[Spoiler Alert] About the endings

[Buckadoz]

I'm also disappointed with endings. But I can't tell if all of them are really the bad ones?
Ending I did with Panam could be okay if DLC would provide good expansion of ending where you in that "last" 6 months finding solution for your problem.
Lets say you found someone who helped you clone your body and transfer your mind to new same body. After that something happens that you with Panam and crew come back to Night City. Anything.

I can't blame people for thinking the nomad ending or the space ending are kinda good, because V didn't seem to understand what Alt was saying either, but the V you play as the entire game is dead and gone when Soulkiller hits. Any V after that is just a copy, a program that thinks it's V.

There are no even okay endings, at least for V.

Edit: actually V does seem to acknowledge, when you talk to Alt via the Voodoo Boys, that Soulkiller will actually kill them. It's just never treated as actually a big deal, for some reason.

 

[feckyer1ife]

LOL, why?

lol what you mean by why. because most ppl dont get the 6months to live ending. they get they died or they died before the final mission lol

 

[xxSkyy]

How does that work though. Blood & wine flowed with any ending you got from The Wild hunt. For what you suggest everyone would have to get that ending. The game needs to be retcon, you wake up from a braindance to find it was all a dream

Don't agree, endings with staying behind blackwall should let you come back to your body by recreating it by someone for example Alt found someone able to do that.
Ending with Johnny staying in body also can be followed to giving V's body back.
Ending with 6 months of life can lead to come back to night city.

So in any way you can go back to night city staying with relationships before ending. For example if you didnt do nomad storyline Panam with crew wont be avaliable after ending as they left and theres nothing why they should go back.

So some sidequests you could be able to do only before base final mission or side characters story should be extended for example you were in close relation with Panam but didnt choose her ending with leaving so she left. But after getting know you can be healed they came back to help you but if you choose her ending you coming back with nomads to night city fighting for live.

I hope you get my point of view they can do good job with whole story but ending should be changed/extended.

 

[feckyer1ife]

Don't agree, endings with staying behind blackwall should let you come back to your body by recreating it by someone for example Alt found someone able to do that.
Ending with Johnny staying in body also can be followed to giving V's body back.
Ending with 6 months of life can lead to come back to night city.

So in any way you can go back to night city staying with relationships before ending. For example if you didnt do nomad storyline Panam with crew wont be avaliable after ending as they left and theres nothing why they should go back.

So some sidequests you could be able to do only before base final mission or side characters story should be extended for example you were in close relation with Panam but didnt choose her ending with leaving so she left. But after getting know you can be healed they came back to help you but if you choose her ending you coming back with nomads to night city fighting for live.

I hope you get my point of view they can do good job with whole story but ending should be changed/extended.

I get it but how does any of this work if you get the ending where you die before the final mission and johnny takes over?

 

[AKANexus]

Don't agree, endings with staying behind blackwall should let you come back to your body by recreating it by someone for example Alt found someone able to do that.
Ending with Johnny staying in body also can be followed to giving V's body back.
Ending with 6 months of life can lead to come back to night city.

So in any way you can go back to night city staying with relationships before ending. For example if you didnt do nomad storyline Panam with crew wont be avaliable after ending as they left and theres nothing why they should go back.

So some sidequests you could be able to do only before base final mission or side characters story should be extended for example you were in close relation with Panam but didnt choose her ending with leaving so she left. But after getting know you can be healed they came back to help you but if you choose her ending you coming back with nomads to night city fighting for live.

I hope you get my point of view they can do good job with whole story but ending should be changed/extended.

If I, who has pratically no experience writing stories, managed to come up with 4 alternatives to these half-baked endings in like 20 minutes, I'm sure they'll all manage to come up with something that doesn't look forced...

 

[xxSkyy]

I get it but how does any of this work if you get the ending where you die before the final mission and johnny takes over?

So it will be end and with that ending you wont be able to pass but that ending looks like easter egg than real one. But maybe reds have some ideas or not.
After all now all endings finally leads to load game before last mission so it can be extended in better way.
To me that endings are unfinished despite the suicide one and I hope they will let us do the ending again with a way we wanna see it.

 

[Vejsa]

If I, who has pratically no experience writing stories, managed to come up with 4 alternatives to these half-baked endings in like 20 minutes, I'm sure they'll all manage to come up with something that doesn't look forced...

Exactly this. They couldn't come up with anything better than what they had? Really? They had 8 years WITH Pondsmith on board, and this is what was written?

 

[AKANexus]

So it will be end and with that ending you wont be able to pass but that ending looks like easter egg than real one. But maybe reds have some ideas or not.
After all now all endings finally leads to load game before last mission so it can be extended in better way.
To me that endings are unfinished despite the suicide one and I hope they will let us do the ending again with a way we wanna see it.

