Learning To Love Cyberpunk: 2077's Story (An Analysis)

[@ramblelime]

Sorry for the hiatus. This was really really fun but i'm itching to get back to bread and butter. More mod videos soontm

[@th0mas_papill0n3]

its ok, the tribunal pardons you

[@realzachfluke1]

No apology necessary, KZbin is always up to you. You don't owe anyone anything, and your channel is yours to do what you will with, and I mean that in every practical sense! I appreciate what you do, I'm enjoying this video, and I'm happy to hear from this comment what you're itching to make more of in the future!

[@b0tster]

return of the king

[@bigswigg3631]

Any chance of you covering Fallout: Sonora? It recently got a translation to english

[@ramblelime]

@@bigswigg3631as far as I know the translation that exists is machine-generated. Waiting for an official translation before pulling the trigger on it. But I really want to

[@simonshephard3834]

Johnny's lack of class consciousness feels kinda intentional to me, and part of the tragedy. His disdain towards sex workers actually reminds me of some folk who actually babble about "proletariat/worker unity" all day but they will arbitrarily decide certain people aren't of the working class because they don't fit "hammer&sickle aesthetics". "Bringing up question without solution" is a valid and realistic approach IMO, because some dystopian settings aren't not meant to be "saved/fixed", they are fictional warnings to tell us to never go there or a message about "to struggle and try" regardless of the circumstances, because we don't have a clear answer in real life as well. This is similar to a lot of anti-war stories, they are more like warnings than any cohesive "guide on how to avoid/end war". And ultimately a lot of stories focus on personal salvation/victory for that reason, it doesn't matter if you end war and capitalism for good, you saved people and gave them a chance to live and fight.

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

u get it, good job

[@JawadBhuiyan]

Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the tabletop game, said pretty much this. "Cyberpunk isn't about saving the world, it's about saving yourself".

[@green_goblin_66]

I completely agree. Johnny for all his rumbling about corporate greed and human rights he lacks the sense of comradery with the working class. He seems to operate out of hate for corporations that destroy society than empathy for the individuals that are affected by the system. His distain for the Clouds dolls shows that he's blind to the small communities or individuals that you as V can help throughout the game, seeing them as waste of time or even lesser to an extent. In essence he sees a hammer only as a weapon to tear down the system than a tool to build a community. Or at least that is my interpretation of his character.

[@thelordofcringe]

It's because Johnny is one of the only true punks in all of media. Almost all punks are just larpers who constantly bow to the whims of easily propagandized collectivists. Almost all punk bands today would instantly bootlick a regime that appealed to their politics, hell, plenty of them argue for such a regime to be established. Johnny is a true punk. He's anti-authority not because that authority is pro-capitalism but because authority is bad, period. Petty economic theories don't really matter to him because all they do is give larpers justification to establish a new authority. Johnny knows he can never truly overthrow an authoritarian world, which is why he's so self-destructive. The world itself is unfixable, so he rails against it. When he finally gets off his ass after like 6 years in lore, he focuses his attention not on a true authority like the government, or the richest company, but instead on the biggest (or soon to be biggest) authority in peoples daily lives: Arasaka.

[@JelliThePilot]

it also doesnt help that the USSR failed as a communist state in the Cyberpunk world, succumbing to the economic whims of the European Economic Commission while still retaining its hammer and sickle imagery as the USSR. so, they probably take communism even *less* seriously in that world. Mikoshi's memory/personality-altering aspect makes this even worse; even if the real Silverhand had a shred of class consciousness, Arasaka would have almost certainly tried to scrub that shit in the 50+ years they had Johnny.

[@SulMatul]

22 mins "audio cuts in like this" lmfao the Hbomberguy style

[@ClaireNighten]

oh he BACK!!!! On a side note I'm really glad people are starting to love this game. I unironically loved it since day one because everything about it felt so personal. The stories on every level focused not on changing major systems and structures but of finding meaning and purpose in human connection with what little time we're given. The setting is a gorgeous exaggeration of an existential crisis and instead of asking how to fix it, it asks what to do when you find yourself there. By forcing the player into these no-win situations with no happy endings (as Johnny says: "In this city? For people like us?") in every quest and side-gig, it forces the player to confront how they feel about things and what they value when even the power fantasy isn't enough to cause change. Most games have a "right choice" in the sense that they solve the problem and everything is good again. In Cyberpunk, the "right choice" is simply the best thing you can do in the moment, which is rarely even good but leaves you with a more meaningful comfort that someone might, at least for a while, be happy or at least a little less hurt because of what you did. You can't save SoMi and yourself, but you can give SoMi a chance at survival. You can't save Johnny and Yourself, but you can live six more months or let a (hopefully) redeemed Silverhand continue your work. You can't save Saul or Rogue, but you can take the secret ending and guarantee you take no one down with you. You can't save the Preachers kid, but you can kill the BD editor and his son to stop them from continuing their work, even if they'll be replaced... but you have to deal with watching the fallout. The game does a good job of telegraphing what the consequences of an action will be so the player has to choose what they value most. Each ending carries a philosophical perspective for and against and presents it as a high-octane thought exercise for the player to work through as they consider the details of each decision, revealing in the process the details of their personal philosophies. Also what is this River slander!? I will not have it! (the cop argument is valid. Counterpoint: you get a "Fuck The Police" tank top if you sleep with him. I also think his story, including him being fired, is meant to showcase just how corrupt the NCPD are.)

[@ConfusedRevolutionary]

It’s definitely emotionally engaging, and in some cases, exhausting, due to the disturbing isolated events and well you are basically always in the middle of a bloodbath, either arriving late to one, beginning one, or arriving late to the beginning of one. Yet despite going through all those fights and shootouts and the disturbing insights regarding a future where materialism and wealth is above human dignity (That does not sound familiar at all), the game was incredibly philosophical and emotionally punishing yet it managed to remain entertaining. An excellent game, at least according to me.

