All Main Endings Ranked Worst to Best in Cyberpunk 2077

there are no less than seven different ways that  cyberpunk 2077 can conclude and whilst some share   similarities and overlapping paths by which to get  there they mostly differ wildly so in this video   we're taking a detailed look into the outcomes  and consequences of all of them to answer the   ultimate question which is best this is going  to be a wild ride so let's get straight to it   with the game's worst ending the devil the only  real available ending path when you haven't done   any side questing we get this one after embers  Up on the Rooftop by choosing the option think   trusting arasaka is risky but worth it taking  the Omega blockers to silence Johnny before   sending off to First rescue hanako via a quick  detour to the arasaka residents alongside Anders   Hellman and assisted by takemura if we saved him  during Search and Destroy and say what you will   about takemura not being a true friend that's  a fair enough assessment but saving him for   this ending is absolutely worth it in my opinion  both for his Aid in the Smasher fight and the   general extra interactions anyway saving Hanako we'll  jump in a quick air Uber direct to arasaka Tower   with Hanako having hatched a plot to overthrow her  kinslaying brother and reinstall the true leader   of the arasaka Empire Saburo arasaka who much like  Johnny of course has his own digital Consciousness   backup buried down in the mikoshi basement so Hanako  brings the ghost of her dad to the rainforest   floor to scare the ever living crap out of the  saka board members and terrify them back into   submission however yorinobu has a couple final cards  to play resorting to violence and Slaughter to   maintain his grip on the tyrannical MegaCorp we  not only have to fight floors of his men to stop   him but also finally his ultimate bodyguard Adam  Smasher in a unique Arena different to any of the   other endings and one I'd say is a little more  open and easy to fight him in despite his new   sandevistan and other Buffs received in 2.1 it  was still fairly easy to beat him using a satara   with the wallpuncher mod and Kneel! to oneshot any  other goons fun fight and something of a unique   Merit of this ending to be fair with him finally  defeated though we're brought face to face with   the apparent big bad of this particular ending  with such a misconception ladies and gentlemen   being reason one why the devil ending is the  absolute worst bearing in mind the one after   this is just straight up suicide I've done a whole  36 minute video on just why yorinobu is the hidden   hero of this game so I'll be very brief here this  dude hates his father's company almost as much as   Johnny and he realized back in 2023 that if a  nuke wasn't enough to bring it down his only   hope was to assume control and dismantle it from  within if planting bombs not enough what can you   do you become bomb when killing his father back  at konpeki he was kickstarting a plan he'd long had   in the works and whilst the Saburo's intervention  may not have been expected in that moment yorinobu   wasted no time in quashing any resistance the  Assassins sent to the junkyard weren't for us   but rather for takemura who of course is saburo's  personal bodyguard that would stop at nothing to   attain Vengeance oh and Saburo was also toying  with the idea of nuking night City on his   way there so yorinobu put a stop to that threat too  he's really not a bad guy and had V not been so   focused on Survival Johnny and yorinobu could have  made one hell of a destructive Duo for arasaka   as they still inadvertently can in alternative  endings but here the worst case scenario happens   entirely enabled by us we help arasaka to regain its  Glory deposing yorinobu's coup and weakening him so   completely that Hanako is able to slot saburo's  biochip into her brother's head effectively   killing him and restoring the consciousness of  her father you spend your whole life fighting   something only to become that very same thing  quite literally saburo of course plays it off   that his son donated his body returning the gift  of Life his father father once gave him and it   really is a chilling Prospect suggesting saburo  will remain functionally Immortal by continually   body hopping through his airs forever ruled by a  man unwavering in His World War II forged ideals   it's established in the tower ending of phantom  Liberty that by 2079 yorinobu is still ousted by the   arasaka board so suffice it to say his plan  of total company destruction is not fully   successful likely to keep the megaCorp on the  table for sequels but even still ensuring saburo   can't make a return is still no doubt a better  outcome and who knows maybe in an ending where   mikoshi is destroyed yorinobu is able to hold on a bit  better it's impossible to say currently so that's   the global aspect to this ending and it alone  is enough to Merit it the worst in my opinion   we're literally lulled with false promises into  helping the bad guys win or the closest we can   get to bad guys in this gritty morally gray  story but there's more regarding what happens   to V after everything we just did for arisaka was  a of course done with the promise that they could   save V's life and we're blasted away to their  space station to have Johnny cut out murdered   depending on whether you think he was alive  to begin with this results in major cognitive   damage to us and a grueling repetitive series  