Monthly Archives: February 2021

Wake the fuck up, samurai, Johnny Silverhand growls, crouching over player character V in a dump somewhere around the outskirts of Night City. We have a city to burn. Behind him floats an advertisement for Kiroshi Opticals; a neon purple eye on a holographic display peers out to an area out of focus. Early marketing material for Cyberpunk 2077 cemented this line into popular consciousness, and specifically the use of samurai in context to the game. It has been used in nearly everything since. Even in the 2018 trailer for Cyberpunk 2077, you could see the word samurai emblazoned on the back of Vs collar, just above a heavily stylized image of an onis face. At Gamescom and E3 2019, press members received jackets showing the onis face as well, bringing the Orientalist fantasy into our own reality.

Its cool. Its slick. Its cyberpunk. The idea and the iconography of the samurai in the Western consciousness has been diluted into two things the venerable samurai of Akira Kurosawa films, or the highly stylized, slick street samurai that occupies the neon-illuminated cities of cyberpunk media. Yet within the cyberpunk genre, Japanese corporations are the enemy, even as multi-national vocabularies and cultures have been congealed together to create a future envisioned by paranoia and fear. This is one of the many examples of techno-Orientalism and xenophobia that has been persistent since cyberpunks inception.

The world of Cyberpunk 2077 oozes the patchwork aesthetic of 1980s Orientalism, and the subconscious fear of an America that is no longer American but instead dominated by Japanese ultra-capitalism. You roll out of bed to radio programs making jabs at Japanese whale fishing; the streets of Kabuki and Japantown are densely packed with a hodgepodge of Chinese and Japanese-inspired buildings and street vendors; and the Arasaka Corporation reigns supreme mostly uncontested by rival military groups. That is also where the crux of Cyberpunk 2077s story lies: in the ineffective dismantling of a Japanese corporation that functions as a shadow organization, pulling the strings behind major world events. Naturally, other organizations exist within the multicultural Night City, but Arasaka remains the most prominent with the game; the corporation has even developed an item that is effectively the in-universe equivalent to the philosophers stone.

The Arasaka Corporation is a modern reimagining of the Japanese zaibatsu from the 1930s to late 1940s, with Arasaka effectively representing one or even all of the Big Four conglomerates that existed under and during Imperial Japanese rule. CEO and founder of the corporation, Saburo Arasaka, is a stand-in for the ultra-nationalist Japanese soldier turned savvy businessman. While the game, and the original Cyberpunk tabletop games that inspired it, could have provided players an avenue to actually push back against a pro-imperialist ultra-capitalist society, that isnt the path 2077 wants to go down. Instead, it allows you to be a rebel and to dismantle the corporation under specific terms and conditions, while trying to balance the idea of Cool Japan simultaneously.

Cyberpunk as a genre has a long history with exotifying Asian cultures and countries specifically Japan in regard to its text and Hong Kong concerning its aesthetic. Cyberpunk arose to prominence during the 1980s through formative works like William Gibsons Neuromancer, which envisioned the future as a techno-dystopia. The genre further cemented itself when Ridley Scotts Blade Runner became a cult classic. That film has gone on to inspire decades of cyberpunk media, including the tabletop game that Cyberpunk 2077 draws direct inspiration from; at this point, Blade Runner is perhaps more widely known than Gibsons Neuromancer or the book that inspired it, Phillip K. Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? While Neuromancer toyed with the idea of a technology-ridden dystopia, Blade Runner fully envisioned it. The movie also expanded on and pulled from themes in Dicks science fiction, such as the fear of America no longer seated in the position of a world power; before Androids, Dick had published The Man in High Castle, in which the Axis Powers won World War II. The foundations were already set for cyberpunk to slot itself into the territory of dystopian alternate fiction with Americas eyes on East Asian corporations as the newly envisioned threat.

The sets of Blade Runner are visual examples of the economic fear of the 1980s, and specifically the fear of an America that has become more Japanese than American. Holographic geisha advertise products while main character Rick Deckard eats ramen, as opposed to a more traditionally American fast food like hamburgers. In Chi Hyun Parks Orientalism in U.S. Cyberpunk Cinema, the author notes that Ridley Scott envisioned this future as distinctly Asian, highly technological, which contributes to the techno-Orientalist landscape and aesthetic that is entrenched in the film and within the genre. Even in the opening shot of the city, you see Los Angeles mostly populated with East Asian people, and while the city itself does have a large Japanese population in real life, this visual also cements what American corporations were afraid of at the time.

In the 1980s, Japan was in its Bubble Period, with the countrys economy growing substantially due to post-war government policies that included the development of technology. This was also partially due to the U.S.-Japanese alliance that was formed shortly after World War II. Maximizing U.S. Interests in Science and Technology Relations in Japan, a text that details technological and economical advancements in Japan post-World War II, mentions that a unifying thread in Japans postwar industrial success stories has been the effective utilization and improvement of technology acquired from abroad, this not being strictly limited to the literal application of technology, but also innovation in areas such as management and systems techniques. This allowed Japan to gain a foothold in the global economy and earn a place as a rising world power. However, once the Bubble Period popped and the Japanese economy began to deflate, xenophobia toward Japan and by extension Japanese people began to redirect itself.

This made way for the Cool Japan phenomenon, which was bolstered by the Japanese government in the mid-2000s and helped recreate how the West effectively saw Japan. In the 80s, the West had viewed Japan as a threat to Americas economic status as a world power, and cyberpunk as a genre reflected that fear. But through soft marketing bolstered by the general interest of Japanese pop culture in the early to mid-2000s, Japan was able to recreate a more palatable image through manga, anime, music, and other avenues to effectively change the way the country had otherwise been perceived. Cyberpunk stories incorporated Cool Japan into the existing history of the genre; all of it intertwined in the diluted replications of the genre that were to follow. What represented xenophobic anxieties of a technology-controlled future wrested out of the hands of white America turned into the Orientalist reproduction of the aesthetic.

