I think the Panam ending is best for StreetKid V he goes through a character arc from wanting to be a “Legend” to realizing Love and Family are more important and finally leaves Night City behind
I also really like it for Nomad V. He abandoned his clan and lives on his own, just constantly doing wetwork and going through the motions alone. Until he gets stuck with Johnny, which sucks for him bc he's used to being alone and now he has no choice but to cooperate with someone. Yet things come full circle when he meets Panam and he finds a new clan, a new family.
i personally think for the nomad play through that that ending would fit. he finds family and love but he still has to die. the path of glory ending at least hints that theres a better possibility at finding a way to fix V (and since you can technically romance panam in any play style) and that means V can still meet up with panam or any love interest in the game after the last heist.
I think it would be cool if the game let you keep playing after the ending, in the endings where you stay in night city. Im sick of Hanako waiting for me at the embers.
Man, this was the first rpg in years to actually have me engaged with the characters and plot. Technical issues aside, this was such a great game, I hope CDPR gets back on its feet and continue doing stuff like this.
@@br9931 Sorry i end all the missions and sides in the witcher 3 and the 2 dlcs but i feel more engaged in Cyberpunk because it feels more like my character in Witcher you are gerald and is more like a spectator what i like in Witcher was treat ciri well and show to her father that he cant buy me…
Vik has a beautiful quote near the end, when you ask him who won the fight he's been watching since the start of the game. I can't find the exact quote so I'll paraphrase it, but it goes something like - Vik: "My guy lost. He always does. It's a recording" V: "If you know what's gonna happen, why watch it over and over again?" Vik: "I guess I'm just trying to see what he did wrong. Where he made a mistake. So far, the only thing I've come up with is - he got into a ring with a bigger opponent... but it's hard to call that a mistake" It's pretty much a metaphor for V and Johnny going up against Arasaka. There is no winning. You've lost the moment you agreed to go on that heist for Dexter. You're in the ring with a bigger dude, and it doesn't really matter what you do, you're still going to lose. It's a really beautiful moment that ties very well into the ending. I feel like it went unnoticed by a lot of people, since I can't find that moment anywhere on RU-vid...
Caught that one too. A great way to look at life in my opinion. Take the easy path under someone's boot, or make the them remember & respect you despite an ass whooping.
Although, it's a bit simplistic. You can always beat the bigger dude with your skill, and in all endings ,except corpo one, Arasaka becomes crippled, because you hit them where it hurts, not just nuking one of their assets like Johnny did before. So I see quite a lot of wins there =)
@@kuraddohikari Nah, Johnny gets scraped out and sent with Alt, but you still only have 6 months to live because the bio chip fucked up your DNA.. How long you live after that is left a mystery though. Otherwise it sends you on "New Dawn Fades" if you kill V and bring back Johnny.
@@nickatkinson5874 Ahh I see. Damn that really is the best route then. I completely missed it and ended up on the siding with Hanako ending, which is pretty shit.
I like the ending when V let's Johnny take over or when Johnny takes control of V's body after the Rogue mission. That's what I got at first and when he puts the gun into Rogue's box, the bullet into V's box felt like I made a shitty choice. Made that choice first cause V was gonna die anyway. So I thought since V is a foreigner in his own body now then maybe it's best if Johnny takes it and V will "survive" in Alt like Johnny. Then it dawned on me after trying the other endings. V gets molded or absorbed into Alt. Alt is creepy lol. What's her motivation? Is she the AI that was fucking with the Peralazes heads. But yea it was a hard choice if you played all the side quests especially Johnny's. Still think it's the best ending cause V only has six months but Johnny can do so much more if he takes the reigns. Technically V is still alive that way. But it may have come at the cost of his soul so idk
That's Cyberpunk for you guys. Protagonist changes, people around him changes but the world doesn't. Cyberpunk is a warning, not a goal. It's meant to be depressing.
The Cyberpunk world is where we're headed, minus the cool implants. A dying world, with everyone left trying to make a buck before the last human gasps their last breath. Nothing left but cockroaches and radiation. There are no happy endings here. Cling to those you love, try to live your last days with them, then die. That's the future.
@@burton7767 I gotta say, i just thought of something, with how Johnnys engram overode Vs body with his, why didn't Alt do the same to V? Put him on a bd and make the same thing happen to v happen to Johnnys dna with Vs to fix Vs situation? I mean if Johnnys did that, wouldn't Vs do the same thing? If made the exact same way? Just saying, she could have saved Vs dna that way, or am I missing something here? If it worked once it can work again, therefore returning the body to V, am I wrong here??
Nomad Ending, bitter sweet, without knowing if V gets cured or not, but with knowing V is free with the people he love from the carnivores night city, it's poetic, it's beautiful
But original V died lol, how that's sweet ? Do u realize that V in Nomad ending is just engram copy and real original V who tried to survive, died in the moment he entered mikoshi by soulkiller used by Alt
@@jbxerr He didn’t even know that he died though, and the copy is just the exact same V from the moment that he did die, so it’s pretty much like he never did.
I actually like the space ending (The Sun) the best if you choose to give Johnny control of V for the final mission. V gets to live (shortly) and Johnny cripples Arasaka. It makes the whole game feel like Johnny's redemption, finally able to take down Arasaka, but also sacrificing himself to save friend after he wasn't able to save Alt. On top of that V becomes a legend which Jackie always wanted for the two of them. Poetic imo.
@@jayborussell but it wasn't "just for a girl". If you play it on the Nomad path it makes total sense that he'll want to ride again with a new clan & be free after the bullshit the city put him through.
I managed to do all the endings and Panams was definitely the best route. V has 6 months but they don't only say there are some routes to explore but if you notice misty always does a tarot reading and it's always right, when she calls you after that ending it's the only one where all the cards are good, hopefully it means V lives on. I mean the whole game V is told he will die soon and against all odds V keeps on going, maybe (hopefully) that's just what they do.
