Still no happy ending

[Sofia]

Phantom liberty is a giant middle finger. After the first release of the game, everyone hated the endings, to the point the creator of Cyberpunk went on record saying that the thought that "Cyberpunk can't have a happy ending" is entirely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and an invention of CDPR.

Phantom liberty offers nothing of value as far as endings go. Just variations of "Get ♥♥♥♥♥♥, go to the base main story and die" and "Hey, you're cured, and everyone you know and love is either dead or hates your guts, enjoy corpo Vic."

0/10, uninstalling and never playing this ♥♥♥♥ again.

[Sofia]

Publicado originalmente por Ēarendel:

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

If you can't see the difference between a quiet life as a nobody, and losing everyone you care about and being abandoned, there is no hope for you.

The ONLY person you have at the end of the game is arguably Vik, who is a corpo sell out, is completely miserable, and is b eing transferred to Reno. Woooooo.

I would have been fine with a fade away ending. I even would have been fine with the ending where V loses th e ability to use Chrome. That is totally fine. But making us call everyone we know, just to have them all explain why they hate us, was unnecessary and completely ruined the game.

Again, none of those people are your true friends and the writers make it clear. It was a friendship based on benefit. Once V stops being useful, they are gone. The DLC ending still leaves your OG friends intact.

Not sure why you think Vik is a sellout lol, who did he sell out? How is he miserable? I think you're getting the "street kid" thing get over your head, nobody in night city wants to be street poor.

Apparently you didn't investigate the conversation tree with Vik in the epilogue. If you press him Vik ends up admitting he regrets selling out to Zetatek and losing Misty because of it. V says he's miserable now because of it and Vik agrees.

So no, you don't still have your true friends. Vik is being reassigned out of his shop and sent to Reno, and Misty is disappearing into an ancient forest in Poland.

[Ēarendel]

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

Publicado originalmente por Ēarendel:

Again, none of those people are your true friends and the writers make it clear. It was a friendship based on benefit. Once V stops being useful, they are gone. The DLC ending still leaves your OG friends intact.

Not sure why you think Vik is a sellout lol, who did he sell out? How is he miserable? I think you're getting the "street kid" thing get over your head, nobody in night city wants to be street poor.

Apparently you didn't investigate the conversation tree with Vik in the epilogue. If you press him Vik ends up admitting he regrets selling out to Zetatek and losing Misty because of it. V says he's miserable now because of it and Vik agrees.

So no, you don't still have your true friends. Vik is being reassigned out of his shop and sent to Reno, and Misty is disappearing into an ancient forest in Poland.

It's to be expected. V comes back after two years a lot changes. If you get to know the characters in the game few want to stay in night city.

[Raynn von Valancius]

Yeah, I feel like the Phantom Liberty ending is complete crap. The ending messages from your companions are garbage as well. River and Kerry can’t make time for you. Panam basically hates you. What the hell?

While The Star (Aldacaldos) is still the best/happiest ending, I do get what CDPR is going for. The whole theme is that Night City chews up everyone and spits them out, but the old school rpg gamer in me hates the fact that all the connections and people you meet and assist mean so little in the final outcome.

I mean, imagine if your were utilizing all the connections/skills those characters could potentially bring to the table. There should be some ‘beating the odds’ ending if players put in the time, much like choosing the right team members for specific positions at the end of Mass Effect 2. You’re rewarded if you pay attention to each unique companion and their skill sets. The masses from different walks of life, brought together by one charismatic individual, and they topple a corporate empire.

Plus, I don’t think anyone in this day and age needs a constant reminder of how ♥♥♥♥♥♥ life can be…lol.

[Ēarendel]

Publicado originalmente por Don't:

Publicado originalmente por Ēarendel:

Again, none of those people are your true friends and the writers make it clear. It was a friendship based on benefit. Once V stops being useful, they are gone.

Yeah no, if you took the right options the game makes it real clear that V is very close friends with Panam and Judy. Panam considers V family, says if she has Rogue to thank for anything it's for V, and gives V their own spot in the camp. Nomads are ride or die, Panam especially would do anything for family, and by the end of the game Panam owes V a lot.