Cyberpunk 2077 proves to be a modern incarnation of the genres historic faults and problems regarding its portrayal of Japanese and other East Asian people. 2077 seeks to fulfill those fantasies, as it lapses into the Cool Japan category with its Akira Easter eggs, katanas, and even calling the player samurai, adopting what Western media has heavily associated with the trajectory of coolness in Japanese media, be it cyberpunk or feudal. And while the most recent tabletop scenario book skirts around the now mostly defunct Arasaka Corporation and all of the baggage it effectively carries, we see the same techno-Orientalism and xenophobia shift its focus toward Chinese corporations which now reflects modern Americas anxieties toward mainland China.

But it doesnt have to be this way. There are pieces of modern cyberpunk media that use the tropes of the genre, and the fears associated with those tropes, to great success and without falling into Orientalism or the xenophobia that accompanies it. Love Shore, currently in development by Perfect Garbage Studios, and the recently released Umurangi Generation by Origame Digital, both center narratives around marginalized people in techno-dystopias without falling into Orientalism. Katana Zero by Askiisoft uses the Cool Japan trope and techno-Orientalist street samurai iconography but flips these tropes on their head in a staggeringly effective way.

Cyberpunk stories can be told effectively without supplanting the fear of the other while simultaneously aping culture for the sake of aesthetics. We can have stories about fighting back against ultra-capitalist corporations and authoritarian dictatorships that step away from the tropes that have continued to drag the genre down. Its what we deserve, and what stories about our future as bleak as it may be should be about.

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The cyberpunk genre has been Orientalist for decades but it doesnt have to be - Polygon

At the end of Cyberpunk 2077's prologue, V must decide where to send Jackie Welles, and both options have completely different outcomes.

At the end ofCyberpunk 2077's prologue, V will have to make a difficult decision regarding Jackie. After a sudden and sad sequence of events, V must decide where to send him, and the two options lead to different outcomes further down the line.This article containsspoilers forCyberpunk 2077.

During the heist that V and Jackie have been assigned to by notable fixer Dexter DeShawn, the unthinkable happens when Jackie and V finally get inside Yorinobu Arasaka's apartment and it sends the entire building into lockdown mode. In what was supposed to be a simple stealth pickup turned into the duo having to shoot their way out of Arasaka Tower, and Jackie is fatally shot. This probably isn't surprising to many players; there were death flags flying everywhere during the drive up, such as with the Delamain vehicle explaining that a dead body can be transported to any chosen location. As the foreshadowing may have suggested, this is what V needs to decide after the heist.

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Thanks to Delamain's Excelsior package provided by Dex, V has two places they can send Jackie's body after he passes: either to his family's or Vik's. While there is one clear-cut option that is better than the other, it's worth noting off the bat that, either way, Mama Welles will still offer V Jackie's bike after the ceremony.

In general, the more respectable option is sending Jackie to his mom after he passes, but this will also unlock a side quest inCyberpunk 2077that cannot be unlocked otherwise. Sending Jackie's remains to his family will result in Mama Welles inviting V over for a ceremony in a quest called Heroes. V will meet Mama Welles prior to the ceremony, and she'll ask V to find something of Jackie's to bring to the ofrenda.

V will also meet with Misty again, who will be waiting outside Jackie's garage and will offer some insights to his belongings. V and Misty have some heartfelt conversations, during which V can try to smooth over Misty's relationship with Jackie's mother. After picking an item for the ofrenda, V can say a few words for Jackie at the ceremony and talk with some others who were close with him.

If V chooses to send Jackie's body to Vik's, their ripperdoc, V will be locked out of the bulk of the Heroes side quest. Instead, Mama Welles will leave a box outside of V's that contains the key to Jackie's bike. V can call Mama Welles, who won't be upset with the decision and will stillwish V the best.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in development.

MORE:The 5 Best Characters in Cyberpunk 2077

The Latest Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 Rumor Lines Up Well with Super Switch Rumors

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Cyberpunk 2077: Where to Send Jackie | Game Rant - GameRant

Cyberpunk's Night City has tons of extra content in the form of sidequest and gigs; while these aren't necessary for completing the main story, sidequests are totally worth doing since you might learn a thing or two, or you could even get unique rewards.

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Nevertheless, one of the most common types of rewards is eddies or eurodollars, the main currency used in the game. This isn't bad as Night City is filled with places where you can spend your hard-earned cash. Maybe you want nicer clothes, or you need extra bucks to bribe that guy and continue what you're doing. Here you have a compilation of the best sidequests in Cyberpunk that you can do if you want to get rich fast.

Cash Reward: $1300 from the Corpo man and an optional $1300 from CynthiaLocation: HeywoodQuest Giver: Pepe

A tale as old as time, a man loves a beautiful woman but thinks she is cheating with another guy. V's job here is to find out if Cynthia is unfaithful to Pepe. To start this sidequest, go to El Coyote Cojo; once there, the bartender will ask you to diffuse a situation regarding some customers.

There are several ways this can go, depending on V's stats and background. Whatever you do, the guys will be dealt with, so go ahead and talk to the Corpo. Choose the "Cause I knew you were in trouble" dialogue option, and he will give you a nice reward.

However, the sidequest isn't over yet, and you can still get more eddies. Now it's time to help Pepe out, so go to the bar and talk to him; he'll tell you that he needs proof that his wife, Cynthia, is cheating on him.

Go to the area where Cynthia works, and follow her around. She will eventually go inside a building. Enter it and go to the second floor to see what she's been up to. Call Pepe and tell him the news. To get the extra reward, you must choose the "Go on let's hear it!" dialogue option, then the "She was seeing a ripper" option, and finally, "She loves you, you gonk." This will save Pepe's and Cynthia's marriage, and they'll give you a $1300 reward.

Cash Reward: $3400Location: HeywoodQuest Giver: Delamain

This side quest is short, but that's because it's a part of a bigger questline. It still is during this one when you'll get some eddies. To get the "Tune-Up" mission, you must first start the Human Nature side job.