Not gonna lie this made my day … it’s dumb I know but I knew I wasn’t the only one thinking misty is right on her predictions and just feels right for v to live longer than 6 months like a fulfilling life till 100 💛🥹
I have a different concept of "best". Maybe the Panam end is the most positive one, but I think that the one of V entering Mikoshi as an engram is the most fitting for this game. It's like... no matter what you do you can't escape the corporation, you are trying to fight what ultimately is going to save you. Very cyberpunk if you ask me. Besides, it is the only ending where you have real guarantees of surviving more than 6 months.
my headcannon is that V lives, there's too many hints that point to it. I hope we get a dlc or sequel that continues V's story but I understand that it makes more sense to keep V as a legend that is told in night city
I chose that ending too but despite it's considered the best, I felt depressed. Because you leave Night City behind, and video messages from my friends is so emotional to me. I felt something was still not right something still missing. We didn't get a chance to have flawless happy ending imo.
On top of that, if you choose to romance Judy and take her with you as Valerie (or Vincent with mods lol), she could potentially be the cure for V as she's got endless knowledge about biochips, relics and so on. Just go through her apartment and read all these documents... Secret untold epilogue for: Judy heals V and they live a happy life together, just like they always deserved (especially Judy. geez I can't see her crying)
One thing I missed in this video was the end credits calls. I attempted to do the secret ending, but after finding out my relationship with Johnny wasn't high enough, I opted the suicide route. Seeing Judy in her final call with tears streaming down her face unable to even sit up. Fuck that hit hard.
I could never choose that ending. Even for Male V, I think Judy see him as her brother who always try to be there for her. And I'm really attached to Judy as a character. Especially in the mission with her diving deep down to the sinking town where she came from. That's really heartwarming and touching, but at the Panam ending you can see in the credits that was the best decision that Judy ever made. She's finally happy. Kinda miss you, Judy :"
@@rayray2752 It would've hurt the immersion tbh. Keeping everything in first person felt consistent throughout the game and when the ending was shown in third person, you knew it felt very impactful
@@industrialvibes3064 well to be fair, this game lacks immersion in many ways haha. it was cool but it caught me off guard seeing my character in a cut scene after playing for so many hours in first person, but maybe that’s just me.
its trash. like i posted above, im sick of death filled GoT trash endings. want death, serve in a military. i only want happy endings for the rest of my life.
I just finished Arasaka Ending somehow and i was like, what the fuck i just did?! Worst path, i wanted to go with Panam but i didnt want to call her for help cause i was thinking it will get her killed haha. Cyberpunk is awesome game.
I wanted to go with Panam but didn't Alt said V is gonna be dead if she transfer him to his body? Then I chose jhonny instead of V. Now I feel scammed lmao. I am kinda pissed of about this.
@@mehmeteminanar Recently completed the game for the first time myself. Imo, the moment where you make the final choice is the ultimate climactic choice. Alt tells you the options of either "living on" in a foreign, computer/digital way, or dying in your own physical body. This choice is one of the main themes of the game, so I, at least, spent a while weighing the options. Those who chose the latter option, like myself, likely accepted the fate of V dying, but were pleasantly surprised that he was actually given a "second chance," as it were. One of the reasons why the Panam ending is often seen as the "good ending." I was also kinda taken back when I made that choice and V was still alive.
@@CartoonSlug I have never thought about like that and now It makes sense. Yes the "live as a machine or die as a human" choice really fits w the Cyberpunk theme. Also the part that I felt "scammed" was just a reward for choosing human path and that was the intended message for whole Cyberpunk theme and the game, etc. Thx for explanation.
The Where is my mind? ending is just so... Sad. V is a strong character since the beginning, never lacking in any skill and always getting better and better, so seeing him/her so powerless and weak and ready to give up on his/her life breaks my heart...
just finished the game, 50 hours. i chose the sell my soul ending. didn't really believe johhny could pull off the arasaka heist, and I didn't want Panam to die, so I chose this because I really thought the arasaka sister could help me. she did, but she didn't in the end. I'm devastated. should have called Panam in the end.
You let Arasaka win as soon as you accept Hanako's offer, if you think about it. Regardless of whether you accept to join their soul prison, not only does Saburo return - younger and even more capable -, but their Save Your Soul programme becomes a success, making them even more powerful then before. And worst of all, it creates a mechanism through which the rich may be able to live forever, and forever exploit the poor. It's basically Altered Carbon, only even creepier because, apparently, a person's engrams can only survive in the body of close family members O.o
Thought the best ending would be V getting his/her body back and Johnny getting a new body. Then you get Johnny's contact and start kicking ass with him 👀
That ending sounds like in our world the real Socialists had won against Capitalists in the late 19th century, all proletariats truly united, WWII and Nazism didn't happen, tragedies of the Soviet, China, North Korea etc. didn't happen, and we're all happy now the in true Communist utopia.
Yeah I just beat it on PS5 for the 1st time it’s kind of sad how many people won’t ever see how good it really is deep and engaging story, great music, and really fun.
@musson7920 no. Expansion do exist ,yes . and we have to pay , yes. But most of bugs removed, most systems are overhauled. They changed and rebalanced skills . Most thimgs changed. You can update game to V2.0 for free You dont need to pay You get ALLLLL benefits except stages within expansion
New Dawn was such a beautiful ending. Johnny was so heartbroken on that bridge. Trying to stop V and talk him out of this. He was such a great companion. Thank you for the option to change my mind at the last second CDPR, cause I was about to dive into the tub. This game's design is average but the story? Fuck me, I'm really glad I played this game.
There’s also technically 2 versions to it but the differences are minimal. Both have rogues gun but if you do the path with Rogue and Johnny only for Johnny to get the body, instead of looking at the pendant in the car, there will be Rogue’s gun. There’s also one less option when placing the pendant in the box. Like I said, minimal. I have to assume that rogue died soon after in some manner in the ending where V went with Panam and let Johnny have the body.