Just like if you got the suicide ending... It is an ending with no afterwards...

Exactly this. They couldn't come up with anything better than what they had? Really? They had 8 years WITH Pondsmith on board, and this is what was written?

Looks like they were still deciding on the story when someone barged in and said "Eff this. We need the story now so we can release the game. Wrap it up, you have 15 minutes."

 

[BGM45]

I can't blame people for thinking the nomad ending or the space ending are kinda good, because V didn't seem to understand what Alt was saying either, but the V you play as the entire game is dead and gone when Soulkiller hits. Any V after that is just a copy, a program that thinks it's V.

There are no even okay endings, at least for V.

Edit: actually V does seem to acknowledge, when you talk to Alt via the Voodoo Boys, that Soulkiller will actually kill them. It's just never treated as actually a big deal, for some reason.

I like the way the same premise is done in SOMA. I would argue the whole "horror" part of this horror game comes from the last minutes of gameplay when you and Simon realize what's just happened. what a couple of monsters and jumpscares in the face of the bottomless existential dread of that ending?

yet somehow with Cyberpunk, we find ourselves in a situation where kinda-that ending actually seems like a positive one out of the bunch to many people. oh well.

 

[Cologan]

Edit: actually V does seem to acknowledge, when you talk to Alt via the Voodoo Boys, that Soulkiller will actually kill them. It's just never treated as actually a big deal, for some reason.

It is basically a rule in the cyberpunk genre that your "conciousness" is just your data. Any copy of you is also you. Which creates different problems altogether, but it IS cyberpunk^^

 

[xxSkyy]

Just like if you got the suicide ending... It is an ending with no afterwards...

All I want from them is public statement about fixing ending.
The suicide ending can be same like hidden endings in other games.
Like its ending but not the one that will lead you to end. Like in far cry 4 where at the beginning if you waited enough game ended.
I take suicide ending as easter egg. All others can be extended

 

[AKANexus]

I like the way the same premise is done in SOMA. I would argue the whole "horror" part of this horror game comes from the last minutes of gameplay when you and Simon realize what's just happened. what a couple of monsters and jumpscares in the face of the bottomless existential dread of that ending?

yet somehow with Cyberpunk, we find ourselves in a situation where kinda-that ending actually seems like a positive one out of the bunch to many people. oh well.

SOMA! Thanks! That's the game I was trying to remember when I wrote the alternate Arasaka ending!

 

[Siett13]

Thanks, that put the last pebble on the plate of getting a refund. Originally I wanted to wait another week before requesting a refund, maybe it became playable with some patches, but knowing the game is flawed also in this respect... will buy it for 20$ in a couple of years, maybe.

I never preordered anything in 32 years, my first experience is not positive at all.

Honestly like the main story and the ending i got until I started my 2nd play throw and realized that all your choices don't really matter. Even the skill check dialog... all it does is have v say something the other npc would say. Doors that require a skill check van be avoided by walking around. And all the endings back the writers into a cornor for dlc. Why did they do this? Its just like the outer worlds with obsidian. All future dlc will take place before the ending meaning you will always know the outcome thus taking away and moments of shock. I guess they can have you play a different character then v but why? I week before realese I had read a comment t on a video that said 60% of this game was cut... and sadly they were right. It shows with unfinished systems and pointless skill checks. You can see where cdpr wanted this game to go. The main story was good don't get me wrong, but I do whish management kept their mouth closed about a release date and just released it when it was done. But they back themselves into a corner and now they are paying for their mistake. One of two things will happen now, either we will have a no mans sky situation where cpdr fixes and adds all the cut features and content for free and eating that cost or they add some stuff for free like barbers and transmog then finish cut content and sell it as dlc and drop the intended price for it a little. This game as it stands (on pc) is a solid 7/10 they did a good job of giving you the illusion of choice (much better than many other games) but the 2nd playthrough (whith a different build) really shows how little any of those choices effect anything.

 

[Simuxas]

Jesus christ, these endings rly ruined my holiday. I was enjoying every second of the game, thought "I'll just rush in one of the random endings I get then replay or load a save file and aim for good one. After finishing it once, I checked for possible good endings and, ye.
Really? Not a single good ending where you find a way to remove that douche from you, heal up and return being merc for hire in the Night City? (continue unfinished sidequest, getting more gigs maybe even randomize them). Come on. V was probably one of best protagonists for a long time. Great lines, great voice acting. You could feel connection with character, always made me nervous when stuff was getting wild, hoping nothing bad happens to V.
And then just slap on the face, you get fvk all, you die no matter what. So that kills possible sequels and definetly kills any replayability. Who on earth would want to play game again to see your beloved character die again.
God even Endgame had 1 in 14,000,605 to win. And we in the world built from ground up, with futuristic cybernetic tech lore cant find a way to fix it. That is just...anyway.
Those endings really fvked up some of my friends, they love the game, they really love V as character, but the endings made them really depressed, even I got really bummed out by them.
It's just...Can't we just get one happy ending where we find a way to fix things up, it is not hard, let the edgy people go for depressing ones, but most of us like happy endings for characters that we love.
That is all probably for now.