Judy revisits her childhood home with V. She waits literally years to do this, and says the reason she never went earlier is because she didn't want to go alone or with some random gonk. Think about it like this - she didn't even ask Evelyn. The BD they scroll together she considers her best work ever. She also expresses a lot of concern for V's well being at several points and states she doesn't want to lose V.

Sooo in the PL survival ending they are both doing a complete 180 degree turn on their established characters. This is partly why the ending is bad; it's inconsistent with the writing in the rest of the game. The other reason it's bad is because it deprives V of the extraordinarily obvious choice to make a few preemptive phone calls and avoid this predictable disaster altogether. PLs survival ending sucks not because it's harsh, but because it literally doesn't make any sense.

Love the game though. There are three endings which I actually like a lot but they're all base game endings.

And yet you get dumped by both in all endings if you stay in NC, great monologue only to be undone by that one fact.

[Phobos]

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

After the first release of the game, everyone hated the endings

Everyone =/= You and some others.

I loved most of the endings and thought all were well written.
I had no wish of any fairy tail ending, and many others either.

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

"Cyberpunk can't have a happy ending" is entirely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and an invention of CDPR.

Well I'm sorry but that part is a straight misunderstanding of what Cyberpunk is from your side.

Cyberpunk is not Futurama where everyone has fun goofing all around, from the origins of the genre (Neuromancer, Blade Runner or Akira being the obvious titles) to more modern medias (Matrix or even the Edgerunner serie), yes, happy ending in Cyberpunk doesn't exist, at least not without any loss, and all endings in CP2077 are pretty accurate with this.

[Silverbane7]

there is also this....for those who like Johnny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuTAKYQQSdQ
its become a headcanon ending for a lot of us on team Silverhand lol

[Ēarendel]

Publicado originalmente por Don't:

Publicado originalmente por Ēarendel:

And yet you get dumped by both in all endings if you stay in NC, great monologue only to be undone by that one fact.

Not a fact. Nobody ghosts you in any of the base game endings where you return to your body. Everyone is still a friend, even in the Devil ending.

You only split up with your romantic interest if you're going in a different direction to them i.e. staying in NC or leaving. Panam and Judy are leaving, Kerry and River stay. It has nothing to do with them betraying you or something.

Anyway, the main argument is V could have just called them before the procedure, like a normal person, so the whole thing with Panam feels staged. This ending could have been good if the Aldecaldos stayed in character and reserved your spot in the family, instead V is practically a cripple left with jack for options and there's no good reason why besides 'whoops forgot to call, guess Panam is mad'.

Not sure what's your point even, probably arguing against a strawman at this stage. If your definition of "very close friends" is dumping you on all of the game's endings if you don't tag along like a good useful puppy then they are still "very close friends" at the end of DLC by that sense.

[Sofia]

Publicado originalmente por Phobos:

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

After the first release of the game, everyone hated the endings

Everyone =/= You and some others.

I loved most of the endings and thought all were well written.
I had no wish of any fairy tail ending, and many others either.

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

"Cyberpunk can't have a happy ending" is entirely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and an invention of CDPR.

Well I'm sorry but that part is a straight misunderstanding of what Cyberpunk is from your side.

Cyberpunk is not Futurama where everyone has fun goofing all around, from the origins of the genre (Neuromancer, Blade Runner or Akira being the obvious titles) to more modern medias (Matrix or even the Edgerunner serie), yes, happy ending in Cyberpunk doesn't exist, at least not without any loss, and all endings in CP2077 are pretty accurate with this.

You're wrong, AND necroing, fun.

Mike Pondsmith, the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ creator of cyberpunk has said happy endings are absolutely a thing in cyberpunk. Now kindly go away.

[Raynn von Valancius]

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

Publicado originalmente por Phobos:

Everyone =/= You and some others.

I loved most of the endings and thought all were well written.
I had no wish of any fairy tail ending, and many others either.




Well I'm sorry but that part is a straight misunderstanding of what Cyberpunk is from your side.