I chose the Panam ending. Don't regret my choice whatsoever. Made me feel hopeful for V, that even if he did die in 6 months, Panam would be there next to him ready for whatever comes. Maybe they would even find a way to save him. All that was left was the horizon, and a small smile from V as Panam sits next to him. Perfection 🥲
Cuz you're straight not bi i chose the arasaka but at the end return to the earth to spend my life with my friends and kerry as he was the only one like vik who gave me relive and peace and prep not some merc who control underground dark side or just spend my time with controlling and dominating and grumpy panam
I played corpo who lost everything, tried to fight his way up by becoming a merc, only to realize glory ain't worth it at all, and he left with Panam and the Nomads. From having the power and the wealth as a corpo, but being tied to the game, to having nothing but freedom and family. Very beautiful ending.
I played it like David Martinez but with a good ending so Secret Ending mixed with Glory...and it leads after much personal risk, to a REALLY good chance of V surviving, far better than w.e Panam has with her shit ideas that get people killed. Cause this is Mr. Blue Eyes, and that guy or what's behind him knows a lot about neuroscience it seems.
With me it was a Nomad who left his nation. Entered Night City. Gained Another family, lost another family. Tried so damn hard to stay alive while becoming friends with Johnny. Then was told that he’d die anyway after everything. V was tired, and gave everything up for another chance at life. Johnny would survive, and V would live on another way.
I did the from the streets V and fought everyone and killed everything in my way.. and ended with the path to glory. But It also hit like a sack of bricks for when I restarted it and decided to go with alt that ending was good too very sad but okay.
considering the global megacorps and the world's dystopian advancement there should be several sprawls far greater and more fucked up than night city. you basically need to nuke the planet to get rid of it all.
ngl the Secret Ending with Johnny raiding Arasaka tower alone is the coolest ending. At first I would say Panam ending, but seeing how this secret end plays out and the fact that no body dies and Arasaka loses, it's a huge win!
Man, today i finally managed to finish the game for like 5th time, after a long pause, and unlock the Reaper ending. Gotta say, it was fucking worth it, straight from the start, i had a huge grin and really went to town on Arasaka, because i had nothing to lose. It felt great, i personally like this ending the most, i hated that people had to die for me, i really did. Thats why this ending was like an itch in my head, i couldnt stop thinking about it, but i guess i had to take almost a year off, to be able to fully dive in again.
I had the ending which V sacrifices their body for Johnny. When V said: "Just, don't forget me bastard, okay?" it really broke my heart. Hearing Johnny says that he misses V to Steve is makes my sorrow double. I wish there could be a ending where both of them survived and together in NC. Finale felts like it's incomplete.
The finale feeling incomplete is why it works and why it's a good ending or endings rather. Night City never has a good ending. This ain't no Disney fairytale
My favorite ending is letting Johnny take over Vs body. She’s gonna die anyway, might as well make the sacrifice. And what Johnny does with it in the epilogue shows his growth and it’s just lovely.
I feel terribly sad for V Johnny had already lived one life and it is not fair to take it from V. Feel super sad when I think of V's friends emotions - the could see the body, but V is just not there anymore. All endings are beautiful in it's own right anyways
Mama Wells has about 4 lines with V the entire game. The best ending is the Path of Glory. V becomes a legend and dies a glorious death in space. Johnny end up with Alt. And Arasake is no more.
Nah, Johnny knowingly gave up his chance at life on some idiotic crusade. Early death was forced on V but Johnny brought it on himself with full acceptance that he might die.
Looking past the bugs and some of the laziness in the open world aspect, I fell in love with this game. It’s so beautiful and bittersweet. I can’t even explain the way playing this made me feel.
Completely agree with you Game is buggy, not optimized blah blah but it's a great game. I can only think of a few game that had characters as good as the ones in these game. It's been years since a game has made me feel anything close to what this game did. Just makes me sad to think about what more they could have added if they had the time
@@MrDarkness889 That's a matter of debate, but I wouldn't consider the "engram V" as not being V, as it has the exact same memories and personality. It may not be the "original" V, but remember that the original V was killed by Dex; the near entirety of the game, we play as a ressurrected V, but since he/she has the exact same memories and personality as the original, we don't mind it. Same with, say, the V at Panam's ending: it may be an engram of V, but it's V's entire personality, and in V's body, so why wouldn't he/she be V?
@@RevanSurik The difference between V being "Killed" by Dex and be copied is that V still has all his original parts, including his brain. All the chip did was repair the damage done before his was pronounced dead. Its akin to the argument of if you go unconscious, are you still you or an updated version of you? With the copied version, whats stopping them from making 2 of you? If there are 2 of you, which one is the real you? You would obviously say the first version which in this case isnt the copied engram V. Same thought can be applied to teleporters. If a teleporter is just something that copy and pastes you to another teleporter, are you killing yourself every time you use it?
I like to think that the ending where V gives up his body for Johnny is considered a somewhat bittersweet but good ending, meaning you're giving a dead man a second chance to live again albeit at your own expense
I just don't know if the world needs more Johnny running around. He doesn't have a grand noble goal or anything that benefits the world really. He's a violent revolutionary and I think the world has enough of those in Cyberpunk. I prefer V getting closure with those he is close to.
I definitely think the best ending would be Johnny and rogue dying after fulfilling what they set out to do a long time ago and v getting his life with Panam who hopefully can help him
It's CDPR so we know extra content is coming, unless these nitpicking bitches on the internet ruin it for everyone with their pessimism like they did with ME:A and why we never got extra content for that game
@@deathbykonami5487 If I read criticism online I will cancel content for my game sounds like a really entitled man child thing for CDPR to do. They're a corporation and we live under capitalism the only reason they will do anything is if it is profitable. They can try and pull a no man sky and continue to update the game to make up for there poor launch, cut content and buggy game. Or they can dig in their heels and throw all the toys out of the pram.