[@JawadBhuiyan]

Also Johnny saying "Can't believe you made me fuck a cop" 😂

[@KickinRadTopHat]

One of the things about Phantom Liberty and post 2.0 Cyberpunk that I can’t get out of my head is how much better the base game could have been if it wasn’t rushed out the door as undercooked as it was at launch. PL feels much closer to the Cyberpunk we all had hyped up in our heads in 2021 and it’s crazy to think of what could have been had that level of quality been evenly distributed throughout more of the game.

[@zoubeirfaouzi149]

The next game will be epic if this is the foundation.

[@ibelieveingaming3562]

As someone who WASN'T hyped up: your wrong. Cyberpunk has always been this good, y'all were just too glazed to see it. Peeps talking about Cyberpunk like it's the next GTA V? Newsflash! GTA was the best game of the decade. Unfair comparison especially before the game even releases. Y'all were dreaming, admit it. Step down off the soap box. Play the videogame and have fun!

[@HHTwice]

@@ibelieveingaming3562it hasn’t always been this good lmao you’re just blindly glazing the game for the sake of being a contrarian. Game was trash at launch. It’s like No Mans Sky fanboys saying it’s always been good.

[@Oldass_Deadass_dumbass_channel]

​@@ibelieveingaming3562what brand of shoe polish tastes best? I wouldn't know personally, but my friend was asking so I figured I'd forward the question to you. Seems like you know the subject rather intimately

[@IBESMusic94]

The game should've never came out for last gen and should've released around late 2022

[@sparsehumor7521]

You mention disliking the Johnny's Body ending because to you it feels out of character and hearing that actually made me reflect on why I feel similarly to the Phantom Liberty quiet life ending. To me and how I see V, they would never want that, going down that path takes away everything they wanted out of their life, effectively a punishment for taking another persons autonomy from them. I usually pick the Don't Fear The Reaper ending and while yes the V at the end of that path does not learn much, the spirit of being an ignorant, stubborn kid who doesn't learn but still gets to say "fuck you I matter" will always be the most dopest shit ever. But at the same time I completely understand and agree with the idea that you don't need to be some special protagonist to have a life that matters, I think that most people (including me) are unexceptional and that fact doesn't change the value of our lives. My perception of the Quiet Life Ending as being one of the bad endings stems from how I view and play the character of V and how I play most of my protagonists in these games. What I'm saying is your video got me to think about my own view of this game in a different light and that's cool as shit. Thank you Warlockracy.

[@zoubeirfaouzi149]

V did say that he could become a fixer. So it's not completely depressing. Plus it didn't make sense for me. I played without cyberware when I got this ending. So I was like who cares that my combat cyberware is not working.

[@luhaze7454]

@@zoubeirfaouzi149 Not sure how valid this point is but : Takemura with no cyberware was still really good at fighting, if you save him after the parade he can assist you in killing Adam Smasher which is technically quite a huge feat, so yeah V with no combat cyberware could still be a decent merc, perhaps forming new bonds and stop working purely as a solo(?) or become a fixer and use his reputation like Rogue did.

[@evilsclone2499]

Yoooooo im always happy when someone mentions my favorire eastern eurpean youtuber

[@loczek1965]

I picked going with Rouge, because it seemed to me the best outcome given the choices (didn't know about Don't Fear the Reaper, I would have chosen that). With my knowledge at that point picking Arasaka was out of the question (fuck Arasaka, all my homies hate Arasaka). That left me with either risking life of Panam or Rouge and that was no question for me. Going with Rouge felt like it would give both me and Johnny clousure. And The Sun seems to me to be the ending of survival, you don't stop and you claw your way towards living on with going into space after Mikoshi turned out to be a dead end. I will not got gentle into that goodnight. Oh and I did not own PL at that time.

[@kahlif990]

@@zoubeirfaouzi149you have to realize V still had cyberware even before the main story activated your just not as chromed up as most would be

[@jacksonjabba]

Writing V like Geralt I actually think works to make the narrative better, at the cost of making a worse RPG. V is an amazingly compelling character to me, which is something we can’t really get with a custom character. I will always prefer games with custom protagonists, but I’d be lying if I said female V isn’t my favourite video game protagonist.

[@sublimemime183]

V is compelling but it’s still weird that male V has a Brooklyn accent but in the street kid life path it’s mentioned he’s from Atlanta Georgia.

[@jacksonjabba]

@ it doesn’t say he’s from Atlanta, it says he moves to Atlanta for a two years. Also accents are probably way different because this is a different timeline and the far future

[@markmikolay9019]

There is a gig you can do for Rogue in which she hires you to kill or knock out and capture a man who has been beating and intimidating workers that try to stand up for better pay and conditions. The text explaining the gig mentions that back in her day employees had unions to help them but now they are gone, so she does what she can in her capacity as a fixer to help them for no charge.

[@marcusbergman6116]

Johnnys ending(s) and the Phantom Liberty endings are essentially DeShawns question: Blaze of glory or quietly fade away.

[@Teethmafia]

God dammit I just realized that So Mi being a dying netrunner due to overuse is a parallel to case in Neuromancer

[@husenberg1]

While I ultimately agree, that I prefer the epilogue of the nomad ending, I really like the secret ending's finale. I just wish the game was a little more of an RPG and allowed me to choose what epilogue I want to have. To me the secret ending isn't about embracing the "become a legend" childishness, but about never giving up and fighting until you don't have any fight left and then some. It's the same way So Mi fought right until the end, it took her everything, but in the end she succeeded with your help. The main themes I took away from the game were not giving up and forging strong bonds. I feel like V succeeds in the suicide run, not because they embrace being a legend, but because they are just doing this to survive, not concerning themselves with reputation. Which is why I interpret the glory ending the same way as convincing Joshua to do it for himself; fuck the media, corps and everyone else - they aren't using you - you are using them, same as V.