Cyberpunk is not Futurama where everyone has fun goofing all around, from the origins of the genre (Neuromancer, Blade Runner or Akira being the obvious titles) to more modern medias (Matrix or even the Edgerunner serie), yes, happy ending in Cyberpunk doesn't exist, at least not without any loss, and all endings in CP2077 are pretty accurate with this.

You're wrong, AND necroing, fun.

Mike Pondsmith, the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ creator of cyberpunk has said happy endings are absolutely a thing in cyberpunk. Now kindly go away.

That's probably the most irritating thing for me in the way that CDPR handles this title. Yeah, the overall cyberpunk genre is pretty dark and dystopian. Bladerunner, Do Androids Dream, and the Sprawl trilogy, are all tropes of the genre and pretty depressing.

But Cyberpunk and Cyberpunk RED have always run the entire spectrum from dark to happy. It's just a shame that CDPR seems to only be focusing on one side. Think there needs to be at least one 'you defy the odds' ending in order for a really solid RPG to be complete. This is why this game ultimately falls lower on my list of must-play RPGs.

It's solid work, especially after the effort they've put in to fix its initial issues. But it's still ultimately flawed because their approach is focused on it being depressing. And Reed's PL ending is just bad writing. They were so intent on making it sad that they ignored specific character traits in the cast and had them act completely out of character. That's not good and is one of the reasons it causes such a disconnect.

The original ending of Mass Effect 3 was the same way. Gamers don't really like all their time to be for nothing, which is what at least half of the endings in CP 2077 amount to. Where as, if you do it the right way (like in Halo Reach) sacrifice can be a pretty damn amazing way to wrap up an entry.

Reach is still one of the best endings to a game I've personally played. You help the Pillar of Autumn escape and then get a whole end level just to take out as many enemies as you can. Make them remember what it cost them to come after you.

[ToJKa]

It's the "quiet life" ending that was missing. Fits well within the game, i think.

Survival with no string attached, but at what cost?

[Ēarendel]

Publicado originalmente por Don't:

My point is that they don't. You claimed they aren't V's real friends, but they don't dump V as friends in any base game ending. The PL ending is the exception.

I said they weren't your true friends. Not that they weren't friends. There are three types of friendships in life according to Aristotle; 1. Friendship of utility 2. Friendship of pleasure, 3. Friendship of virtue.

Vic and Misty can easily be identified as 3, while Jackie is 2 from the start of the game. Everyone else you meet in the game working as a mercenary is in the 1 category, and they end as soon as possible when any use for you or other person is gone.

And that is what happens after only 2 years pass in PL ending. You can call it bad writing, but more or less it's consistent with all their characters everyone becomes what they were meant to become with or without V and move on. River gets in trouble, Kerry's success has no time for V, Judy leaves NC, Panam leaves NC.

[nullpo]

well tough luck. no one gets a good ending on night city.

[Masoterian]

Publicado originalmente por Ēarendel:

Publicado originalmente por Don't:

My point is that they don't. You claimed they aren't V's real friends, but they don't dump V as friends in any base game ending. The PL ending is the exception.

I said they weren't your true friends. Not that they weren't friends. There are three types of friendships in life according to Aristotle; 1. Friendship of utility 2. Friendship of pleasure, 3. Friendship of virtue.

Vic and Misty can easily be identified as 3, while Jackie is 2 from the start of the game. Everyone else you meet in the game working as a mercenary is in the 1 category, and they end as soon as possible when any use for you or other person is gone.

And that is what happens after only 2 years pass in PL ending. You can call it bad writing, but more or less it's consistent with all their characters everyone becomes what they were meant to become with or without V and move on. River gets in trouble, Kerry's success has no time for V, Judy leaves NC, Panam leaves NC.

I'd agree, but not when it comes to Judy and Panam. The whole side story centered around Judy is to establish her as an outsider in this cold dystopian settings, as someone who craves genuine connection, i mean, come on just from her reaction to the suicide ending you can tell you mean a world to her. And then she ditches you like that? 2 years is not 20. Totally out of character.