@@deathbykonami5487 cdpr could have two aproaches: 1 giving a lot of passion on the dlcs to pay for the mess of a launch cyberpunk was or 2 do less extra content cause of poor recepcion and move to smt else, im rooting for the first one
@@bandi642 Same here, I want to see more from this project that we didn't get from Bioware and Mass Effect Andromeda (morons let poor reception ruin the game's potential)
dude, this end could be the best one , beacause if chip with jonny can take v bodys , then a chip with v can take a random body too. its just taht simple
@@flaviofiqueli1107 or reversing what happened, putting V on a chip, like how jonny was and putting it in V ( after letting jonny the control), to make the Body only accept V again and simply reversing everything. Its V's body in the End, so they could use a new body for jonny and give back V's body to him.
It's the only ending where V isn't dead at the end, since s/he was never made into an engram at any point. It's not a copy going back to earth. Dead after 6 months probably, but I think it's still something worth considering.
Story hit me real hard in this game. I got the ending where Johnny rides off into the sunset in V's body a changed man. I'm not sure if I should feel happy or sad, I haven't felt this way since red dead 2 or the last of us 2.
I think the nomad ending is the only one that mostly leaves things up to the player's imagination. Since V is an engram after Mikoshi, I like to think they eventually find a completely cybernetic body for him and slot his engram into that. It's really not that far of a stretch with how easily available stuff like that is in the Cyberpunk universe, even if they have to steal it.
@@vincent4652 Maybe ... but V/Silverhand are engrams encoded into biochips. Biochips require a living host, or a special storage unit that simulates one. When V was "killed" by Dexter Deshawn while holding Silverhand's body biochip, the biochip resurrected him while rewriting V's mind to fit Johnny. But if V dies with while using a V engram, could the biochip just rewrite V as himself again? The need for some kind of organic host, or organic holding for preservation makes me feel like you couldn't slot engrams into robots. But also, we know Alt is basically a free floating AI on the net, and AIs can control machines directly in the real world. Making a humanoid robot has got to be possible in a universe with the extreme body modification of the Cyperpunk universe
@@TheJadedJames True, but encryption anyway literally kills the soul, cause AI knows every next step of Johnny's mind, but not V's one, that's because soulkiller actually killed Silverhand and made a copy of his consciousness. In this case, V's mind will be killed like Silverhands's one before. Hope I am wrong and misunderstood smth, cause I do not want to think about it...for me, V is gonna be live in the ending where Panam helped us.
I gotta say all endings seem fitting with Cyberpunk 2077's story and all. Still considering how dark and grim this whole game was and how bad our actual world is becoming, I know no one would agree with me with this but I would love to have a ridiculously good ending, at least for V and Silverhand. V gets to live and Johnny has a new body, starts rebuilding his legend etc..
@@selimkarayl7823 I still think V could have stayed alive in Johnny's mind like an engram. I mean... In the end, they are so close to each other that they are almost the same person. It is more than a family, more than something that can be described in words. I dont believe that it wasnt possible. I think Alt lacked humanity and imagination to mention this. Or... another option. Betrayal in everyone in Arasaka, V didn't decide that his friend was right. In my opinion, it would be quite logical if he, as Johnny's heir, detonated Arasaka with an atomic bomb. Or start a war against a corporation. In honor of Johnny. Because Johnny's legacy lives on in him.
really liked the game and i agree with some of comments its a bit depressing and when V got sick it reminded me of rdr2 when Arthur gets tb and he's dying and how his time is running out
There a huge difference there. At least with Arthur you get hints that he is sick and his death isn't that surprising. With V the fact that he (or she) will die anyway comes out of nowhere. I mean, c'mon, they could've let us enjoy at least 1 truly good ending, where somehow Alt solves that problem and gives you a chance to live full life as a V.
@Kakha Kheviashvili I agree but RDR2 could do a happy ending too, all endings were the same only change how Arthur died. I don't mind if it's the real ending or a continuation from RDR1, they could do it.
@@alexanderm8975 The Arasaka ending in general is just soul-crushing. It was enough to make me stop playing the game. Felt like I'd been punished instead of rewarded for finishing.
@@alexanderm8975 Yeah. I did all of them except for the suicide route, in fact. I think my favorite is the Secret ending. It's the only one in which Arasaka starts crumbling to the ground. It's certainly fitting for both Johnny and V too, after all; they have nothing left to lose.
@@alexanderm8975 I like the Star ending best, the only one with actual hope for survival I think. Unless in Sun ending, Mr Blue eyes can actually save V somehow.
the reason of Panam ending is the best is because you didnt paid attention to small details in game. What jackie did ever need? Become a legend? Power? Money? No! If you pay attention to his garage, you will find that all stuff of him didnt mean much, but if you think right every mission he call "Mama walles" so yes, for jackie he was aiming to be a legend to make his mother happy, he left valentinos because of his mother. Saburo arasaka didnt killed his son before because it was Family, so family comes first. Panam and V' and aldecados are a family, so thats why the ending is better
All Along the Watchtower makes sense for Corpo a bit too. You start out a Corpo, but as the game progresses you become sick of that lifestyle and just want freedom.
In the ending with V and Judy out on the balcony overlooking the city, there is one thing that stands in my mind, Judy asks V what she thinks it means when she looks at the city and how it makes her feel. V asks what that is, and Judy replies: "It makes me feel alone". I think there is something powerful about this and how it was delivered for some reason for me. You go through this entire journey that spans the entire city and not necessarily thinking about any of this. It is only at the end of the journey that you can piece things together and to see what it all really means being in a city of the future of this world.
the city, society, has strayed from the path of human dignity and connections....it kills anything pure or at least harms it, of course you'd feel alone the city and the world itself needs to change, I don't think Judy leaving NC will help, think she's going to find more of the same.