 

[Kaspar.Hauser]

Honestly, I don't understand why people are sad about the ending.

From the start, the man itself (Mike Pondsmith) said that Cyberpunk wasn't about saving the world, but about saving yourself.

The characters are very deep in their emotions, just take Judy, for example.

I didn't like her in the beggining, specially her attitude and things that she decided and asked me to do, but I caught myself worried about her sometimes because she has this vulnerability, and then I noticed that somehow her behavior was due to the life she was living, her lack in some knowledges in some areas is because of her background story that is backed up with her story, and that made her very believable.

Every important character have some kind of depth of emotional development that makes you attached somehow, even if they don't have a nice behavior.

The main mission quest design is very strong, maybe the most complex I saw in a game in recent years, and the character development is spot on.

The soundtrack is fantastic. The violin and cello of Tina Guo really shine, and I didn't even knew who she was before the game.

It was a remarkable experience. Even if the skin is damaged, the soul and heart of this game is pure gold.

 

[AKANexus]

Honestly like the main story and the ending i got until I started my 2nd play throw and realized that all your choices don't really matter. Even the skill check dialog... all it does is have v say something the other npc would say. Doors that require a skill check van be avoided by walking around. And all the endings back the writers into a cornor for dlc. Why did they do this? Its just like the outer worlds with obsidian. All future dlc will take place before the ending meaning you will always know the outcome thus taking away and moments of shock. I guess they can have you play a different character then v but why? I week before realese I had read a comment t on a video that said 60% of this game was cut... and sadly they were right. It shows with unfinished systems and pointless skill checks. You can see where cdpr wanted this game to go. The main story was good don't get me wrong, but I do whish management kept their mouth closed about a release date and just released it when it was done. But they back themselves into a corner and now they are paying for their mistake. One of two things will happen now, either we will have a no mans sky situation where cpdr fixes and adds all the cut features and content for free and eating that cost or they add some stuff for free like barbers and transmog then finish cut content and sell it as dlc and drop the intended price for it a little. This game as it stands (on pc) is a solid 7/10 they did a good job of giving you the illusion of choice (much better than many other games) but the 2nd playthrough (whith a different build) really shows how little any of those choices effect anything.

Felt more like I went through an interactive graphic novel... So much on rails, nothing matters, because the game will always point you to the same outcomes.

 

[Glifu]

Yesterday after ~54 hrs i made it. Finished main plot, and it shattered me, and now I'm here with you all.
I read all comments from beginning of this thread, and I'm glad that I'm not the only one, it helped to get myself together somehow.

I was not waiting for Cyberpunk at all, but as lover of RPG and W3 I decided to give it a try. And then i sinked deep deep into this universe and this game itself. I must admit that i had never such deep immerse into game or book and did not had such emotions outburst. I cried when Jackie died. I was overjoyed by romance with Panama. This story become personal to me, but i couldn't focus on side quests (I'm 100% guy) and rushed story because of that ticking bomb in "My" head. And then finale. I chose path with Nomads beside "My" Panama, and what I've got? Killed by soulkiller and supposedly die after next 6 months. That left me hollow and frustrated. Whole journey and rush to save "Myself" felt pointless. I desperatly want to get back to Night City to see all what it have else to offer, but i just can't force myself. I'm not against "bad endings" i think that it would even suit best for my planned "Angry street kid" playthrough, but not for my main attempt. I belive in CDPR, that there will be correction of this "bad ending only" problem, and that our unsatisfactioned community will grow, and will be heard. I may be naive but refuse to accept that whole time put into development of V, immersing into this world and all emotions that came with that, should be destroyed by semi-philosophical, and pseudo adult ending "life is brutal and there no happy ending" even if it fits to Cyberpunk genere. I hope that we will be heard somehow in future patch or DLC. I'd love to continue V story AFTER, but atm. i cant even do other quests.

And don't get me wrong, for me it is a masterpiece that invoked in me such emotions, and now i fell in love in Cyberpunk world despite some minor glitches/technical problem and that major only flaw which is lack of truly good ending.
Hope my poor V, thrown to rock bottom from Arasaca Corp., who found out what in streets of Night City what means to live, and freedom and love beside Nomads.

One more thing that smashed me like a car. I tried also other way, to let Johnny stay in V body, and that ending crushed me even harder.

Spoiler

When Jhonny still talked to V who was "not any more present" was touching, but then I looked into text messages from Pan (My Vi was romantic involved with) when she texted to V and then she realized that there is only Johnny. And the same in those "video calls" in credits. That smashed me completely.

