In true cyberpunk fashion it figures the ending where everyone lives is still considered the worst

Phantom Liberty is so good.

Going up against that bloody robot in Somewhat Damaged almost gave me a heart attack. Multiple times. I'm sure it's shortened my life. I'm also fairly convinced the developers made that level as a punishment for players who betrayed Songbird, because that's what it felt like.

The Blackwall sequence when carrying So Mi and decimating the NUSA in attempts to reach the monorail sent shivers down my spine and gave me goosebumps. Such an epic moment in Phantom Liberty I’ll never forget.

For me the "best" ending is what V would have done in the moment, meaning without any knowledge from other pathes and the future. And then I guess the "best" ending depends on what kind of person you think V is. For me V was always someone who knows they will die and fights with everything they have to find a way to keep living. Songbird is the one person that actually provides V with a concrete plan to save their life, something the NUSA never does. This is why I decided to side with Songbird and go to the spaceport. And then when I was sitting in that final train with Songbird admitting that she betrayed me I noticed that she is the same as V: someone who is dying and fights with everything they have to survive. In that moment she was the only person to ever truly connect with V and the other way around. I believe this connection is the reason she entrusted herself to V in the first place. And I (V) couldn't bring myself to hate her for the betrayal, as I might have done the same thing if it was MY only way out. Yes she might still die, but at least she dies on her own terms, knowing she did everything she could have, and that there is a person out there that actually cared about her.

I really wish we would get 1 or 2 more expansions, but still, Phantom liberty was a huge wave of fresh air for the game compared to its rocky beginning. Hopefully, they'll make Orion exactly like they done sidequests in phantom liberty aswell as the deep hidden connection to the characters and the main story.

King of Wands. No way am I sending Songbird to Myers, because she's a mirror to V. They're both near death and both deserve to live, but if even one gets to live, all of this would have been worth it. Also, like some people said, the airport massacre isn't on our conscience, it's on Myers, if she even has one. She's clearly a ruthless tyrant. The only loose end is Mr. Blue Eyes, which right now is way too enigmatic to be sure, but I prefer him to Myers.

I genuinely believe the king of cups ending is the best for everyone. It prevents Mr Blue Eyes and Myers getting their hands on So Mi, but also allows So Mi to end things on her own terms. You can never really trust if it's her or the AI in control, she's quite happy to kill anyone standing in her path including many innocent bystanders in the stadium if you side against her. The AI likely has full control of her by the end of the game, and the only true moment she has with you is when she asks you to kill her. Rescueing her results in a massacre, war and a potential rogue AI running free. Handing her to Myers is essentially submitting So Mi to a life of inprisonment and to be used as a weapon.

I feel like what this game does so good is that any ending you get first is gonna be the best one for you. Amazing writing and immersion at work here

I personally feel like the one where you disconnect her from that core and let her pass on is the most "wholesome" I guess I mean we see her memories we talk to her in a good way and we even hug her I just feel like it's just the most positive I guess even if Solomon blames us a bit we kinda make up with him idk that's just my personal outlook

I personally feel both endings that unlock the PL ending are worse. I think King of Wands is best and then giving So Mi a merciful death is second best in king of cups. People say So Mi lied to us. But so did Reed. He said he would help So Mi disappear but that never happens in any scenario. His plan in firestarter is a massive fuck up of incompetence and if the game was more flexible I would have it so you can go ahead as normal and then try and persuade Reed/So Mi while escaping. At least that way Alex doesn't die. Myers is a terrorist and Reed is a loyal dog. The NUS is solely responsible for what happens in Killing Moon. So I don't even factor that in as a reason not to help So Mi. It only reinforces that we shouldn't help the NUS in anyway. They should not get So Mi's body and they definitely shouldn't get her back alive. I trust blue eyes more than Myers after everything that happened.

I really like hearing everyone’s rationale for the choices they made to get to the ending, I did the king of cups ending. And I gotta say, that whole path up to that final choice was the most terrifying, heart wrenching stories I’ve ever played. I haven’t played a game that has ever made me fell this way. But I granted her request because A. If she’s right about her fate, that’s arguable the worst fate for her. B. She likely wouldn’t get better. C. Even if she got better, Meyers would never let her be free. D. Even if she did, the risk to Blackwell is too great. At least if she’s dead, the NUSA’s tampering is delayed. But even though king of cups is my favorite ending, all the others are so well written.

To me the king of swords phantom liberty ending actually makes the most sense if you have a positive/agreeing relationship with Johnny and just want to find the cure for your self. You deal the most damage to the NUSA and then flip the finger to Songbird for stringing you along the whole time. I went this route with my main character and also denied any help from the NUSA so I can do the Fear the Reaper ending and storm Arasaka at the end. The Corps and the government can get lost.

I love that we can't agree on what the best outcome is, or the worst outcome, and everything in between. It's so gray. It's so interesting. It would be cool if this concept came up more often in media.