The contract one is much nicer if you save Takemura in the motel, he takes the place of Hellman when convincing you and is much nicer, even standing by you on the operating table ...
@@maxlebest003 You have to crawl through a little hole in the wall and fight through a bunch more enemies than you would have to otherwise ... One of my friends told me about it and I deleted like an hour and a half of save data just to get him back ...
@@theflyingfool8256 yeha i just saw that on RU-vid :( I did try to climb the hole back but that was not the way so I thought we couldn't save him :( if I had knew I would have saved him just like you :( poor fellow
@@maxlebest003 I only found out he was save-able after my first playthrough tbh. I chose Very Hard and saved him on my 2nd playthrough because I expected more content with him, maybe even a friendship, but it was pretty much the same as the first playthrough where he died lol
Been there right after "Path of Glory". Somehow shooting myself was better and more fulfilling in terms of ending but holy shit that message was brutal.
The first ending saved me from suicide It was really hard time for me when I played it Year ago And I was thinking about suicide So I tried it in the game There were good reasons But then ....I realized what parts I missed What a beautiful world And what beautiful moments Yes This game saved me and now I can thank cdr Remember, this world, no matter how hard it is, is beautiful and you can enjoy it
There is another ending: The one where you dont do the last mission and keep living in Night City with Johnny together and your 4 romances FOREVER doing all the the gigs
I think what I love most about this games endings is that the game subtly foreshadows the endings in different ways. Dexter Deshawns famous quote about living as a nobody or dying in a blaze of glory. Misty's tarot card readings also do that. I saw how trying to become a legend stripped Johnny of the people he loved. I got the feeling that the game puts more emphasis on making the connections to the people around. Let's you know that you might be a nobody to the city but somebody amongst loved ones. Either ending you choose you never actually Fade away. You can either say fuck death I decide how I got out, or I wish to be around those that love me with the time I have left. Either through heroic death or being around loved ones you'll never truly fade away 😉
I mean, I didn't really get the blaze of glory thing. You just end up getting a drink named after you at a nightclub and Night City continues to be a terrible place.
@@SagBobet But you end up crippling Arasaka and by extension many other corpos, and that means more than anything. If you're remembered by the people you inspire them to take the mantle, which can instill change. As they said in Edgerunners, "yet another story for the next dreamer". Although they meant it in a negative connotation, this can also be a good thing
Honestly The Sun ending is my favourite, which is the one I got. It feels so poetic; Johnny gets his redemption and V finally becomes a legend of NC, just like what He and Jackie wanted. Giving johnny control at the end just fit the story so well imo, being able to take out smasher, take down arasaka and say goodbye to rogue after she dies and then having johnny “die” by giving the body back to V. I pushed for a good relationship between V and Johnny throughout the whole game and seeing how their relationship developed from Johnny trying to kill V at the start, to him somewhat saving V and making him a legend of Night City was so cool. Yes it’s bittersweet as V is eventually going to die but seeing him goin out with a bang by breaking into the space casino (I forgot what it was called) is such a fitting end to his character and solidfies him as the greatest merc of all of night city. Honestly loved this game, i became so invested with all the characters and felt that decisions were genuinely so difficult to make and made me acc think for a while. It had a rocky start with all the bugs, which is why i waited for the next gen versions until i played it, but it turned out to be something magnificent and i think ppl should definitely give it another chance because the story and the characters are so rich. Also Keanu Reeves. Need i say more.
Gave the body to Johnny for two reasons: 1) I'd be kind of curious too see what the hell is up with the black wall and what is going to happen once you become an immortal AI. Gave me strong Blame! vibes too 2) At least he gets to live more than 6 months, maybe he'll manage to find a way to blow up all the megacorps idk
He becomes an engram, with what I guess is the possibility of getting a new body in the future just like Johnny. Plus the body was almost certainly doomed with V in control, so I felt like Johnny should have the body.
I didn’t give him v’s body. My view was Johnny had life, fucked it and died (after nuking a building and killing thousands). Plus his friends and allies had either died or moved on, so Johnny had nothing to live for.
despite all the negativity with the game right now it's still a masterpiece "in my opinion". i just hope in the future DLC's V is cured or saved because the ending besides the one where you off yourself kinda are hinting at that.
V is good as dead, there will be no cure, that cyberwear was a prototype, and wasn’t designed to give a corpse another life chance. Even if someone somewhere can come up with a fix to the cyberwear, it will take much longer to make and test then V has to live. Best thing we can hope for is that they make V into an engram, so he pops up and helps the next playable character along, like Johnny was for V.
the New Dawn Fades ending is the best for me having V sacrifice himself/herself, realizing that V's action was not pointless but actually saved Johnny's mind, letting Johnny gain a second life putting down his revenge and struggles, and leave the city that brought him disappointment and suffer
I got this ending. I was happy with, not because it felt like a sacrifice, but it felt like victory, going beyong the blackwall, venturing into the unknown like a cybergod, bodies are for mortals.
@@AndroidPoetry I thought about that as well. Cyberspace is a realm/dimension created by humans. Would that make it a lower dimension than our material 3D world where consciousness can transcend? Or can AI transcend into higher dimensions by evolving past digital boundaries? I love philosophy. btw I think Alt said she integrated all other engrams so there's basically no going behind the blackwall. Alt is the blackwall. I think she "eats" you.
Don’t Fear the Reaper + Johnny Lives finale was my first and favorite ending. When Johnny tries to stop V and they clasp hands...the cemetery...buying the guitar for the kid...it’s bitter sweet and hits you right in the feels.
