Recommended Game Story · Cyberpunk 2077 Part 13
Chapters in this story
Spoiler Warning: This is a commentary series covering major events, companion stories, branching paths, and endings of the main game and Phantom Liberty. Each ending is the result of different choices and does not all happen at once. I do not transcribe original dialogue or reenact every scene. Unstated inner thoughts are distinguished as interpretations. AI illustrations are symbolic reconstructions, and V's appearance, gender, and relationships vary depending on the playthrough.
Chapter 1 · The Past to End with Rogue
The path to enter Arasaka with the help of Rogue and Johnny is opened through related choice missions. As V entrusts their body to Johnny, an old fight becomes connected to their current life. If one views this path only as a story where Johnny finally gets his cool revenge, one misses the cost Rogue bears. Rogue is not a supporting character in a memory, but a person who chooses danger while maintaining her own life and current relationships.
In the process of facing Adam Smasher at the end of the intrusion, Rogue loses her life. That loss should be read as more than a device to provide motivation to defeat a powerful enemy. When Johnny moves to end his past, someone else bears the weight of it once again. Late reflection cannot undo the costs already paid. Loving or caring for someone is not always the same as not calling them into danger.
In Mikoshi, with Alt's help, the separation of V and Johnny takes place. However, it is explained that because the body has been altered to suit Johnny, long-term survival is difficult even if V returns. The choice here is not simply whether one defeated the enemy. It is about what to return to whom between one body and two beings, remaining time, and a new way of existence. The price of the item stolen at the start loses its meaning in the face of this question.
In the Path of the Sun, where V returns to their body, they gain the status of a legend of the Afterlife, and the Crystal Palace job connected by Mr. Blue Eyes remains. The final scene ends with an image of moving toward the next danger. It does not conclude that the job guarantees V's cure or proves the identity of a specific mastermind. Only promises and possibilities are visible; the game does not present what happens after as a completed fact.
Chapter 2 · Is an Assault Without Calling Anyone a Different Ending?
Don't Fear the Reaper is a secret assault path that opens under specific conditions. V and Johnny enter Arasaka without mobilizing companions for the attack. Counting this as an independent ending where all futures are predetermined, separate from the Sun or Temperance, creates confusion. The path to carry out the attack is different, and depending on the choice in Mikoshi after success, it can lead to V returning to their body or leaving it to Johnny.
The appeal of this path is not just in proving one's strength. The player can embody the desire to avoid owing companions and demanding sacrifices from them. That does not mean that handling it alone is always the more mature choice. The courage to ask for help within a relationship and the responsibility of not passing one's own danger onto others are both valuable. The reason the game is interesting is that it does not judge these two with a single moral score.
The fact that Johnny goes along is also important. While it is an attack that appears to be alone, it is not complete solitude for V. The being who initially felt like an enemy stealing their body can become a companion who accepts the danger they would not ask of others in the end. That change is more persuasively read as the possibility that Johnny learned different choices within a relationship, rather than proof that he was a good person from the start.
There is a lingering contradiction in the achievement of the Sun ending. V gains the name they desired, but it is unknown if they have enough time to continue enjoying the life gained with that name. Fame does not automatically resolve the distance from loved ones or the limitations of the body. If one must move on to another dangerous job even after achieving the success the city demanded, is the position of a legend a destination or a condition for the next contract? The final leap leaves that question open.
Data and Writing Guide
This is an original commentary and critique written by the TroubleMaker operations team, referencing public data and with the help of AI. Official introductions and visual materials are from the developer, and the separately marked walkthroughs are community data comparing events and branches. This is not a full reproduction of all dialogue, quests, or choices, and the content distinguished as interpretation in the text is not a definitive explanation of official lore.
Data verification date: 2026-10-17.
CD PROJEKT RED official work introduction
CD PROJEKT RED official character visual data
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