PHANTOM LIBERTY new main ending sucks ENDING SPOILER

[Shane]

the new main ending is another negative ending for V which is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and disappointing there are like 6 endings and they are all negative and uncertain. I don't expect a happy ever after ending but give us something other then the nomad ending.

[Scyris]

Origineel geplaatst door Balekai:

I agree with others that it's a good ending and like others, some of the V ending dialogue was forced/pigeonholed into a V depression about losing their old life. Not a lot of player agency to just say, "F it i'm alive, shocked but alive and i'm happy to start a new life in a new City." Anyways here's my wall of text spiel/thoughts on the whole thing from an earlier thread today. No point in retyping it all out here again: :D

Origineel geplaatst door Balekai:

First off my two endings are the new one and it's opposite, the secret ending. Temperence is a close third.

Spoilers ahead: V's new "good" ending is basically the ending for Tom Hank's character in "Cast Away." Bittersweet, but with promise of something new and fresh. It's also V's version of Johnny Silverhand's ending if he keeps Vs body.

What yuevolution says about NC it completely true too.

Like in Cast Away, the ambitious, driven, talented, successful and well liked but completely consumed by his work Tom Hanks, loses everything in the end including his wife, after being lost on the island for so long. The world moved on without him and his old life is basically over.

However, it's not the end. He still has his whole life ahead of him and he realizes he doesn't need his old one back (I think his wife runs out, Helen Hunt if I remember correctly? To run away with him but he refuses to let that happen, because she has a family and a real life she's happy in. Again I think he realizes he has a life too in a new adventure of his own making lying ahead. Just a different "lifepath" :p ).

It's like Silverhand's Temperance ending for the same reasons, but V just doesn't fully understand the new lease on life he/she's been given like Johnny does in his V body ending. V is bitter from the shock of it all. Well, until meeting Vik/Misty based on certain dialogue options. V has a chance to be a better person and leave his/her pretty toxic and self defeating ambitions behind for a more tranquil, real and longer life. Just like Silverhand decides to do in Temperance.

(As a side note I also like the turn around and repetitive stuff my corpo V goes through. Starting life over AGAIN. The scene when V gets roughed up feels a lot like the corpo scene on the roof of the Mox when V roughs up the 3 guys for accosting him/her, with V's powerful chrome and corpo merciless attitude. Just on the other end this time).

And that's just it: All of V's friends in the new ending that keep playing the games of intrigue, chrome, power, Night City, fighting the corps etc etc. are eventually shown to be beat down by past loss and NC two years later. They all lose save for two.

The only two characters doing well are the ones that chose to no longer play the game at all being Misty and Judy. They both realized/accepted in their own way what everyone knows in NC: You can't win in Night City.

What V and the rest of them seem to forget or never know is that you also can't lose if you don't play the game in the first place. Like not accepting a Devil's bargain. Misty and Judy (Silverhand too) get that by the end. V may get it by the time he/she disappears into the crowd after seeing Misty off.

It's why Misty tells V to forget about the bullet trinket because it doesn't matter anymore. That life is done and honestly, good riddance in her opinion me thinks. There's nothing wrong with being meek. Live life for life's sake rather than burning it away on impossible dreams of grandeur and the false hopes that NC offers, that mean nothing in the end (what does being a "legend" actually get you?).

The only issue I had with the new ending is that the V dialogue feels sort of railroaded to keep V from fully accepting a new life. It would have been nice to have a bit more positive agency to accept your "muggle" fate and even truly take up a job at NUSA, but go back to NC just to visit friends and close up old outstanding relationships.

That may be intentional as much as I feel Vs story is done with based off the new DLC and how it ended. Intentional because the writers are possibly setting up the intent of V getting back into the game while keeping the character in Night City for specific plot/mechanic reasons. With V being gimped by a "cure," any cure, that means any new game with V starting as a protagonist starts fresh with no crazy next gen chrome/relic and a gazillion eddies. He/she loses it all to time and in the other endings, possibly in finding and paying for a cure.

Maybe V's brain for a sequel will be able to "hear" implants again over time, since Vik describes the problem simply as V's brain appears "deaf" to implants now. Maybe by a sequel this heals itself and some events or characters force V back into the "life" when they learn of this. Again I doubt it and I think V's story is done with 2077 in gloomy cyberpunk fashion. At least in the new ending V gets to walk away which most never get that chance in NC. :p

The new ending does set it up for V to be in a sequel, I mean yeah V's brain is deaf to implant signals NOW so they basically cannot function, but whos to say that cannot be fixed? Just because Victor was unable to do it does not mean its not possible. 2077 2 could start with V going into a Operating room or something for a experimental operation to try to fix their brain so implants can work and it ends up being a success. Also V can use SOME implants, basically the everyday ones that everyone in night city has, but thats about it, anything above that will not work. I don't think you could even function in Night city without at least the basic of basic of implants as so much stuff relys on them to function in the city.

