[Spoilers] Going through the 'bad' endings first made me appreciate the 'good' ending more.

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About my character
I picked up the game and started with the Corpo path because the edginess appealed to me. There are no winners and losers? Fuck yeah. Lets fuck everyone over and laugh my way to the bank. But throughout my journey I actually found myself getting softer and more sympathetic, especially when you do the quests with Judy and learn about her upbringing, and how her childhood town was pretty much fucked over due to corporate greed. And finally, after finishing the Panam storyline I was hellbent on going with a nomad ending. No exceptions.

The point of no return
At the point of no return I made a save file before the big decision.
  • I initially avoided Arasaka because they seemed crooked.
  • I also avoided Panam because I assumed that there's a high probability that you pretty much sentence her and her clan to death. Would you really do that to your family? You know what they say, don't mix business with family. And Arasaka is a ruthless fucking business. It felt selfish.
Which ultimately left me with Johnny and his profound confidence ("Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it"). But fuck me is that a depressing ending. I pretty aborted the ending after I knew where it was going. You have 6 months to live and you prioritize power over your family? Seriously?

So at this point I knew I was going to end the game with the Panam ending, but I decided to save "the best for last" and try out the Arasaka ending first for shits and giggles. There were no giggles. If the Johnny ending was depressing then this the Arasaka ending is a shotgun blast to the chest.
  • Your friends and relationships? Ruined.
  • Arasaka? More powerful than ever.
  • Did you end up surviving? No. The illness is still terminal.
Yeah nah. If I was actually V in that moment after listening through those phone calls I would probably have put a bullet in my brain and ended it then and there.

Saving the best for last - 'Bittersweet' Ending
And here we are. After experimenting with the Johnny and Arasaka ending I deleted those saves and rolled back to the decision point again and selected Panam, the choice I wanted all along. And man is it a breath of fresh air. Relative to the Johnny and Arasaka ending the Panam ending is objectively "good". But if I'm being honest, it's actually more of a bittersweet vibe.

Yeah, you're still going to die. But at least you'll die with your family by your side. And with that, I truly feel like I've left Night City on a high note.
 
Having cheated by watching the various endings on YouTube I'm inclined to give Johnny my body. Because it seems to result in Johnny becomming a better person. And 'V' isn't exactly dead, merely trapped behind the Wall. So 'V's life did have some meaning, for Johnny if no one else.
 
I had the same thought as yourself the first time, i didn't want to get anyone killed because of the decisions i'd made so i let Johnny do it and yeah, never again.

Second run i went the nomad and it nearly perfect, all thats missing is the scene at the end when V sits on the tank, Panam should be replaced by whoever your love interest is, dont care how they do it tbh

Another option i'd a loved to see would have been something like Suicide Mission or Going it Alone, only achieved after alot of work, basically you dont want to put anyone at risk so you go yourself, V aint daft, you can tell that from conversation, there intelligent and in terms of combat/hacking could potentially be the most deadliest person in NC and by the time the end comes around Judy could've made her combat shard even better to boost V even more in some way and if they really wanted to get other ppl involved regardless well the news is nigh instant, it could be shown on the news that a lone person was assaulting Arasaka Tower with you being identified and about halfway through the mission you get into a sticky situation then all those you've helpeed turn up to help you.

Corney but it atleast would show your actions throughout meant something to these ppl, that you mattered to them
 
I had the same thought as yourself the first time, i didn't want to get anyone killed because of the decisions i'd made so i let Johnny do it and yeah, never again.

Second run i went the nomad and it nearly perfect, all thats missing is the scene at the end when V sits on the tank, Panam should be replaced by whoever your love interest is, dont care how they do it tbh

Another option i'd a loved to see would have been something like Suicide Mission or Going it Alone, only achieved after alot of work, basically you dont want to put anyone at risk so you go yourself, V aint daft, you can tell that from conversation, there intelligent and in terms of combat/hacking could potentially be the most deadliest person in NC and by the time the end comes around Judy could've made her combat shard even better to boost V even more in some way and if they really wanted to get other ppl involved regardless well the news is nigh instant, it could be shown on the news that a lone person was assaulting Arasaka Tower with you being identified and about halfway through the mission you get into a sticky situation then all those you've helpeed turn up to help you.