During that one, you'll receive a text from the Delamain Corporation, which starts "Tune-Up." In this sidequest, you'll be tasked with paying a visit to Delamain's headquarters, located in Heywood. Once inside, you'll notice many people complaining about Delamain's services. Eventually, you'll get a chance to talk, so go ahead and speak to the AI.

Delamain will transfer $3400 to your account as compensation for the damage caused to your car. After this encounter, you can start the next side quest in the line, "Epistrophy."

Cash Reward: $3960Location: Watson (Little China)Quest Giver: Bes Isis

This side quest looks to find more info regarding those random texts from the Bartmoss Collective V gets throughout the game. Eventually, you'll get the option to go to the Bartmoss Collective website and click where it says "Reward For Any Info on Swedenborg!", thus starting this sidequest.

Call Bes Isis to secure the job and go to Rancho Coronado, Santo Domingo, where the next objective is. Scan the area for clues, and eventually, you'll find a small router, which you can hack for eddies and info.

Now it's time to go to the southern Badlands once there continue finding the signal sources. After you're done with that, go to West Wind Estate, Pacifica, where the final source is. Search the area until you find a group of people near a minivan.

Once there, you'll realize the signal is coming from a fortune teller bot. On the side, you'll see it has another router. If you want the eddies, you'll have to hack it, call Bes and choose the "Not exactly" dialogue option to get your reward.

Cash Reward: $5000Location: Santo Domingo (Arroyo)Quest Giver: Wakako

Cyberpunk fans will find in Sinnerman one of the most unsettling and intriguing stories in the game. After all, it isn't every day you get to help a guy who wants to crucify himself. However, Sinnerman, it's only the start of that journey, but if all you want are the eddies, then the next quests, "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" and "They Won't Go When I Go," won't be available.

During this sidequest, all you have to do is kill Joshua Stephenson, a former inmate. Go to Arroyo to the quest location and wait for Bill Jablonsky to arrive; he'll fill you in with the job's details. Get in the car and follow the vehicle Bill tells you to.

Eventually, you'll have to stop, get out and walk towards the NCPD vehicle. In just a blink of an eye, Bill will get shot. When you have to make your decision, either shot the cop and Joshua to get the eddies or talk to Joshua and continue the questline.

Cash Reward: $7000Location: HeywoodQuest Giver: Skippy

Skippy is not only an excellent weapon but a funny companion you can actually talk to in the game. However, from the start, V knew Skippy wasn't his to keep, so returning the gun to the rightful owner leaves you with a sizeable reward.

This sidequest only appears after Skippy directly asks you to return it to Regina (which happens after 50 kills with Skippy). Simply follow the waypoint to Regina's location and talk to her. She will be happy that Skippy is back and reward you with eddies.

Cash Reward: $8000Location: Heywood (The Glen)Quest Giver: Coach Fred

This is one of those sidequests that are part of a bigger scheme. Still, "Beat On The Brat: The Glen" includes a nice eddies reward. Like the other "Beat on the Brat" quest, you'll need to fight someone, so go to the mission marker in Heywood and talk to El Cesar to begin the fight.

Bet $4000 (which will also include Cesar's car in the bet), the fight will begin, and you'll need to defeat him to win. Take into consideration that El Cesar can teleport short distances, making him a mighty opponent.

After you defeat him, you can take the car and the money as established, or take pity on the guy and only take one of those or neither at all.

Cash Reward: $8690Location: Westbrook (Charter Hill)Quest Giver: The Peralezes

This sidequest will appear after 48 in-game hours since you completed the "I Fought the Law" quest. You'll be tasked with investigating a break-in in an apartment. What you really need to find to get this quest moving is the hidden door and open it. Head inside the secret room and keep your investigation going.

Eventually, you'll find a transmission source, so talk to Elizabeth about this and leave the apartment to find the source. It turns out it is a van you must now follow till it stops at an enemy hideout where you guessed it, you'll have to use some gun powder to take everyone out.

Afterward, call Elizabeth and meet with her in Japantown. The last objective is to meet with Jefferson and talk to him about what happened. No matter what you decide to do, the mission will end, and you'll get your reward.

Cash Reward: $5800 or $24,000Location: Santo Domingo (Arroyo)Quest Giver: Coach Fred

It seems that fighting for money is a lucrative way of life, at least in Cyberpunk's Night City. For this "Beat On The Brat" sidequest, you'll need to head out to the location in Arroyo and talk to Buck. Here is when things get interesting, especially if you want eddies and quickly.

You can either bet $2900 (so you'll get double if you win the fight) or bet $12,000 (which will have you walking out of this fight with $24,000). However, this last option is only available if V has a 10 Body attribute. Afterward, just fight Buck and win the fight to get your reward. Buck's punches hit really hard, but he's also kinda slow, so keep those two factors in mind before fighting him.

Cash Reward: $8340Location: Santo Domingo (Arroyo)Quest Giver: Claire

This questline will tell your more about Claire's back story, and if you play your cards right, you'll end up with two special cars. During "The Beast In Me," V will complete a series of car races with Claire.

After you've completed all four races, you can follow Sampson and choose to let Claire kill him or let the guy live. If she kills him, you'll get Claire's car, but if you convince her of sparing Sampson's life, you'll get his car as well.

Cash Reward: $32000 or $64000 eddiesLocation: Pacifica (Coastview)Quest Giver: Coach Fred

For this "Beat on the Brat" fight, your opponent will be no other than Ozob, an NPC that looks very similar to a clown. The exciting part about this mission is that the bets are pretty high; you can either bet $16,000 or $32,000 and get double the money if you win.

The fight with Ozob can be a challenging one, but use his weakness to your advantage. He is slow, and you have a large area to fight. When you get Ozob 10% health, the fight will end, and he will give you your reward.

Next:Cyberpunk 2077: 10 Side Jobs With Amazing Rewards To Do Immediately

Several Ex-BioWare Devs Would Like To Make A Mass Effect Game Like Elite Dangerous

Miguel Amaro is a highly motivated person with a passion for knowledge and gaming who's finally giving his newfound interest in writing a try. Before working as a writer, Miguel earned a Business and Administration degree and worked in Marketing. He is also trying to get to High Warlord in Classic WoW.