[GamingWithSilvertail]

Origineel geplaatst door Scyris:

Origineel geplaatst door Balekai:

I agree with others that it's a good ending and like others, some of the V ending dialogue was forced/pigeonholed into a V depression about losing their old life. Not a lot of player agency to just say, "F it i'm alive, shocked but alive and i'm happy to start a new life in a new City." Anyways here's my wall of text spiel/thoughts on the whole thing from an earlier thread today. No point in retyping it all out here again: :D

The new ending does set it up for V to be in a sequel, I mean yeah V's brain is deaf to implant signals NOW so they basically cannot function, but whos to say that cannot be fixed? Just because Victor was unable to do it does not mean its not possible. 2077 2 could start with V going into a Operating room or something for a experimental operation to try to fix their brain so implants can work and it ends up being a success. Also V can use SOME implants, basically the everyday ones that everyone in night city has, but thats about it, anything above that will not work. I don't think you could even function in Night city without at least the basic of basic of implants as so much stuff relys on them to function in the city.

Not to mention time is infinite for V untill he dies of old age. He wakes up in 2079, so maybe in 2089 or smt they might have tech to fix it.

[Scyris]

Origineel geplaatst door Daisy Dewdrop Fluffington:

Origineel geplaatst door Ventras:

If a happy ending is that pointless I will go search for a rope and KMS rightaway hence searching and carving for happiness is in vain in life ultimately. In the sense of this game a good ending would be optional as there are multiple endings and there for people who needs that catharsis. (like me and many more)

This. An RPG without the possibility of earning a satisfying ending is a joke. What's even the point of any choices then, if they don't matter at all? It might work in a purely narrative game like RDR2, but having an RPG where all the endings have you basically lose is an absolute garbage idea and a terrible game.

Yeah, there needs to be a happy end, make it the "true end" and to get it, you have to view the other endings first to see how it "could" have gone. Kinda like what visual novels do, you usually have to see every other routes ending before the true end route becomes unlocked for the games final and true conclusion. Could also setup a NG+ think so your keep your V's level and gear between re-runs if that doesn't exist already.

[Balekai]

Origineel geplaatst door Scyris:

The new ending does set it up for V to be in a sequel, I mean yeah V's brain is deaf to implant signals NOW so they basically cannot function, but whos to say that cannot be fixed? Just because Victor was unable to do it does not mean its not possible. 2077 2 could start with V going into a Operating room or something for a experimental operation to try to fix their brain so implants can work and it ends up being a success. Also V can use SOME implants, basically the everyday ones that everyone in night city has, but thats about it, anything above that will not work. I don't think you could even function in Night city without at least the basic of basic of implants as so much stuff relys on them to function in the city.

Totally agree and your right anyone saying that he/she can't use any implants is wrong. It's stated that V can use and I think is using basic ones still. Also the point about functioning in Night City (functioning as in "not dying" :p ), is why Reed was so insistent you don't go back to NC. It's almost a death sentence as V experiences coming out of Vik's clinic. He wanted to to stay in DC, get a cushy job and be under their protection.

Origineel geplaatst door GamingWithSilvertail:

Not to mention time is infinite for V untill he dies of old age. He wakes up in 2079, so maybe in 2089 or smt they might have tech to fix it.

True, but if a V sequel is 5-10 years out that's really only plausible for a few endings. Namely V becomes an engram, V cured in DLC or V joins Alt beyond the Blackwall. In all the others V would have to find something to prolong his/her life or the 6 month projections are just wrong (which some endings where V goes to the space station suggest they're not).

[Cpeerson2020]

Origineel geplaatst door Balekai:

Origineel geplaatst door Scyris:

The new ending does set it up for V to be in a sequel, I mean yeah V's brain is deaf to implant signals NOW so they basically cannot function, but whos to say that cannot be fixed? Just because Victor was unable to do it does not mean its not possible. 2077 2 could start with V going into a Operating room or something for a experimental operation to try to fix their brain so implants can work and it ends up being a success. Also V can use SOME implants, basically the everyday ones that everyone in night city has, but thats about it, anything above that will not work. I don't think you could even function in Night city without at least the basic of basic of implants as so much stuff relys on them to function in the city.