Same story with Panam. All you've been together combined with the whole "family for life" nomad mentality and she just cuts you out like garbage.

Dont get me wrong, i like the ending overall, but this feels like someone was overthinking the psychology behind it, and thought something like : 'nah, not sad enough, lets undermine everything these fan favourite characters stand for just so the player can get more of a kick in the nuts'. Just feels cheap, is all.

[Pharis Gough]

Publicado originalmente por Sofia:

Publicado originalmente por EricHVela:

-snip-

You prefer Don't fear the reaper. I would say that one probably makes the most sense from the perspective of V, sure, but it's still a death sentence. After all the ♥♥♥♥ V has been through, they deserve a happily ever after.

From a broad viewpoint ,the game only has two real endings, with just different variations on the two. Every scenario either ends with A: A dead V OR B: A leaving V who is hated by everyone who mattered to them, dumped on the street with no means of supporting themselves or really even any form of support system what so ever.

And the comment "happy ending that works with Night City" is rather loaded from my perspective. It seems based once again on the idea of "Ugh, no happy endings in cyberpunk" which again, isn't a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing until CDPR decided it was.

I want a happy ending. Just one. I'm not even asking for an ending where everyone survives. There needs to be loss for it to have meaning, i understand that, no one wants to play the game about the time we all went to the park and had a nice time with nothing bad happening. But every possible ending for this game is bleak and depressing. It's bad writing. It's bad writing based on the idea V is too ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid to say " Hey, I'm going for brain surgery, may be gone for a while, maybe don't all just assume I'm dead." Yes, they had to be vague because of the NDA and or being an FIA agent. But there is a middle ground between "Quick milk run, be back in two weeks" and "I'm going to have brain surgery at a secret military installation because I saved the president from her own stupidity."

Ok, be honest. If you were in a relationship with a guy for 2 weeks before he disappeared for 2 years, are you going to wait around for those two years in the hope he comes back or isn't dead? Since the way I see it, the new ending is a chance at a new life and ♥♥♥♥ all the people I knew for a total of a couple weeks.

[Ēarendel]

Publicado originalmente por Masoterian:

Publicado originalmente por Ēarendel:

I said they weren't your true friends. Not that they weren't friends. There are three types of friendships in life according to Aristotle; 1. Friendship of utility 2. Friendship of pleasure, 3. Friendship of virtue.

Vic and Misty can easily be identified as 3, while Jackie is 2 from the start of the game. Everyone else you meet in the game working as a mercenary is in the 1 category, and they end as soon as possible when any use for you or other person is gone.

And that is what happens after only 2 years pass in PL ending. You can call it bad writing, but more or less it's consistent with all their characters everyone becomes what they were meant to become with or without V and move on. River gets in trouble, Kerry's success has no time for V, Judy leaves NC, Panam leaves NC.

I'd agree, but not when it comes to Judy and Panam. The whole side story centered around Judy is to establish her as an outsider in this cold dystopian settings, as someone who craves genuine connection, i mean, come on just from her reaction to the suicide ending you can tell you mean a world to her. And then she ditches you like that? 2 years is not 20. Totally out of character.

Same story with Panam. All you've been together combined with the whole "family for life" nomad mentality and she just cuts you out like garbage.

Dont get me wrong, i like the ending overall, but this feels like someone was overthinking the psychology behind it, and thought something like : 'nah, not sad enough, lets undermine everything these fan favourite characters stand for just so the player can get more of a kick in the nuts'. Just feels cheap, is all.

You disagree by ignoring key points I've reiterated twice now. My problem with both those characters is that they ditch you in vanilla endings as well, the DLC one is just a variation of those endings but 2 years later.

Judy is absolutely not an outsider to NC, it is quite silly to assume no one suffers in NC from the same problems, that is quite dehumanizing, just remember what River's nephew Randy and other victims had to go through..

Suicide ending is also poorly received by pretty much all characters, I realize you as a fanboy/fangirl of Judy are trying to make a case for her, but she is what she is, a quasi-selfish firecracker as much as Panam. You toe the line to their agenda they play along, you stop being their puppy? You get ghosted.