Corney but it atleast would show your actions throughout meant something to these ppl, that you mattered to them

Actually i'm pretty sure a suicide mission with you and Johnny is one of the secret endings but you need certain stats or something to unlock it.

But yeah, it would be pretty cool if all your friends came in to help you at the last minute.
 
Great that you are able to find enjoyment and a conclusion you are happy with. Sadly that doesn't seem to be possible for many people. Even with the other endings in mind, even the most "positive" (can't really call any of them positive) of the endings doesn't really do the job for me. What they do largely accomplish is making it feel like the journey to the end wasn't really meaningful, at no point during the story could you have made a big chance in terms of the outcome.

It's like you are plummeting to your death and you can only choose, do you want to cry, laugh, smile or make horrible dad jokes as you are nearing the bottom. It doesn't really work with how the game was marketed as having a lot of replay value. I personally can't stand Johnny as a character, for number of reasons. He was abusive and largely unpleasant towards my character, unless it benefited him to be otherwise. This may have not been as troublesome, if he was flesh and bone, walking by your side rather than being sort of a cancer in your brain that you can't avoid.

This rules out all "Johnny positive" endings for me, you should be able to end the game as V, the actual one, not just a copy. Preferably in a way, that isn't completely hopeless, that there's at least a foreseeable way for things to progress where V gets to live longer and explore things further with their friends and chosen partner.
 
Having cheated by watching the various endings on YouTube I'm inclined to give Johnny my body. Because it seems to result in Johnny becomming a better person. And 'V' isn't exactly dead, merely trapped behind the Wall. So 'V's life did have some meaning, for Johnny if no one else.
If only he would earn that redemption.
 
Great that you are able to find enjoyment and a conclusion you are happy with. Sadly that doesn't seem to be possible for many people. Even with the other endings in mind, even the most "positive" (can't really call any of them positive) of the endings doesn't really do the job for me. What they do largely accomplish is making it feel like the journey to the end wasn't really meaningful, at no point during the story could you have made a big chance in terms of the outcome.

It's like you are plummeting to your death and you can only choose, do you want to cry, laugh, smile or make horrible dad jokes as you are nearing the bottom. It doesn't really work with how the game was marketed as having a lot of replay value. I personally can't stand Johnny as a character, for number of reasons. He was abusive and largely unpleasant towards my character, unless it benefited him to be otherwise. This may have not been as troublesome, if he was flesh and bone, walking by your side rather than being sort of a cancer in your brain that you can't avoid.

This rules out all "Johnny positive" endings for me, you should be able to end the game as V, the actual one, not just a copy. Preferably in a way, that isn't completely hopeless, that there's at least a foreseeable way for things to progress where V gets to live longer and explore things further with their friends and chosen partner.

To be clear even the 'happy' ending still left me depressed. I actually agree with you and absolutely wish it could be happier.

But I do think this is something that could be built upon with DLC so while I'm bummed I'm not giving up just yet.
 
Looks like we both sided with Johnny lol. I actually avoided Panam's last quest because I knew she was looking for a relationship. I wasn't.

So I went with Johnny because I figured Arasaka would screw me over somehow.

Like you said though, the best outcome you can get is bittersweet. I wouldn't have minded so much if the main story wasn't so short. Felt like a ripoff.
 
My position is that the Panam/Aldecaldos ending is not only the "best" ending in terms of happiest for all characters involved, but also the only ending in which there is definite implication that V's condition ends up being cured due to metatextual evidence. Read my comments here and also here for my evidence for this.

Basically, if we treat Cyberpunk as it is -- a piece of media, a story -- then we recognize that there is meta-textual evidence implying certain conclusions. In this case, we recognize from the players/"readers" perspective that Misty's tarot readings are accurate and truly do foretell the future, meaning that both the Johnny and Arasaka endings are completely doomed, and that, at least with the Aldecaldos ending, the data shard of "The Iliad" combined with Cassidy's final words to V before leaving the city more-or-less confirm this idea that it is only in leaving Night City behind and struggling to fight for and believe in a "better ending for everyone" will V assuredly achieve that.