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Cyberpunk 2077: 10 Side Quests The Will Make You Rich | TheGamer - TheGamer

A diverse and inclusive world had been something that, internally, wed wanted for a long time, but the IPs had never really allotted for it, she said.

In a podcast, Damon Stone, who later became Android: Netrunners lead designer, described the world-building as "pointillism": Each card is a small piece of color that adds up to the overall world. Robinson had the job of directing the many artists who would contribute those small parts to bring about the big picture.

If you send a text art brief, and you dont specify things to an artist, especially freelancers, theyre going to give you what they think you want, she said. So if you dont specify race/gender/age, youre going to get a thirtysomething white man, with close-cut dark hair and dark eyes, sort of the anydude from video games.

So the team got really specific with its art direction. Robinson said they even had a spreadsheet to figure out who was overrepresented and who was underrepresented. It was incredibly deliberate.

Fantasy Flights team made a good number of changes to the game they inherited from Wizards of the Coast, from bringing ICE back to all-caps to using fixed, nonrandomized expansion packs. But perhaps the biggest change was the addition of a card representing you, the player.

Instead of being an out-of-game manager equipping a team of misfits with day-glo hair and bionic limbs, you could be Chaos Theory, a school-age hacker who does her netrunning via a console shaped like a stuffed dinosaur; or Noise, a Chinese-Irish hacker born on the Moon. Or you may be Valencia Estevez, "the Angel of Cayambe," fighting for the residents of a town in present-day Ecuador and a New Angeles slum in the new mythos. You could even be Whizzard, one of the few white cis-male characters in Android: Netrunner, based on Android designer Kevin Wilson.

And a game whose business model depends on regularly printing new expansion decks is a game whose cast of characters must constantly expand. The world is so big, and there are so many different kinds of people, Robinson said. What does cyberpunk India look like?

I Hate That I Have to Call Diversity a Risk.

The pressure to deliver games on tight schedules makes fighting for diverse representations tough at for-profit companies, says Jonni Trev, a volunteer designer for the Project NISEI fan organization, based in Oakland, California. Theyre also a video game designer.

"External pressure to make money makes every game youve ever played worse, says Trev. There is no game you will ever play that has been made better by that."

In Trevs experience, games that demonstrate consideration for diversity and inclusion get that way because of a few people on the inside who fought for it. "Real inclusion is very hard work, they say. You cant just be like, lets get some brown people in here. It doesnt work that way.

Now a freelancer, Robinson has experienced firsthand certain backward industry views of what players want. She says she was reprimanded once that there were more women than men in a product, and to never let them see that happen again.

There's always quiet pushback, even if you dont quite see it," Wilson says. "They wont come out and say they dont want diversity. Theyll say, oh, the numbers show that a white male protagonist is going to get us the best return on our money. Its always couched in these numbers that you cant argue with because theyre often mysterious somewhere.

With less money at stake relative to big-budget video games, the Android: Netrunner designers had more freedom to take risks. I hate that I have to call diversity a risk, Robinson said. But Wilson says he and colleagues enjoyed the full support of Fantasy Flights then CEO, Christian Petersen, to create the game world they wanted.

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An Inclusive, Cyberpunk Future Is In the Cards - WIRED

The Arasaka Corporation is an obvious parallel to Japanese megacorporations like Toyota and Sony, but it may have a more specific inspiration.Per Redditor u/jackpincolini92, the Arasaka Corporation is most likely based on the real-life Nariakira Arisaka, inventor of the Arisaka rifle. Their names are obviously similar, but so are their histories.

The Arisaka rifle was the standard rifle used by the Japanese military from the early 20th century to World War II. Meanwhile, the Arasaka Corporation got its start as the main supplier for the Japanese military in that period. Nariakira Arisaka and the Arasaka Corporation's CEO, Saburo Arasaka, both served in the Japanese military before becoming the heads of weapons companies (although Nariakira Arisaka worked directly for the Japanese military and never founded his own company).

Finally, Saburo Arasaka'soverall goal is to re-establish the Japanese empire of the 20th century, with himself as shogun. While Nariakira Arisaka didn't have any apparent ambition to become shogun himself,the Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War states that he was born "as the fourth son of a samurai retainer" who had served the Tokugawa shogunate.

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Cyberpunk 2077: The Untold Truth Of The Arasaka Corporation - Looper

There's about six endings available in Cyberpunk 2077, depending on the choices you make during crucial dialogue scenes and within side quests. During Act 2, it's recommended to complete as many side quests as possible to ensure you have the maximum amount of choices at your disposal once you actually go on to meet Hanako at Embers.

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Some of the side quests have a very strong effect on the ending of the game, while others just make smaller appearances in various forms, either during the ending scene or the end credits. Without engaging in any side quests, your options will be limited to either trusting Arasaka to handle the situation or to simply end things on your own term. Here's which quests to complete at the very least to open up your choices. Warning, spoilers ahead!

Starting off with a minor one, the Peralez couple will contact you sometime during Act 2 to ask for your help in an investigation. This will put you in touch with River Ward as well, which will help you finish his storyline later. The Peralez initially want a simple investigation into the death of the previous mayor, but they will contact V later on for more pressing concerns.

The actual main quest of the Peralez couple has you investigate their lavish penthouse for potential signs of intruders or burglars. It turns out that the family has been under close surveillance for a long time, but an unknown entity that could either be a corporation, their rivals or even a rogue AI as suggested by Johnny.

As you advance through the quest, it becomes a possibility that Jefferson's wife Elizabeth Peralez is actually in on this whole mission and seeks to use mind control on her husband. With that, you're given a choice on what to tell Jefferson himself when you eventually meet him.

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As a result, you will receive a call from the Peralez during the end credits, and even later down the line in Act 2 depending on the choices you made. It's unclear what happened to the two of them, but if you let Jefferson know he was being watched and controlled, he will come to even suspect his own wife as well.

