The endings completely ruined the entire experience for me.

[Kalzandius]

If I knew before I bought this game that every ending has the main character dying, I would not have bought it.

(Yes, I know the DLC added another ending where the character lives but it goes out of its way to ignore logic and sense to make the ending as bleak and depressing as possible seemingly just for the sake of being bleak and depressing.) None of the way any of the characters act in that ending is remotely believable. In a world with technology like that how is it possible that none of the character's friends are aware of why V disappeared? Did Reed just not bother to make contact on your behalf and tell them why you aren't answering their calls? (minor spoiler here: if one love interest was so upset at losing one romantic partner, and then V disappearing makes them so upset they run off to marry someone else because they can't be alone - why would they have even started a relationship with V in the first place? They KNEW V was forced into this trite "you're dying in 6 months no matter what you do" storyline. V was a walking dead person already. Why even start the relationship at all. It makes no freaking sense. It feels like this game is tripping over itself to be bleak for bleakness sake even when there is absolutely no logic behind any of it.

The ending options plus the whole "you spend 90% of the game walking around thinking you're dying and there's no way you'll survive) absolutely ruined the experience of playing this game for me. What's the point of doing anything at all when no matter what decisions you make, you're going to end up dead at the end? And sure, maybe some players like that sort of depressing ending - but it's not for me. It's especially short sighted given the question that Dex asks you in the beginning about going out in a blaze of glory or having the quiet life. Why was there no quiet life ending in the base game? Rogue ended up as a fixer... why was that not a possible option for V?

Reality is depressing enough. I don't play video games to get MORE depressed. I could probably have ignored the "you spend most of the game thinking you're doomed" if there was at least one ending option where you could limp away in a reasonably logical manner and not lose everything. But yeah, the overwhelming nihilism/bleakness of the endings absolutely ruined the entire experience of this game. I've finished a playthrough (though may still mess around mopping up random side jobs i missed) - but the motivation to replay it is very, very weak because I know that all the endings = death. It creates a "well, why even bother" feeling for me.

Also, this game has FAR too many scenes where your character just gets the hell stomped out of them /grabbed/manhandled and there's nothing you can do about it. It's hard to feel like a 'heroic protagonist' when EVERYONE whips your butt. Meredith stout's guy, the president, that random dude in the ripper clinic where you're looking for the killer, dexter's bodyguard... it repeats to the point of tropism.

Last complaint is part of the DLC that it /forces/ you to get a particular implant that is extremely invasive. There is no option to refuse the morph and come up with another (more involved/difficult) way around the same issue with the twins. What if the player is trying to RP that they aren't a huge enthusiast for body modification? Nope. Sorry. you are FORCED to have this thing put on your face with no say in the matter and no option around it--and no way to have it removed and get your face back afterward.

It's part of the irritating lack of choice-slash "the player's actions mean nothing and you WILL do exactly what the writers say you will do" thing - for example, on that one mission where you're running the turret in Panam's truck there is literally no way to take the drones out before she gets shot. Player agency does not matter. Or Jackie. There is NO way to get through the mission without losing him.

It's probably pointless to say that you don't have the option to refuse to slot the relic and avoid the entire trope of spending the entire game in a state of being a walking dead person. But still, feeling forced to do that is extremely annoying. I really despised having to go through the entire game feeling like the Sword of Damocles is hanging over me and no matter what I do, all roads lead to death. Again, it creates a feeling of "well if i'm going to die no matter what I do, why even bother doing any of it."

And no, I don't expect CDPR to change CP2077 to remove that element. I'm saying this in hopes the feedback makes them not repeat the same damn thing in some future game or potential sequel to CP2077. "The hero dies at the end trope" Is a 100% no go for me. If the next game does that too, I will not be buying it.

I may or may not go through another playthrough of CP2077 if I can figure out a way to just headcanon ignore the endings. As I said earlier, reality is enough of a downer. I don't need to finish a video game and feel crappy about it.

