History YMMV / Cyberpunk2077

* BestBossEver: The fight against Kurt Hansen in ''Phantom Liberty'' [[spoiler:if the player sides with Reed against Songbird.]] A BattleAmongstTheFlames against the Dogtown Alpha where Hansen proves exactly why he's the leader of the BARGHEST. He hits hard and fast, keeping the player on their toes in both melee and ranged, and functions as a true ClimaxBoss. All this while the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f96NHr_KpMU Gate K9]] plays in the background.

** On the other hand Phantom Liberty has you on the receiving end of [[spoiler: Songbird's]] very similar quest, and the sheer level of bloodshed that she sets off by simply trying to survive makes a powerful message. Just like in V's endings, there are no ways to perform these missions without killing a lot of people directly and indirectly. It does seem to present a message that trying to survive at any cost is extremely destructive to the world around you. The "Tower" ending is by far the ending with the least death, yet it's also arguably [[CruelTwistEnding the cruelest fate V can meet]] because [[spoiler:the two years they spent in a coma [[AbsenseMakesTheHeartGoYonder drove everyone else away from them]], leaving them with zero resources, allies, or significant others despite no longer having to worry about losing their lives to the Relic.]]

* JerkassWoobie: The Voodoo Boys, surprisingly enough, if one digs into the backstory of UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} both in Real Life as well as in the Cyberpunk Universe especially. Haiti has throughout most of its history been screwed over by Western Powers, from the French Slavers to American Banks draining the nation and its people of resources. Worse, in the Cyberpunk Universe, Global Warming, caused in no small parts due to Western Capitalism rendering Haiti inhospitable, it's people were forced to migrate to the United States where they are mistrusted and, in Night City specifically, effectively banished to the decrepit and falling apart ghetto of Pacifica. As a further insult to them and their culture they learn that there is a white poser gang mocking and insulting the Haitian beliefs and traditions in the city, the original Voodoo Boys. [[spoiler: While this ultimately doesn't excuse the whole "Traitors to Humanity" plot that some of their leaders follow, it is still hard to blame them for being so hostile towards outsiders after all the suffering their community went through. It arguably makes their grunts, who presumably have no idea about Brigittes genocidal plans, as well as the Dogtown splinters, quite sympathetic.]]

** [[PortingDisaster Fans have complained about the sheer amount of bugs and technical issues of the game on baseline consoles, such as textures taking too long to load or pop-ins that caused them to crash]], with many wondering why the game either wasn't launched specifically on next-gen consoles or wasn't delayed longer. This in spite of the fact that CD Projekt Red's last game, ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'', launched with its own large amount of bugs, though one can argue that the game was made while the [=PS4=] and Xbox One were the current-gen consoles at the time of ''Wild Hunt'''s release.

*** Though there's arguably no bigger PlayerPunch of an ending than the new addition from ''Phantom Liberty'': [[CruelTwistEnding "The Tower"]]. Good news: [[spoiler:V is finally able to remove the engram from their head thanks to Reed finding them an advanced medical clinic.]] The bad news: '''absolutely''' '''''everything else.''''' [[spoiler:The medical procedure left V in a coma '''FOR TWO YEARS''', and not a single one of your romance options [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder chose to wait for you]]. Hell, one half of them wants ''nothing'' to do with you anymore (Panam, who is so pissed off at you that Mitch has to be the one to explain that she's permanently cut all contact with you, and River, who is [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen now a paranoid crook having to resort to shady dealings to care for his family]]) while the other half has not only moved on from you, but had their lives improve ''immensely'' from your absence (Judy, who is now HappilyMarried to another woman, and Kerry, who has regained his fame and fortune). Arasaka may have been forced out of Night City, but Militech has taken their place and done nothing to make the city anything more than the UrbanHellscape it already was, arguably worsening its condition by ruling it under martial law and filling the streets with military vehicles and mechsuits. Viktor may have a far more legitimate job working in a real clinic, but he's now a slave to the corpos like V always hoped he'd never become. Furthermore, V's body and brain have been left incompatible with combat implants, which will kill or injure them should he attempt to use them again or even add them to their body. Of course, entering Night City without combat implants is essentially a death sentence, which nearly becomes V's fate when [[CurbStompBattle they are beaten half to death]] upon exiting Viktor's clinic. Who is responsible for the beating? Not gangoons nor Militech soldiers, but ''a pair of young street thugs.'' That's right, the merc who's mowed through countless gangs, cyberpsychos, and BARGHEST, bested by '''''teenagers'''''. If it weren't for Misty, V may have died then and there, and even she doesn't stay around for long, instead encouraging V to go their own way and take advantage of their new status as "nothing more than a face in the crowd" to try again at life. And the game finally ends with Misty leaving Night City and V [[WalkingTheEarth vanishing into the crowds of Night City]], given a slate so clean, they might as well have barely come into existence.]] Yeah...[[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] is putting it very lightly.