[@johndoh4537]

Yeah I was pissed that I couldn’t just go with panam after, I only did the suicide mission because I didn’t want anyone else’s safety and lives on my hands, it was my life and as vik says I need to take it into my own hands

[@Abethor]

We’ve missed you, funny lime man

[@Left-sh1db]

Just to ramble on for a minute here about one of the endings and how it effects me irl, the phantom liberty ending where you let go of Johnny and everyone you know genuinely made me cry lol. Just because I have went through something extremely close to that,lss unfortunate circumstances led me to have to move away from my home town and not come back for a long time, and all I could think about was what I left behind and how everything around me sucked compared to that and how happy I’d be returning and seeing my friends and such. It wasn’t like that at all, everyone forgot who I was and moved on, everyone but me, and it crushed me on a level nothing ever has. That feeling is awful and seeing my V go through it was so heartbreaking it made me go to therapy.

[@Ramonaenjoyer]

Babe wake up new ramblelime video

[@ZekeFreek]

I think the reason Cyberpunk (the franchise) is unwilling to actually address collective action or class consciousness is because it goes against the fantasy of the setting. If Night City ever solved its problems, it wouldn't be Night City anymore. The setting exists to be an environment where the player can inhabit a very specific idea of how the world could end up. If it ever got its shit together, it would be a different setting entirely. It's kind of like the trope of medieval stasis, right. Like a sword and sorcery setting will have hundreds of years pass and nobody invents much of anything new, because the second someone messes with gunpowder, the setting changes. And that's why you won't see words like "socialism" enter the cyberpunk lexicon, because even starting that conversation would lead to the end of the setting. Cynically, this is also why Bethesda keeps inventing new reasons why the east coast can't organize. Because once someone sweeps the floors, it no longer looks like a post-apocalypse. (Yes I'm aware Fallout is intended to be post-post-apocalypse but Bethesda has clearly picked their side of that debate). Cyberpunk is only allowed to discuss the problems, not the solutions, because if it ever did, the story would have to end somewhere. And this is something the game actually recognizes, with Johnny bemoaning just how eeriely little Night City changed in over 50 years. Cyberpunk is defined by cultural stasis. By design.

[@lionidor1132]

I like the idea in this comment, but I would add that CP2077 somewhat does address socialism. There's a quest where you can track down a guy called Swedenborg who is taking about "post-capitalism" etc. He turns out to be a fortune telling machine that has been reprogrammed with some of its words turned into left-sounding things, then connected to the net. What I take from that is that they're saying left wing people are just saying a particular set of words in random combination with nothing behind it, a demoralised perspective. I also think the Cyberpunk world could exist while acknowledging Socialism. Socialism is not inevitable, it relies on people creating it consciously who can fail in that task for an extended time (e.g. the last 100 years), especially if anti-capitalism is an explicit crime as it is in Cyberpunk. The USSR also still exists so some proposition of how it still exists and what its nature is could be made.

[@simonshephard3834]

This is an issue with most "never-ending" franchise with no clear end game. Much like how in Superhero stories where amazing powers and tech are mainly used to beat up bad guys instead of contributing to the betterment of society.

[@nohbuddy1]

​@@simonshephard3834 Because it isn't real.

[@simonshephard3834]

@@nohbuddy1 It being real or not has nothing to do with what I am talking about?

[@nohbuddy1]

@@simonshephard3834 Yes, it does. Complaining things don't have an end is ridiculous

[@nagger8216]

Daddy's back with the milk and ciggies AND a Cyberpunk video? You spoil us.

[@sydknee_yt]

probably the greatest opening of a video ever

[@RyanBride620]

I've been going through and watching your videos again ramblelime, and what I like about you is the fact you add so much pizzazz to your work. Your remind me of how I write a online when i should be writing paper caffeined out of my gourd about some hyper specific topic, and I mean this as an extremely high praise compliment. But you prob already know that, so I came to make this comment to ask, as a guy who was about to become a patreon sub to you, how the hell do you manage to have the most deadpan emotionless dry patreon reads I've ever seen. I'm not even mad it's just funny. Lmao

[@ramblelime]

If you can believe it, it's actually intentional I don't want my read of some patreon names to be more enthusiastic than others and I don't trust myself to maintain the same amount of enthusiasm across every name so I default to reading it as straight as I can across the board for equality's sake. Admittedly not the best approach, and I should probably just find a way to be equally enthusiastic rather than equally unenthusiastic, but you're the first person to mention it so I guess I never felt the need to. But now I do so thanks LOL Also thanks for the kind words I appreciate that a lot :D

[@RyanBride620]

​@@ramblelime that actually makes sense that's its intentionally and seems pretty rational to me. Don't feel compelled to change it just because I said something lol. No problem! Thank you for all the good videos! The least I can do is thank and encourage a creator I know is going to see it.

[@louiecanicatti8310]

Ramblelamb does a Cyberpunk thing? Okay Choom.