In my playthrough when I entered cyber space I was johnny and I got to make decisions talking to V and he ended up not letting me enter cyber space and made me take his body
All the endings are depressing af, the story is so deep but depressing, they could have added atleast one good for everyone ending the hardest one to acquire which Johnny and V could blend in and use V' s body like twins or atleast they could have kept Jhonny' s body safe and healthy for all thos years to run an experiment and could add his own biochip to his own body. I really wanted to see that kind of an ending where V and Jhonny both stays. Was that really hard to do it for us CDPR :( Atleast we could be happy in a game we are playing as our lives are already hard and depressive :(
same. After everything I really liked and trusted Johny. He was a piece of shit before and he changed. V and him learning from each other. Tho it's good, in this bittersweet way, they didn't make happy end. Not for this city, not for these people
@@Rakshasa1986 I would take the Panam ending as the most near to true good, as Alt said, "6 moth, maybe more", and this ending is about hope, talking about doctors, Vikor could help V with the problen, a bit and temporaly, but it was a help, and also, V isn't in his/her last days. Also, even Judy is happy, and the game ends with Misty giving a good future. It's an open ending but the kind you can believe the storie had a happy one.
I get where you're coming from, but to be honest, I like how they made it seem like there are no winners. It is fitting of the theme of night city, the corruption and greed trumps all. I sat in my pc chair feeling absolutely melancholic when I first completed the game. All the phone calls from characters you have formed actual attachment through your play through. It stung like a bitch, but it will be much more memorable, because it is more achievable. With how hopeless and desperate we are throughout the entire game, it would have felt like a cop out to neatly tie all the lose threads up and have everyone live happily ever after. Having all the endings being so bittersweet/depressing, actually makes you put thought into "what was the right decision" if there was a " it all worked out" ending, people wouldn't be satisfied unless they got the one that ends in peaches and rose petals.
I too think the same. Its depressing AF because we play as V all the time and then in the end surrender our ourselves to our bitter sweet friend. But in retrospect I realize it's good as V gets to (debatably) roam the free net with alt and the other constructs while Johnny gets a new life he earlier threw away trying to end Arasaka and failing to do so. Although I dislike what happened to V's friends. They all were left hanging in there with no knowledge as to what happened to V.
just played it for the first time ever and this game holds a special place in my heart the choices from start to finish left you just full of emotion thats what gaming is about being so deep into a story line you shed some tears get angry and just feel the story id love to see a sequal or something to this game
I noticed that every ending title except the suicide one is a song title Path of Glory by Demons & Wizards Where is My mind? by Pixies Dont fear the reaper by Blue Oyster New dawn fades by Joy division All along the watchtower by Jimi Hendrix
@@CJFlashbang Judy's questline has a ton of song references too. "Both Sides, Now" by Joni Michell apparently debuted on an album titled "Clouds". That's a funny little easter egg. "Pisces" by JINJER talks about a similar character whose world was torn away by the greed of others but remained fiercely loyal to a fault. "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead of course is the major one.
@@oldnotinuseanymore3169 if you sign your soul away, you let the *Devil* win, your biggest enemy since day 1. You give your soul away and make Arasaka unimaginably more powerful as there “Sell Your Soul” program becomes a success. So the rich and powerful become immortal but the poor and helpless essentially have *nothing* So you make the world infinitely more fucked than it already is because of the corpo’s But if you want to become *The Legend Of The Afterlife* and the most powerful and famous person in all night city as that has been your goal since day 1 then become *The Legend Of The Afterlife* like I did and remember *We Got A City To Burn.*
he might not.. it's a bit ambiguous. in all the endings you choose V there's potential for him to come back. this game isn't done yet either. it will have expansion packs, dlcs. Will see what they do.
@@15xgg80 Yes, an engram can go. V got soulkilled when she got pluged to Mikoshi. Besides didnt't alt say that Engram V will become part of her? So pretty much dead either way....
i really hate that if you don't give johnny v's body, v only has 6 months left to live. i wish there was a way for both johnny and v to continue living in the v's body and the body doesnt consider v an invader.
@@268MrRyan Lets hope, it be better than most of these endings empty feel. Knowing you can do better or that there could be a better way or choice. Maybe if you did a high risk job that required every skill(attribute) maxed to pull it off and save both V and J for the better.
That's debatable. V going to die in 6 months. I trust Alt and Vic in their judgment of situation... And if V couldn't get help in NC, i strongly doubt it could be done anywhere else. Anyway i spend good 20 minutes in Mikoshi just thinking. It was hard to made a right decision, but i did (imho). In the end - by my judgment Johnny earn a 2nd chance. That's perfectly shown in epilogue. And V, well Alt did survived and adapted. My V was a Tech\Hack build, so i think he could to. And talking about Panam... it's was realy sad to left her alone (Saul died by goddamn Smasher hand). But, if V died in 6 months later, with her - that would crush her. That'll put Aldegados in danger. But her obsession with Jhonny (VC related) could get her some gasoline to live, endure, improve the Aldegados. Cmon peep, you all know how Panam is right ?. And maybe, just maybe Alt and V later could save even Jackie from soul prison.
Same here, I didn't like any of the other angles from the getgo. Agreeing with Arasaka just smelled fishy from the start, Hanako doesn't even try to be convincing. Then Johnny wanting to raid Arasaka again with Rogue? Bitch please as if that'll work a second time around. We don't even have a netrunner equivalent to Spider Murphy to help us break ICE in the building. Panam seemed like the only choice to have a decent shot, albeit pretty crazy slim margins.
@@MichaelSmith-lg9pk better than dying immediately or giving up your body and going into the void of the net. and who knows maybe there are smart techies that left night city or in tokyo
I got my ending with Panam. From Streetkid to Nomad, my V came a long way from slaying any foes that pose a threat to him or his friends to taking glory in all 6 Beat on The Brat fights to finding a special someone and surrounded by many that considered him a part of their family. It was sad to let Johnny go after all he and V have been through. And knowing V's body only has 6 months left, Panam and the Aldecados were determined to do whatever it takes to cure that ticking time bomb of his to the end of the road. They, especially his girlfriend Panam, will be by V's side until the very end. They're now free from the dark, distopian chaos that is Night City, and a new beginning lies beyond the boarder.