I betrayed So Mi solely because of the fact her plan was to “go off the grid and get a ripperdoc to cure us somewhere” I was like girlie that’s not a plan. And then she goes completely cyberpsycho and has the audacity to say: the deaths of all this people are on your hands. Uhm no they are not. Also the entire scary robot scene she keeps saying “I trusted you! The only person I trusted”, like, why? The only thing I know about you is that you love Brooklyn. Also I didn’t kill her because in the base game Johnny and Alt go to the blackwall so I kept thinking “eh, it can’t be that bad”. My shock face when I learned she straight up tells you she was never going to help you in the other endings lmao

I really liked the King of Wands ending because I feel like it gives hope to some potentially awesome storylines in the future. I really want to know more about the rogue AI's out there and especially the ones So Mi has touched. If she is on the moon with Mr. Blue Eyes, what the heck is his plan? There could be some incredible stories along these lines.

I went into PL spoiler-free and chose to side with So Mi out of my spite toward Myers. I felt a bit empty after the plot twist on the train but still sent her to the moon. After that I revisited PL with my second character and sided with Reed. I am actually surprised how many information of So Mi was given in somewhat broken but not in the killing moon. It felt like CDPR was trying to make players empathizing So Mi if we choose to f her over, and make us feel betrayed in killing moon so that we would be motivated to play the other route (props to the devs). But let’s be honest, none of the route has positive influence on V’s fate (story wise). The tower ending in my opinion is on par with the devil, especially if you are play with the “don’t fear the reaper” character (the speech Johnny gave was 😢).

I chose The King of Cups ending first because I saw her memories and granted her wish. Sending her back to NUSA was unacceptable after I uncovered Myers lies with my intuition and Reed thankfully had an ephinany to leave FIA/NUSA knowing his belief in the cause was shaken and deep down, he knew they were corrupt.

My take on King of Swords (Long read, TLDR at bottom): This is the ending I got on my first playthrough of PL. Now, if we are looking at it through a gaming/loot lens, we get jack shit in this ending, no question. But I want to break it down narratively, at least from my perspective at the time. I went into PL completely blind, no spoilers or anything, and I want to say that it really makes sense for V in the way the story transpires. How? Well, firstly we are introduced to Reed, Alex and So Mi who are all in a dire situation from the get go, all topped off with the promise of a cure. Early on I realized that there was sketchy behavior on both sides (So Mi betraying Reed in the past, and Reed and Alex executing the twins) but in my mind V was going through all of the obstacles in Dogtown for one thing, that cure Songbird promised. Clock was ticking and it was our best shot (I finished the game at launch but wanted to play PL as if I didn't know about future events). Fast-forward to So Mi opening up on the balcony and she seemed completely genuine, after which I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to 100% go with Reed's plan of betraying her since I saw that she really didn't want to go back to Myers. It's important to note that at this point I'm already invested in all of the character's stories and have really grown fond of them, meaning that whatever happens I don't want to get anyone killed. Fast-forward some more and there I am giving Alex the thumbs up to slice Hansen to ribbons. Escape with So Mi doesn't go smooth at all like I hoped but I thought "fuck it", in too deep already and I'm leaving with the cure one way or another. Then it happened, on the train ride to the shuttle So Mi drops the bomb that we have been had all along. Now, this part sort of fucked me up because obviously given her past I thought she might betray me but I had hoped that after her opening up and V being her only hope that she would at least help a brother out. I was still considering letting her fly up there but when Reed walked out, I just couldn't do it, I couldn't end this man's life over someone who I didn't trust anymore and most of all is a walking WMD on a trajectory to the Moon to meet with the AI gods. I realized that I might have made a mistake trusting her and going through with her plan, but it was too late, the damage was done. It was then I decided that it was enough, I had done horrible things, been betrayed, and put into countless horrible situations in the span of a couple of days. I put Songbird down and let Reed have her, hoping that after everything he would at least try to look after her. I even refused the damn cure, wanted nothing to do with it, I just wanted to be out of that situation. Decided that Panam's ending is still better off than dealing with shit this heavy. Silver lining though, talked to Reed afterwards and he seemed to have a new outlook. Got a post card from Monte Carlo from Alex too, which means she got her wish. Not being hunted by the FIA either so Myers can eat dirt. And Songbird... it sucks but at least she isn't dead. She might have to serve but being alive means the possibility of escaping in the future, maybe even with Reed's help seeing that he is having a change of heart. And last but not least, let's not forget that humanity's greatest threat is still tucked away beyond the Blackwall, at least for now... TLDR: Got played, commited war crimes and after countless horrors just had enough and even gave up on the cure. But at least everyone I met along the way lived to see another day. No war and no helping AI overlords to world domination.