Totally agree and your right anyone saying that he/she can't use any implants is wrong. It's stated that V can use and I think is using basic ones still. Also the point about functioning in Night City (functioning as in "not dying" :p ), is why Reed was so insistent you don't go back to NC. It's almost a death sentence as V experiences coming out of Vik's clinic. He wanted to to stay in DC, get a cushy job and be under their protection.

Origineel geplaatst door GamingWithSilvertail:

Not to mention time is infinite for V untill he dies of old age. He wakes up in 2079, so maybe in 2089 or smt they might have tech to fix it.

True, but if a V sequel is 5-10 years out that's really only plausible for a few endings. Namely V becomes an engram, V cured in DLC or V joins Alt beyond the Blackwall. In all the others V would have to find something to prolong his/her life or the 6 month projections are just wrong (which some endings where V goes to the space station suggest they're not).

I think they will use the PL ending no matter what if they do a sequel. It not only keeps V alive and blank,if they use him, but almost all of his associates are gone with the lone one being Rogue. With everyone gone they wont have to account for romances and such and can get by with some blurp or nod to the friends.

[Shane]

Origineel geplaatst door Cpeerson2020:

Origineel geplaatst door Balekai:

Totally agree and your right anyone saying that he/she can't use any implants is wrong. It's stated that V can use and I think is using basic ones still. Also the point about functioning in Night City (functioning as in "not dying" :p ), is why Reed was so insistent you don't go back to NC. It's almost a death sentence as V experiences coming out of Vik's clinic. He wanted to to stay in DC, get a cushy job and be under their protection.



True, but if a V sequel is 5-10 years out that's really only plausible for a few endings. Namely V becomes an engram, V cured in DLC or V joins Alt beyond the Blackwall. In all the others V would have to find something to prolong his/her life or the 6 month projections are just wrong (which some endings where V goes to the space station suggest they're not).

I think they will use the PL ending no matter what if they do a sequel. It not only keeps V alive and blank,if they use him, but almost all of his associates are gone with the lone one being Rogue. With everyone gone they wont have to account for romances and such and can get by with some blurp or nod to the friends.

better not use that end for a sequel wasted all that time meeting your friends/romance you care about them just to throw them away

[Moon Goose]

Origineel geplaatst door wirednight:

Neuromancer? Case dies, Neruomance lives, and Case becomes a copy in cyberspace.

What are you on about? Case doesn't die in Neuromancer, nor does he become a copy in cyberspace. Neuromancer merges with Wintermute as planned, and Case receives a boatload of money as a reward, which he spends on some new organs and a new deck so he can go back to his old job as a drug using "console cowboy". Then later in Mona Lisa Overdrive, it's said he settled down and had a couple of kids.

[Cpeerson2020]

Origineel geplaatst door Shane:

Origineel geplaatst door Cpeerson2020:

I think they will use the PL ending no matter what if they do a sequel. It not only keeps V alive and blank,if they use him, but almost all of his associates are gone with the lone one being Rogue. With everyone gone they wont have to account for romances and such and can get by with some blurp or nod to the friends.

better not use that end for a sequel wasted all that time meeting your friends/romance you care about them just to throw them away

The only problem is the PL ending and maybe...a long maybe, the Devil ending is the only ones that V makes it out alive. The PL ending happens earlier in the game than the main endings, because even the AV Doc says the damage is reversible whereas when you get to the main endings its not. So the other endings don't fit unless V is not in the sequel then it wont matter if people don't show up in the sequel.

[FreshRevenge]

Origineel geplaatst door Olav Grey:

The meh to bad endings is why I just haven't bothered to finish the story. I was spoiled early on with the base game endings and within a few hours of the DLC a friend spoiled the DLC for me. I get the theme of the game is no one gets out happy, but one good ending would have been appreciated and something to work towards.

I'm not impressed at all with 2.0 and finding out the DLC ending is in a way just as bad as the rest... probably won't ever return to CP.

Some people like it and that's great, but personally... not for me.

Not much of a friend if they spoil the game for you lol.

My problem is that in the base game, you are presented with this death sentence. You track down a bunch of leads that can solve your problem but instead you keep running into brick walls. Then near the end there might be a solution but even then it's not a solution. You can shoot yourself and die on your own terms but is it really. You are coerced to take your own life. Each of the other endings still give you a 6 month to live scenario. Even though the Nomad is probably the most positive.