** Evelyn Parker makes a fantastic first impression on the players being a seductive MsFanservice while also a scheming plotter. [[spoiler:She commits suicide following a FateWorseThanDeath that is arguably too cruel. Many players hoped there was a way to save her, or at least return to being a major player in the plot after her recovery, but none are the case.]]

* TaintedByThePreview: Much of the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans and nonbinary gamers, were put off by comments from the game's official Twitter account (a "did you just assume my gender?" joke) and an in-game ad that came off as fetishizing a trans woman with a GagPenis. Suffice to say, many queer players were against the game from then on. That being said, nearly all other in-game ads are provocative and designed to exploit ''everyone''. The game proper portrays LGBTQ+ people themselves (such as Judy, Kerry, and Claire), including V themselves should the player choose, respectfully and does not discriminate by locking romance behind genitals or through stereotyping.

* CompleteMonster:
** [[AxCrazy Adam Smasher]] was [[TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}} a thuggish murderer and rapist]] who willingly chose to throw away his humanity for a chance at power. A mighty cyborg, Adam is a dark legend who is [[TheDreaded known and feared]] for the massive amount of people he has murdered. [[PsychoForHire Serving corporations for the carnage it affords him]], Adam Smasher savors the deaths of as many innocent bystanders as possible. Having been the one to kill [[Characters/Cyberpunk2077JohnnySilverhand Johnny Silverhand]], Adam Smasher worked for Arasaka in the Fourth Corporate War to kill as many people as possible and returns to resolve the [[Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners Cyberskeleton crisis]] through brutally killing Rebecca and finishing off David Martinez when he refuses to join the Arasaka Corporation.
** [[TheQuisling Maman Brigitte]] is [[TheQueenpin the matriarch]] of the [[HollywoodVoodoo Voodoo Boys]] and hired Evelyn Parker to steal the biochip housing the consciousness of Johnny Silverhand. Sending Evelyn into a coma by hacking the latter's cyberware, she lures in [[Characters/Cyberpunk2077V V]] with promises of removing Johnny and saving their life, but uses them to make contact with Johnny's old girlfriend turned A.I., Alt Cunningham. Brigitte intends to use her to cast down the Blackwall surrounding ruined cyberspace to allow [[RobotWar hordes of malevolent A.I. to destroy humanity]] but spare her own life in exchange. Brigitte's villainy is reinforced even further by the existence of the Dogtown Voodoo Boys, ALighterShadeOfBlack RenegadeSplinterFaction that parted ways with the Pacifica chapter after realizing Brigitte's extreme obsession with the Blackwall and the [[DigitalAbomination Rogue AIs]] it keeps at bay [[EvenEvilHasStandards was far too dangerous]] for them to continue cooperating with her.
** "Monster Hunt" [[{{Sidequest}} Gig]]: [[AxCrazy Jotaro Shobo]], aka the "Devil of Kabuki", is a Tyger Claw member known for his extreme [[{{Sadist}} sadism]]. Running a BlackMarket ring for illegal braindances, Shobo [[SnuffFilm films himself]] torturing and [[SerialKiller murdering]] men, women, and children in the most horrific ways he can think of, even attempting to ally with another snuff ring to expand and pondering ways to make the kills even more gruesome and emotionally devastating to his victims.

** The ''2077'' actually isn't the first video game in the ''Cyberpunk'' franchise; that went to ''Cyberpunk: The Arasaka's Plot'', an obscure 2007 mobile PlatformGame with gameplay similar to ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' and ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}}''.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation/Cyberpunk2077 Has its own page.]]