Now that that's out of the way... the actual game itself? Amazing. Sure I encountered a few bugs but overall, this is an incredible game. My only problems are story related... the lack of choices and of course the horrible ending options. Playing the game itself was really good. It's kinda rare that you run into a game that's done this well. Sure the game had a rocky launch, some bugs, but I came in after the Phantom Liberty DLC was out so it's mostly smoothed over.

It's really a shame that the endings are so freaking horrid or I would be thinking this was one of the best games I've ever experienced.

 

[WILDCRUX]

Well, the story goes on! Ya know? Our characters are mercs. Legends. And with the sequel, Orion, perhaps V gets some more pages added to the story.

Also, if you are looking for more, I recently watched Edgrunners, which was a pretty familiar feeling to the game. I believe there are some books as well choom!

 

[devivre]

I definitely would not recommend playing future sequels in hopes of a happy ending. If you feel uncomfortable with that type of story, it's probably better to ask people if there is a happy ending. A few people did that here in the forums after CP2077 was released.

The amazing Cyberpunk anime series Edgerunners was more depressing for me, so it would appear that this is the type of story CDPR is aiming for. And tbh I think the sad endings make perfect sense in this setting and it makes the story more intense for me.

 

[Bartinga2077]

"The endings completely ruined the entire experience for me."​

I found your text an interesting read. I was of the same mind at first, but soon discovered that V's untimely death is highly postponable and very quickly comes to this.

What's the point of doing anything at all when no matter what decisions you make, you're going to end up dead at the end?

Isn't this real life? Everyone dies sooner or later no matter what you do. Might as well make the best of it. Same counts for V.

 

[TeamLucy]

Personally I love the downer endings of both 2077 and Edgerunners, they feel real. Nothing better than a good Cyberpunk tragedy

 

[Kalzandius]

@Bartinga2077

Yes, that is real life... which I can't help but experience.

I don't need the same thing in escapist fantasy. The entire point of escapist fantasy is to take a break from real life. When the supposedly escapist fantasy is just as bleak as reality... it no longer serves its purpose of being escapist.


I would have been okay with the new PL ending turning V into an ordinary civilian if not for the bad writing that bent over backward to make it as bleak and absolutely depressing as possible. Characters act in illogical ways that make zero sense purely to serve the writers' intention of bleakness. The writers were not telling their characters' stories... they were shoehorning the characters to fit a particular outcome.

It's the same sort of tropish drek like the girl running away from the bad guy in the woods always trips. Or the fool who goes into a dangerous place alone and says 'it will be fine' - only it isn't.

There's no option for V to NOT return to night city and just say screw it, Langley here I come.
Why didn't the romantic interest go with V to the clinic. If someone was really in love wouldn't they sit bedside waiting for that person to come out of the coma?
Panam ghosting V makes absolutely zero sense except to serve the "V must lose everything, logic be damned" narrative.

The PL ending feels almost like the writers were angry that so many people complained about every ending being death so they struggled to give us the absolute worst possible "V doesn't die" ending imaginable that's so bleak and depressing it's just as bad.

Not looking for a "super happy" ending... just an ending that doesn't make me regret playing the game. What would have been so awful about V finding a cure and going back to just being one of a million random mercs in Night City? That's not really a happy ending. It's just surviving. V didn't get the legendary status the game forces the player to want - even if we don't. So that's a loss. Almost every major NPC you run into ends up dead. So that's a loss, too. There is enough of a downbeat to the story already. The endings pile on unnecessary amounts of it on top of that.

V is not saving the world. They aren't even changing it a little bit. Them walking away more or less in the same state they were at the start (no relic, no death sentence) just another random merc who failed to catch their dream is not what one would consider a traditionally "happy" ending. (that would be something like ridding the city of Arasaka or corp influence or making some serious long lasting positive change... but that doesn't happen (nor am I asking for that).