[@SayMy_User_Name]

I think cyberpunk is the first rpg ever made where the player is not the main character, or the main focal point of the entire world .. the world doesn’t revolve around v, u can’t decide the fate of the world or the actions of every NPC u come across, but u can effect them in small ways that ultimately do alter the state of the world by the time it’s all said and done.. this may have been off putting to most veteran rpg players, but I absolutely loved and understood it right from the jump, maybe because I am definitely not a veteran rpg player, so I went in to cyberpunk with little to no actual expectations of what the game would be like, and I just fell in love with this game from the start, I finished my first play through and then immediately started another, and then another, and then another after that, and 3+ years later I’m still doing new play throughs

[@552jacki3]

That is actually a hallmark of the Cyberpunk genre. Cyberpunk protagonists almost never accomplish everything, at best they gain some personal glory or kill a rival, at worse they barely make it out alive or not even. I also wouldn't say that Cyberpunk 2077 is the first, Skyrim and Fallout also had many hints to things that happened without the player being there, we just stumble into the aftermath of what ever happened. Cyberpunk just takes that concept way further, so I guess that's a first.

[@SayMy_User_Name]

@@552jacki3 ur 100% right.. I just had never played fallout 4 prior to writing this comment., now, I’m over 120 hours in to my first play through and I’m really enjoying it.. it def has many similarities to cyberpunk

[@schrogar]

It's nice to see you're back. Out of all the little Videos I watched on cyberpunk 2077 yours is the one that for me atleast has reached the deepest understanding of the game as it lead me to re-evaluate the gripes I had with the Story and setting. I am defenitly looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts in the future no matter how much downtime will be inbetween, as your already published videos will still be available and have succeded in creating meaning. (Sorry not a native speaker, hard to express what i actually want to say)

[@kienesel7]

We aren't back, we never left.

[@TheRaumente]

The moon ending for Somi has heavy implications that she will be a slave to either night corp or the rogue AI depending on who you think the blue eyed man is associated with. None of the endings are really happy for her.

[@Cheemichanga]

Made my day with the meme at the start

[@Jack-kb5nb]

I’m gonna have to slightly disagree about the Don’t Fear the Reaper, but it is more do to Meta context than in-game characterization. I did almost every ending before that one, and I was really sick of watching V’s friends get killed helping him pull things off. I went through the final mission with the mantra of “No one else needs to die!”. My biggest issue with that ending is that V doesn’t leave the city with the Aldecados, but that’s just me wanting to have my cake and eat it to.

[@JXEditor]

Have you ever heard of the Fallout 3 mod, Mothership Zeta Crew? It’s an incredibly ambitious mod that adds a new story after Mothership Zeta. Unfortunately I don’t believe it’ll ever be finished, but I definitely think it’s worth checking out.

[@Cezarygon]

I love this game from day one, core and story is this same like was 2020, yes technical is improved, gameplay, skill tree, less bug's etc, but this is this same story what was original, and what I love from day one and after 4yrs and about 1000h later. But good You give CP 2077 another chance, this game deserve for it.

[@farbrorstjalker]

So glad I played this in 2024. Had no preconceptions or expectations going in which makes it easier to just vibe with the game, I believe. I could nitpick at points of potential improvements but it almost never weighed the experience down. The raw material is 10/10. And giving Johnny your body was truly a sublime ending. A lot of the side content is filled with classic sci-fi troupes but the main plot is fairly unique and expertly written/performed. Great video btw.

[@RememberTheDuck]

I'm glad to see that someone else got the same thing out 2077 that I did: It's a story with a basis and meditation on the philosophies we currently use to justify our existence (I also spend my time poorly). Namely, Existentialism... and considering V's condition, and Silverhand's realization that his time spent burning Arasaka didn't matter? It makes sense. It's also got some Absurdism and Nihilism going on, too. But since you play V, I think those two come across far more muted, because it's not the core struggle V and Silverhand are coming to terms with. V is the early, starry-eyed wannabe... Johnny is the logical endgame of V's path (at the beginning of the game): An asshole that would burn it all down just for the sake of "becoming legendary". As for the politics? Cyberpunk isn't as political as some would like it to be, because it's told through V's perspective. It also just so happens to be a reflection of many modern political climates, and the growing sentiment my generation has towards politics (Gen Z); we never really get a choice to begin with, our political candidates little gremlins beating on each other in comical fashion. If your choice is Black Spy or White Spy... did you really have a choice to begin with? That's the position V is in, and why I related to them on that front. People don't vote for the person that will serve them, they vote for the person they like better, even when abstaining is perfectly valid. And (In 2077) when the one candidate that's too good to be true is outed as a puppet, that probably doesn't much help renew anyone's political faith. And finally, a counterpoint to your disdain for Temperance/New Dawn Fades. It's the logical endgame for their actions up to this point. V was supposed to die in that landfill, they've spent days committing mass murder and leveling up their skills, and they did all this with the understanding that they would live if they worked hard enough. V steps on everyone else's toes to get what they want, only to be told "you still can't be saved". Falling into despair in that moment is a trap, yes... but it's a very genuine trap that one could fall into. It's my favorite ending because despair is, ultimately, an emotional construct. It would be genuinely overwhelming to realize that amount of smoldering fire and decrepit death you've left in your wake could have been avoided with just a smidgeon more information on your condition. Maybe you would have chosen the quiet life before starting down this path, and let Night City consume some other soul in your place. Good video, cheers.

[@Hi_Just_Fred]

Great video, honestly the story of Cyberpunk 2077 is a pretty complicated one for me. I think me personally I'd want to commit to the ending in Phantom Liberty where V actually gets to live their life even if it means sacrificing a lot and compromising a bit on some morals. But I can totally see why a majority would disagree there, this isn't one of those games where I feel one ending is objectively the best or would even say my "preferred" ending is the best one. Always cool when a story can inspire that feeling, and I feel all the endings are worth talking about even in terms of what they can offer to the player as an additional angle to think about the whole experience.