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Judy has become this to some people thanks to [[spoiler: the "The Tower" ending were she apparently [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder readily abandoned V]], the "first person to make her truly happy" and not only got together with another woman but outright ''married'' her during the two year timeskip. Given that people usually only marry after months, if not years, of dating, one has to wonder how quickly Judy and Bianca got together after V fell into her coma, which does hurt Judy`s EnsembleDarkhorse Status quite a bit, with many players accusing her of taking advantage of V or [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic not being as kind or sympathetic as she'd initially appeared to be]]. At least amongst the fans who don't put all the blame on ''[[RonTheDeathEater Bianca ]]'']]

*** If you heed the game's PointOfNoReturn warning by completing any and all sidequests before finishing the main story, a single assault rifle clip to the torso can be all it takes to turn Arasaka's dreaded fullborg enforcer into a pile of scrap.

** On the other hand Phantom Liberty has you on the receiving end of [[spoiler: Songbird's]] very similar quest, and the sheer level of bloodshed that she sets off by simply trying to survive makes a powerful message. Just like in V's endings, there are no ways to perform these missions without killing a lot of people directly and indirectly. It does seem to present a message that trying to survive at any cost is extremely destructive to the world around you. The "Path of Least Resistance" is by far the ending with the least death.

*** Patch 2.1 buffs Smasher to roughly as strong as he's supposed to be in lore. Not only are his stats buffed but he's given a Sandevistan to boost his speed as well as an ICE to counterhack nethackers.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Judy has become this to some people thanks to [[spoiler: the ''The Tower'' ending were she apparently readily abandoned V, the "first person to make her truly happy" and not only got together with another woman but outright married her during the two year timeskip. Given that usually people only marry after months if not years of dating one has to wonder how quickly Judy and Bianca got together after V fell into her coma, which does hurt Judy`s EnsembleDarkhorse Status quite a bit. At least amongst the fans who don't put all the blame on ''[[RonTheDeathEater Bianca ]]'']]

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Judy has become this to some people thanks to [[spoiler: the ''The Tower'' ending were she apparently readily abandoned V, the "first person to make her truly happy" and not only got together with another woman but outright married her during the two year timeskip. Given that usually people only marry after months if not years of dating one has to wonder how quickly Judy and Bianca got together after V fell into her coma, which does hurt Judy`s EnsembleDarkhorse Status quite a bit. At least amongst the fans who don't put all the blame on ''[[RonTheDeathEater Bianca ]]'']]

* BetterAsALetsPlay: The game had a disastrous launch due to [[ObviousBeta numerous glitches]] and unpolished game mechanics, particularly on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne. As such, many people who either did not purchase or pre-order the game at launch or found it unplayable on whatever hardware they owned preferred to watch others play it, whether out of genuine interest in the story, setting or gameplay, or [[BileFascination to see what jaw-droppingly awful]] glitches or development oversights would crop up for the streamer/let's player.

* PortingDisaster: Players of the PC version reported a number of minor-to-moderate bugs at launch which were annoying, but not enough to seriously wreck the game. But the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne versions of the game were [[https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/9/22166912/cyberpunk-2077-base-ps4-xbox-one-bugs-issues-glitches-performance-trees-bushes a very different story.]] Among the more serious issues reported: textures that took twenty-plus seconds to load, pop-in so bad that players crashed their cars when other vehicles materialized right in front of them, frame rates that were so jittery and unstable that it caused motion sickness, AI enemies that flat-out forgot you existed during combat, graphics that made ''[=PS2=] games'' look good in comparison, and the consoles crashing to the system dashboard. It was bad enough that a meme spread on launch day unfavorably comparing the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions of ''Cyberpunk 2077'' to Platform/Nintendo64 and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation PlayStation 1]] games. CD Projekt Red delayed the game twice specifically because of the difficulties of getting it to run on Sony and Microsoft's {{Daddy System}}s (not to mention that when the game was first announced back in 2012, the [=PS4=] and Xbox One were about to be released as the next-gen consoles, leaving to heavy expectations that it should be able to work on those systems), leaving some fans wondering why CDPR even bothered instead of just making it a next-gen exclusive. The commotion was so overwhelming that CD Projekt Red ''[[https://mobile.twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1338390123373801472 publicly apologized]]'' for the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions and offered refunds ([[ExecutiveMeddling that they could not actually deliver on]]), and Sony removed the [=PS4=] version from the [=PlayStation=] Store a few days later (and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness actually offering refunds out to those who already bought the game]], despite Sony's reputation for no refunds). In addition, the ports for the [=PS4 and Xbox One=] were [[https://www.ign.com/articles/cyberpunk-2077-for-xbox-one-and-playstation-4-review given a score of 4 out of 10 by IGN]], the lowest score IGN has ever given to a CD Projekt Red game. It is saying something that CDPR will no longer work on updating the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions following the release of Patch 1.6, making their successor systems the only consoles to recieve the "Phantom Liberty" DLC.