I like how if you go for King of Swords, Johnny tells us how much bad luck So Mi has and if we go for King of Wands, he instead tells us how much good luck she has. I think she generally has just great luck, she attracts both the good and bad kind easily. Nothing she planned throughout the expanssion ever goes the way she wants it to and her fate is usually left up to a strong outside force like V.

I went with the king of swords, simply for the roleplay reasons. My V is cold and rational with their only real concern being survival. Every time the game gave me the option to say something in line of "I don't care what to do if it means I survive", i went with it and was upfront about it with everybody involved, so when So Mi told me she couldnt help my case, while Reed could - the choice was obvious.

I've had the king of swords ending and honestly i would not change that. Maybe it was bad for Songbird, but man after that backstab she deserved that. This also fits well into the phantom liberty vibe cause V realizes that he had been betrayed and changes sides at the end in this intrigue game. Also Alex and Reed survived and i kinda liked them even after betrying.

I got the King of Pentacles (surgery) ending and every single moment of that DLC surpassed my already-high expectations of this masterpiece of a game. I mean, the Kurt Hansen and MaxTac boss fights were just spectacular. Then the creepy ambiance and sheer terror I felt in "Somewhat Damaged' was so unexpected but fun. And then the new surgery ending of the game was just so poignant to me-- the message shows me that even if you experience some sort of physical or mental disability, not all of your doors are closed in life and there's always a new path to walk. I like to think after that ending, V becomes a fixer themselves and uses their NC knowledge to guide the next generation of mercs. Just a spectacular game.

My ending was the king of cups and I'm super satisfied by it. My V (a female ex corpo netrunner holding a bit of empathy) tried everything to actually resolve the situation with the minimum number of casualties and siding with So Mi wasn't an option, Reed was genuinely honest saying he would have taken her far away from Myers after her rescue but things degenerated drastically after the choice, the death of Alex was a tragic accident (My V couldn't predict what would happen after the use of the ICE-breaker) and Reed had to swap back to the original plan giving So Mi to Myers. After discovering more about the Cynosure project, So Mi's memories and the real danger of the rogue AI to the human race my V decided in an act of both mercy towards Songbird and caring for the fate of the world to end So Mi's life even though this would lead to the lost of the only opportunity to save V's life. Giving Songbird back to the NUSA alive, allowing them to secretly keep going beyond the Blackwall, was a real danger and the game wasn't worth it. The overall experience with Songbird changed drastically my V, even though she has now the means to unleash the power of the blackwall thanks to the Erebus or the Militech Canto Mk.6 she decided to be a kind of guardian of the blackwall refusing to use such power, also going against the NUSA in the end kind made her closer to Johnny's view of the world. V will eventually find her "solution" someway inside the Mikoshi. The final conversation wit Reed also gave V the chance to plant the seed of doubt regarding his relationship with the NUSA

I fucking love Sam Bram Cyberpunk 2077 videos. They're so comprehensive and have such a professionalism about them. My go-to channel for any covered Cyberpunk topic.

anyone who thinks the king of pentacles ending is bad let their mistrust of large groups blind them. NUSA fulfilled their promise and helped you Somi would have never helped. you get too survive and not die in your late 20's the only gripe I had was that there was no option too say too anyone before calling Reed 'Hey, I'm about to go through a risky procedure that could save my life. I might be gone for a while, but I'll call when I can' or anything, no wonder all of them moved on.

King of wands is the best ending for me. It has 2 very important lessons for V. 1. The likelihood of being betrayed is much higher than not. 2. Beware of someone with unshakeable loyalty to the Corp/country (Takemura & Hanako). Reed deserves to die for his loyalty to something that deserves none. It's a good warning against the devil ending. After experiencing that, no one would trust Arasaka at the end. My V put her on that space ship to prove a point. That V is is not a low life betrayer and user that only cares about themselves like most ppl in cyberpunk. When she takes on a job she finishes it.. sees it through to the end.

What I love about this game... you either choose a sad ending, or you choose a sad ending, with the only good, hopeful endings being Panam/Judy nomad escape.

I have to say I am quite glad I saved smartly so that I can experience all the different endings. Overall all of them are amazing to play en so tough to decide which one is the best. All of them have consequences but that makes it even more amazing. Showing you that you have to choose what fits you bests. All in all just a breathtaking expansions. Another thing, finishing the DLC and having that credit scene with that amazing song just gives me chills. Love it.

I think the cure ending is supposed to show that even though they're not as bad as arasaka the nusa is still at it's heart a cooperation and working with them will leave you feeling somewhat hollow by the end.

For me the best is King of Wands. So Mi is finally free, Alex survives and we have a nice goodbye and you can dodge this annoying spider mission. Only Reed doesn't make it, but he is so selfish and stubborn that its his own fault. He actually fully lost my trust after he texted me that he has "taken care" of the two goons that helped protect the president ... you fully understand what this means after he casually kills the redheads.