River Ward is an NCPD detective you'll likely meet during your dealings with the Peralez couple, a set of quests which will become active once you're deep in Panam's side quests. After helping him investigate the fate of the previous mayor, River will take a liking to V and call them back for some help regarding a personal matter.

River's side quest is quite dark and involves rescuing his missing nephew Randy from the claws of a child abductor. By examining the dreams of the abductor through a braindance sequence, River and V will have the chance to determine where Anthony, the criminal, could potentially still be holding Randy and the rest of the abducted teens.

It's important to find all possible clues to be able to narrow down the right farm. Once you arrive to Edgewood Farm, prepare to disarm a bunch of turrets and landmines which are scattered around the perimeter. You can get inside through several ways, including the roof which has a hole in it.

Inside, you'll find Randy and the rest of the kidnapped teens. After rescuing them, and finishing the quest line with River, as well as romancing him, River will most likely appear in the end credits scene in a call. If he was contacted during Act 3 and V is allowed to return to her life in Night City, River will be at V's side and is one of the few NPCs who will not leave Night City.

Judy Alvarez is met already during Act 1, so getting to know her won't be a challenge. However, how you handle things afterwards will determine whether or not Judy will stick around with you until the end. Make sure to help her find Evelyn Parker during Act 2 and try to be compassionate and kind towards her, even when she's untrusting of you.

RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077: The Best And Worst Things About Each Ending

Judy's story culminates in getting revenge against Clouds, the club that essentially failed to save and protect Evelyn Parker. Help her achieve her revenge by siding with Judy and taking down Maiko when she turns on you upon threatening the Tyger Claw bosses.

The final step in Judy's story line is her romance quest Pyramid Song, which will have you join her for a dive within the nearby dam. Make sure to scan as many clues from her past as possible during the dive, and if you're playing a female V, choose to romance her later on once you've returned to the shack for the night.

Judy will appear in the end credits no matter what ending you chose if you completed her quest and romanced her. If you chose to call her before the final quest, and if V is allowed to return to her life in Night City, then you'll wake up next to Judy at V's new mansion at the top of the city. Unfortunately, Judy has set her mind on leaving the city, a decision which won't change even at high affinity levels.

Kerry Eurodyne is Johnny's former band member and one of the few people that remain of the original Samurai group. Johnny will have you contact him by sneaking into his mansion in North Oak, where you'll need to prove to him that Johnny's living inside your head.

Kerry's quest line is perhaps the tamest of all the romance quest lines. Many of his concerns have to do with music and his own career. Join him and the rest of the band for a final Samurai concert where Johnny will take over V's consciousness, after which Kerry will contact you for a few additional quests involving the girl group Us Cracks.

After helping him meet the Us Cracks girls, Kerry's quest will culminate in a trip on a lavish yacht that travels past Night City's shore. Help him destroy the yacht thoroughly, and if you're a male V, you can make a romantic advance here, as well as previously when meeting him at a club with Us Cracks.

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Kerry will also call you during the end credit scenes, but much like River and Judy, he can also appear at V's mansion if you choose to call him before the final quest in Act 3. Kerry, just like River, has no plans to leave the city and will remain by V's side even as they go on their final mission, if V was allowed to come back to Night City.

The romance options aside, one of the most important quests is that of Johnny's and Rogue's. Johnny is basically the second main character of the game, so ensuring that you have a good relationship to him by the time Act 3 rolls around is absolutely crucial. In order to do so, you need to complete a few of his personal quests.

Make sure you collect all of Johnny's clothing items, his gun, as well as his car. Collecting most of them will still raise your affinity level with him enough to unlock this ending. When Johnny asks you for favors, such as contacting Kerry and going on a date with Rogue, make sure to agree.

As for top fixer Rogue, if you've completed Blistering Love and allowed her and Johnny to go on a date, she will become an option for the final mission. At the rooftop when V must make a decision on how to handle things, choose "I think you and Rogue should go", which will essentially have Johnny take control of V.

Once inside Mikoshi, you have another choice to make. You can either have Johnny sent back to Night City to live in V's body, or allow V to live out their final days with their loved ones. With Rogue gone, V will now be the top personality at the Afterlife.

Panam Palmer and her nomads are another significant part of the game and its ending. You'll meet her shortly before chasing after Anders Hellman and a Kang Tao vessel, thanks to Rogue. Panam's quest line is incredibly long but quite linear, and will have you complete personal missions for you and helping the Aldecaldos.

RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077: Tips For Taking On An Assault In Progress

Finishing this quest line and reaching Queen of the Highway with Panam is probably the most important quest to finish before entering Act 3. That's because the Aldecaldos are now in V's debt and will become an option to call up when you find yourself at the rooftop with Johnny and have to make a decision.

If you choose the Aldecaldos over Johnny and Rogue, and don't wish to trust Arasaka or end things on your own, Panam and the rest will help you enter Arasaka and more specifically Mikoshi. However, in the process you will lose Saul, when you enter the fight with Adam Smasher.

Choosing the Aldecaldos will also allow you to leave the city with the nomads and Panam, rather than staying behind. If you chose Johnny and Rogue instead of the Aldecaldos, but decided to call Panam instead and romanced her, she'll be at V's mansion and announce that she's leaving with the rest of the nomads.

Next: 10 Hidden Plotlines Everyone Missed In Cyberpunk 2077

How Mario Party Has The Worst Evolution As A Gaming Series

Tea lover and video game obsessed writing enthusiast with her very own Overwatch team, Anastasia writes about games that leave an impression on her and make her come back time and time again.

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Cyberpunk 2077: Every Side Quest Story That Can Affect The Main Games Ending - TheGamer

With a focus on high-tech combined with low-lifestyles, there are a variety of ways games can introduce players to the cyberpunk genre. There are plenty of video games that allow players to explore some truly amazing cities, each with unique spins on the tropes associated with the genre.

RELATED: 10 Best Films Featuring Dystopian & Cyberpunk Futures, Ranked

While some games take a more directapproach filling cities with surveillance and citizens addicted to bio-augmentations. Other games showcase the early moments of a cyberpunk city, by focusing on social and political commentary. With so many games in the cyberpunk catalog, finding some of the best examples of cyberpunk cities can be daunting.