of challenges that we may or may not eventually   complete these include solving a 2x2 Rubik's Cube  which cracks open in a vision to reveal the devil   tarot card the most on-the-nose sign that we've  chosen badly signifying losing oneself and the   entrapment of your soul under the promise of Fame and  Fortune actually the devil ending does need to   be played at least once in order to complete your  tarot collection that is just something to bear   in mind we also play an association game though  our answers seem to have no grounding on later   events sadly and there's a very obvious reference  to Blade Runner here with us being told a graphic   and sad story about a mouse being killed in order  to gauge our empathy say what you will about the   implications of this ending they are dire but I've  got to say it is one of the most unique of   the bunch and everything that takes place up on  this space station is detailed and brilliantly   written dehumanizing v as we eventually descend  into a montage of repetitive daily tests reduced   to nothing but an arasaka lab rat and just hammering  home what a poor Freedom destroying Choice we've   made it's also one of the worst for tying up our  relationships in that we merely get phone calls   with those closest to us ranging from them being  not too bothered to insisting we return to Earth   At Once a far cry from the in-person encounters  of the Alternatives hell Johnny even straight   up says we made the wrong choice before he dies  eventually we receive a visit from Anders Hellman   or takemura if we saved him which finally confirms  the fruitlessness of our endeavors the surgery   did not help you will be dead before winter it's  the same story with most of the endings of course   returning to how things were before just isn't  on the table with this game wrong City wrong   people but here we are faced with a final Choice  return to earth with the short time we have left   die for certain But Die free at least even after  all the damage we've done or alternatively well   just listen to this [ __ ] it is written here  that you relinquish All rights but do not worry   the law is simply behind the times and engram  is not legally a person yeah if that doesn't   stink to high heaven then I don't know what does  we become locked away as another arasaka engram   and whilst apparently this is a reward for our  service I have a different Theory clearly our   unique set of skills were able to reshape the  future of the entire arasaka Corporation no   doubt therefore being pretty valuable saburo's  engram even says so much back at Mikoshi if we ask him [Japanese] and I think it's probable that we would only  be redeployed into the world temporarily at the   behest of the company when they needed something  done kind of like the plots of altered carbon we   become for all intents and purposes a slave and a  tool to arasaka who again thanks to us is now more   powerful than ever we literally leave the world a  darker place for having lived in it with the open   potential to make it yet darker still there is  a glimmer of hope in this final interaction with   a security guard what' you say to a person who  walked right into their greatest foe's jail to   save their life hmm I would say all right but do not  forget the way home but for me this is immediately   overtaken by V's dire facial expression not happy  not even neutral just straight up negative truly   the worst ending and good luck changing my mind  on that then again you could argue that this is   the worst ending and in terms of game content it  easily is the devil means the direst consequences   for the world but it is brilliantly constructed  and a painful but still enjoyable hour or so   of gameplay the path of least resistance however  Cuts us straight to Black it's dire hopeless and   depressing on a far more personal level could also  just put all this to rest is the quote of the day   with this one with the excuse being we won't be  putting anyone else In Harm's Way just a shame V   didn't give it an extra 4 minutes consideration  for Johnny to pipe up with the Don't Fear the   Reaper option but we'll come back to that for  this one Johnny sits beside us and after a   little heartfelt farewell the camera pans back a  shot rings out and silence cue credits and various   heartbroken messages to hammer home just what  this did to everyone around us Viktor and Misty   are hurt Judy Mama Welles and River are devastated  whilst Kerry and Panam are just straight up pissed   I place this above the devil ending since things  will no doubt play out globally as we see them in   the tower ending of phantom Liberty arasaka  definitely remaining somewhat peaceful and   weakened until at least 2079 but make no mistake  as a player this is only worth experiencing as a   morbid curiosity rather than any kind of Canon  ending and I suppose serves more as a punishment   for those who didn't side quest and don't want to  sell their soul to arasaka it's kind of annoying   actually that there's no option to just wait for  Johnny to take over our body because killing us   both is needlessly spiteful against a guy who  granted has made some poor choices but for the   most part has agreed to try and help us to his own  expense like Johnny dying to save V's life is one   thing but this is just wanten tragedy for both  parties The New Ending added by Phantom Liberty   was for a long time highly anticipated it prompted  questions like will there finally be a way to save   