Sam just pumping these out. Well done dude

Don’t know if you had seen this, but in the king of wands ending Alex eventually deserted in my playthrough, leaving a postcard from another country I don’t recall. The postcard was left at the original appartement a week or two after meeting her last. I did give her the coin so she could fake V’s death to her superiors, don’t know if that matters.

Absolutely loved the soundrack during the decision of Songbird's fate in Phantom Liberty. That track was so hauntingly beautiful.

Thanks for this video! 🔥😎

Incredible video. Thanks ;)

The best enging is the one which brings the most harm to US govt

I like sending her to the moon the best. Because on a personal level for V it's the one that gels the most with the personal ideals. I also like that this is the ending where the world gets shaken the most by the immediate consequences, it's a chance to alter the status quo. Just siding with Reed and giving So Mi up to the NUSA just feels very similar to the Devil's ending in terms of just siding with the Corps. I do like the path you play through here though, but I prefer ending it by granting So Mi's request instead. Turning her to Reed after going through Killing Moon just feels worse than her betraying me. I don't like that ending, even if So Mi deserves it. I like sending her to the moon with V bitching at her all the way though, that's a good compromise.

Hi Sam, another banger video. Keep them coming. My favorite is OFC sending her to the moon and hoping she meets with Lucy and they create a support group for kids being forcefully sent beyond black wall lol.

I often like to play a more chaotic and selfish character and i liked the king of swords ending the most. The spaceport battle was pure chaos and fun to play. Explosions and bullets everywhere. V's main goal is to be remembered after his death and after this ending, combining it with the "hidden" arasaka solo base game ending, he certainly will get remembered similar to johnny. I wonder, if the next Cyberpunk game will be able to read the save data of 2077 and based on the ending changes it a little bit. //edited for minor typo correction

I wish in the king of wands ending when she tells us about the neural matrix, there was a dialogue option like "I had my suspicions" or "I expected something like this" or something. Given shit V has gone through and my character having the corpo life path, he should have expected this. I find it hard to believe that V didn't have any doubts about Songbird. He sounded pretty surprised like he completely believed her. Because Song was pretty sus for me after we put it together after the party. She got even more suspicious with the way she behaves in the conversation in the place that reminds her of home. If you stay serious and dead honest in that conversion it's pretty apparent she is trying to sweet talk us and her desperation just shows. She really want her plan to work. That "would have helped anyway" line by V was exactly what I was doing all along. And thought he knew as well, helping despite his doubts.

Thanks for the video

Songbird moon ending + The Star ending is absolutely perfect for me.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on the code name for the next cyberpunk and what that could mean. Orions belt is a constellation of stars that occupy the centauri system. Maybe I'm looking too far into it a little too soon, but this could imply that MBE appearances are foreshadowing what's to come

On the path you side with So Mi. You can only get Hansen's LMG and handgun, its because Alex took it to end him with it. That why when you go loot his body, the knife is missing. Which is great attention to details

Phantom liberty is just great, cdprojeckt really nailed it. Would have loved to see you include the secret ending where you walk away after accepting the first mission even if it entails not playing through the dlc which i dont recomen but still really nice vid!!

My first ending is King of Wands and I will stand by it as the best ending : Myers got f-ed and will no longer be able to order So Mi and Reed around, Reed unfortunately died but that's part of the consequences he has to face when you're blindly following orders from Myers, Alex got to leave NC to somewhere better for her, and So Mi got her wish granted. Mr Blue Eyes is pleased with the result. Now we don't know what does he really want but if the theory that he's a human avatar for rogue AIs, then I think it would be beneficial for us to side with him as by the end of the Cyberpunk ending V will have a lot of allies from the blackwall : - We already have Alt helping us from the Blackwall - If you decided to live on in the ending, Johnny will get absorbed by the Blackwall. There's a chance that this could affect how the Blackwall behaves towards V - Assuming So Mi did not survive the moon and ended up getting absorbed by the Blackwall anyway, there's a chance that this will also affect how the Blackwall behaves towards V - Everyone at Mikoshi will remember V as their liberator as they get absorbed by the Blackwall, there's a chance that this will also affect how the Blackwall behaves towards V And who knows whether V ended up dying after the original ending, we already saw that there's a solution that can keep V alive for as long as at least 2 years. Maybe Mr Blue eyes will offer to help V at one point as now they understand that in order to "control" Night City, the "Children of the Net" won't be enough and there has to be a human element in play.

