Sorry to say but JS was just too aggravating

[Sesshomurai]

Having JS show up every 5 minutes with either something negative, arrogant or incessant "i got a bad feeling about this"

Really dragged this game down. He berates, insults, and argues with you every step of the way.

Is this game supposed to be fun? Or is it an argument simulator?

Hoping cyberpunk (without JS) is less annoying.

 

[tavellone]

He doesn't even pop up that often. I like Johnny, but just like in the real world, you're going to find people you just dislike. I'm sorry that this has ruined your experience of the game. Though I have to say Johnny definitely is abrasive, but half of the arguments you have with him are by choice and if you're friendly to him he is friendly towards you. Also look at it this way, he's trapped in someone else's body and can't do anything about it. He has to sit and watch whilst you do things that he might not agree with and he just has to accept it. It probably might make you a little combative if you woke up in someone else's body and they keep doing shit that you don't like or want to do and you literally can't do a thing about it. Quite frankly, he's actually quite relaxed for being stuck in what sounds like some body horror nightmare. From Johnny's perspective he doesn't have control over 'his' own body and 'his' body is controlled by a separate person. AS for him being arrogant, he's a famous rockstar and a revolutionary, he's about as arrogant as you can get, I wouldn't expect someone like that to be tame and humble, he experienced people worshiping him constantly, that's bound to do things to you ego.

 

[--Kory--]

I feel you. I disliked Johnny too, I even wanted a dlc where we could get rid of him immediately back when the game first came out.
But the story progresses, and V (and me the player) starts to get used to Silverhand's bullshit. Also there are moments in the dlc that just make me smile. Johnny's alright.

(didn't finish dlc yet, still playing)

 

[ShinAkira00]

So it would be better if he showed up and agreed with everything you said and did? lol a living validation simulator...I think the current JS is just fine and he doesn't even show up that often. He's supposed to be an unexpected guest, that's intertwined with the story and it honestly wouldn't be as much fun without him.

For the next game, I don't imagine we will have him so it'll be interesting to see how they tackle that but I will miss him.

 

[MartineDee]

He is an uninvited guest that has mind of his own.
Freaky, huh?

He is also a passenger who joined for the ride without having a say in it. In joining, not the ride itself. He can grow to be an important partner on steering the story one of the ways.

 

[Tarille]

Johnny is a douche.

But the entire story is about him. The whole "Mind is being replaced by Johnny McDoucheface" is the main story. That's what the entire game is about, dealing with him and trying to remove the Relic.

Am I particularly happy about that? Not really, I'd have rather had a story that dove deeper into the world, giving a behind the scenes look into things like corporations, fixers and gangs. As opposed to running around getting sent on wild goose chases looking for a way to remove a chip while Johnny continually pops up to say "Corpo bad"

But it is what it is. At least Johnny mainly just pops up in the main story and a few of the major side stories (While in Phantom Liberty he goes away partially)

At least it's unlikely for this whole schtick to be used again. So future titles should be devoid of annoying sidekicks, unless they bring back Skippy...

 

[Netrunner2go]

unless they bring back Skippy...

+1 aaaaalllll the way <3

 

[devivre]

For a story like that, I don't think it would make much sense to tone him down any further.
I would even say he could be a lot worse and more annoying, considering his past.

 

[Netrunner2go]

For a story like that, I don't think it would make much sense to tone him down any further.
I would even say he could be a lot worse and more annoying, considering his past.

i also feel hes less annoying/aggressive and more selfreflecting in PL somehow what i always took logical since i only played PL as endgame when V & Johnny already had some connection on all savefiles - but lately overthought it and am curious how it feels if you play it in between the basegame/mainstory... annoying/aggressive - more gentle/relaxed - annoying/aggressive again? hmm... idk how i would feel about it if i would start a complete new character and put PL in between...

 

[boristhedork]

i disagree with this take, i really like johnnys input

 

[KentuckyRifle]

I'm still on my first play through. Frankly, I pity him. Yeah, he's a bitter, immature man-child, but he's also locked in the trunk of car headed over a cliff.

 

[mumia76]

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Johnny is an arrogant, annoying, self righteous, selfish rockerboy who thinks he is hot shit.
The game is diminished greatly by his constant nagging and sly remarks, and I wish at least he would only show up much later in the game, not almost at the start.

And the most insulting thing is that you have to stroke his overinflated ego like a Fabregé egg to get the best ending for the game,

But the writers must have realized this as well, as his antics are toned down for Phantom Liberty, sometimes he is almost funny or helpful even, almost.

 

[ShinAkira00]

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Johnny is an arrogant, annoying, self righteous, selfish rockerboy who thinks he is hot shit.
The game is diminished greatly by his constant nagging and sly remarks, and I wish at least he would only show up much later in the game, not almost at the start.

And the most insulting thing is that you have to stroke his overinflated ego like a Fabregé egg to get the best ending for the game,

But the writers must have realized this as well, as his antics are toned down for Phantom Liberty, sometimes he is almost funny or helpful even, almost.

I find that people who say this, only do because Johnny says things they disagree with. I don't agree with him on a number of things but that is the point, I agree with him on some things, or I disagree and push back on others. I don't need him to stroke my ego or be agreeable on every topic, what would even be the point of having him there if that was the case.