V will this become the quote unquote Canon ending  and whilst yes technically this is the only ending   where in V definitely lives it is far from a  happy one serving better as an expansion for the   lore than a nice way to round off our protagonists  story to unlock the tower you'll first have to   complete Phantom Liberty of course with only one  ending from each Phantom Liberty ending path   leading us to this main ending basically So Mi needs  returning to the NUSA for them to offer to help   which happens in the King of Swords and king of  Pentacles endings I've done a breakdown ranking   like this for Phantom Liberty already as well  as a deep dive into all the hidden secrets of   both ending paths if you want to cue those up for  once you're done here anyway the tower is wildly   different from any other ending and can even be  accessed without having to meet Hanako at ember's   first though granted it's still also an option  after that read will send an Envoy to pick us up   from the same decision-making rooftop not even  coming himself and you should take that as the   first warning sign the NUSA just like arasaka  really don't care about us all that much or if   they do it's our utility they care about not  our wellbeing the whole sequence that follows   is heartbreaking Johnny explains that this is  essentially death for him again same as the   arasaka ending with both times the cost of our  certain survival being his certain demise and he   pleads not aggressively but he does politely plead  as anyone would when faced with certain death that   we please maybe find another way no different  really to what we've done ever since the heist   we of course do maintain the right to our body but  man got to feel sorry for the guy and with a few   quick unassuming texts to our friends which I'm  sure won't come back to haunt us it's on to our   final heartfelt goodbye which genuinely did make  me tear up sometimes you got to let go just don't   let anyone change who you are okay Johnny I good  night Valerie today was a good day see at this   moment I thought back to what V said in clouds way  back when and you must be Valerie V just V only   people who know me real well can use my real name  goodnight Valerie today was good day yeah I'm   not crying you're crying look I love this line so  much that ever since September when I first played   it this is how I've been going to sleep at night  hey Google good night good night Sam today was a   good day good night it's actually a great way to  reflect on the day and I would highly recommend   look my point is it's a memorable but emotional  gut punch this bit a price Hefty Enough by itself   to pay for our life but of course it's only the  start you were out for 2 years it's 2079 yes of   course the surgery went wrong sending us to sleep  for two whole years now I don't entirely buy the   narrative that Reed spins to us but for now for  this video at least let's just assume it's the   truth not only have we missed the last 2 years but  our body apparently no longer accepts implants the   David Martinez level of chrome tolerance is no  longer something we can rely on and returning   to the life of night City's most Legend legendary  MC is no longer on the table an aspect we'll come   back to arguably the worst part of this entire  ending though is the phone calls we make to our   friends what happens to River Kerry Judy and  Panam varies from great to terrible but they   all have one thing in common they moved on and  now don't have time for us the main relationships   we went out of our way to build through this game  do not stand the test of time we lose pretty much   everything we hold dear first our brother in arms  then our superpowers let's be real and now all of   our best friends I mean Judy's married to someone  else and I am happy for her so happy I mean Panam   doesn't even answer the only one who does in fact  is Viktor and again the string of phone calls   oddly mirrors those from the devil ending only  with even sadder results returning to night City   it then becomes clearer just why so many stories  end at a certain point because what comes after   can often be bitterly disappointing we lose our  Apartments after falling behind on payments  and delamain shares with us that info on yorinobu that  I mentioned previously and when finally reaching   Viktors the place is barely recognizable gone  is the character of Misty's esoterica and the   clinic has been entirely corporatized no longer  is Viktor permitted to be the characterful dude   that we know instead molded into a cog of zetatech's  systems serving just their employees and losing   all his individuality it's sad to know that this  is what happens in the end and I can only hope   in some alternative endings we may be able to set  some cash aside to hold this all back alas Viktor   confirms our diagnosis claiming we're now deaf to  implants and cannot return to our normal life we   call him a sellout and the meeting is prematurely  ended by a demanding customer this whole thing is   designed to hammer home a hopeless feeling of rock  bottom and to literalize that we're floored down a   flight of steps by just some random Thug that even  level 1 V could have dealt with no problem it's   then that we see Misty now sporting a different  hairstyle and wearing Jackie's jacket our final   conversation of the game I'd say is neither  hopeless nor hopeful entirely but rather it's an   analysis of the everchanging nature of Life Misty  lost