I'm currently on a quest to get all of the endings. The first one I chose was "The Path of Least Resistance" ending. Seeing V take his own life like that filled me with dread.
I like the ending with Judy and Panam the most. Both of the strongest side characters in the game with me. Dude, rollercoaster of feelings the past 2 weekends. I always believed, that the amount of "metamophosis"-% matters. Like, if you try to keep Johnnys influence to a minimum, you can extract him safely in the end. But since that "stat" doesnt matter at all, why even implement it in the game? That would be actually really cool. Like, don't talk to Johnny as much. Don't wear his clothes. Dont play his questline. Yes, you would miss out on some of the games content, but you would have a happy ending.
Yes i was thinking the same when i finished the game. I got the nomad end and i liked it but it was bittersweet. You played the whole game to save yourself and at the end u die anyway. When Alt said that the process is gone to far already i thought that it would be different if i had never played jonnys questline but sadly no...
Incredible story. I went with the Panam Nomad ending, it fit so well with the story. My PS5 crashes as soon as the credits rolled though - sums up for the game! Great story but with shitty bugs
im guessing these endings were made up and recorded in 2012 because 2020 does not need 6 SUPER depressing endings and one feel good yet also bittersweet ending....
@@2buncharlie I feel like there should be one where his body can somehow stomach Johnny. Maybe just make it a secret ending when you get everything to 100%.
Oddly enough, my favourite ending is the "do nothing and commit suicide" ending. It gives a different meaning to the entire story. Instead of someone who fights for his life, you actually see someone who has to come to term with his own death (after he was shot in the head). Johnny Silverhand was actually the voice in his head that screamed for life, that made him fear death. As you progress through the story, you see people dying for their dreams, their convictions, but never the way they wanted. Jackie didn't want to die the way he did, Johnny didn't want to die the way he did. They became so blinded by their ambitions and their goals that their lives didn't belong to them anymore (especially Johnny who ended up in someone else's head). As you approach the end of the game, Viktor helps V realize that if he keeps trying to fight the inevitable, he will end up dying like Jackie and Johnny - a miserable death he didn't want. On the roof, V finally comes to term with his own death. Every time he was close to death, it was on someone else's terms. But this time, he had the choice to die on his own terms. In a certain way, it was also a way to fight all the people who were using him for their own gain, like Arasaka. Johnny understood it and realized that there were other ways to fight, but also that what matters isn't how someone lives, but how he dies (remember how he was proud of his life but realized that it meant nothing when there was no grave for him?). And so, V helped Johnny come to term with his own death as well. And so, they were both able to die the way they wanted to live: as free men. P.S: Johnny's substory with his band was basically V giving Johnny the possibility to say goodbye to his old pals, thing he couldn't do when he was still alive.
damn im a bit late but excactly what i thought about this ending cuz of this its my number one ending cuz it also feels so lets say comon in night city i felt that this was something to be considerd and i was happy that they put this ending in
Yeah, I feel like its the only ending that actually gives the player some level of control over your fate. The whole thing turned out to be pointless so it's just like why even continue to bother at that point.
@@thatnikkakris2339 New Dawn Fades (Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures), Where Is My Mind? (Pixies - Surfer Rosa), Don't Fear the Reaper (Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune)
@@thatnikkakris2339 that is for the endings, for the other quests there are references to The Stooges, Slipknot, Talking Heads, RATM, Johnny Cash, etc.
Everyone keeps forgetting that if you save Takemura, with the Nomad ending he ends up committing suicide. Seppuku. You also lose Saul. If you go with Arasaka then return to Earth, you don’t lose anyone - and you end up with the same 6 months left which could be spent with Panam/Judy anyway. It’s basically the same ending just without the extra cutscenes and less death of important characters. You also stop the next corp war so yeah that’s cool too.
But there's a huge problem with Arasakas deal and returning to earth ending, it's that Arasaka's not gone and even got stronger with Saburo leading it. Not to mention they still got mikoshi and you lost part of your personality. So I think this ending leads everyone to a really tough future
Cyberpunk is the game I consider to be a masterpiece. Sure it may have its flaws, but I truly have never been so tied to a story and campaign that makes me feel all these emotions. Every ending knows how to strike deep, tug at the heart strings. I’m glad CDPR made this game, and I hope we get more and more out of the world of Cyberpunk
Leaving with Panam and Judy is definitely my best ending. In my case, I romanced Judy and was so glad that I could get her out of there. Realistically speaking though, if I'm in the Cyberpunk 2077 world, Night City would be the last place I want to be in.
We got the same ending lol altho not gona lie I tried to romance panam but she shot me down.. Not sure what I missed but eh other than her name Judy is fine as hell so my girl had some fun with her
@@kaiza1993 can only romance panam with male body and voice. Also I did the nomad ending with Judy romance and wished it was you with Judy sitting on the tank talking at the end instead of you and panam. That would have been better in my opinion
I really liked the path of glory ending. I got, johnny got to be with alt in some way and V accomplished his dream of becoming a nc legend, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about this ending, underrated imo.
Nah, The Star ending is better. V realizes how foolish and costly his dream of being a "living" legend in NC is; and that the sooner they get away from that place the happier they will be. Its the most hopeful ending.
There is no happy ending... V dies no matter what when you Jack into Mikoshi and Alt uses Soulkiller creating a Construct of V... The V you played with is gone at that point... After that "V" is just a shell for the copied engram... It's not V that will only live for 6 months it's the digital copy ;) That's precisely the fundamental question of the entire game... What's the nature of Consciousness? Materialists and Idealists have fundamentally different answers to this question, but it's quite a good Philosophical debate... Just because it acts like you, behaves like you, looks like you and remembers everything you did, doesn't necessarily mean it's YOU... Interestingly enough, the only ways to at least die as V is the suicide ending or the Secret Ending where you go alone to Arasaka Tower and die...