 

[northwold]

"What's the point of doing anything at all when no matter what decisions you make, you're going to end up dead at the end"

Isn't that the game's (and life's) fundamental question?

More broadly, I don't see why escapism is predicated on having a happy ending. I want games that make me think and explore places and concepts I can't in real life, with an adult approach rather than wish-fulfilment fantasies. That's my taste. I do NOT want storytelling arcs compromised to deliver me / my character a nice outcome.

(Regarding the storytelling arc, the game sets out its stall from the outset. In particular, Dex invites you to go out young in a blaze of glory or die old, a total nobody -- an ending PL delivers. Meanwhile, you're told you can only become a legend in the Afterlife by being dead. Among many, many other world details that clearly telegraph where the story is going.)

If you want games that make you feel like a god and a hero, then CDPR may not be the right developers for you since they made their name trading in shades of grey. Which is absolutely your right -- tastes differ! But it probably also rules out the cyberpunk genre more generally since this level of fatalism is a hallmark of the genre.

 

[SpookyFX]

I got the "cure the relic" and live on ending I said the DEV should give me for a years. They gave it to me in PL as I predicted they would from clues I saw in the game. And as I have posted before you have to be careful what you wish for. I learned the hard way "It's Better to burn out, than to fade away."

 

[Bartinga2077]

The PL ending feels almost like the writers were angry that so many people complained about every ending being death so they struggled to give us the absolute worst possible "V doesn't die" ending imaginable that's so bleak and depressing it's just as bad.

Yeah, this I solemnly agree with. Felt it too. Not sure about the others, but Panam would even call Roque to ask her about V. Rogue was able to track a highly classified lone AV, so should be a snap for her to track a governmental AV. Mitch could always tell Panam that V was in a coma for 2 years. Or didn't V tell him? I forgot. But indeed, a couple of things were left to be desired.

But I wouldn't worry too much about the endings. They are based on the game's topic. The supposed horrific garbage issue says it all. It's just meant to entertain. They just don't work for you. Johnny Silverhand doesn't work for me. I despise the gonk! And now he's in your freaking car. He's even in your modded car! Lucky I'm still on 2.12.

But try to focus on the side content because it is a lot, and postpone completing the endings. Just enjoy playing the game.

 

[DonLuzolvaz]

Reality is depressing enough. I don't play video games to get MORE depressed

Then you're playing the wrong game my friend. A general motif of CDPR related cyberpunk projects (2077, Edgerunners and Phantom liberty) is "Wrong city, Wrong people" and that "there are no happy endings in this city".

I'm saying this in hopes the feedback makes them not repeat the same damn thing in some future game or potential sequel to CP2077.

There is a sequel in the works (project Orion) and I don't think they'll change anything about this motif in that game.

................

However I agree that certain elements of the Tower ending are non-sensual.

 

[Notserious80]

Think we hade this discussion soon after release and that thread went to like 3000 pages I get the feeling man, i hade it too. Now i tend to not care as much, its sad and depressing but hey thats life. I think the thing that bothered me most was the way V doesnt get a heroic ending or anything. The whole story is very much a downer and V gets lied to and used by pretty much everybody. Like others have said the next game will probably have just as depressing of an story/end since the genre is pretty much built upon it.

 

[northwold]

Think we hade this discussion soon after release and that thread went to like 3000 pages I get the feeling man, i hade it too. Now i tend to not care as much, its sad and depressing but hey thats life. I think the thing that bothered me most was the way V doesnt get a heroic ending or anything. The whole story is very much a downer and V gets lied to and used by pretty much everybody. Like others have said the next game will probably have just as depressing of an story/end since the genre is pretty much built upon it.

He/she does actually get a heroic, or at the very least noble, ending of a kind. Just people REALLY don't like it. :-D

 

[TeamLucy]

"What's the point of doing anything at all when no matter what decisions you make, you're going to end up dead at the end"

Isn't that the game's (and life's) fundamental question?

