action on her own. Trying to prolong her life without getting her other friends involved, and without a focus on Johnny. I chose to make her live out her 6 months. Also when I heard about Jackie's body being taken away by Arasaka for some reason I held out hope of encountering him again. When you do, it was sad, but made sense.

The ending with Panam started off feeling the opposite. V wasn't alone, was a part of a community. But she put all if them in danger. I'm wondering if this is the happy ending. Despite the heartbreaking losses, I guess there's hope for V's future. Glad I played a nomad, because it felt like V was going back to her roots. Gotta say when River basically dumps V, that was a surprise. His messages were so sweet in all of the endings I watched (especially the Arasaka one). Then he gets there and says V doesn't need him when she says she does. I understand wanting to stay and help his family, and not wanting to tie V down since he couldn't be there, but idk. It made that ending even more bittersweet along with Saul's traumatic death. Although I feared for Saul's life during most of the Aldecados related missions. His death came just when I thought he might be safe. And why was Vik so gruff with V? Because she didn't take the pills enough earlier? Otherwise who would rush to kill themselves? And is she basically an engram in her own body?

The suicide ending fit the tone of the game well, I mean all of the ones I was did. I could understand the choice and not wanting to cause more bloodshed. The messages from V's friends were well done, showing their grief reflected through their different personalities. Another thing, for some reason it was jarring seeing a third person cutscene with V. Like my mind was loving and rejecting it at the same time because that wasn't a thing anywhere else. Wish there could have been more. I found myself invested in these characters, this world and had the motivation to see the story through. Really enjoyed the experience. That said, I think I need a long break before trying to play the other endings. I guess my heart needs it.

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I partially agree on what you wrote... I understand why suicide sounds like an actual outcome for you, it's good. However, It heavily depends on the player. Each player designs the character according to his sense of life, so we can say that "OUR" V is part of us, right? Then we (intentionally or unintentionally) relate to a lot of NPCs who express feelings towards our digital representation, then we give a response to those feelings being expressed. That's why we get involved emotionally into the game; there are not right choices, or wrong choices... They're only choices we make based on our personality values. Knowing this, I will write from now on from a very personal point of view:

Once I get related to someone who I care about, and cares about me the same way around (Judy, Panam, River, Kerry, Viktor, Misty, Mama Welles, Jackie (when he was alive) even Johnny and Takemura (if you managed to get along with them) it's difficult not wanting to hold on your own life and get hopeful about sharing you life with them. My favorite character is Panam, I'm fully madly in love with her. Even so, I can't stand watching Judy crying about V's death, it just breaks my heart... When it is Panam's turn, that she sounds mad at V because she feels like he didn't count on her as she told him several times to do, I appreciate it as a kind desperate and resigned reaction, she is as sad as Judy, though that is her way of expressing sorrow about losing her love/friend. Those are qualities of human being and make me deeply think about: Why am I taking suicide as an option if I can fight for my life? I still have time to find a solution and stay with my people. Remember they are not sure about 6months of life until they talk to Alt in mikoshi (if you don't deal with Arasaka). Additionally, there is a lot of evidence that suggest that is not the end, future content will deal with that and there is a group of people (Me included) hoping this content brings solution to V's disease, so we can stay alive and cured forever after.

Now, being objectives again... It's certainly a matter of fact that the true clear ending is V's suicide or joining mikoshi/Alt... The other endings are merely an open closure that leads to further storyline not available... yet. That's the way I see it, I hope you find it interesting.
 
secret ending is basically presented as a suicide ending, its supposed to be unlikely to succeed.
Even though you doing the building attack is insane in all endings, in the first place. It really shouldn't be considered "worse" Because what is actually worse? Two NPC characters aren't with you. Who BTW don't even help 90% of the time. It would be insane. If you did the Alcado ending alone. But walking up to the building cuts out the harder parts of the game. That requires NPC help.

I always had this one problem with the endings. The Arasaka building should have been wiped out at the end. Alt could have used the Earthquake dampening hydrolics to rip apart the buildings.
 
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So far I have played through the Suicide one, both Arasaka endings and both side with Alt/Johnny endings. (Have yet to get the Panam ending, I told on her to Saul in my first playthrough and she aggressively ended our friendship. Have yet to play through the secret ending)

What bothered me the most was the literal direct division made between either Hanako or Johnny. I had planned, prior to the point of no return, that I wanted to push Hanako's assistance as far as possible using her to get right into the heart of Arasaka, but then pulling some Johnny stunts once at mikoshi like releasing Alt and watching Hanako as her father's engram got destroyed. Or, to not do that but instead to kill both Hanako and her brother once you find them together in the upper offices. Then going back in the lift to Mikoshi and releasing Alt into the system so she could destroy it. That would've made the part where you can decide who remains in V's body so much better and less bitter. Johnny would have been thrilled to have hand a hand in destroying the Arasaka corporation, and it would have made the final conversations between V, Alt and Johnny more affirming and then V and Johnny could've parted on good terms.
The fact that there was no way to blend the endings, no way of using the red and blue pills to switch control for different bits felt underwhelming.

It also meant that regardless of which ending I picked it felt like half of my previous missions had been pointless. Like if I picked the Hanako endings, why did I go to such lengths to locate Alt? And if I pick the Johnny endings the entire journey I went on with Takemura was completely pointless. Like we went to the trouble of gathering a lot of intel in order to get Takemura in front of Hanako at the festival. We even snuck into the place where the floats were being prepped for the festival to install some malware or something (I spent ages on that mission, doing the entire thing undetected). Then Hanako went to such weird lengths to talk to me..... but then I get to the end and I can just be like.... hmm let's get Rogue and we'll just fly an AV into the fucking building. Fuck Takemura and the strange friendship I developed with him. It just felt jarring... to have gone through all that but it actually amounts to nothing in the ending.

Also I picked the become an engram with Arasaka in the hope that I might one day be installed into someone else's mind. Or that I'd be able to pass on the wisdom/information I'd learnt. But that ending was made to feel so negative, it made me feel like I had betrayed pretty much everyone in the story. So if left me feeling bitter even though I picked it with good intentions.
 
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You're not alone in these thoughts on the endings. It really drives home the thematic message in Cyberpunk being about "saving yourself" rather than saving the world, and that comes at a price always.

What I find interesting in each ending is that the game shifts completely to a 3rd person point of view. I see it being symbolic as the end of your journey as V.

1st person is the journey and 3rd person is the end of the journey.

That makes alot of sense.
 
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