@@unguschackus9568 you don't save Johnny... Johnny is dead for almost 50 years, you're just a vessel for Johnny's copy... If your engram/construct (digitalization of your mind) and you can coexist at the same time then YOU and your engram are two separate entities and therefore two different states of consciousness... When you scan a file, you're digitalizing the paper file, you're creating a new entity, both contain the same information, but they are still two different files :) Containing the same information is definitely not correlated to being the same
Well, that's an interesting topic. When I was a kid and learned about teleportation, I've always wondered, if you "die" and there's a exact copy of you on the other side after the transfer. That would mean nobody has a chance to recognize it, but real you is gone. It's the same case in my opinion. This construct is simply not you, because there is this *something* in between.
(Where is my mind) refusing to sign the contract to me was one of best endings if not the best. It’s a depressing ending but at least you go out on your own terms and I like to think after V got to earth he visited all his friends and finally went to Panam to live out the rest of his months with her as in my play through I romanced her so it’s a fitting yet depressing end.
I totally agree with this about Arasaka ending! I didn't feel like it was selling your soul per se, and Saboru Arasaka's use of your relic was a deliciously Cyberpunk corp ending I didn't expect in the world. You save the most lives in this ending if you think about it, too. Corps are gonna live on. Nobody's too pissed at you. Judy breaks up which is sad. But if you romance Panam it's hard to beat the Panam ending.
Panam also fits streetkid, you left the city once, in some way you are like Judy, you try to make your promise to the city but it's a lie, so you go before it consumes you. In some way every ending fits the 3 paths, you are a nomad with no family, a streetkid how left the street where he/she growth and came back with anything or you are corpo trash that in some way is like been another streetkid but instead of a gang or a family you just have superiors and subordinates. And if you have a female body Jonny will need surgery to fit in the ending XD
i really hope they add the option to pick panam's ending after dont fear the reaper because dont fear the reaper is basically just a secret mission its not really a ending because u still have to pick a ending either way and you also have to earn it to get it, to me that would be the perfect way to wrap up my v's story as johnny gets his revenge on Arasaka (and adam smasher) and v is remembered as a legend who single handly stormed arasaka tower and tore it apart then they get to leave with their new found family and Johnny and V separate as friends. also a huge bonus is that no one gets hurt during the assault.
@@VidaEmGuerra I found it so sad that judy is a lesbian. I liked her alot. Panam is also a good choice hard to choose. But the endings leave a sour taste. V is fucked.
40:30 I love how the car plows through the parked car like how I normally drive on there without the cutscenes 😂😂 this game is literally beyond awesome
@@4x4Swampass The DLC will probably be set before the ending of the game. So if you completed the game you go back to a save before the ending and do the DLCs. Otherwise, how would they account for endings where Johnny takes control and such.
@@joewood5757 they have time to make everything possible for the dlc there is the panam ending where they try to make v better so it could follow them only time will tell...
i liked all the endings. they're all bittersweet in ways. people who think panam ending is good, missed a lot of details they put in.(v&johnny relationship, corpo war,city in chaos) and yes . i kinda hope we can expand or see more story from each endings. by that i mean all endings with V (arasaka,panam,johnny+rogue path) . i dont want to play as a jonny living as a hermit. :D
I have done all the endings on multiple playthroughs, but I think my favorite one is Corpo V with New Dawn Fades ending and no romances. I know it isn't the orthodox choice of favorite ending, but to me it is the most emotional and bittersweet one. V had nobody ever looking out for him especially being a Corp until he met Jackie, and after Jackie's death, he was utterly alone in that regard until Johnny, who tried everything to kill V, then would've done anything to save him, and then V sacrifices possession of his body to Johnny since he was inevitably dying anyways. This ending to me really articulated how depressing the world of Night City is, but the rare moments of comedy or joy were really memorable and laughable in the game when you reflected on them post ending.
As Corpo V, I couldn't imagine any other ending besides the Secret Ending. IMO, it's the most consistent with V's character & ambition, and it also honors Jackie the most (Corpo has the strongest relation with Jackie compared to the others). Attacking Arasaka Tower alone is payback for V losing everything when he/she got fired, and strengthens the story in which V is becoming more like Johnny as the time progresses. Johnny got his redemption in the coolest way possible and he got back together with Alt. V gets to say the proper goodbye after living with his/her partner, and he gets to fulfill his dream of becoming a legend. This ending also fulfills 2 foreshadowing: "Going out with a bang" during a convo Dex & that legends have to die in order to have a drink named in their honor during convo with Claire & Jackie. I do enjoy Panam's ending. But in reality, it will make her suffer more as she would have to watch her lover's death helplessly. Plus, if we're serious, I don't think V can abandon his lifetime ambition for a girl he has only met for several weeks. I mean if you're a Corpo V, you have known Jackie for way longer than you have met Panam. Arasaka ending for a Corpo is really stupid. Corpo V has lost everything to Arasaka when he/she got "fired". In fact, he/she changed his life and trusted Jackie because of it. It would make the least amount of sense to opt for this ending, especially when he/she got to experience the corruption of Arasaka first hand, both as an operator and as someone getting fired.
I think you're right. For Corpo V, this makes the most sense. It's ultimately a personal revenge mission, which is very different to Johnny's pointless nihilistic crusade.
For non corpo V, although, Panam ending is the best. It's much more hopeful, because it's really heavily implied that V will find a cure for his condition. Even Misty tarot in the end predicts him a long and a happy life, directly implying that he'll achieve all the goals he strives for
@@bengunn9670 I completely agree, I just couldn't imagine a Corpo V opting for such a way. It would be more fitting for Street Kid V (because street kids ought to do whatever is necessary just to survive)
I did 3 endings. Like them all. The one in which you end doing medical tests in orbit is quite "Black Mirror" ish, very interesting ending. I loved the one where he ends with Panam cause is truly a happy ending.