[@WHTVRWHTVR]

Thanks for making this video. I love your essays, and I love Cyberpunk, so it feels only natural that this would be a favorite of mine. I'm probably biased, but I really believe this is some of your best, most thoughtful work.

[@CherriPicking]

I find it unfortunate Kerry's story didn't really grab you, I felt that it was all-taken-into-account one of the best stories the game has to tell. My problem with 2077, really, is that there are a lot of little nuggets of extremely good writing sprinkled throughout with an absolute shitton of filler and a main story where even though you theoretically have agency you just wind up as a pawn for everyone around you. It's a power fantasy where you're powerless, with a mediocre main story carried by excellent characters (and also River).

[@ZeallustImmortal]

Nah bro, no way you started the vid with that lmfao wtf. Im hooked.

[@VadimPakhutkin]

The suicide ending is definitely a true ending, to me. It's amazing and touching. Endings are not supposed to be "positive", just like in movies and shows. But obviously some others were great, too. And yeah, I'm in love with this game still, and I even enjoyed the early versions.

[@osYukari]

I played 2077 on release, didn't dislike it, no fast travel, had raytracing on and drive through the city in Jackie's Arch on 1st person view... even with all the bugs and half-baked systems, it was special to me. Edgerunners reminded me of it, no wonder I liked Edgerunners so much. But when 2.0 released I went back into the game, I ironically find myself unable to enjoy it anymore. I could no longer afford so much time and energy into games, that when I saw the street cred and level numbers and those map markers I straight up lose all motivation...

[@s3eriousbl9ck26]

It seems daunting at first but once you get going you'll see you level up pretty fast compared to other games. There's still a grind but this is the one game whr it wasn't like work. Or you could just do the main missions and level up with the story

[@tk5800thesecond]

41:39 its on the same lines as "this is the only language they understand" moment when the bad guys who have a point have to do something irreversibly evil to remain the bad guys. similarly you couldnt have an actual bartmoss collective that had an internal division so the messages they were sending out were constantly being re edited thus making them look garbled, it had to be a prank, a troll, a bill boards programming gone wrong. I just wish more games had the guts to do what fallout new vegas and disco elysium did.

[@chiao_0540]

The sole problem of Phantom Liberties ending was, CDPR cruelly ripped off all of the connections in a very crude way. my whole work is just nothing by playing that expansion 3 days non-stop. I understand that the Cyberpunk's development ethics were not suited to my play style, however, I fully understand it after more days. but still, they had pulled it out like nothing. like they did not care how we put through that playthrough. that subbing Juddy? She was long gone. Pannam? MIA. River? had been corrupted to live in Night City. So he does not want to talk with V Kerry? empty promises cause of growing fames. and others? won't mentioning here. CDPR's message was clear, Die with Fame, or Live with nothing. You can't have both. but in this way? This was the crudest shock treatment I ever had in Storytelling RPG. Of course in all Mediamix, not as the 'Dragon Quest: Your Story' Movie, But was next to that. for that, I will say this one more time. Where was my past play time? for nothing then?

[@chiao_0540]

Note that This is not an arguing statement or sort. your Vid's analysis of Cyberpunk was logical in all sense. This is just a pincer pointing out the problem.

[@comblee9968]

Come here to said this. Don't fear the reaper ending especially when V do it alone is really about getting control of your life back. I don't think at that point V care about being a legend they just want the cure.

[@zackanderson7440]

With the game getting a second chance, I Hope more people get into the tabletop game. Mike pondsmith has made a rich and hauntingly beautiful world and i wish more people would explore it beyond the anime.

[@KickinRadTopHat]

CP2020 has been on my list of tabletop games I really want to play since before CP2077 was even a thing, but like a lot of older cyberpunk ttrpgs it has a bad habit of being kind of overly complicated and a pain to play so it’s always been a hard sell to my group. I hear that Cyberpunk RED is much more approachable to rules-lite heads like myself though, might need to give that a look some day.

[@zackanderson7440]

Either one is fine @@KickinRadTopHat

[@legitplayin6977]

I would love to, but I just really dislike tabletop rpg’s

[@Massivefckindork]

This is probably my favourite youtube channel, really good analysis in the second half of the video.

[@SulMatul]

Comment 2: Danish Twink For God got me fuckin cacklin bruh

[@triplehelix3207]

i should note that Alt created the Soulkiller which is why Johnny bombed Arasaka tower Johnny isn't just infused with irony, he's comedy

[@sauceinmyface9302]

I can't finish the video because I'm playing phantom liberty at this moment. Just wanted to say that I appreciate this perspective. I play RPGs with a very surface level view. How I feel after this moment, whether a line or quest ending resonated with me. Cyberpunk definitely leans into this style of storytelling and questing, with very segregated arcs and plotlines. The most extreme version I can think of was Nier Automata, which drags you from arc to arc so rapidly and intensely that it even disoriented me, making me wonder what was happening, or what the point was. Despite that, it succeeded in making me remember a lot of these story beats, even if they dont always feel cohesive. Nier Automata might feel especially artificial because of that, with small biomes that don't feel like a "world". But another of Cyberpunk's strengths is its world as well. I might not care about every district but I definitely cared about locations like pacifica and the badlands and factions like the Maelstrom and Voodoo Boys. Cyberpunk might not be a masterpiece with a strong message to tell, but instead its a buffet rpg very much like Witcher 3. A platter of different bites and flavors tied together by this world that you'll grow to love.

