Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Phantom Liberty.Player choice is one of the things that will most likely matter in an open-world RPG, andCyberpunk 2077is no exception. As the story revolves around V and the Relic biochip, a lot of the endings deal with what V’s choice will be regarding their fate, as the device is slowly killing them. The original game may not have featured an ending where the chip could be removed, butthe DLC expansion Phantom Liberty adds oneafter three years.
InCyberpunk 2077:Phantom Liberty, players get wrapped up with in a ragtag group of FIA agents who end up having quite the history behind them of lies, betrayal, and personal attachment leading to a conflict of interest with their duties. In the end, it’s the ties between Songbird and Reed that get tested as players are forced to pick between them to reach the ending, with every choice afterward also affecting the outcome of the story.
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The Impact of the Firestarter Quest in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
The Firestarter quest likely causes players a considerable amount of anxiety, as with many other climactic video game moments as everything begins coming together in the story. Songbird had arranged a rendezvous with Reed, V, and Alex to grab the AI neural matrix that Kurt Hansen had stashed away. However, theFirestarter quest inCyberpunk 2077:Phantom Libertyis where the biggest choice of the game lies. At the final stages of extracting the matrix, V will have the choice of either helping Songbird escape, or assisting Reed. Both choices are literal game changers.
One leads to a do-or-die ending between Songbird and Reed, where either V will be forced to give So Mi up, or V will be made to shoot Reed to death. The other leads to a much longer line of quests whereV can either kill or spare So Mi from her fateat the hands of the Blackwall at the end. Both quests define where Reed and So Mi end up at the end of the story, along with what happens to V.
Choosing Between Songbird and Reed in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
It’s understandable if fans have a hard time picking which ending they want, as they both have devastating consequences for the game at large. At the same time, it would also be understandable if players have already made their choice asSongbird and Reed have talked about their troubled relationship between FIA agentsthroughout the game at this point, likely helping players feel partial to one over the other.
Even still, the question of which endings to go with overall is rather tricky as both have their pros and cons. Interestingly, Reed could be considered the “good” ending as there’s a way to save him and So Mi through siding with him, but choosing to aid Songbird’s the key to theexclusive new ending toCyberpunk 2077as a whole. It’s ultimately completely up to the player no matter which way one looks at the situation.
Truthfully, separating the good ending away from the one that players had been looking forward to since the DLC’s new ending was announced fits theCyberpunkgenre rather perfectly. As the setting is usuallyso dystopian that not even President Myersis safe, having it be that Phantom Liberty has no easy or “right” choice to make highlights that the world of CP2077 is incredibly gray, which is also shown in the exclusive ending itself. Phantom Liberty may add an ending where V finally gets the Relic chip out, but it comes at the cost of the life V had before as their cyberware can no longer be used, and they even have to learn how to walk again from neural damage. It’s a second chance, but it asks the player if it was worth the costs to get there, serving as a powerful ending in its own right alongside the one where both Reed and So Mi end up saved.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Libertyis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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