the esoterica so now gets the opportunity to   explore the world some more as one door closes  another opens it's a faces in the crowd thing   might be our one privilege and as nothing but  a face in the crowd V too has options maybe not the   same Blaze of Glory or friendship based on that  were fun for us the player to experience before   but as a person V could become a fixer or an FIA  analyst or an Explorer this chat with Misty then   is a final reminder that whilst things may seem  hopeless there is now the open-ended possibility   for a fresh start though as V wanders away as a  face in the crowd with crappy clothes and not even   any hair anymore it's tough to keep feeling that  sense of hope we'll likely be settling down for   The Quiet life that Dex alluded to right at the  beginning and if we've learned one thing through   all the gigs shards and little encounters through  this game it's that life is pretty crap in 2077   when you're just a face in the crowd and after  everything V saw and did and was capable of doing   this just feels like the most backhanded reward  ever we did get our life the one thing we couldn't   have before Phantom Liberty but what did it cost  everything worth playing for the expansion of lore  absolutely but then again perhaps there's some  things just best left as they were closing the   book at a high point before things start to drop  off look it's not an entirely bad ending it's just   mostly that so now we're on to the good endings  and these all overlap a little bit where multiple   paths can lead to the same outcome because of the  choice over who gets V's body whichever outcome   is chosen here though I think this is where  the Sun Path belongs given the existence of   a similar but less upsetting alternative higher  up to get this one of course we want to take up   on Johnny's offer to storm arasaka power alongside  Rogue which is only unlocked if we do the chippin'   in and blistering love Side Quests for Johnny  before heading to Embers think you and Rogue   should go kicks off the Johnny Centric ending  where with a quick word the afterlife is closed   and transformed into our war room we possibly get  an off-camera Rogue romance and looking around her   room afterwards a little more character expansion  clearly she kept Johnny near and dear to her heart   all these years keeping a picture on her desk as  well as one of Kerry and also one of Mike Pondsmith   indeed this is either a portrait of the radio host  maximum Mike voiced by Pondsmith or the creator of   cyberpunk has subtly cast himself as the flagship  character of Morgan blackhand who is weirdly absent   from Johnny's memories of the tower bombing this  ending also acquaints us much better with crispin   weyland a completely underrated character in my  opinion possibly due to the fact that he's only   really met by the fraction of players who complete  this ending equally the sun is probably the best   ending in terms of obtained gear probably  the fall damage negating retro Thruster boots   are indeed cool though we don't get to keep them  afterwards we do however get to keep Prejudice   one of the game's best assault rifles that I'll  review and rank soon and eventually Pride the   best and most powerful pistol in the game by  my account and one of my absolute favorite   items to use though this video is more a story  ranking to which such things have little sway   so quickly running through rogue's masterfully  hatched Plan before a final lovers tiff with the   third point of this triangle Alt things are ready  to get moving I love you who was that my son yeah   if you know what's coming well I guess the most  tragic way to tear something down sometimes is   to make us watch you build it up first despite  rogue's masterful plan things do not of course   go swimmingly from the off and immediately begin  with a crash landing into the arasaka rainforest   floor which you'll recognize from the devil ending  too whilst you're in here do not miss the Caretaker's   Spade found randomly in the trees somewhere near  the conference table it's a genuine Crossover with   The Witcher franchise and restores health  on knockdowns for any heavy hitting berserk   style build and of course if you want some  assistance for the Smasher fight and to be   a genuinely nice person you'll make sure to save  Weyland too before moving on it is possible not   to do that the fighting through the rest of this  can be a challenge at first for the unspecced build   but once alt is uploaded there's not a lot left  to do until of course we get to the final   Arena that's right the main reason I think this  is the worst of the best endings is this little scene Rogue! eat [ __ ] and die bastard smasher of course  this is what we have to do to acquire the pride   pistol but that's small consolation When rogue's  Death could have been entirely avoided instead we   play a vengeful Johnny silverhand now Waring  against Smasher who's just killed the woman he   once loved there is something to be fair that's  satisfying here about fighting Smasher as Johnny   not V on his behalf but to be honest saying  silverhand sends his regards in any of the fights   is a satisfying thing which we'll come back to  this is also one of the ending Paths by which   to obtain the Judgment tarot though we can do that  with any of the subsequent ones too and just like   all of them we'll stumble towards mikoshi plug  ourselves in only to then be told the harsh and   difficult truth V will die