 

[Netrunner2go]

And the most insulting thing is that you have to stroke his overinflated ego like a Fabregé egg to get the best ending for the game,

Eh? You absolutely dont… you can treat him like however you want - argue, calling him out or taking the pills all over the place. It doesn’t matter how you treat him. The ending just needs a single dialog line which also says that he f*ucked it up… so I don’t get what you are saying here…

 

[Spockprime]

From a story perspective, I don't blame him. He wakes up stuck in somebody else's body, and for most of us, our character is probably somebody he dislikes as much as we dislike him. He's as much a victim as is our character. My character would be intolerable if he woke up with his consciousness stuck in Johnny's body and subject to Johnny's "preferences".

From a game development perspective, I loathe everything about the decision to write it that way.

 

[akaddk]

I actually found him kinda endearing. Like, sure, he's a douchenugget, but if you bother to actually get to know him beyond the egoistic facade, he's actually still a giant douchenozzle, but a kinda likeable one with a fatalistic hard-on for what he sees as the greatest evil in a world full of evil.

All philosophical viewpoints, when taken to an extreme, are fundamentally contradictory and ethically flawed. Existence is a paradox that cannot be resolved to a perfect state. Unity is non-existence, i.e. an entropic end. So everything is pointless. God is dead. Life is suffering and so the greatest moral victory we can achieve in life, is to lessen that suffering for others.

In Johnny's warped worldview, that means destroying the greatest evil there is and the only way to do that, is with a fuck-off big bomb. It actually makes a twisted kind of sense, even if it is, ultimately, both futile and committing the sin of self-contradiction, i.e. doing evil to combat evil.

But whatever, not like any of this is real. You're all just illusions...

 

[LadyMiseryAli]

He is a dickhead, but not without cause and not 'just because'. The man is a war vet, who lost an arm in action, saw a bunch of fucked up shit. He was never given proper treatment for what he went through. The man had untreated PTSD, that he himself treated by self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. He used his music to try to wake up the normies around him to the atrocities of the world. He is damaged. Also, if V calls him out on his bullshit and challenges him, he respects V more and grows closer.

And put yourself in his shoes. You go from being in one 'soul prison' and wake up in another, only it's a living person's head and you have no say in the matter. You'd be pretty pissed off too. He doesn't pop up THAT much and when he does, at least sometimes he's funny or he says something profound. I really don't get ppl who get annoyed by him, but then again, not everyone takes the time to understand characters in games.

 

[Netrunner2go]

I really don't get ppl who get annoyed by him, but then again, not everyone takes the time to understand characters in games.

actually its pretty simple - like IRL you like someone and his/her attitude or you dont. it doesnt matter the background because you are not responsible for what ever happend to that person before you met him/her. true, one could show some empathy but you dont need to clap hands for rude and annyoing behavior... not at all. thats just my take on socializing. others can feel completely different tho. and johnny does have a pretty big ego noone can deny that... personally i kinda like him but totally understand it if others don't.

 

[MartineDee]

And put yourself in his shoes. You go from being in one 'soul prison' and wake up in another, only it's a living person's head and you have no say in the matter. You'd be pretty pissed off too. He doesn't pop up THAT much and when he does, at least sometimes he's funny or he says something profound.

This.

I am not a psych, but I work with many people. Sometimes with rather difficult ones. What life has taught me is to play the long-term game, seek commonalities and connection, make goodwill gestures, if there is a topic that makes me feel uncomfortable and it feels like the figurative bull is lined up to ram me, let it. If something, it should help clear the air. Unless you are dealing with a psychopath, that is. But in that case things would go unusually smooth. Too smooth to be true. And that's exactly how to tell. Sociopaths are also easy to spot, so yeah... I went for it and tested who I was dealing with.

In the long run, it should work to get clarity on where the relationship will go. Some people are easy to sever, but not that thing in the head. In the game, it's a two-hostages to the circumstances kind of situation. So, it seemed reasonable rather to find a way to work together than to leave him in the barn and know he's going to be out of it and be angry he was sealed shut in there.

It worked. Johnny deescalated his freak-out moment quickly. Then he went through some rebellion. And, after Automatic Love, it already comes clear to him that he has to cooperate. By the end of the game, he is a V's total fanboy with puppy eyes if things are played toward it.

 

[Throcket]

And put yourself in his shoes. You go from being in one 'soul prison' and wake up in another, only it's a living person's head and you have no say in the matter. You'd be pretty pissed off too. He doesn't pop up THAT much and when he does, at least sometimes he's funny or he says something profound. I really don't get ppl who get annoyed by him, but then again, not everyone takes the time to understand characters in games.

The backstory matters for sure, but what has Johnny actually become?

I thought there was a nice dynamic going on throughout the game where V influences Johnny a little and Johnny influences V and they sort of bounce of one another here and there, but what is this relationship? Is Johnny really warming to V or is it subtle manipulation (because he has to cooperate with V for his own survival). The scene that convinces me of the latter is when he takes over V's body and IMMEDIATELY abuses V and everyone around him. Nothing's changed. He is still an a**hole putting himself first. Every chance Johnny's had to redeem himself is thrown away by this sequence. I guess in character the only reason he can get away with this is because V doesn't remember it!

Sure he's a broken man that needs help, but at the same time he refuses to be helped. He stands by his decision to nuke 1000s of people no matter what V has to say about it. There isn't a lot of character development for Johnny, let's be honest. He's angry and vengeful and stuck in his ways for the most part.

Regarding his occasional conversations with V, I'd agree it isn't too much, however sometimes it seemed he showed up when he didn't need to, and other times he doesn't show up at all when you'd expect him to want to weigh in on something, so it kinda worked most of the time, but not always.

BTW @CDPR basing a secret ending on a handful of very specific dialogue lines is silly, let us earn the secret endings please.