Let me start off this article by expressing that I’m a fan of Cyberpunk 2077’s Johnny Silverhand. The rockstar turned terrorist is brought to (artificial) life incredibly well by Keanu Reeves. He’s a highly intricate character, whose intentions and ultimate goal remained shrouded in mystery for a significant portion of the game’s Main Job.
Main Character V isn’t quite as much of a fan of Johnny, at least not in the beginning of CD Projekt Red’s action RPG. This is not entirely unwarranted, as he/she unwillingly shares their mind with him, and Johnny immediately appears to be determined to take over his/her body. It’s an understatement to say that the two don’t exactly hit it off.
If you never finished Cyberpunk 2077 main story, you still have the chance to back out. I’ll be diving in end game stuff here, so spoilers lay ahead.
In most cases, V and Johnny Silverhand’s relationship improves as the game progresses. Naturally, players have a say in how much their V bonds with Silverhand, and this is what I found to be one of the most interesting aspects of the game. Now, with most of the wrinkles ironed out through the numerous updates from the Polish developer, the action, side jobs, and gigs are coming into their own more and more.
However, nothing held my attention as much as the questions: What does Johnny truly want? Is he manipulating V? Can I trust him? Is he trying to win over my soul so he can later win over my body? How much freedom should I entrust to him? If I treat him as a friend now, will that pay off by the end of the game?
Silverhand possesses a certain charm, and I could relate to some specific parts of his character reasonably well. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t set a bomb under Arasaka, but I particularly appreciated his dark, pessimistic, and sarcastic humor. He managed to win over my V, but that last question above was also an extra incentive to occasionally lend my body to him.
Winning over my V. Occasionally lending my body to him. Yeah, I know how this sounds, but I refuse to rewrite it.
The more freedom I granted Johnny, the more I wondered if he wasn’t simply taking advantage of my naivety. His gratitude seemed genuine, and since he consistently returned my body in good shape, it appeared that I could trust him. Yet, the saying “give someone an inch, and they’ll take a mile” played in my mind. Would I regret this and perhaps need to hold the reins a bit tighter?
All of this built up to the ultimate conclusion, leading to one of the toughest choices I’ve had to make in games. The far too early point of no return presented by Main Job Nocturne Op55N1, offered various options to conclude V’s chapter. The options were to retain control of your body and accept Hanako Arasaka‘s offer. The first part of that choice appealed to me, but the second part did anything but. I wanted to continue making my own choices, but everything in Cyberpunk 2077 screams at you that Arasaka is absolutely untrustworthy. Even Johnny strongly emphasizes that all the time. No, that option was immediately crossed out.
A seemingly more obvious choice at first glance was to enlist Panam and her Aldecados. However, in the last hours, V started experiencing relic malfunctions more frequently, and was rapidly falling apart. With this option, I’d have to make do with this weak body a while longer. Additionally, Johnny gave a not-so-subtle warning that involving Panam would put her in grave danger. I wasn’t entirely confident in this ominous foreshadowing either.
Johnny made a valid point that the body listened better to him, and he and Rogue could straighten things out together. Because of the flashbacks, I knew Johnny was highly capable with his revolver, not to mention the reach of Night City’s most influential fixer, Rogue. Those two were up for any challenge. But if I chose this, would I still be able to make my own decisions? Would I get my body back afterward? Or would Johnny and Rogue not want to let go of each other a second time, once the job was done?
Perhaps this was what Johnny had been aiming for all along. The culmination of his master plan to finally fully claim my body. I wondered if I had treated him well enough throughout the playthrough. After all, we didn’t see a percentage of our bond with Johnny for no reason. Was a 60% rating high enough to prevent him from stealing my body? To what extent had CD Projekt Red developed his character to remember certain adversarial things that had occurred at the beginning of our turbulent journey? I had no clue. All I could do was hope it was sufficient. My V wasn’t in the right condition to take on all of Arasaka. No, it was Johnny’s turn now. I just hoped I wouldn’t regret it…
And so the final mission begins. I witness the extent of Rogue’s influence as she sets up a true ‘Mission Impossible‘ kind of plan, utilizing all her resources in the city to assist us in infiltrating Arasaka. Under Johnny’s influence, V’s body also seems more at ease. So far so good. We burst in with guns blazing. Everything seems to be going well until the much-mentioned Adam Smasher kills Rogue. Our rockerboy finally gets his well-deserved revenge on the hulking bodyguard, and before you know it, we reach our objective and acquire what we came for.
And then the biggest question arises. What’s going to happen now? What could have been the most intriguing aspect turns into a bit of a disappointment. It’s a choice. Even though my V can’t exert control anymore, CD Projekt Red allows us to choose whether to give the body back to our merc. Looking back, this immediately drains all the tension from everything that has brought us to this point. The way my V treated Johnny, the path we’ve walked together, the initial resistance and later friendship, none of it matters. We get to decide what to do with the body. Do we give it back to V, or do we keep it for ourselves, Johnny? A very simple, black-and-white choice. A choice that shouldn’t have been ours to make.
Especially with the choice to surrender ourselves to Johnny, we ironically choose to relinquish our right to choose. We place our fate in the silver hand of another, and that’s precisely what makes it so intriguing. All the choices we’ve made up to that point culminate in one profound decision made by the one with whom we’ve shared our body recently. It would have shed a different light on players’ earlier choices. Players who were jerks to Johnny would have to face the consequences and experience how their body was stolen (partially due to their own mistakes). Players who had built a genuine friendship would be rewarded. Depriving us of this final choice is exactly what would have given all those earlier moments added weight.
The relationship with Johnny Silverhand is one of the most fascinating aspects I’ve witnessed in game narratives, but there could have been so much more to it. The credits could have rolled across the screen as you gaze sadly at the letters, realizing how your choices led to V’s body being in someone else’s hands. No one but yourself is responsible for that outcome. Not through a simple, yes or no choice at the end. No, through the choices you made during your intense relationship with Johnny Silverhand.
The most impactful choice of Cyberpunk 2077, shouldn’t have been ours to make.
What did you think of Cyberpunk 2077’s ending? Which path did you go for? Let me know down in the comments!