More broadly, I don't see why escapism is predicated on having a happy ending. I want games that make me think and explore places and concepts I can't in real life, with an adult approach rather than wish-fulfilment fantasies. That's my taste. I do NOT want storytelling arcs compromised to deliver me / my character a nice outcome.

(Regarding the storytelling arc, the game sets out its stall from the outset. In particular, Dex invites you to go out young in a blaze of glory or die old, a total nobody -- an ending PL delivers. Meanwhile, you're told you can only become a legend in the Afterlife by being dead. Among many, many other world details that clearly telegraph where the story is going.)

If you want games that make you feel like a god and a hero, then CDPR may not be the right developers for you since they made their name trading in shades of grey. Which is absolutely your right -- tastes differ! But it probably also rules out the cyberpunk genre more generally since this level of fatalism is a hallmark of the genre.

Couldn't agree more with all this. Tragic endings/overall feel of the game never made the experience any less of an escapist entertainment, quite the contrary. Hence why I have found CDPR games and Edgerunners so damm satisfactory.

 

[Kalzandius]

Sad. The game itself was great. But if every ending in Orion is "main character dies" i won't be buying it.

Also.. not demanding "happy" ending. Just not total bleakness. Also not asking to be a god... The PL ending would've been fine (becoming a normal civilian) if the actions of the NPCs around V made freaking sense.. not "absolutely everything must suck as much as absolutely possible just for the sake of sucking that much." The writing was very ham handed.

 

[Metropolice]

Hm, not sure I ultimately share the notion. Maybe a bit and initially. It's maybe not for everyone, but it's in general a different change of pace compared to relative happy ends.

That said, I do assume in the next game we might not be "on the clock" as much. Not like in Cyberpunk 2077. It would feel odd to repeat the same concept, so with that said perhaps the follow up game plot or its various paths and endings might be more your cup of tea. Wait and see, I suggest.

 

[northwold]

Sad. The game itself was great. But if every ending in Orion is "main character dies" i won't be buying it.

Also.. not demanding "happy" ending. Just not total bleakness. Also not asking to be a god... The PL ending would've been fine (becoming a normal civilian) if the actions of the NPCs around V made freaking sense.. not "absolutely everything must suck as much as absolutely possible just for the sake of sucking that much." The writing was very ham handed.

On PanAm's role in that ending, specifically, it's not impossible her voice actress was simply unavailable since it does stick out as slightly odd. Although not a total departure from her characterisation.

 

[Iferrebee]

If my V takes the cure from Reed

Yes, 2 years pass and I lose contact with Panam

But I have 23 million Eddies. I will become a fixer and Panam will be found, mitch be damned

 

[Metropolice]

If my V takes the cure from Reed

Yes, 2 years pass and I lose contact with Panam

But I have 23 million Eddies. I will become a fixer and Panam will be found, mitch be damned

There's also a chance that a few years later some fix/cure for V's aftermath condition might be found, at least if you stick with that letter agency.
Many people think that ending is bad. Well, yes and no. It's subjective. It might be a bit too dangerous as a fixer if you can't rely on yourself anymore as well for protection as you play a dangerous game. And Night City became more dangerous.

However if you decide to stick with Reed, you can have a safe living area (that compound of his employer, arguably safe) and find some useful job there. Especially for my (ex-) Corpo V it should hit close to home. You can be your own legend in NUSA and contrary to all this nihilistic destructive Dex talk of "live fast and short", you actually might get to see old age, secure a certain lifestyle that MILLIONS might long for and tell the new recruits your tales.

Yep, that ending has its downsides like many other endings. But that doesn't mean I can't praise the positive aspects

 

[Kalzandius]

There's also a chance that a few years later some fix/cure for V's aftermath condition might be found, at least if you stick with that letter agency.
Many people think that ending is bad. Well, yes and no. It's subjective. It might be a bit too dangerous as a fixer if you can't rely on yourself anymore as well for protection as you play a dangerous game. And Night City became more dangerous.