Once the automotive powerhouse of the world, Detroit now houses a major cybernetics plant, or at least that is how Quantic Dream imagines the city. Detroit Become Human takes place in the year 2038, and the city is everything players would expect from a cyberpunk world.

Relationships between humans and androids reach a boiling point. A "Red Ice" epidemic plagues the city and plays a vital role in the story's plot. Though Detroit Become Human follows a more linear world map design, there are a few missions that allow players to experience an early stage of cyberpunk. In the game, Detroit may look like a regular city, but the underlying societal struggles and conflicts are common gateways into the genre.

The Union Aerospace Corporation base (UAC) on Mars, from Doom 2016, may not initially seem like a cyberpunk city, however, it fits the bill. After an energy crisis on Earth, an Argent fracture is discovered on Mars that could power the planet indefinitely. The only problem is it will literally siphon that energy from Hell itself. Since cyberpunk corporations hardly ever think beyond profit, the UAC is built around that fracture.

RELATED: 10 Games To Play After Cyberpunk 2077

Unethical technological advancements, such as grafting biochemical weapons onto demons become a norm. It is up to players to rip and tear their way through the demonic hordes after Lazarus energy consumes the facility.

Watch Dogs: Legion takes place in the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom, London. The city has been overrun with an authoritarian police regime, called Albion, as well as organized crime syndicates.London is brimming with social and political unrest, as citizen's entire lives are monitored constantly. Players will have to brave the all-seeing surveillance systems and private militaries that control the streets.

Hengshais a vibrant city during the day, evenholding the nicknamethe Jewel of the Yangtze River. However, at night it is teeming with underworld nightlife. Hengsha is the heart of the global augmentation industry, so players can expect to find streets filled with nightclubs and augmentation chop shops. The island city is even divided into several levels and city districts.

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The upper and lower levels are completely different from one another. Lower Hengsha is brimming with crime and poverty. A private security force has checkpoints on every corner. Upper Hengsha has plenty of grass and trees and all sorts of vibrant life with snobbish citizens. Though Deus Ex: Human Revolutiongives players plenty of freedom of choice, the city life is a stark reminder of what cyberpunk worlds are really like.

Built out of an abandoned subway system under Crescent City, the Subway Town in RAGEis a prime example of cyberpunk innovation. Subway Town is the largest settlement in the Eastern Wasteland. The post-apocalyptic city still retains most of its vivid neon lights and trance-inducing subway music. There are plenty of bars and garages built from discarded rail cars and way stations. Death races and holographic games of dice are just a few attractions players may come across. That, and a former tech hub and lab overrun with giant irradiated mutants just a few miles above the city.

Underground fight clubs, holographic closed-circuit cats, and tons of unethical technology makeRengkok from Ruiner an amazing cyberpunk city. Webs of bullet trains connect the main city hub to each production facility, factory, and warehouse.

RELATED: 10 Games To Play If You Loved Cyberpunk 2077

The train system makes the city huge in comparison with other games. Players can stumble across a variety of dystopian characters and creatures. The city itself is owned by a failing conglomerate known as Heaven. When it comes to one of the best cyberpunk metropolises, Ruiner has players covered.

One of the most recent additions to the cyberpunk genre is Cyberpunk 2077's Night City. The city sprawls across the world, and various layers of depth make the open-world game a great addition to the genre. During the day, the city can pass for almost any other, but much like its name, the city is all about the nightlife. Neon signs and billboards cover the concrete jungle, and all manner of ripper-docs and garages are on every corner. Arms dealers, corporate peons, and bio-augmented gangs are waiting for players to find and challenge them.

Cloudbank is where the majority of Transistor takes place, and home to the protagonist Red. Like many cyberpunk cities, Cloudbank is full of tall buildings, with multiple levels. Cloudbank is made up of several districts, that players can explore.

RELATED: 10 Hidden Secrets Many Still Haven't Found In Cyberpunk 2077

Unlike other locations in the genre, the city operates on a voting system to ensure that "everyone has a voice." If citizens want the sky to turn green, it will. This political structure also leads to a lot of volatility. Though Cloudbank may seem like a utopia, the semi-autonomous robots killing citizenswould say otherwise. These robots can self-upgrade and evolve, when they were originally used only to repair anomalies throughout the city.

The setting of both Mirror's Edge: Exordium and Mirror's Edge Catalyst, the City of Glass is a symbol of corporate power in a cyberpunk world. The city is pristine to the point of being almost entirely featureless. However, the towering buildings and sleek designs cannot hide the true tone. The City of Glass stands at the forefront of the digital revolution. As such, most citizens are connected to the Grid, a citywide surveillance network that connects everything in the city.Players are able to experienceGlass from a first-person perspective. Explorationand parkour are essential to completing missions and fighting enemies in the city.

Set in 2056, Shadowrun: Hong Kong takes place in the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone, which is completely controlled by corporations. Due to corporations having control of the city, the governing bodies are made up of the Board of Governors and the Executive Council. The city itself is composed of multiple districts.Like other games in the genre, crime is prevalent and varied. From white-collar crime to street-level crime, gangs and foreign syndicates have operations throughout the city. Players will have to make their way through the city by completing jobs that increase in difficulty and complexity.

NEXT: Cities Skylines: 10 Must Have Mods For A Cyberpunk City

Next The Witcher 3: 10 Things We Hope They Fix In The Next-Gen Port

Camisha Pisenti is a freelance writer, streamer, and gamer, based in Dallas, Texas. During her time as a streamer, she has had the opportunity to develop content about a variety of games. A graduate of The Art Institute of Dallas she received a degree in the Media Arts and Animation program. When she is not writing, she can be found gaming or annoying her family dog.

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10 Best Cyberpunk Cities In Gaming | Game Rant - GameRant

Cyberpunk is the fusion of "low life and high-tech." Here are some of the worst video games involving the cyberpunk genre.

