What I want to know is what are the rules of uploading the construct into a new body. Why exactly does the chip need to rewrite the genetic code of V's body? Isn't it enough if it just slowly erases the original consciousness? I understand rewriting neural pathways to accomodate the data on the chip, but human bodies do all that writing and rewriting on an everyday basis. Actually attacking the body and slowly destroying it seems like an overkill. As I understand it, unfortunately, it was put in the game solely to ensure miserable endings. There's way too much of "a wizard did it" in this whole situation. Besides it seems like the damage is physical as well as neurological (V actually keeps coughing up blood) so even if Johnny (optionally) takes over in the end, this destroyed body woudln't be much of use even to him at this point. Why exactly should gene rewriting come into play in all this? I mean, yeah, in a horror game this would be rather interesting. We know a story like that already. It's called "The Fly"
Anyway, I see one major plothole in this whole thing. The game states that the genetic compatibility makes everything somehow easier (as seen with Saburo being uploaded into Yorinobu's body), but it's also obviously not a necessity, since Johnny can be uploaded into V, and the only major issue is that V is actually still present, rebooted so to speak by the activating chip. Yorinobu Arasaka doesn't "reboot" in one body with his father. Why? What are the actual rules here?
I feel like all the obstacles near the end are basically piled up exactly to prevent a good ending - the whole problem with the dying body, the amount of damage only being assessed after V and Johnny are separated, and the fact that everything has to be done there and then, as Mikoshi is about to be destroyed, and Alt has to work with what she has on hand. So it is simply better to just forgo all that "being genetically written out of your body" stuff, not soulkill V, and just let them keep their body. We only find out we don't have an actual chance of survival in the very end. But okay, let's say the damage part stays. Let's soulkill V, upload them on a chip and make their friends find a solution in the future, so it's like an Arasaka ending, but V is with people that actually care for them. There are many options. It is Cyberpunk after all. What we absolutely shoudn't have is this sense that all we did was for naught. I mean, yeah - we can actually go out in a... let's say "a blaze of glory" in the ending with Crystal Palace, but given everything it only feels like a sad suicide mission of a dying person who could have done so much more.
Edit: The Aldecaldos ending is the closest to good as it gives us a glimmer of hope, but still no full satisfaction.
I know there are people who consider it a good ending and actually like it, but there is a clinging sadness in it. There is an unfinished story, threads left hanging,
and as much as people like to think that stuff left untold can be considered more philosophical and intelligent, there shouldn't be this feeling that we didn't get anything in the end. Yeah, we got friends, maybe even love (unless we romanced River, then he just breaks up with us, which adds to the sadness) but we didn't get better. We didn't fix our problem. And we didn't become the legend like we wanted.
We got more time and a family, but not success. Plus good people died.
If we go with Johnny's plan and go with Rogue - she dies. If we go alone, we save everyone and even live long enough to reach the success we dreamed of, but our relationship is in tatters including some breakups depending on whom we romanced, and it is strongly implied, as I previously said, that the last mission is a suicide run. So the general message of the game is very nihilistic: you can't have everything, no matter what you do. In no ending however are you able to keep your health, even though your main goal in the game was to get better. And this is also the main problem. Not being able to clearly fulfill your main goal of the game. That's what's so frustrating.
They say it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey, but when it comes to an interactive work of fiction it doesn't seem to work at all.