There is some argument that V can still survive in the "Path of Glory" ending, but because it estranges you from your closest friends and those who would be your family, it results in more heartbreak and pain, and Misty's tarot reading in the end has far more implication of your name becoming well-known and remembered... in the temporal context of Night City, which, in the long-run, is extremely short, meaning that, in a cruel irony, V, just as Johnny, will "fade away" in this ending, which is heightened by the track "Never Fade Away" playing at the ending moments of that ending.

So, in short, the Aldecaldos ending is the ending wherein which V survives and lives a happy life, and I will continue to firmly maintain this as, for one, I think my analysis and evidence is convincing for at least myself, and hopefully can be for others distraught by the initially bleak and nihilistic endings, and for two, I simply prefer to believe in this ending, because, as Cassidy says, "bad thoughts are cheap, but they smear over the truth like mud."
 
My position is that the Panam/Aldecaldos ending is not only the "best" ending in terms of happiest for all characters involved, but also the only ending in which there is definite implication that V's condition ends up being cured due to metatextual evidence. Read my comments here and also here for my evidence for this.

Basically, if we treat Cyberpunk as it is -- a piece of media, a story -- then we recognize that there is meta-textual evidence implying certain conclusions. In this case, we recognize from the players/"readers" perspective that Misty's tarot readings are accurate and truly do foretell the future, meaning that both the Johnny and Arasaka endings are completely doomed, and that, at least with the Aldecaldos ending, the data shard of "The Iliad" combined with Cassidy's final words to V before leaving the city more-or-less confirm this idea that it is only in leaving Night City behind and struggling to fight for and believe in a "better ending for everyone" will V assuredly achieve that.

There is some argument that V can still survive in the "Path of Glory" ending, but because it estranges you from your closest friends and those who would be your family, it results in more heartbreak and pain, and Misty's tarot reading in the end has far more implication of your name becoming well-known and remembered... in the temporal context of Night City, which, in the long-run, is extremely short, meaning that, in a cruel irony, V, just as Johnny, will "fade away" in this ending, which is heightened by the track "Never Fade Away" playing at the ending moments of that ending.

So, in short, the Aldecaldos ending is the ending wherein which V survives and lives a happy life, and I will continue to firmly maintain this as, for one, I think my analysis and evidence is convincing for at least myself, and hopefully can be for others distraught by the initially bleak and nihilistic endings, and for two, I simply prefer to believe in this ending, because, as Cassidy says, "bad thoughts are cheap, but they smear over the truth like mud."

I know there's no way to tell for sure but I'm just curious. Do you think CDPR will build upon the Aldecaldos ending in future DLC?
 
I know there's no way to tell for sure but I'm just curious. Do you think CDPR will build upon the Aldecaldos ending in future DLC?
No idea, but based on this post and the discussion therein (which I also chimed in about on page 3), it seems like it's a strong possibility. It could be the case that the Aldecaldos will always be V's chance for survival no matter what ending in which V keeps their body is chosen. My bet is that, if there is a "join the Aldecaldos in Arizona to find a cure" DLC, then the endings we arrived at in our own games will basically be the same as the life paths at the start. Notice there are three endings to the game that parallel the three life paths: Aldecaldos for Nomad, Legend of Night City for Street Kid, and Arasaka for corpo. Thereby, it makes total sense that, like how currently all three life paths will see V merge into the same fundamental story tree, so too would the three endings merge into the same DLC story tree. In other words, the lifepaths, or in this hypothetical idea of an Arizona DLC, these "new life" paths (if we take to heart Kerry Eurodyne's idea of "life loops" especially), are the roots of some tree; they may have different locations from which they feed into the tree, but the tree is still fundamentally its big, continuous trunk with some branches occasionally stemming off to further help feed the tree. Hopefully that analogy makes some sense.
 
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