Really enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 (even half finished & by God the staff better get the biggest bonus ever seen in gaming development for the abusive shite CDPR put them through) but the story is what makes it. Almost an Odyssey flavour to it but the character development between V & Johnny is just *chefs kiss* Like, how after trust is built without either of them noticing “I” becomes “We”
“How much would this set us back?”
“We couldnt afford it!”
“We asked you out on a date”.
This is both beautiful & devastating. Them giving in subconsciously to what’s happening to them, losing their individual identity but not fighting it anymore without even realising it because of a genuine connection built through the positive & negative, hardship & codependency intertwined.
And the bittersweetness of it all. Johnny finally developing empathy & genuine care & love for another human being while at the same time his existence is literally killing them. When he describes how sometimes when he wakes up and feels empty until he remembers that V is always there & is filled with relief….I have too many feelings!
I love “enemies to friends” trope, but the relationship between V & Johnny is more than that. Sad Boi/Gurl V reeling from the loss of the only person in the world that cared for them and finding connection again where they never expected it. Johnny finally peeping out from behind the gargantuan cocktail of narcissism, justified rage & depression that defined him to realise the surface level friendships & love he had before were just that…shallow. Even the relationships he though were real, like Alt, he’s forced to face the truth that they didn’t really exist. Alt herself said Johnny’s memories of her rescue are basically lies he tells himself. Johnny doesn’t know HOW to be a good person but he’s trying so damn hard & Vs magnanimity is the catalyst of it all.
The inherent darkness too to the ending connected to having the “best” connection with Johnny. If you say all the right things, Johnny offers the secret ending which is so much fun, storming Arasaka together, not having to sacrifice your friends. This is bittersweet though too because the V that’s left behind seems lost, disconnected even from their lover, leaving them to chase glory & the faint opportunity to live. But really, I felt like V doesn’t really believe there’s light at the end of the tunnel. This is going out in the blaze of glory, V doesnt know how to live without Johnny in their mind anymore. Sadder again is the Johnny ending here. Johnny has already said how empty he feels at the thought of V not being there beside him, together in their head.
It’s telling that Johnny doesn’t contact anyone, not even Vs love interest, even if that love interest is Kerry who knows about Johnny, to tell them about what happened. That’s pure shame. Johnny isn’t free. Johnny is directionless, stuck with the emptiness. I love Rogues voicemail with this ending; the disappointment. She’s done with him. The implicit criticism being that Johnny somehow tricked V, this kid who loved him and Johnny took advantage when it couldn’t be further from the truth.
No one understands them after this, they’re forever changed. There is no more V or Johnny, just some residual emalgamate that’s bereft in the absence of their unity.
I wonder if a true happy ending would have been for both of them to go into cyberspace together with Alt, or live out the rest of their lives together even if it would be for a short time. Cruel but kinder ultimately. In a way, that’s the choice in the “secret” scenario that they chose.
As Johnny said; “He’d be honoured to join you in a wild suicide run”.
V expressed astonishment when they successfully reach Mikoshi. They DID NOT expect to live. They made their choice to die a legend like Johnny, together, saying one last fuck you to Arasaka. They never counted on what comes next. That’s the reason the credits roll if you die and it’s the same voicemail reactions that you get in the rooftop suicide scene. Vs loved ones perceive the end result to be the same, only Johnny and V know there was a difference between giving up on the roof or exploding like a volcano at Arasaka HQ.
“I will not yield
I will not fall
I will eat dynamite
And one day I will explode
Like a volcano”
When V meets the fighter twins who’ve tried to merge consciousness, they’re dismissive and cruel. I wonder if the V later towards the end of the game understands them just that bit more. Okay that’s my obsessive thinking done.
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