independent  of what I do this is inevitable this is imminent  so this is the same case however we get  here the body is now recognized as Johnny's and   should V take it back they'll only live for six  more months give or take in Johnny's figurative   hands though life will be indefinite and prior  to Phantom Liberty that really was the only way   other than entering mikoshi with arasaka to kind  of survive V of course doesn't die either but   rather crosses the bridge with Alt to become part  part of some higher entity beyond the black wall   though that's all part of the temperance ending  that will come to as its own thing next however   this is definitely not the path by which I would  recommend obtaining Temperance you see in this   ending and this ending alone we have to make the  decision as the consciousness of silverhand who can   do whatever the hell he wants in this scenario  and one could argue depending on Johnny and V's   pre-existing relationship that this is the darkest  of all endings should Johnny keep the body know   what I couldn't give a pig's prick what you think  I stay you [ __ ] off that's the deal you lying   sack of [ __ ] what do I do Alt in this scenario  the story of cyberpunk becomes Twisted contorted   from a tale of a Merc who struggles Against All  Odds to save their own life to the story of a   trickster who goads an unsuspecting victim before  stealing their body and confining their soul to an   unwanted Oblivion I don't think it it's possible  to be more of a straight up [ __ ] than this and   it does tap into the worst elements of Johnny's  character though gotta say really cool that it   exists but if Johnny does The Honorable thing and  relinquishes their hold on the body the two part   ways and we return to the land of the living  for now at least the inherits the afterlife from   Rogue as well as an awesome Penthouse just across  from the megabuilding apartment the same one in   fact inhabited by David and Lucy in EdgeRunners  now provided you called a love interest when Up   on the Roof they'll now be living here with you  but by the morning we wake up Judy or Panam will   have resorted to leave night City for their  own sake whilst river and Kerry alternatively   vow to stick around and wait for you basically if  you allow all your decisions to be guided by the   romance options and you're 90% of this poll this  ain't going to be the ending for you if you're   big into a blaze of glory though and Hunt around  this place some before hopping in the delamain v   you'll learn that V is carefully preparing for  the space-based heist of this new short-lived   lifetime there's seriously so much info on Space  around here it warrants its own lore video but   suffice to say it's good foreshadowing delamain  then explains on the way to the afterlife that   arasaka was utterly crippled by the destruction  of mikoshi and knowing what we know about yorinobu   I'd wager he'd actually be chuffed about this the  remnants of his father have been cast into the   void and even if he still gets ousted in 2 years  it'll only mean getting replaced by someone like   michiko not literally replaced with his tyrannical  father arriving at the afterlife though things   are a little somber Rogue is after all still dead  and it's likely we'll be gone soon too the fate of   the afterlife in this case is unclear but overall  this one ends on a massive note of Hope after our   fateful meeting with Mr Blue Eyes look this guy  is the most enigmatic of all characters in this   game showing up during the disturbing dream on and  The Killing Moon with clear connections to night   Corp who appear hellbent on mind controlling the  populace for their quote unquote own good their   resources are unknown but seemingly Limitless and  when Mr B says he can actually further help us I   wanna believe him after all who else is there to  turn to now arasaka and the NUSA both exacted told   too heavy and this next stunt appears arguably  tougher than even arasaka Tower a shame really   that we never get to experience it but hey maybe  it'll be a badass way to kick off the next game   we can only hope an anti-gravity fight through  the Crystal Palace would be one hell of a bang   to start on after all but for now it merely  serves as a cliffhanger ending and the blaze   of glory foreshadowed through the game except  there's a way to reach it tougher for Defo but   one which doesn't mean rogue's death and we'll  come back to that after this Temperance is of   course the ending where we make the cold logical  Choice with an indefinite lifespan far exceeding   our own it does make sense that Johnny should  receive V's body it's neither Fair nor just but   does allow both of us definitively to live on  for as long as possible it's also the name of the   tarot card found at the columbarium representing  a mature state of equilibrium self-control and   inner peace doesn't sound too bad to me clearly  the animalistic desire to survive is strong   rightfully so but remove that and this choice is  purely logical it can be achieved of course via   the sun ending which we just covered Don't Fear  the Reaper or the star both of which we'll cover   next however you get there though events play  out more or less the same Johnny awakens in a   small apartment of West wind estate on his final  day in night City he then recruits Steve a kid   from across the hall to be his driver for the day  rewarding him handsomely at the end this ending   definitely feels more grounded