Shawn Ng

Cyberpunk 2077 Life Lessons

 

Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. CD Projekt released Cyberpunk 2077 on 10 December 2020.

Famous lines

"Swap meat for chrome, live a BD fantasy, whatever, but at the end of it all, it's the code you live by that defines who you are. " - Johnny to V

"He burned down half the city just to prove he was right and burned the other half just for fun." - Information entry about Johnny Silverhand.

Johnny Silverhand - The legend

Johnny Silverhand, born Robert John Linder, was a famous influential rocker boy and the lead singer of the band Samurai before its breakup in 2008.

V - You, the player

V, an alias for Valerie/Vincent is a mercenary involved in a series of singular events during the year 2077, which toppled the balance of power in Night City.

Intro

I watched the movie cutscenes found on youtube and enjoyed them. Prior, I am unfamiliar with the term cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life and high tech" featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cybernetics, juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order. Cyberpunk started in the 1960s and became mainstream in the 1980s. Some of the well-known works include Bladerunner, The Matrix, and Ghost in the Shell. In Cyberpunk, the government and the corporation will have more power over the people through tech surveillance and control. China's camera surveillance is a real-world example.

V is a character that starts in Night City as a low life. To get into the major leagues, he and his friend Jackie Welles do a heist to steal a cutting-edge prototype tech from Arasaka (one of the biggest corp). This heist did not end well, Jackie died and V eventually die regardless of the ending you chose.

Endings

There are 5 endings

  1. Work with Arasaka
  2. Work with Rogue
  3. Work with Panam
  4. Suicide
  5. Solo

Working with Arasaka is the most logical choice for survival. It invented the engram that is killing V,  it has so many resources at its disposal. However, my guts tell me that it doesn't feel right.

I think Rogue and Johnny's relationship is unlikely in real life. They may be old lovers, but they split and Johnny is a dick. No one in their right mind would risk everything for their EXs after 50 years. Is it possible for someone in their 80s to be so hot-blooded?

Panam is V's girlfriend. Still, hard to imagine risking your and your nomad family's lives on a guy you know for a few months.

Even if I am tired of all hopeless struggles, I would rather give Johnny my body rather than suicide, which will kill both of us. That will be a waste.

If I am on a suicide mission in that I have >90% dying, I won't drag my friends into it.

I love the solo ending. "If I gotta die, rather fall into my grave gun in hand and on fire. And not drag anyone down with me". I single-handedly take on Arasaka? Hell ya, this should make me a legend.

Lessons

Dexter DeShawn asked "Quiet life or blaze o' glory?" I pick blaze o' glory. I know that this may not end well for me. But I prefer to live than survive.

Published: 2021-01-07 | Updated: 2023-02-11

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