Honestly, I went with King of Swords because I was so fucking tyred of callousness, like in the Stadium she straight admits that dozens of innocents will die, her reaction "They will die so can survive" this alone almost made side with Reed, but them after all of that, and the fucking Airport Shootout that, no joke, took me more than an hour, she just goes: "Oh, BTW, betrayed you too, I can't cure us both". Cant or wont? Because as you told 100 times, the AI will follow any order you tell it to, you CAN cure us both, you just wont, guess I'd be a loose end. Also I love Alex, so just having the possibility that she survived is enough for me, ish

Bizarrely, your worst PL ending is my first (and best) ending: - Reed survives - Alex survives - Songbird survives (albeit living a sad, horrible life as an NUSA prisoner, but if your "proxy for blackwall AIs on the moon" theory is correct, that might be even worse) - V has the option to undergo neural matrix treatment (probably won't take it, but still) - Myers.. idk what happens to her, but I assume she's forgiven V since he surrendered Songbird in the end, or at least, doesn't put a hit on him/her.

Songbird telling us she betrayed us at the last minute makes me turn her over to Reed without regrets.

I do like the 2nd ending, I feel like it has good character arcs and gameplay direction. Reed's convo after the events is probably the best in the whole dlc and game

Sending Song to the moon and then choosing the Sun ending is my favorite combo. Pure Mr. Blue Eyes power moves. It's super intriguing to think what he's playing at.

The "Cure" ending in my opinion is still one imo very slept on. It's probably one of the more sadder endings in the game considering how much you lose in the end. But I think that's kinda the point. I think the game is supposed to show you that despite all odds and how dire the situation comes for V he/she can find a purpose outside of being a Merc. You lost most of your friends but you can still technically contact Misty and V. Don't get me wrong the ending has A LOT of problems and I think the writing suffers on this one alot. Panam completely abandoning you is sooo out of character and Rogue not wanting you to go back to the afterlife is just cruel.

Did King of Swords. Mostly cause Songbird did feel like the better ally for most of the quest, buuuuut... Then Songbird tells V she basically duped them. That kind of betrayal made giving her up in return for getting to live the most satisfying end for me. It was a very cyberpunk ending - you struggle, and its all for nought in the end.

These views of yours are very helpful. But in the next videos could you make your opinions right away about what are the best weapons (for example: best assault rifles, best smg, best sniper rifles, etc.)? Because after patch 2.0 brand new weapons have been added in cyberpunk, and also certain stats and things in general have been changed. Could you please do that? 😁

I replayed each ending three times, depending on who I was in the past. For me, the best of all is: 1 place) The King of Cups (StreetKid), 2 place) The King of Swords, where we refuse help from the FIA and NUSA (Corpo) 3) The King of Wands (Nomad) 4) The King of Pentkals is the worst of all. Blindly go to save your life, without analyzing the consequences and without looking at yourself and your strength, intuition and advice from our friends to overcome the hopeless feeling of coming death, by accepting a mission from a government whose leader has more sins than us and he uses all his subordinates, just like us. That's my opinion. Someone else's is different. But this opinion of the author of the video is also good, in his view.

King of Wands is perfect to me, Myers loses her neutered dogs.

i admire the amount of knowledge you have compiled about this masterpiece of a game. I finished the game and the dlc and had no idea of who Mr. Blue Eyes was and the consequences of sending Songbird to the moon.

I’ve noticed on my 3rd playthrough of PL, there’s 2 missions (don’t recall which ones) that V states clearly that if they could give it all up, even implants, for a different life, they definitely would.

I am a simple man, I see an abused, out-of-control raging superweapon in the body of an asian robot and all I can say is: yes, use + betray me. Also, sending So-Mi to the moon felt like a part of me went there as well and has a new adventure. My broken self remaining in NC went on to flatten arasaka and give the body to Johnny. That way I can spam So-Mi with friend requests via the blackwall :)

Although I agree King of Swords is arguably the worst ending given it's the one that causes the most damage to the world (the spaceport massacre, Myers having Songbird tinker with the Blackwall again and what seems like an inminent 5th corporate war) I disagree in that it's pointless. Songbird hired V to save the president and promised V a cure. And not only did V save the president, they also agreed to help her escape. They could've easily have sold her out to the NUSA but instead chose the harder route. And then, she reveals that she cannot cure you. That there is only one cure, that she has been lying to you this whole time and that she planned to use it to save herself. I guess it depends on how you play as V, but I know mine hadn't gone through all that shit only for Songbird, her "friend" to suddenly reveal everything had been a lie and that she wasn't going to actually help. I'm sorry So Mi, maybe if you had told me earlier I wouldn't have minded, but if you put me through hell with the promise of a cure, you better bet I'm going to get it. Friendships are built on trust, and betraying me like that isn't what I'd consider the beginning of one.

