There has been a stigma recently about how it's better if V doesn't get into a romantic relationship for various reasons and I have seen playthroughs where the story ends without V finding love. And I'll be honest, I believe that the story is fundamentally lesser if V doesn't find love, it just doesn't feel interesting with that element removed, even with the overall lore and story being so strong. And for the record, I'm not talking about lust with JoyToys or flirty dialogue with random people, since Night City is a place that promotes that side, I'm talking about meaningful and unconditional love with characters like Judy, Kerry and Rogue.
Love is an important component of the cyberpunk genre, in a dystopian world, it's arguably the greatest thing to hold on to. And the game's narrative seems to agree, as it pushes V as a character in a situation where love is an important thing for them to come back and live, if not the most important thing. This also extends to Cyberpunk media outside of 2077. XoXo is arguably the most popular Cyberpunk 2077 comic because of the Romeo and Juliet aspect of a Maelstrom and a Mox member falling for each other, even if it ends in a Cyberpunk way. A lot of people were exposed to the Series through Edgerunners, and being real, a majority most likely got into the Series because the love story between David and Lucy was so vital to the story, and so strong. I certainly wouldn't have checked it out if it didn't have that element. Even the trailer for the 1.6 update (which I'd argue that the messages shown in that trailer are the best representation of what Cyberpunk is) promotes the idea that love is the only thing to fight for. My overall point is that I think the lack of V falling in love if the player chooses it more hurts the story of Cyberpunk 2077 than it does benefit it, and that it's an important thing for the genre.
"Balance, friendship, love." "The Hell else are we supposed to fight for?"
5 Comments
The Tower ending was part of what made me dodge romancing in my third playthrough, and Kerry was probably the best for that ending.
For me Cyberpunk 2077 is about ‘soul’ or what it means to be a human.
Is Johnny still living being? He can take the body, but does he have a soul, or he is just copy of a dead man in a body that should be dead?
And yes, if we are asking questions ‘what it means to be a human’ than love is deeply tied to that dilema
My male V with Panam will always be one of if not my favorite Romance I’ve ever experienced in a game🥰
At the end of the day, that’s all we got
Cyberpunk is about the end of things being inevitable, and thus the importance of choosing what you do before, and what you choose to meet your own end *for.*
Love is as good a thing as any to hang on until the last and go down still swinging for.