[@goofygoob420]

I kinda like the lifepaths, they give you different ways of roleplaying while leaving some stuff about your past just vague enough so you can come up with your own head canon

[@JosephEdisherashvili]

Great video, really had me going in the first part. Just a few remarks i guess. As far as I am concerned cyberpunk's world is nothing more than a window dressing, yet its much better then any other world i had to explore. I never wanted to use fast travel and the feelings it evoked from just roaming around are unparalleled. (only thing that comes close is first time i played Skyrim and secunda came along). Any other "living/breathing" worlds never evoked any such emotions. As for story, I think you nailed the point it was trying to make. To paraphrase something i heard from the creator of this world, cyberpunk is not about saving the world, its about saving yourself. thus we don't have a story about a grand narrative about how human zeitgeist would evolve or how lower class would eventually overthrow the state, but rather how you, as an individual, handle the inherent suffering of the world. What choices would we make and how. What's funny is after three 100% playthroughs, i seem to make always the same choices, even though i wanted to try other paths in the quests (i.e always send Somi to the moon) The best ending is obviously leaving the city with Panam, yet after knowing how it would end, I choose to storm the arasaka building alone, for the reason as not wanting anyone else to die for me and 6 month of life I had left. I think the game has a flaw, as both Rogue and Solo endings are practically the same. All in All, great video!

[@Bundle85]

I do love when fore shadowing Is aliterary DEvice!

[@taleofshinobi]

13:43 it’s an open world rpg though? The lore will be found within the world and exploration. What you want is linear storytelling, which doesn’t always work as a player can miss something and the story structure falls apart. You need to push yourself to be apart of the world. You’re a person living in the city, so there will be mundane. Mundane can be bad in games, but in others, it serves a purpose use to make you be placed in the world. “Cared about their actions over their identity.” Identity can define their actions, and whether or not they stick to who they are or if they contradict themselves. On that note, saying you want that conveyed to you but you feel like it wasn’t done can’t apply WHEN YOU ACTIVELY DEPICT YOURSELF SKIPPING STORY

[@synthpotato]

this channel has recently become my favourite so i hope you got more content coming soon, LOVE the fallout mods videos especially!

[@AmySavage6]

My favourite little aspect of the world that originates in '77, to my knowledge, is the absolute bank that the retwisted USSR makes through branding their revolutionary iconography. It's one of those touches you tend to see only in stuff from the former Eastern Bloc.

[@mackywackydeejew]

Panam is definitely the best. Also, I did not expect to experience such a deep analysis of CP2077, after bingeing hours of your Fallout content. Now I'm thinking of philosophy.

[@megamike15]

i feel cyberpunk 2077's story being more about finding out you are going to die from what is pretty much a terminal disease and how you and those around you react to it. make this game way more intresting then it being another corpo bad conspiracy plot that most cyberpunk stories are.

[@Jrockk999]

My feelings on 2077 are as follows: The isn't what I was told by the horse(the developers) and it wasn't what I was looking for. I had bought the game on release for the ps4, had a very good experience(three crashes across a three week playthrough) and was left unsatisfied with what the game offered. I could find some fun in the gameplay, the world was and still is to my opinion very barren and not fleshed out. The story and characters have far too many lows compared to the highs. V as a character is paradoxically both your and not your created character, the closest comparisons I have are Geralt and Jensen. Both are preset characters that you can influence the story with choices for, but the options are still within character even if loosely for Geralt. V at times doesn't feel like a character you have crafted while also feeling like a blank slate for your options. As for the world, I want more of it and what we got just makes me shake my head. I will add this in because it is the games biggest sin: When you have me defending Fallout 4 and 76 for outfit and gun customization we have a problem. Not entirely sure I like the new skill trees however, I thought the old system was more of a hot mess to look at more and could be confusing to figure out. But I the new system is sort of hit and miss for me. While the advantages are much more clear, you can still end up being a jack of all trades that at least is specialized in one area better than the others. I have been able to recreate my build from launch with ease and much of the new cyberware made this even easier to do, because I could just put a perk into something else.

[@taleofshinobi]

17:34 it’s almost like mike pondsmith did that himself with the cyberpunk tabletop, or GITS using some aspects of Blade Runner to inspire parts of its setting and story. Or the Akira motorcycle drift being referenced in almost any media that is inspired by anime. Can you dislike this? Sure. But CDPR has done this before, I mean, there’s a weeping angels reference in the Witcher III in a side quest.

[@JelliThePilot]

great vid man, really reflected my own thoughts/experiences with it. i remember watching the E3 trailer and getting invited by a friend to play the 2020 ttrpg and it set my expectations unrealistically high, which, side note, CDPR did an astounding job of making 'going to the source material' one of the worst ways to prepare myself for what the final product would be. but, accepting it as an ARPG about V, yeah this shit does indeed kinda bang, especially now that its fun

[@heatherfar1977]

As someone who hasn't played Cyberpunk, only seen videos on it, this video was beautiful. Your analysis of the endings especially and the way none are truly "good" (except for leaving), but rather make sense for individual choices V might make and weigh reminds me of so of the best stories and RPGs out there. As soon as I get a proper pc and not just a laptop that can't run anything after 2012 at max resolution and can't run anything after 2015 when I turn everything down to the minimum (and even then not well, my current playthrough of Fallout 4 is a... low poly, laggy, freezing mess that I'm still enjoying regardless), my first purchase is going to be a copy of the game. Because even if I don't like it after I play it, this video has convinced me I'll certainly want to play it so I can form that opinion myself.

[@LezCharming]

HBS Shadowrun and BG3 just ruined 2077 for me. Releasing in a new apex for the full context RPG does this game no favors,raising the standard far above it.

[@LezCharming]

Ok,it's beautiful trash with personality.

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

@@LezCharming if u love hardcore turn based rpg maybe, cyberpunk does something very diff so i dunno why would u even compare both

[@LezCharming]

@@sillylittlesheepjax6009 Fair enough,it has an audience as an action arcade rpg. The advertising did promise the world,but as a more action-focused experience,it's pleasing folks.