Idk if this has been noticed already but in my opinion it’s a kinda sad but legendary detail! In the CGI trailer we see a display of how Reed gets betrayed by Songbird and gets finished off with 3 bullets. If you come at the confrontation with him at the launch pad (where by then he is betrayed by this time V). You can only shoot him maximum 3x before they cancel you out of pulling the trigger more and get animations of him getting hit 3x… crazy

finally, been enjoying your videos since i got the ultimate edition 2 weeks ago. havent finished the main story and been busy doing side missions and just exploring cos im afraid i would get a bad ending. thinking of finishing PL soon before i end the main story quests

King of Cups also helps V realize clinging onto life at all costs will destroy you in the end, accepting their fate to storm arasaka

I think the ending where V is betraying Songbird and being healed isn't so bad. Especially when you consider that Songbird wanted to betray him and was never willing or able to heal him. ​ isn't as bad as everyone says. If V is a little more realistic and down-to-earth and looks at everything objectively, he still has good times ahead of him. He has Reed, even if the relationship is based on feelings of guilt on Reed's part. Yes, Reed isn't exactly there for him, but through him he has a job offer with the FBI. He also has an office job where he can hit the ground running as a “normal” person and secure his pension. He can meet new people there, perhaps a little less devious people than on the street. get to know another woman, settle down somewhere, etc. Screw Night City and this street life. V has to grow up and take advantage of his past. Not only does he have good and terrible memories, he has experience. He is extremely knowledgeable about technology, hardware, cyber-tech hacking, strategic thinking, etc. He's a little legend, he can put his name on a drink. He took Arasaka apart on his own, worked with the greatest personalities and interacted. Killed legends, saved the president, etc. I think if V would stop seeing everything so negatively, he still has a good life ahead of him. Yes, not the life that was placed in his lap (criminal) but in my opinion even better. He was betrayed, he suffered losses, but he can build a lot for himself. What happens to his life now would be interesting to see. It can be really good if he also gets psychological help

Great video for my first playthrough I went with helping SoMi and killing Reed. But felt like I missed out when I didn't get the new ending so I ran a save for going with Reed and holy. It definitely has content you have to experience and although I don't like it and prefer the other one it definitely was a experience.

I just finished this today with the king of swords ending. I feel as though what you said at the end was the most ok for everyone. I didn’t want Songbird to die first and foremost but I also didn’t want reed to die. I’m glad to know that Alex is ok as well because I loved her and that my V gets the ending ending which I’m glad about. Overall I was broken by the end but glad with what I did.

King of Cups and King of Wands are the best endings.

I think letting So Mi die is the best ending. I just wish she had given V the neural matrix (before Reed shows up) like Jacki did with the bio chip. That would give the NUSA fewer things to doom the world. Also from a story basis destroying the behavioral chip before making it into a weapon would make that ending even better. On a side note, you can disassemble said chip which I think is actually not something that was intended. Since it doesn’t fail the quest to visit the netrunner. Now if Blue Eyes ends up being on the good side (I have my doubts) then sending So Mi to the moon would be the best ending. The innocent lives taken would be less than what it would be if the AIs are allowed to wipe humanity off the face of the earth. Lastly there is one better response to Myers than telling her fuck you. I forget which one it was, but Myers says “don’t forget who you’re talking to” and V replies, “and who would that be?” Which I think hits Myers harder in more ways than the fuck you response. It gives her more food for thought to say. She can just shrug off a fuck you as V being immature.

Not sure If anyone has mentioned this before but the Alpha Centauri thread also links to William Gibson's Neuromance, the novel that first defined the Cyberpunk genre and was a huge influence on the oriignal RPG. In the novel a super AI make contact with 'intelligence' from Alpha Centauri. In fact lots of links between events in the that novel and the game. CDPR certainly pay homage to it. Maybe a source for a deep dive of the future.

I walked away from the final Songbird betrayal mission when she rampages into the horror sequence, and now I can't acsess it now lol.

Imo helping sending So Mi to the moon is the best ending overall. So Mi was the only one who could empathize with V's situation. And even though she was dishonest with V, V still gets to save her, V gets the text from her a few in-game days later. Yes, we have to kill Reed in this ending, which is a big downside, but we also get to free Alex and say "fuck you" to Myers. If we're meant to be "cyberpunks," then this ending is the most fitting to me.

I chose to send songbird to the moon because it is the best ending.

I chose the "worst ending" reasoning was this: I originally wanted to help save songbird and myself so I chose to side with her. When it was revealed that there was only 1 dose of the cure I came to the realization that she was only in it for herself so I decided to make the selfish move and give her back to the FIA to save myself.

21:00 You can find SoMi's pod in the rear desert/wall/ravine area. You scan the escape pod, johnny says something about it. So it would appear she did return. (It's about in the middle of the ravine, on the dogtown side, she crashed into a camp...there's some smoke there)

I did the worst ending with out knowing it wtf. I am going to think about my moral standing

Best ending? don't save the president....War criminal president - died, songbird don't need to hide from NUSA or FIA and she's free, Reed and Alex alive....