than the others  and not necessarily in a good way V has given   their life of course to the equation that Johnny's  will be longer and thus far the guy doesn't seem   to have spent it that meaningfully but the chat  we have with Steve in the car an accomplished   musician imparting some grounded wisdom to an  aspiring one well it may not be world-changing   Earth-shattering bucket loads of good but it's  a clear net positive and the visit to the guitar   store is just one of the most wholesome moments we  get in this game buying one of the highest quality   guitars in the store only to gift it to the kid  sort of an opportunity for Johnny to pass down   his musical Legacy I suppose and who knows maybe  we'll hear Steve on the radio in cyberpunk Orion   anyway with a visit finally to the columbarium  Johnny purchases a plaque for V placing inside   the bullet pendant present in every ending and if  we went by way of the sun one for rogue as well   then just like that Johnny boards a bus leaving  his guitar to Steve without a word and leaves   night City for God knows what haven't forgotten a  thing never will it would be a better more hopeful   ending but then the voicemails come in and it  becomes clear that Johnny did indeed leave most   of V's friends wondering just what happened to  them with Judy being the most confused and tragic   stay safe call me when you hear this here's to  hoping she moves across the country and marries   someone else because you know that's what she did  in other timelines it really is Bittersweet this   one in a similar way I suppose to the tower it's  kind of an inverted version of that only I'd say   the tower is more on the bitter side whereas  Temperance is indeed perfectly balanced as   all things should be sad but hopeful of course if  you're going this perfectly Justified route there   is only one of the three ending paths I think is  really worth taking for getting here doing it via   the sun means Rogue died for nothing Johnny would  have inevitably taken over the body anyway even   though that's not an ending though I do suppose  V gets access to a digital afterlife this way but   no rather the best path for this is where we've  put nobody else In Harm's Way and are entirely   at Liberty to do whatever we damn well please  Don't Fear the Reaper is the secret ending to   cyberpunk 2077 and voted by you guys I think to  be the best I'm going to humbly disagree and call   it second best but that's my personal sentiment  I completely get it if you want to swap these top   two this one is the biggest pain to access overall  though probably the most worth it what do you need   to First do is during the chippin' inquest at the  oil fields pick the passive aggressive option to   say Johnny screwed up our friendship no Johnny  you [ __ ] that up too you used me lied to me   can't trust you at all seems counterintuitive I  know but human psychology does say that sometimes   you've got to treat people like [ __ ] to make  them respect you more sometimes and trying harder   from there on to be our friend flash forward to  the rooftop after Embers and wait for a Solid 4   minutes go make a drink or something and when you  come back silverhand should have piped up with   this suggestion kind of tough deciding which  of your friends get to die isn't it good news   is you got this one Choom who's already dead and  he'd be honored to join you on a wild suicide run   unlike the Sun and star which require plenty of  setup as well as downloading Alt to A Shard this   ending deals with all that off screen cutting  us straight into the action as we waltz through   the front door of arasaka Tower and just shoot  our shot at getting to mikoshi this ending is   definitely less forgiving than the alternatives  for starters death in Don't Fear the Reaper means   rolling the same credits we get for path of least  resistance I everyone again treats us as though we   just died so really you only want to go into this  with a very well prepared build I'd recommend my   byakko apogee one or the satara with a Kneel! mod build  which I pretty much cover in shotguns ranks for   this one we are entirely alone unassisted save for  Johnny popping in as a digiGhost and the Smasher   fight in particular does feel a lot harder in  this ending it may be one of the most rewarding   ways to finish the game but good luck on very hard  difficulty we also don't really get any particular   unique items here unlike the Sun and star but  the lack of rogue's presence does indeed save   her life after entering Mikoshi things play out much  the same as they did in the sun only this time V   is in control and whatever choice they make is  going to be neither dark nor Sinister like I say   it's Don't Fear the Reaper where we're most at  Liberty to make either of the two choices nobody   else died to grant us this opportunity and if we  realize in the end that Johnny ought to be the one   to live then at least all the fighting has earned  us the right to choose that and V is in control to   make the choice not Johnny but equally we're well  within our means to reclaim our body for ourselves   and doing so will trigger a brighter version of  the sun ending with events unfolding play by play   save for one small difference upon arriving at the  afterlife and making the choice of who to drink   to Rogue will be present by our side leaving just  the options of Johnny Jackie or ourselves in this   scenario I assume that failure at the Crystal  Palace means Rogue resumes