As the gaming world continues to debate the merits and misgivings of the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077, it's time to consider where the game ranks in the pantheon of all-time cyberpunk video games. Stripped down its essence, Cyberpunk is the fusion of "low life and high-tech," the retro-futuristic result of which can be found among innumerable video game examples.

RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077: 10 Unpopular Opinions (According To Reddit)

While Cyberpunk 2077's overall narrative has been praised, the technical glitches have driven gamers mad, especially given how much time and money went into the making of the game. To see if it makes the all-time worst cyberpunk games, scroll below.

Released by Sega and Capcom in 2001, Heavy Metal: Geomatrix is a 3D cyberpunk fighting game for Sega and Dreamcast that did not resonate among fans and critics alike.

Based on the Heavy Metal comics, the game features four large arenas that serve as battlegrounds for the main characters. Fighters are fused with hulking metallic technology as they fight in dark industrial settings. The game received a paltry 3/10 from Game Informer, a 3.4/10 from GameSpot, and a 4/10 from CVG.

Save for Blade Runner, video game adaptations of popular cyberpunk movies and TV shows haven't been well received. One glaring example is James Cameron's Dark Angel, released on PS2 and Xbox in 2002.

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With a D+ grade from GameRevolution, 3.8/10 rating from GameSpot, 4/10 rating from IGN, and 48/100 Metascore, the game was criticized across the board for its weak and repetitive gameplay, glitches, blindspots, poor story, and inferior stealth mode.

Another risible cyberpunk video game dismissed by almost everyone who played it was Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, the ancillary tie-in with the 1995 Sylvester Stallone cyberpunk action flick.

The third game in the series, Dredd vs. Death is a first-person shooter that offers single and multiplayer modes as Dredd tries to conquer the evil corporation filled with vampires and violent ex-cons. The game earned a 3/10 from Eurogamer, 4/10 from Maxim, 2.5/5 from Nintendo Power, and 5/10 from IGN.

Boasting a 3/10 Edge rating, 4/10 IGN mark, and a 43/100 Metascore, MindJack is a third-person shooter released on PS3 and Xbox 360 that did not strike a chord among cyberpunk enthusiasts.

RELATED: 10 Cyberpunk TV Shows To Watch If You Play Cyberpunk 2077

The story follows Jim Corbijn, a special agent with the ability to hack into the minds of his AI foes. When Jim is dispatched to District 7 to investigate a shooting, he becomes involved in a government conspiracy called Project MindJack, which further endangers his life.

Released by Time Warner Interactive in 1994, Rise of the Robots began as a PC fighting game that made its way onto various video game consoles. Players assume the role of a cyborg called ECO35-2 and fights various cohorts en route to the final boss (The Supervisor) of the evil ElectroCorp.

With 2/5 ratings from AllGame and Next Generation, the game also received a 5% on Amiga Power and a weighted average of 4/10 from EGM.

Another abysmal cinematic cyberpunk title translated to the gaming industry includes Johnny Mnemonic: The Interactive Action Movie. The movie drew such poor reviews that its designer, Propaganda Code, shut down after its release.

RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077 & 8 Other Awesome Video Games Keanu Reeves Appears In

Based on the 1981 William Gibson vignette, the point-and-click game drew a 1/5 rating from Mac User, 2/5 from AllGame and CGW, and 3/10 from Edge. The game was panned for its poor gameplay and a lack of imagination, with Hardcore Gamer calling it one of Sony Imagesoft's worst titles.

While it fared a bit better for PC users, the N64 edition of the Japanese cyberpunk game Daikatana earned a lowly 42/100 Metascore. However, it also garnered 3.7/10 from GameSpot and 3.87/10 from EGM.

The story concerns Hiro Miyamoto, a swordsman in 2455 Japan who must find the cure to a global pandemic while rescuing a colleague's kidnapped daughter. The game was panned for its mediocre graphics, stodgy gameplay, and forgettable settings.

Developed by Creative Reality in 1994, DreamWeb is a top-down point-and-click PC game featuring distinctive cyberpunk iconography. The story tracks a barkeep named Ryan living in a dystopic future metropolis who is cursed by the bizarre dreams of a force called DreamWeb and must defeat the seven evils that operate the program.

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DreamWeb earned poor reviews upon release, including 1.5/5 star-reviews from Dragon and Adventure Gamers, as well as 2/5 stars from Adventure Classic Gaming.

With a 34/100 Metascore and 2/5 GamePro rating, Bomberman: Act Zero is one of the all-time worst cyberpunk games ever made. The standalone entry in the series was blasted by fans and critics for extended loading times, poor soundtrack, boring and repetitive gameplay, and uninteresting camera angles.

The game revolves around Bombermen, technologically-enhanced entities forced to do battle with one another underground and find their way to Earth's surface. If a player dies, they go back to the first of 99 levels.

Given its pedigree and overwhelming fanfare, the original Akira video game proved to be one of the biggest disappointments in the gaming industry up to that point. The game drew poor reviews across the board, including a paltry 17/40 grade by Famicom Tsushin.

Meant as a marketing tie-in with the film of the same name, Akira was too rudimentary to make much of an impact in the gaming world. Players assume the role of Kaneda, a motorcyclist out to clear his name following the military abduction of his friend, Tetsuo.

NEXT: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Akira

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10 Worst-Ever Games In The Cyberpunk Genre, Ranked | ScreenRant - Screen Rant

The Shoot to Thrill side job in Cyberpunk 2077 will challenge players' trigger speed but can lead to powerful rewards and some much-needed Eddies.

Cyberpunk 2077 is filled with different missions, side jobs, and gigs to finish. It is easy for players to feel a little overwhelmed at the start of the game, but some of these tasks are certainly worth doing and doing well as soon as they appear in the game. The Shoot to Thrill side job is something players should do as soon as possible as it can give an Epic M-10AF Lexington Pistol if the player finishes in first place. This powerful weapon can be very useful in the early stages of Cyberpunk 2077.

The Shoot to Thrill side job is offered by Wilson, the gun store owner near Vs apartment. It will only be available in the game after the Playing for Time main story quest is completed. Players will need to wait until Wilson contacts them on the phone and informs them about a shooting contest that he is holding in his gun store.