Than you get to Phantom Liberty, you are basically told you could be cured. But there are stipulations. Than on top of that the person who claims who can save you is dying themselves. I think 2 of the endings basically screw you over again. The one ending that lets you be cured just leaves you broken and you lose everything. No longer being able to be a merc.

Which leaves you a few choices. Leave Night City to avoid being killed or take the job at Langley with Reed.

Now the game is fine and good. But knowing how the game ends or at least the potential ends the game offers, it's not really motivating to play through again.

I played The Last of Us 2 and even though I hated what they did with story. I played through, and there are some good moments, but damn the ending blows. It just leaves you broken, depressed and the feeling of why did I do all that for this crappy ending.

[X.Crystalx.X]

Either way I am not going to use this ending again and pretend it didn't existed Just like what happened with the mass effect ending, Good thing modded endings existed for that game because people pissed off because of those endings, Hopefully someday someone makes a modded ending for cyberpunk or something but the mean time I am just going to stick with the normad ending or Don't fear the reaper ending.

[GamingWithSilvertail]

Origineel geplaatst door Cpeerson2020:

Origineel geplaatst door Balekai:

Totally agree and your right anyone saying that he/she can't use any implants is wrong. It's stated that V can use and I think is using basic ones still. Also the point about functioning in Night City (functioning as in "not dying" :p ), is why Reed was so insistent you don't go back to NC. It's almost a death sentence as V experiences coming out of Vik's clinic. He wanted to to stay in DC, get a cushy job and be under their protection.



True, but if a V sequel is 5-10 years out that's really only plausible for a few endings. Namely V becomes an engram, V cured in DLC or V joins Alt beyond the Blackwall. In all the others V would have to find something to prolong his/her life or the 6 month projections are just wrong (which some endings where V goes to the space station suggest they're not).

I think they will use the PL ending no matter what if they do a sequel. It not only keeps V alive and blank,if they use him, but almost all of his associates are gone with the lone one being Rogue. With everyone gone they wont have to account for romances and such and can get by with some blurp or nod to the friends.

Yeah, I doubt they will use the crystal palace OR engram ending (Cause V dies in engram ending. Even thou V ' might come back' later, its not the original V. Original V will stay dead, Thats what Soulkiller does.)

In relation to crystal palace, There's absolutely nothing 'wrong' with 6 month projection as it doesnt happen to long after Path to glory, no?

[Balekai]

Origineel geplaatst door Narutomaster700:

Either way I am not going to use this ending again and pretend it didn't existed Just like what happened with the mass effect ending, Good thing modded endings existed for that game because people pissed off because of those endings, Hopefully someday someone makes a modded ending for cyberpunk or something but the mean time I am just going to stick with the normad ending or Don't fear the reaper ending.

The main reason endings like Mass Effect 3 and all the Cyberpunk 2077 endings make people mad or sad, is because of what the writers are trying to tackle and convey.

Without going into it too much Cyberpunk's main themes as a genre are:

- Exploring existentialism: The individual, their free will or the lack thereof. The ability or lacktherof to change the world around you etc.

- Post humanism: What does it mean to actually be human? Will technology and a dystopian, futuristic tyrannical societal (de)evolution strip that away from us? Is there any place for free agency without sacrifice of ones humanity?

The Cyberpunk genre tends to start with answering the question with "No you can't, but this naive protagonist is gonna try and likely fail to show you how bleak a world with the above issues could be and how that could translate to the real world in the future. Giving into post humanism for the sole purpose of achieve your goals through technology and power over others to ensure your own survival. Rising to the top of the sinking ship of civilization by selling your soul to the devil and giving up your humanity. If you don't, you die.

You can't really explore that correctly or show how bleak that world really is if the ending(s), end with everyone riding off into the sunset. That's just not the message Cyberpunk is trying to convey. It's a warning through cautionary tales akin to fairy tales and fables. It's not a feel good genre. In fact fairy tales and fables used to be a lot darker pre-Disney and were the Cyberpunk of the day, but as time went on the endings to them were made more "palatable" so you didn't have crying kids for 2 weeks upset about what happened to Hansel and Gretel or Snow White or whatever. (hmm reminds me of certain reactions to certain game endings) :D :D

Mass Effect 3's mistake is that yes it explored many of the same themes as Cyberpunk with the Reapers etc., but wasn't Cyberpunk (only Mass Effect 2 was and its critical success probably led Bioware astray in 3). It was in fact a Space Opera and they forgot that by the last one. So when they did the endings of the first two they made Shepard a Luke Skywalker in them, then with 3 they went full Cyberpunk post humanism Shepard turning him/her into Neo from the Matrix or Jesus, that must sacrifice themselves to give the Galaxy agency, or sacrifice ALL AI beings like the Gith. Space Opera Mary Sue suddenly turned Cyberpunk Debbie Downer. So it was understandable why so many people were shocked and angry.