full control of the   afterlife and it's nice to know that it stays in  her capable hands whilst the existence of Don't   Fear the Reaper doesn't cheapen her death it does  make it feel a little more pointless and aside   from obtaining Pride Prejudice and the caretaker's  Spade I see little canonical reason to pick   that ending over this one again though taking on  arasaka Tower by oneself does come at a cost and   you'll certainly be in for a greater challenge if  choosing to do so so finally the number one best   ending to cyberpunk 2077 in my humble opinion  is the star I'm well aware that not everybody   will agree with me on this but still hear me out  the aldecaldo ending can only be unlocked of course   by first completing Panam's string of side quests  up to an including Queen of the highway after   this we're essentially a de facto member of the clan  who'll be willing to head through Hell and back to   help us quite literally in some sense going to  ask Panam for help is the option to choose here   though Johnny does warn about putting those we  care about In Harm's Way a fact which granted is   certainly a con to this ending and whilst the  events which unfold do help the Aldecaldos   massively we could argue that this is a more  selfish ending than the selflessly heroic Don't   Fear the Reaper which we just looked at even  still a call to Panam romanced or not in the   middle of the night results in a swift pickup and  a plan quickly cobbled together by the Aldecaldos   we also take the beta blockers for this ending so  no Johnny silverhand until the end but there are   a bunch of encounters to be had around the camp  if you pay attention during all the prep work V   of course has to talk to Alt in this scenario  and if you've completed Phantom Liberty make   sure not to miss the extra dialogue referring  to our encounters with the blackwall it draws   attention to just how powerful so mi had become  or how dangerous the blackwall weapons from   cynosure really are another benefit is Cassidy  Righter's shooting contest with the victory prize   being the fastest revolver in the west amnesty  no longer quite the best Revolver by my account   but a very solid second there's also Benedict and  Bruce here potentially both of whom we would have   saved during the later Badlands gigs and finally we  get officially named a member of the Aldecaldos   and awarded with a special jacket then spend  one final potentially romantic evening with   Panam leaning on each other up on this Hilltop  I could sit here with you all night I think I'd   like that then it's on to the other most badass  end mission tied with storming through the front   door in Don't Fear the Reaper though got to say  storming a previously unavailable section of the   map alongside an army of tarmac rats inside a  ridiculously powerful hover tank is by far the   most explosive and far-fetched way to do things  and interestingly this ending also ties back to   night Corp in some way this building project  is theirs and whilst blue eyes has never been   cited here it's another opportunity to bring night  Corp to the limelight before a sequel this whole   mission feels like some Star Wars type Rebellion  prevailing against All Odds Against a power far   greater but it's not without its own casualties  indeed Bob gets obliterated when hijacking the   signal Tower and Teddy by an air strike prominent  members of the crew who were with us to steal   the tank in the first place Mitch too heroically  offers himself up in a sacrificial Play Straight   Out of Pacific Rim piloting the two man basilisk  by himself to buy us all and Escape is right   the three of us have still got a decent shot but  without him they've got none though spoiler alerts   he at least is fine due to his War toughened synapses but the same can't be said for Saul the   biggest casualty of this Ending by far who meets  his demise at Adam smasher's boot Aldecaldos! [___] meat! a similar   kind of death to Rogue and one that weakens  the cyborg considerably for the fight that's   after we storm arasaka Tower from below this time  having pulled the crazy crazy stunt of borrowing   undernight City to it and yeah again this is more  ambitiously crazy than storming through the front   entrance I'd say but once we're inside it is  a similar deal to the Sun and Don't Fear the   Reaper fight through a couple rooms upload alt  and watch in horror as she works her blackwall   magic then head into the same Arena room to fight  Smasher of course we do have Panam on hand to help   this time which could be an awesome power couple  destroy evil cyborg moments depending and again I   found it fairly straightforward on very hard just  keeping at a distance with my satara there's a   satisfying silverhand send his regards moments at  the end though no more so than any other timeline   and then it's into Mikoshi for the same body  dilemma as always and here where I'm talking   about the star ending being the best I mean only  in the eventuality that V returns to their body   and everything that comes after giving it to  Johnny here cheapens the sacrifices made by the   aldecaldos rendering them not pointless The Raid  still helps the clan massively but it just feels   a bit wrong to throw the help help back in their  face like that and again Don't Fear the Reaper   is the best way to go for temperance I think  and returning V to their body also results in   this emotion packed line that really made me well  up back in December 2020 when