I agree with your number 1 ending. I had the same ending after my first playthrough, but I denied that stinking medal from Myers. The only thing I found stupid was that Panam was super angry and did not even want to talk to V in the ending ending even though V tells her during a date that the NUS had a potential cure. Does not really make sense to me since her eyes were glowing when V told her this... What I did not like about the hiding from the robot was that you had to hide in specific rooms. Otherwise it would run at you and find you behind walls while it did not see you when looking straight at you just because you found the intended hiding spot that I would never use to "hide" from something like this. Had to reload last checkpoints multiple times before finding the "correct" hiding spots... That sucked.

I got the last ending you showed. Im satisfied with it. Was interesting to see V become humbled by becoming all human again. Atleast I can load up my last save file and play through everything I missed again.

My first ending was king of pentacles, and I genuinely couldn’t parse through my feelings on it for a few days. I felt cowardice from my inability to fulfill So Mi’s final wish after what not only she had been through in the past, but what we put her through by betraying her. I felt anger at Reed, for not being able to overcome his programming and actually help So Mi. I felt disgust for Myers and her flagrant lack indifference towards So Mi’s well-being beyond needing her alive. I felt excitement getting to duel with Hansen in a really intense boss battle. I felt horror from the chimera, combined with intrigue from the Erebus blueprint I discovered and the terminals where the blackwall AI speaks about our world. And finally, I just… didn’t know how to feel about V, and I still kind of don’t. They survived, and like they said in the original games endings, they wanted to live, and they did. The life and people they knew is gone, but so many new opportunities are available to them now, maybe a calmer, more peaceful life. Still, mercwork was all V knew, and despite the circumstances through which some of them meet, people who care about them. I know a lot of people hate it, but it’s my second favorite ending after Temperance and right before the sun ending. This expansion is incredible, CDPR at their best, everything dialed up to 11.

19:36 in the King of Pentacles Ending, So Mi attempted that permanent connection to blackwall, so her being to far gone might be exclusive to that ending. Not to mention the way we receive implant from So Mi in King of Wands seems to suggest things went well for her.

Yoooo love your content please do a fully updated build list please make a new hack and gun netrunner build pls

I've played through one Phantom Liberty ending so far, and that was King of Wands. I'd made the decision early on when I saw the cracks beginning to show that my V, for that playthrough, was 100% siding with Songbird. And the father I ended up plaything through it, as things turned to just utter chaos, I started wondering "have I just committed a war crime? I'm the villain now, right? This is my villain arc origin story". Because I was playing a netrunner V that went out of their way to avoid killing anybody unless I was truly backed into a corner or had been utterly betrayed (VDB? Kill on sight. All of them. Placide and Brigitte sealed their fate good and hard). So, to then go into the late stages of this path and find out that to see it through, I would be racking up a *staggering* body count of largely "innocent" people... oof. Just oof. But I stuck with it. And felt uneasy the whole time, but I mean I'd come that far right, so what were a few more ..... bodies.... okay yeah, I'm definitely the villain now.

Honestly the So Mi thing.. Kind of got to me.. I very much know what its like to be at the point that you are begging for death. So I was extremely torn by this Just a fyi, the only reason why I am still alive now is due to me surviving things that I honestly should not have, and I finally found a slightly better life. Still have to deal with a lot of physical pain and I have PTSD from the things I have been through.. But overall I am in a better situation than I used to be... I admit sometimes I find myself still wishing that my body did not continue to survive.. But like I said. At least I am no longer in the situation I used to be.

I helped So-Mi, regardless she was deceiving me. I pitied her. After completing that I soloed the Saka tower. Just like a legend I didn't bow to any authorities and make my own way to survival. Besides, Reed ending sucks.

№ 4 - Side with Reed and Betray Songbird and yourself purely for the sake of vague promises of Myers № 3 - Side with Songbird and let her fly away, falling into the hands of Mr. Blue Eyes and becoming a threat to the world № 2 - Side with Songbird and without hesitation betray her in spaceport, for "greater good" № 1 - Side with Songbird and let Reed listen to you and take her personally, but to refuse any contacts and "help" from NUSA Best one: Side with Reed and to learn the whole story, to be horrified by the possibilities of Songbird and hers fate. Fulfill her last wish. Send the fuck to Myers. Talk to Reed in confidence.

In king of swords if you go back to your apartment there is a postcard from Alex she finally retires.

Handing So Mi over to Reed after siding with her because she lied to you about the neural matrix is such a petulant decision. Sure, it's disappointing to finally hear that she had no intention of curing you, but at that point you've watched her give everything she has to survive (like V), you know that Reed's loyalty won't let him keep her from being enslaved to the net by Myers, and you still have other options to explore. To send her off to a "life" of being used as a tool and losing her sense of self in the process is a cruel decision to make because of a buised ego. Tbh, I don't know how you even side with Reed at the moment of truth, knowing that he's well-intentioned, but ultimately handcuffed by his loyalty. Yet another great video, Sam!