[@MrJakedog104]

I really hope the sequel adds the missing parts of night city that should have been in 2077, but even more, I hope they make the interiors for the rest of the city more complete and explorable. I was so hyped about the idea of the megabuildings. These massive skyscrapers full of apartments and businesses. I was expecting to be able to explore tons of floors and find countless side quests in them. But they wound up just being a handful of isolated floors that were really just glorified quest dungeons.

[@EnbyNomad]

I was not only JUST thinking about your channel, but I was ALSO thinking about picking up 2077. I have to ask, is it comfortable in my walls?

[@TobeWilsonNetwork]

Unlike any other Cyberpunk review I’ve seen on KZbin

[@rosshaikenleonen1416]

This is the most intellectual sounding analysis that actually doesn't get how everything ties together, so it got copped out into "nah, they're not connected to each other because this AMAZING youtuber said so". If you still don't get it, the main character of this game is not V, not Johnny... It's Night City. Another story that does the same thing is To Aru Majutsu no Index/Railgun/Accelerator. Instead of Touma/Misaka/Accelerator being the main character, it's actually Academy City and we're just viewing it from their perspective.

[@letso1000]

Personally, I really liked "The Tower" ending for V, at least in my latest playthrough. It's true that it's debatable whether or not it's good or bad, but I see it more as neutral. As a tarot card, The Tower represents a clean slate and the old order dissolving. V gets a new chance, away from their past, whatever it might have been. From how I played CP2077, being a legend never felt much better than being another cog, constantly perpetuating a cycle, but now you have a fancy title to go along with it. Night City, whether you are a corpo, or merc, is a trap with an illusion of grandiosity. In "The Tower", V has a chance to actually move on from Night City, become someone new and live outside of their merc work. They lose a lot, but with that comes the opportunity to redefine themselves. However, it's a difficult ending to pick- So Mi definitely deserves better than being enslaved to the government for the remainder of her life. There's rarely a scenario where everyone can win in this story, and that's something that's very beautiful about it. Great video!

[@DoctorFurioso]

Re: 25:44, I have to disagree. I'm fine having an apolitical game -- many games are -- but a game set in the United States where the bad guys are Japanese businessmen is not a game without a political message.

[@mango78910]

So happy to see new content from you in my Sub box 💕

[@OXY187]

can't wait to see you talk about fallout tv show :D

[@alexwatts1064]

I like your funny words, lime man

[@mistafizz5195]

I enjoyed the game but this is a good and well thought out critique of the game, you make many great points.

[@donnnut]

i feel kinda dumb saying this, as i don't have a solution, but i think your thumbnails to be bolder. I almost didnt click on the video at all even though I've been waiting for it because it just didn't register in my brain as something interesting

[@lemonlimejames]

Zoomer brain. I do understand what you're saying though, think that unique thumbnails can be good. Ones that immediately identify who made them I mean. For example Raycevick or most of Act Man's reviews. If im scrolling and see one of those I pay attention

[@poymannyng1845]

Man I love your videos, I find them very refreshing. Also you have no idea how much I wanna hear your opinions on lonesome road lol

[@facundomorera9762]

My canon ending is don't fear the reaper and givin the body up. First, i just cant take my family to die fighting arasaka and my new gf to fight freaking cyborg legend smasher. My life isn't worth all the aldecaldos. And with just a couple months to live, yeah, i take a bullet for my friend. I have nothing to lose and He's got everything to gain. Yeah he already had a chance at life, but diying for nothing or saving/giving life to a guy that is basically a part of me now? Easy choice. Amazing video bro!

[@FleccaRobinson]

The suicide ending feels darkly poignant, and is my favourite ending. It felt like the game became alive and real

[@arkbros1307]

As someone who played this a total of, checks Xbox stats, 10 days most of which came after 2.0 this game is probably my favorite game to play when bored.

[@Massivefckindork]

I rate this one 77 cyberpsychosis out of 10

[@jdkessey]

Ah you're alive

[@peebins1238]

Working hard or hardly working?

[@jdkessey]

@@peebins1238 Your mom

[@peebins1238]

@@jdkessey Your dad

[@jacksgames241]

by allah keep fasting@@peebins1238

[@snokey1153]

Legit was about to come and comment to see your opinion on the game, as I just started playing it

[@WorshipperOfKhone]

Johnny Sliverhands spitting facts at the opening

[@yourresidentginger1245]

I genuinely hope the sequel (known as Orion right now) will be the game that they initially advertised this game as

[@snakekingblues3017]

With a title like that You make it sound like A chore😂

[@FleccaRobinson]

I wish the gunplay was better. The story is serviceable, but I really liked the mood. Dialogue scenes are often set very well. I loved that scene where you talk with lizzie at the bar. Fuckin kino.

[@ancient-rhinowang6641]

you don't want a world where there's a god guiding us on our shoulder, cuz that would be Elden Ring's world (outer gods shouldering in action)

[@kaushalsuvarna5156]

Happy, people finally realise what was always good in the game

[@jasonrodgers6192]

The DLC ending low key was sad AF too

[@fanmovie357]

You know whats funny....every time I see a critique of a rpg from a youtuber I like I always say to myself, man I wish he examined Enderal, that game needs more love. And then I remember you are the same M**F** who made one of my favorite Enderal critiques over a year ago, that was a nice surprise. Im still gonna wait for third person combat on Cyberpunk, I just cannot fight in first person, I feel sick.

[@Yuyo545]

Really want to watch this video but i haven't finished cyberpunk yet som i'm gonna have to wait

[@JORDAN-CHRISTOPHERSPENCER]

your first point is kinda redundant because one of the first perks you can get is a 1 percent boost to healing for every percentage of health lost. Not saying i dont love the game i really love it , its amazing but it is a pretty powerful perk.