I first played It Goodbye and never stop fighting man this game is good  should V return to their body then the decision is   made offscreen to leave night City with Panam  eventually sneaking through the Border via an   old service tunnel this is also the only ending  where we hear definitively that Hanako died amidst   the chaos confirmed that his Hanako was among the  victims so mark that as an outcome here albeit   one that I don't particularly care about what  does interest me though is just how she wound   up dead whilst we know she was imprisoned at  the arasaka residence I can only assume that   she broke out some other way got to the Tower and  was Fried by alt during our surprise attack from   below perhaps this wouldn't happen during  the the Sun and Don't Fear the Reaper as   those invasions are a lot more visible perhaps  making hanako aware to stay away or maybe she   still does die in those and we just don't hear  about it I don't know now the absolute cherry   on top that makes the star the best ending for  me involves Romancing Panam as male v or Judy   as female arguably Judy is the best option of  all merely adding another friend whom we get to   leave night City with though just Panam and the  remaining aldecaldos ain't bad either again not   so great for River and Kerryfans but knowing the  majority of my audience's preference this will be   the best one for most of you guys in terms of  romantic closure survival is one thing glory is   another but this is the ending about family and  friendship and I suppose love taking a step back   and looking at all of these options it's clear  that a huge theme of this game is rewarding us   for making friends indeed all the best endings  are only unlocked after forging those bonds and   this is the only real one where we keep them  a total antithesis to the Phantom Liberty   Tower ending where All Is Lost and it was only  after playing that one that I realized just how   special the star is it may still be choosing the  quiet life in some sense as opposed to blaze of   glory but it's quiet life in the best possible  way and one of two things will happen from here   on either V will still slowly die as seems to  be the case most of the time but they will be   surrounded the whole time by the people they  care about most in the world in fact rewatching   the differing credits it does seem the true best  option here is to bring Judy along Panam despite   her efforts struggles thereafter to spend as much  time with us as she'd like what with running the   clan now whereas Judy well this whole voice note  is just wholesome V I just wanted you to know that I'm happy for the first time in my life  this one does end on a very high note of Hope   riding off into the sunset and who knows maybe a  sequel will open up a way for V to survive this   maybe we trade with an offshoot of biotechnica  securing a new body that can work indefinitely   Or maybe we get access to some Cynosure like  Tech that can cure our condition for the moment   at least this ending provides the guarantees of  Freedom friendship and love with a little pinch   of Hope too hell even the star tarot itself found  at this station is described as the card of Hope   shining the path to home backed up further by V's  final words here well it's perfect all great Panam   we're going home sure it's not as glorious as  the Sun but I feel like that's the whole point   here after all what does glory matter in the end  when there's nobody to share it with and if I were   down to my final days i'd probably choose to spend  them in the company of those I care about rather   than desperately clawing for some final shot at  glory achieving goals for me personally is just   never a thirst that I feel can quite be quenched  it's just an ever-revolving thing whilst taking   a moment to just sit back and appreciate what you  do have that can be cathartic as hell happy even   so it's not a perfect ending the star exacts a  heavy toll for sure not least on some of those   we care about and it is a tossup between this  and Don't Fear the Reaper for which is best in   the end it all comes down to the very simple  question love or Glory of course if we look   back along all of these endings save suicide  for a second there is one thing I've noticed   they are mostly left open-ended for V's potential  survival and I actually have a fairly solid Theory   as to how V can survive all of them remaining  present or maybe even still the protagonist for   cyberpunk Orion but that of course is a theory  video for another day so subscribe if you don't   want to miss it and comment below your favorite  main ending of cyberpunk 2077 and why massive   thanks as always to my wonderful patrons for  your continued support of the channel more on   that in the description thank you for watching  I'm Sam Bram and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: Sam Bram

Views: 103,141

Keywords: cyberpunk, cyberpunk 2077, sam bram cyberpunk, cyberpunk phantom liberty, cyberpunk best ending, cyberpunk best ending panam, cyberpunk best ending judy, cyberpunk best ending choice, cyberpunk best ending phantom liberty, cyberpunk best ending 2.0, best cyberpunk 2077 ending, all cyberpunk 2077 endings, all endings cyberpunk 2077, worst ending cyberpunk 2077, cyberpunk endings ranked, cyberpunk endings ranked sam bram, every cyberpunk ending ranked, cyberpunk good ending

Id: 3NP951vj1vs

Length: 41min 58sec (2518 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 14 2024