* PortingDisaster: Players of the PC version reported a number of minor-to-moderate bugs at launch which were annoying, but not enough to seriously wreck the game. But the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne versions of the game were [[https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/9/22166912/cyberpunk-2077-base-ps4-xbox-one-bugs-issues-glitches-performance-trees-bushes a very different story.]] Among the more serious issues reported: textures that took twenty-plus seconds to load, pop-in so bad that players crashed their cars when other vehicles materialized right in front of them, frame rates that were so jittery and unstable that it caused motion sickness, AI enemies that flat-out forgot you existed during combat, graphics that made ''[=PS2=] games'' look good in comparison, and the consoles crashing to the system dashboard. It was bad enough that a meme spread on launch day unfavorably comparing the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions of ''Cyberpunk 2077'' to UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation PlayStation 1]] games. CD Projekt Red delayed the game twice specifically because of the difficulties of getting it to run on Sony and Microsoft's {{Daddy System}}s (not to mention that when the game was first announced back in 2012, the [=PS4=] and Xbox One were about to be released as the next-gen consoles, leaving to heavy expectations that it should be able to work on those systems), leaving some fans wondering why CDPR even bothered instead of just making it a next-gen exclusive. The commotion was so overwhelming that CD Projekt Red ''[[https://mobile.twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1338390123373801472 publicly apologized]]'' for the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions and offered refunds ([[ExecutiveMeddling that they could not actually deliver on]]), and Sony removed the [=PS4=] version from the [=PlayStation=] Store a few days later (and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness actually offering refunds out to those who already bought the game]], despite Sony's reputation for no refunds). In addition, the ports for the [=PS4 and Xbox One=] were [[https://www.ign.com/articles/cyberpunk-2077-for-xbox-one-and-playstation-4-review given a score of 4 out of 10 by IGN]], the lowest score IGN has ever given to a CD Projekt Red game. It is saying something that CDPR will no longer work on updating the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions following the release of Patch 1.6, making their successor systems the only consoles to recieve the "Phantom Liberty" DLC.

* JerkAssWoobie: The Voodoo Boys suprisingly enough if one digs into the backstory of UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} both in RL as well as a in the Cyberpunk Universe especially. Haiti has throughout most of it`s history been screwed over by Western Powers, from the French Slavers to American Banks draining the nation and it`s people of rescources. Worse in the Cyberpunk Universe Global Warming, caused in no small parts due to Western Capitalism renders Haiti inhospitable, it`s people forced to migrate to the United States were they are mistrusted, and in NC specifically effectivley banished to the decrepid and falling appart ghetto of Pacifica. As a further insult to them and their culture they learn that there is a white Posergang mocking and insulting the Haitian believes and traditions in the city, the original Voodoo Boys. [[spoiler: While this ultimatley doesn't excuse the whole "Traitors to Humanity" plot that some of their leaders follow, it is still hard to blame them for being so hostile towards outsiders after the all the suffering their community went through. Making their grunts who presumably have no idea of Brigittes genocidal plans, as well as the Dogtown splinters, quite sympathetic.]]