However if you decide to stick with Reed, you can have a safe living area (that compound of his employer, arguably safe) and find some useful job there. Especially for my (ex-) Corpo V it should hit close to home. You can be your own legend in NUSA and contrary to all this nihilistic destructive Dex talk of "live fast and short", you actually might get to see old age, secure a certain lifestyle that MILLIONS might long for and tell the new recruits your tales.

Yep, that ending has its downsides like many other endings. But that doesn't mean I can't praise the positive aspects

I feel the need to clarify. My criticism of the Reed ending was not that V was left a normal civilian. I was totally okay with that considering they no longer have a death clock ticking over their head. (I truly despised playing 90% of the game content feeling like the character was doomed).

The issues with the ending I have are the awful writing. They cut every corner imaginable just to make everything possible as bad as possible in defiance of all logic.

Why does V /insist/ on going back to Night City immediately? Do phones not exist? This makes no sense.
Why is V so resistant to the idea of accepting Reed's offer to work at Langley? There's no option to take that.
V just woke up after a two year coma... they're going to let them waltz immediately out and fly to night city on the same day they woke up? Within minutes of it? That seems weird.
Why has Reed not helped you maintain contact with your love interest/friends during the coma time? Sure he might not be able to say /where/ you are but he could have told them you encountered a complication with medical treatment and are in a coma.
The scene where you get mugged after leaving the clinic... every option you pick in dialogue leads to you getting your butt kicked. Why even have choices there? It just feels like "it must be reinforced now that you are a peon."
Also, okay so V no longer has the use of cybernetics. What about all the other skills? Normal humans can shoot guns, sneak around, heck even fistfight. We've been doing it for a really long time without cybernetics. Why then is the sudden absence of combat cyberware turning V into a complete marshmallow?

Imo - V should not be forced to lose contact with ALL their friends, and should have the option to stay/work at Langley as just another cog in the machine rather than a field agent. That's not really a happy ending past "you don't get killed by a ham handed "this is depressing for the sake of being depressing" main story arc that kills you no matter what choices you make."

Of course, my 'ideal' ending would be V gets cured and then we can still run around doing random radiant missions in night city. So what if we don't make it big or get famous. The game straight up asks you if you are about that or not in Dex's car - and then never gives you the opportunity to actually choose 'nah, i'll stay alive thanks. screw fame.'

If some people like the overly bleak endings, go for it. Just give those of us who hate that stuff a reasonable option.

Post automatically merged: Feb 14, 2025

Just went through the Nomad ending and noticed that Misty tarot cutscene while the credits roll. I wonder if that's supposed to be a hint that maybe the Nomad's contacts are able to find some sort of cure. Seems like it. Maybe i'll headcanon it that way.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Also, okay so V no longer has the use of cybernetics. What about all the other skills? Normal humans can shoot guns, sneak around, heck even fistfight. We've been doing it for a really long time without cybernetics. Why then is the sudden absence of combat cyberware turning V into a complete marshmallow?

Very understandable in this world... There are even ads in the game "Can't find a job? Get you an upgrade!" Without any cyberware, the first random dude with basic cyberwares will kick your but with a hand in his back.
So yes, for dangerous jobs, without cyberware, V is now worthless... I coud even say that even for "normal" jobs, V is now worthless

Just went through the Nomad ending and noticed that Misty tarot cutscene while the credits roll. I wonder if that's supposed to be a hint that maybe the Nomad's contacts are able to find some sort of cure. Seems like it. Maybe i'll headcanon it that way.

It's just me, but what Misty say, it's simply V will finally have a nice life. It doesn't mean a "long life", but a life surrounded by people V love, people who love V and people that V can count on (a family and friends, after all this time "alone" or almost, strugglering in Night City seeking after stupid "dreams").
Some players hope that Aldecaldos will somehow find a cure, personally, I don't care if V die within 6 months. V will live happy the rest of his/her life, no matter how long he/she will live.
That's my fav ending by far...