I actually never did any of the endings other than the one where you rescue SoMi and send her to the Moon. I found myself just completely uninspired to play through the others, knowing how they end. Plus, given how when you are talking to Reed leading up to The Choice, he says repeatedly that he would do anything to get SoMi out of the situation she is in. Well...I took him at his word, and decided I wouldn't let his misguided loyalty to a political bitch, ruin his efforts to save the girl he helped to destroy....even if that means he has to die to do it.

A nice touch from CD PRs behalf is when you shoot Reed in King of Wands he dies in different positions depending on where you shoot him. Personally I went chest as the imagery of that death is pretty sweet in photo mode.

I have 4 play throughs of cyberpunk with 4 different builds and I plan on playing each different phantom liberty ending with each character and matching up each ending with what kind of personality each of my characters have.

In my mind, So Mi on the Moon likely is in a better condition than Songbird in Cynosure. If we side with Reed, she will need to use her powers to escape the stadium by herself, leading to her breakdown, capture by MaxTac and the following almost AI takeover of herself in the facility. If we side with So Mi she can limit the use of her powers in the stadium as V does much of the fighting and has them jacked into her wehn she uses the Blackwall at the Spaceport. Also think of the mental battle. Jonny may stop actively fighting V, but the AI certainly is fighting Songbird. If you side with her, she has actually hope and friend helping her, if you side with Reed it is her alone against the world, probably making it harder to fight the AI. So you don't neccesasarily need fancy Mr. Blue Eyes tech for So Mi to be able to use the Neural Matrix on the Moon, just her condition not being as far gone.

I know she betrays us, but I feel so damn bad for So Mi. I don't really have it in me to turn her over at the end, and it seems to be the choice that Johnny must approves of, too.

I saved at the terminal so I could try out King of Swords and King of Wands. Maybe it's just me because I'm playing essentially as a David Martinez build, but it seems the most Cyberpunk set of endings regardless of whether you side with Reed in the end or not. Something about all the chaos all of that causes to innocents, and in the end you either start back at square 1 or you get cured but lose everything, just seems to fit the point of the entire Cyberpunk world.

I finished my PL run a few days ago with the King of Wands ending. I made the descison to side with So Mi because I think my bain misread the subtitles as 'Hansen' instead of 'Reed'. While playing, I found myself really missing the Conversation History feature from Baldur's Gate 3 as well

In terms of pure gameplay and what I find to be the true ending, it is King of Pentacles. Killing So Mi is imo like killing a person who is depressed when they are asking for it. I have a hard time justifying it. In terms of story, I love the concept of following So Mi and seeing her deteriorate slowly infront of us and the exposition in the Ried path wasn't that new to me since her personality show allot through out the game. Being that she is probably the most expressive and uses that to gain our trust. The whole concept of her basically playing everyone and winning feels satisfying since Ried can never win. Johnny mentioned that he would have become Ried if he had stayed in the military, this part got to me in the case of always staying loyal for someone who doesn't deserve it.

issue with reed is, by time he learnt mistake he did with song bird, its basically too late for her and he is still attached like puppet to myers so cant really respect him much.

I turned songbird in after siding with her for the cure. It was my first time playing the main game so I decided to play PL up to the point of no return and beat the main quest. I chose to call Reed even with the other more exciting options because my head canon was "I'll do anything to survive". After all this manipulation, I thought f*** it I'm doing what's right for me. It was hard to watch, but it's a tale about learning that sometimes a normal life is just enough. Leave the legend behind you and move on. Your true friends stand by you, such as Vik and Misty but even they must move on. Bittersweet.

Another Cyberpunk ending that could start another Cyberpunk game would be that Johnny gets V's body, V goes with Alt, and Alt clones a body for V's new engram to start a new game with nothing...

Sending Songbird to the Moon is the best ending for me as in this one Alex survives and even gets her dream retirement which made me so happy as Alex is the character I sympathized with the most in Phantom Liberty. Songbird gets to escape NUSA's grip which is also great, of course she will be used by Mr B but she might still get a chance at life as we know that Mr B prefers subtle methods of control. At least we gave her a chance and that's what counts for me. She went through so much shit that she deserved a chance plus V knows how Songbird feels and has compassion for her, at least in the way I played the character. Reed gets the best ending here imo as otherwise he will never be able to get away from NUSA, serving them even when the ideals he signed up for and fought for were shattered and meant nothing to him anymore. If Reed lives, he also has to endure guilt for what he did to Songbird for the rest of his life, from the time he forcibly recruited her to either her death or eternal servitude to NUSA. So I believe that death is unfortunately the only escape from this for Reed. Other endings are really interesting as well but for me this one has the best possible paths the main characters can take. That includes V as they don't get the cure(staying in coma for two years is horrible for them btw) and get to have a nice heart to heart with Johnny about his choices compared to Songbird's.