Even though many people misinterpreted the endings in their anger like not realizing Shep survived in Destroy. Thinking that the Galaxy or the Relays blew in Synthesis when they cleary did not and Bioware had to make the relay cinematics even more obvious to fix that notion. Me at the time: "THEY DIDN'T BLOW UP THEY SENT OUT A GREEN SHOCKWAVE THAT SYNTHESIZED EVERYTHING HERE ARE STILLS OF THE CINEMATIC WATCH THE VIDEO AGAIN!!!!!" :p ).

Although I enjoyed the Mass Effect endings and defended them from an artistic standpoint with deeper meaning, i realized they were indeed very out of place for a Space Opera. Space Operas have Star Wars/Star Trek/Arthurian legend endings, Not Bladerunner endings.

[Rastabara]

A cool detail is that Rogue is the anonymous buyer of V's cat when her apartment gets auctioned off.

[Silverbane7]

Origineel geplaatst door Moczywór:

A cool detail is that Rogue is the anonymous buyer of V's cat when her apartment gets auctioned off.

Hm.... That's a bright spot in an otherwise ♥♥♥♥ sandwich. At least Nibbles will be taken care of.

Ya know, I dont mind the 'ya got 6 months left' endings, provided you have someone to spend them with.
But the girls wont stay if you do, and the boys won't go with if you leave.

I also don't get why the hell V ends up owning the Afterlife if Rogue is still around. I mean, sure, it makes sense if you went with her to 'Saka tower. Part of her knows this time is the last. Its why she calls her son, and she assumes (like the rest of us did) that getting to Mikoshi would fix the problem. She set things up so that should she get flatlined, and V made it out, the club would be in good hands.

But not every Merc wants to own the place. Some (like Jackie) just want to GET INTO the damn club lol. THATS status enough.
(Like, I understand why V's safeword is 'samurai' due to Johnny being there, but 'afterlife' was more Jackie's thing. Where was a choice for your V? It could have been a different word, depending on your lifepath. 'Freedom' for a nomad, 'Takeover' for a Corpo and 'Legend' for a streetkid sounds good. Cause we already MADE it to the Afterlife, we passed that goal, even tho we fell flat on our face not long afterwards. We were famous, because we ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up lol)

I'd have taken 6 months with Johnny in a normal Relic as a 'happy ending' tbh
(if we could have stolen one, got Alt to slip him on there) and just had us sit on a bench on the oceanfront of Pacifica the last day.
We had 'the Sun' ending, I'd call it 'the Sunset' ending.
You could see another montage like at the start, of V doing things like getting their affairs in order, cancelling those magazine subscriptions, finding a place for Nibbles (I'd say Misty was a good bet, didn't know Rogue would look after the cat tho) and getting her friends up to speed, saying goodbye.
Then, play the last day. Get up, shower, get a message from your cyberware 'warning! Synaptic dissolution imminent! Please seek medical attention immediately!'
And then you talk with Johnny, decide to 'go to the beach'.
Ride over to Pacifica. Go on the rollercoaster one last time. Sit on a bench, with a slice of Buck-a-slice and a beer in hand, watching the sun set. Discuss life with your good choom Johnny and the last thing you would see, was V seem to fall asleep, and Johnny to say a goodbye as the camera moves off and you see the sun set fully.
For me, that's a better 'bittersweet' happy ending than the rest.
You die, sure. But on your terms, and you have someone with you.
(A bit like the self delete ending, but you get more time before you go)

[Ioncloud]

This is all well and good, but in a game...
They gave us those 3 bittersweet options, we got it, we lived with it... enough time has passed to just give us the 1 damn ending things work out.

Hell, they could have even hooked phantom liberty into the main game by needing to get to data or something from Mikoshi, thus bringing you back to the main quests. I mean, some of the dialog with johnny wouldnt be right in that scenario, but it would give you the reason to keep doing your playthrough.

If they wanted a reason to bring V back in a second one, explain how over time her system began to reject her cyberware, eventually leading to it having to be removed, but do it at the start of the second one, not the end of the first.

And why would you just ghost all your contacts? I mean, If I was going to get a major operation to save my life, I wouldnt just walk out the front door on my wife and kids in the middle of the night... maybe.