Sorry for my grammar, and my wailing but i needed to vent my emotions.
There is already post which is almost exact with my point of view but i needed to write it by myself for myself .

Just beat the game today.

Honestly...

I almost cried at a number of deaths in this game, but I generally held it together.

What finally made me cry? Finding out that no matter what I did, I died anyway; sooner or later.

Yeah yeah I get it, everyone's said that probably a hundred times now in this thread, but I just had to make this account to express my thoughts, it's what this space is for anyway.

I'll probably botch my explanation but here it goes:


I started this game with a positive attitude. I ignored the bugs, the poor reviews, I immersed myself deep in the story, the environment. I felt like I was playing a legitimate Cyberpunk game that hit so many high notes thematically and gameplay wise I was just floored at every turn. Little bugs here and there? No problem, nothing gamebreaking, easily ignored. It's clear the devs cared a LOT about the game with the level of depth we get in so much. So many choices to make, so many paths to follow, so many options and methods of execution at our disposal. It was clearly a passion project, it felt like more of an RPG than Fallout 4 ever came close to, and that was billed as a legit RPG.

C2077 felt more like New Vegas in that gameplay respect, but more importantly it felt like a proper Cyberpunk game. Though, the way the story shifted from "Let's make it big!" to "F***, I'm dying!" happened fast, and suddenly the gameplay energy from a player perspective went from "I love this city!" to "I need to survive." Everything we do more or less was in the name of survival, some side jobs notwithstanding. But more or less it was building contacts, gaining power, tackling any/every lead we could, all to survive that chip.

After 40+ hours of gameplay and finally hitting the ending? I felt... empty, felt like I chose a bad end and looked online only to find they all ended poorly for V. My character saw her romance partner again in the epilogue, that was nice, and honestly I could take V being a "copy" of herself as bleak as that is, but to die anyway...? So many people have given amazing suggestions for ways the game could have realistically ended, but for every single choice to end in "Die now or die later" when the game from the start was setup to be a story of survival? ...I wish there was an option to never insert that chip.

Someone else said it perfectly...

2020 was a very depressing year, we really didn't need more depression. I sure didn't, anyway.
People play games for escapism, the game was setup to be an immersive, living breathing world, people don't want that to just 'stop' and be for naught; for everything to not even matter. In the way it was handled, it just... disappointed me.

It really soured the game for me and I just can't even bring myself to make another character knowing I'd just be slogging my way to an inescapable death. We did so much to find ourselves attached, to fight tooth and nail and risk everything to survive, only for it to not matter? I understand bad ends, I understand grim writing, but for every single ending to result in "V dies" is just heartbreaking.

I waited 8 years for this game, finally getting to play it felt I was a kid taking a trip to a theme park. Beating the game felt like I watched my best friend die at that themepark. Now I never want to visit that themepark again, because I know those memories will just flood back. I'd never be able to enjoy it the same.

I don't even want a refund, I'm glad I got to play the game, but gods... It just hurts that the world CDPR worked so hard to create, the character we built to love, was all torn away from us in such a depressing way.

I loved every second of the game, but my motivation to do anything further in it died with V.

 

[AKANexus]

but about saving yourself.

And yet it is the very single thing you cannot do, no matter what you do.

 

[Ashii]

Honestly, I don't understand why people are sad about the ending.

From the start, the man itself (Mike Pondsmith) said that Cyberpunk wasn't about saving the world, but about saving yourself.

The characters are very deep in their emotions, just take Judy, for example.

I didn't like her in the beggining, specially her attitude and things that she decided and asked me to do, but I caught myself worried about her sometimes because she has this vulnerability, and then I noticed that somehow her behavior was due to the life she was living, her lack in some knowledges in some areas is because of her background story that is backed up with her story, and that made her very believable.

Every important character have some kind of depth of emotional development that makes you attached somehow, even if they don't have a nice behavior.

The main mission quest design is very strong, maybe the most complex I saw in a game in recent years, and the character development is spot on.

The soundtrack is fantastic. The violin and cello of Tina Guo really shine, and I didn't even knew who she was before the game.

It was a remarkable experience. Even if the skin is damaged, the soul and heart of this game is pure gold.

Yeah, and in the end, we didn't get a chance to save ourselves, that's the point. No matter what you do, no matter what you choose, you always end up dead. CDPR pulled a BioWare on us. These endings are exactly like the ones from Mass Effect 3. But instead of 4, we have 7, which is even worse.

 

[DarkTl]

And yet it is the very single thing you cannot do, no matter what you do.

The only one you can save is Silverhand. Which actually is just a digital copy of real Silverhand, made with who knows how many copying errors by a souless coproration. So why bother?