[@aarondeleon8204]

Letting Johnny live is the players ending. Because I wanted everyone to live.

[@jonah3936]

citizen sleeper music hell yeah

[@cloak679]

when my friend got me this game a few months back i was like this shit might kill my pc but i decided to fuck around and find out. turn out i really like the game and story, i normally wouldn't give two shits about the story. but the main story, side story hell even gigs draw me in. i really like night city seeing on how hellish yet beautiful the city looks. only thing i don't like abt the game is i can't join trauma team. they are my favorite corporation in game .

[@TeeBeeDee]

Yoooo you're back, nice.

[@courier6932]

Loved the Cyberpunk game analysis bits, and laughed a lot at the political and philosophical stuff. Thanks! I also loved the "small cities" part. Always liked to see how people whose whole lives consisted of living in a depressing concrete jungle visit somwhere where the air is clean and there isn't that horrible grime everywhere. As always, small to medium cities are so much better for your life than any of the massive ones will ever be.

[@Definitionofpainlol]

Fucking amazing video dude, I was looking for a CP video to listen to while playing and couldn’t find a good one, but this was everything I wanted n more. (Gonna have to show my dad this one too)

[@JORDAN-CHRISTOPHERSPENCER]

i understand the last ending being your favorite because its the most human but it also feels like running away. should you turn your back on suffering if you cannot change it or think you cannot ?

[@ShamusTheTurtle]

RETURN OF THE KING

[@hudsonboadway3164]

i been waiting for so long

[@mistafizz5195]

Nice channel bro

[@cdpm1703]

Wake up babe New ramblelime just dropped

[@Z-Mikes00]

when it comes to the life paths they have their own pros on cons imo nomad: pros: best intro of the 3 and a cool exclusive side quest Cons: least interesting/impactful exclusive dialogue options Street kid: pros: makes the most narrative sense and introduces night city the best cons: no note worthy exclusive content corpo: pros: best and most interesting exclusive dialogue options and offers some interesting world building cons: worst intro especially narratively. weak exclusive quest

[@RaeIsGaee]

While I do agree that it's unfair to say that CP77 has *nothing* to say, I think it's more than fair to say that it has nothing *new* to say. Panam's ending is a stereotypical "family is all that matters, not money or glory!!" message, and it being the best one is disappointing. No other questline besides the convict one say much of anything about their subject matter, not even the Delamane one. It's why the convict quests are universally agreed upon as being the best in the game. Phantom Liberty is incredibly good *because* its made by a dev team entirely aware of this fact. It takes what they were trying to say in the original game and gives it actual flavor and a more interesting philosophical argument & conclusion than a basic moral that's repeated ad nauseam in American media. I feel it's also important to point out that a lot of the negative reaction about the story's substance came from it focusing on cyberpunk as its subject matter. No other genre has, over the last three decades, garnered such an intensely leftist and queer community. So for a game selling itself on that to just ignore the themes that most fans of the genre love about it, the reaction was inevitable, even if expected from a AAA game. For anyone whose read through all this and was disappointed in a similar way to me, Cloudpunk delivers on a lot of what CP77 doesn't. It's also beautiful and vast, with a living world and a story that emphasizes the minute effect the player has on the world around them; it doesn't shove the most important piece of technology in the world into the player's head with one of the most important characters in the city's history loaded onto it.

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

IT doesnt ignore the themes u just dont understand the genre. Cyberpunk was never abt FIXING the system. IF u fix cyberpunk society then it is no longer cyberpunk genre but some other scfi story. That quests with fortune teller is perfect example on why many left wingers dont understand the genre

[@bapabs]

Fuck this video really makes me want to go and actually give cyberpunk a try.

[@aliceyagami8260]

I don't see Johnny's ending like that. i see it more as v trying to protect the people they know and stop them from dying in arasaka tower. as with the rougue or the nomads, on nomad ending 3 nomads die trying to help V. so v doing everything alone for yourself as a cyberpyscho is better than sacrificing the lives of others in the process

[@muttipi]

i remember doing sinnerman at like 1 in the morning and it being the most jarring shit to my high tired mind, and i needed to turn off the game and go to bed to process what happened after i crucified him.

[@thewideduck5708]

Awesome video. I've always had a pretty sour opinion of CP2077, given that it comes off as something of a juvenile game about being a "cool merc" where you shoot things and there's drugs and sex and lame future slang everywhere and really not offering any substantive "ideas" for the genre. Ironically this comes off as the "punk" of cyberpunk, an aesthetically 'subversive' game without any sort of "meat" to its professed ideology, scrubbed of its character as a radical framework into a cheap aesthetic. Which is arguably what people said about punks when that became "too mainstream". And while I'll argue I'm still pretty sour towards CP2077 even now (hell I even would extend these issues towards the TTRPG it comes from), I do greatly appreciate this video for at least giving a really valid defense of the game. When I came into it I thought it would be unconvincing, but honestly, seeing this video has at least forced me to "give credit where credit is due". I still think the game is deeply disappointing story-wise, considering it took years for an analysis of it's themes to come about (which to me signifies that its really only a "good" story if you read between the lines, which is almost 'incidental'), but I'm willing to admit that it's good to see someone who defends the game whilst acknowledging that it has flaws in its metanarrative and not "well the game says corpos bad and quotes famous movies so it's ackshully deep commentary!!!" I don't think anyone else has interpreted the game in this way, and even as someone with a general disdain for it, it's... refreshing. I guess it's just kind of hard to take a game as "serious philosophy" when you can pick up dildos off the street as a joke.