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Agree to take part in the contest, then head to the 2nd Amendment gun store right beside Vs apartment. The quickest way to get there is to fast travel to the building's teleport point, then walk down the stairs and around the balcony on the left. Players can onlyfast travel between teleport pointsinCyberpunk 2077, so it may be necessary to open the map, find the nearest fast travel location, and drive there to interact with it and fast travel. When players go inside the gun store and speak with Wilson, they can start the contest.

Players will need to walk to the predetermined booth on the range and draw a weapon for Wilson to begin the countdown. It is possible toshoot any target on the range, and players are not limited to shooting just the targets in their own lane. While powerful, revolvers force the player to reload too often, losing time to spend shooting targets. There will be a pistol on the counter of the range that players can use, but the ideal weapon is any Lexington Pistol variant due to the magazine's size.

A final, yet vital, aspect of winning this contest is to shoot each target as many times as possible. Simply shooting them once will not be enough to get first place, and players should try to land four to five shots on each target before they disappear. After testing, there does not seem to be a set number of shots the player needs to land to get first place, but landing 100 shots will guarantee a win. It is a good idea to save the game before starting the contest if a repeat of the side job is required.

When the contest is complete, Wilson will announce the winner. If the player comes first, the prize is $500 and the Epic M-10AF Lexington Pistol. Second place will result in a higher Street Cred reward for the mission. Third place or lower will result in the player only receiving the default Street Cred for completing the gig.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.

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Cyberpunk 2077: Shoot to Thrill Gig Guide | Game Rant - GameRant

Whatever happened to The Future? Youre living in it s orry for the mess; we werent expecting company. Just clear a spot among the discarded red hats and empty Mountain Dew liters and have a seat, because were going to talk 1990s cyberpunk cinema.

Back in the 90s, we had a different vision for The Future (aka the 2000s). Yes, it was also dystopian AF, but at least it looked cool and the tech was awesome. Instead of sleek black-leather suits and flying cars, what do we have in 2021? Neon Crocs and Bluetooth butt plugs. Lame.

Here are nine movies from the 1990s that predicted The Future, both boldly and brainlessly. They dont all fit within the critically determined cyberpunk genre, but we were certain that critics would have been erased from the bloodline by now, so dont sweat it.

Fun fact: Keanu Reeves' 1995 cyber-thriller Johnny Mnemonic is set in 2021.

Virtuosity (1995; Prime Video, PopcornFlix)Virtuosity is simultaneously Denzel Washingtons worst movie performance and Russell Crowes best Traci Lords, too. Washington plays an L.A. cop tasked with taking down Crowes SID 6.7 (Sadistic, Intelligent, Dangerousha!), a virtual-reality serial killer whos now hamming it up IRL. SID 6.7 is a composite program of historys worst scumbags (Hitler, Manson, Hannity, etc.) and Crowe is obviously having a blast as a cutthroat cartoon. The rest of the movie? Virtual shite.

Sandra Bullock in The Net, a flick ahead of its time!

Strange Days (1995; VOD)Set on the eve of Y2K, 1995s Strange Days envisions a Los Angeles that looks like a budget Las Vegas Blade Runner experience. In this glittery warzone, hustler Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) sells literal memories extracted from peoples brains as the street drug of choice. Cool setup, but the digital heroin plot devolves into a standard murder mystery, leaving Juliette Lewis as a Courtney Love/Shirley Manson-esque rock star belting out PJ Harvey tunes to (almost) redeem this mess.

Hackers (1995; VOD)Hackers is so '90s it hurts. Teen computer hackers Zero Cool (Jonny Lee Miller), Acid Burn (Angelina Jolie), Cereal Killer (Matthew Lillard), and others are caught breaking into a corporate supercomputer for kicks. This alerts these nicknames The Plague (Fisher Stevens), an evil hacker who had nefarious plans for said supercomputer; soon, the gang is on the run, skateboarding and keyboard tapping like the wind. Floppy disks were never so sexy.

Stallone. Snipes. Stupidity.

Demolition Man (1993; VOD)America 2032 is a crime-free utopia where all restaurants are Taco Bells. Sounds great until 1996 psycho criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) escapes cryo-prison, grabs some museum guns and starts shooting everything up (this flick is an NRA wet dream). Soon, unfrozen 90s cop John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) is dispatched to fight ultraviolence with ultraviolence, because thats always the answer. D-U-M-B, but Demolition Man is as prescient a comedy as Idiocracy.

Freejack (1992; VOD)In the distant future of 2009(!), rich fat cats achieve immortality by purchasing new bodies prior to their past deaths via time travel just go with it. Racecar driver Alex Furlong (Emilo Estevez) is snatched right before a 1991 crash by body-napping mercenary Victor Vacendak (Mick Jagger), but escapes, thus becoming a Freejack (lest you thought this movie was about pity handjobs). If you buy all 98 pounds of Mick Jagger as a threatening villain, Ill go on. No? Cool.

Cyberzone (1995; Prime Video)Robot hookers and Marc Singer? How did this escape the 80s? Los Angeles is underwater and Phoenix, AZ is a coastal capitol in 2077 (sounds about right), and bounty hunter Jack Ford (Singer) has been tasked with tracking down four female pleasure droids whove gone missing between Jupiter and the undersea New Angeles, now an ultra-Christian stronghold. Yup. Cyberzone looks like it was filmed over a weekend for $700, but at least theres gratuitous bot nudity.

Fatal Conflict (2000; Prime Video, Tubi)Criminal siblings/lovers, sentenced to a prison planet in 2029, hijack a space freighter and set course to crash it into Los Angeles (filmmakers who work in L.A. apparently really hate L.A.). To stop them, pilot Sasha Burns (Kari Wuhrer) infiltrates the freighters inmate population armed with just a gun, flawless beach waves, and an industrial-strength tank top and shes still a more believable badass than Mick Jagger. Upside: Were only eight years away from prison planets.Visit billfrost.tv for more trenchant television coverage.

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