* JerkAssWoobie: The Voodoo Boys suprisingly enough if one diggs into the backstory of UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} both in RL as well as a in the Cyberpunk Universe especially. Haiti has throughout most of it`s history been screwed over by Western Powers, from the French Slavers to American Banks draining the nation and it`s people of rescources. Worse in the Cyberpunk Universe Global Warming, caused in no small parts due to Western Capitalism renders Haiti inhospitable, it`s people forced to migrate to the United States were they are mistrusted, and in NC specifically effectivley banished to the decrepid and falling appart ghetto of Pacifica. As a further insult to them and their culture they learn that there is a white Posergang mocking and insulting the Haitian believes and traditions in the city, the original Voodoo Boys. [[spoiler: While this ultimatley doesn't excuse the whole "Traitors to Humanity" plot that some of their leaders follow, it is still hard to blame them for being so hostile towards outsiders after the all the suffering their community went through. Making their grunts who presumably have no idea of Brigittes genocidal plans, as well as the Dogtown splinters, quite sympathetic.]]

* JerkAssWoobie: The Voodoo Boys suprisingly enough if one diggs into the backstory of UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} both in RL as well as a in the Cyberpunk Universe especially. Haiti has throughout most of it`s history been screwed over by Western Powers, from the French Slavers to American Banks draining the nation and it`s people of rescources. Worse in the Cyberpunk Universe Global Warming, caused in no small parts due to Western Capitalism renders Haiti inhospitable, it`s people forced to migrate to the United States were they are mistrusted, and in NC specifically effectivley banished to the decrepid and falling appart ghetto of Pacifica. As a further insult to them and their culture they learn that there is a white Posergang mocking and insulting the Haitian believes and traditions in the city, the original Voodoo Boys. [[spoiler: While this ultimatley doesn't excuse the whole "Traitors to Humanity" plot that some of their leaders follow, it is still hard to blame them for being so hostile towards outsiders after the all the suffering their community went through.]]

** Judy has become this to some people thanks to [[spoiler: the ''The Tower'' ending were she apparently readily abandoned V, the "first person to make her truly happy" and not only got together with another woman but outright married her during the two year timeskip. Given that usually people only marry after months if not years of dating one has to wonder how quickly Judy and Bianca got together after V fell into her coma, which does hurt Judy`s EnsembleDarkhorse Status quite a bit. At least amongst the fans who don't put all the blame on Bianca.]]

*** [[spoiler: All of the endings, minus the Devil, kinda spill doom for the Nomads in the NUSA. The main reason Militech isn't going to war with them is that it would leave them wide open for Arasaka to strike. With Arasaka retreating from the American continent this balance of power that allowed the Nomads to thrive is gone. Militech can now fully turn their resources to restoring control over the western states and rid themselves of troublesome groups just as the Nomads. It`s likely they will go the same way as the native americans before them, at best forcibly civilized in a "kill the Nomad save the man" way or confined to barren reservations, at worst outright slaughtered. No wonder Panam never wants to talk to V ever again in the Tower Ending, after all V helped the people who are now wiping out hers.]]

*** Though there's arguably no bigger PlayerPunch of an ending than the new addition from ''Phantom Liberty'': [[CruelTwistEnding "The Tower"]]. Good news: [[spoiler:V is finally able to remove the engram from their head thanks to Reed finding them an advanced medical clinic.]] The bad news: '''absolutely''' '''''everything else.''''' [[spoiler:The medical procedure left V in a coma ''for two years'', and not a single one of your romance options [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder chose to wait for you]]. Hell, one half of them wants ''nothing'' to do with you anymore (Panam, who is so pissed off at you that Mitch has to be the one to explain that she's permanently cut all contact with you, and River, who is [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen now a paranoid crook having to resort to shady dealings to care for his family]]) while the other half has not only moved on from you, but had their lives improve ''immensely'' from your absence (Judy, who is now HappilyMarried to another woman, and Kerry, who has regained his fame and fortune). Arasaka may have been forced out of Night City, but Militech has taken their place and done nothing to make the city anything more than the UrbanHellscape it already was, arguably worsening its condition by ruling it under martial law and filling the streets with military vehicles and mechsuits. Viktor may have a far more legitimate job working in a real clinic, but he's now a slave to the corpos like V always hoped he'd never become. Worst of all, V's body and brain have been left incompatible with combat implants, which will kill or injure them should he attempt to use them again or even add them to their body.]]