Summary
Whether it’s losing Jackie in the prologue or saying goodbye to Johnny Silverhand at the game’s end,Cyberpunk 2077has some tear-jerking deaths. Although some deaths hit harder than others, more than 20 named characters with dialogue involved in either main or side missions can be killed. Like other butterfly effect games, V’s choices directly affect who lives and dies, so the player must be careful.
Cyberpunk 2077may have launched in an abysmal state, but thegame has since redeemed itselfas of the 2.0 update andPhantom Libertyexpansion. However, the problem was never the story, it was the bugs and performance issues that made the campaign unable to be experienced. While perhaps not as beloved asThe Witcher 3,Cyberpunk 2077’s story sees V connect with all manner of interesting characters, some of whom they are forced to say goodbye to one way or another.
10V & Panam Are To Blame For Scorpion’s Death
V may not get to spend much time with Scorpion, but it makes his death no less tragic inCyberpunk 2077. Scorpion is a close friend of Panam and a member of the Aldercaldos, a nomad group who reside in the Badlands. When V enlists Panam and the Aldercaldos to help take down a Kang Tao AV, the plan goes awry and Scorpion pays the ultimate price.
When V and Panam disable communications and halt the AV, Mitch and Scorpion rush to its aid in hopes of finding survivors. Unfortunately, V and Panam can’t contact them to tell them to stay away, so they are attacked immediately upon arrival. Mitch manages to survive, but Scorpion passes on and, in his first interaction with the Aldercaldos, V has cost them a dear and beloved member of their family.
9Solomon Reed’s Death Is A Double-Edged Sword
Solomon Reed is an FIA (Federal Intelligence Agency) Agent played by Idris Elba, who the player first meets in thePhantom Libertyexpansion. Solomon acts as a partner throughout the DLC until the player has the choice toside with either him or Songbird. If the player chooses to help Songbird, Solomon has no choice but to step in, which means his demise is inevitable.
One Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Secret Is Still Confusing Four Years After Release
Despite the abundance of new content added to Cyberpunk 2077 in the Phantom Liberty DLC and the 2.0 update, one mystery continues to baffle players.
When the player draws their weapon on Solomon in “The Killing Moon,” there are two different death animations based on where the bullet lands. Shooting him in the head means he drops instantly, but shooting him below the neck requires a second shot before he falls to his knees and says,“It’s too late.“Solomon may trust “the system” too much inCyberpunk 2077, but it’s still heartbreaking to watch him die after working with him for so long.
8V Can Die By Giving Johnny Control
As the main character inCyberpunk 2077, V is dealt a tough hand. From the beginning of the game, V is forced to watch two of their closest compatriots die, and then gets shot in the head by the one person they think they can trust. However, it’s not until the end of the game that players can experience V passing on.
In one ofCyberpunk 2077’s many endings, V has the option to keep his body and live out what little time they have, or give control to Johnny Silverhand. Because Johnny’s construct has mostly overridden V’s brain via the Relic, Johnny can survive and live a full life, but V can not. The player spends the entire game developing a relationship between V and Johnny, but that doesn’t make the final choice any easier.
Alt Cunningham is one ofCyberpunk’s most complex characters due to her pre-existing relationship with Johnny and how she lives on after death. She features in several of the game’s flashback missions where the player takes control of Johnny, who is searching for her after she is kidnapped by Arasaka. Tragedy strikes when Johnny finally locates her, only to discover she has already died and exists only as a construct.
Johnny Silverhand isn’t the most romantic character by any stretch, but his love for Alt Cunningham is apparent throughoutCyberpunk 2077. Watching his pure anger and anguish play out after he discovers her body is phenomenal work by Silverhand actor Keanu Reeves. Alt is also crucial in helping V and Johnny separate from one another or merge together, further deepening the bond between her, V, and Johnny.
6T-Bug’s Time Is Short But Her Death Is No Less Sad
T-Bug is a netrunner who works with the legendary fixer Dexter DeShawn at the beginning ofCyberpunk 2077. She is part of the team with V and Jackie whose goal is to infiltrate Arasaka Tower and steal the Relic. Unfortunately for her and the player, things go awry when Yorinobu Arasaka strangles his father Saburo and sends the whole tower into lockdown.
T-Bug tries to help V and Jackie escape, but Arasaka gets into the net and fries her connection, killing her in the process. While her body is never shown, she never appears nor is mentioned in the rest of the game. Although she isn’t in the game past the prologue, it’s still incredibly sad to see T-Bug die thanks to her charming back and forth with V and Jackie.
5Evelyn Parker Is One Of Cyberpunk 2077’s Most Tragic Stories
Evelyn Parker is a main character inCyberpunk 2077who also plays a large role in one of the game’s most compelling side questlines. She first appears in one of the game’s first missions, and it’s quickly revealed she is the one who contracts V and Jackie to steal the Relic from Arasaka. The job goes sideways, and Evelyn becomes V’s only lead for answers, which they pursue through Judy Alvarez, one of the manycharacters who can be romanced inCyberpunk 2077.
Judy is initially hesitant to help V at first after the job went so poorly, but she eventually helps them locate Evelyn. Once she returned to work as a doll at Clouds, she was kidnapped and assaulted by Oswald “Woodman” Forest, who eventually sold her to the Scavengers, who tortured her. She eventually takes her own life at Judy’s apartment in one of the game’s saddest moments.
4Saul Goes Through A Satisfying Arc Before His Death
Saul is the hot- and hard-headed leader of the Aldercaldos who initially refuses to help V in their quest to locate Anders Hellman. He even bickers with Panam constantly and disagrees with her every move. It’s not until later in the Aldercaldos quest line with Panam that he has a change of heart and becomes a more likable character.
After more than enough tough love, he finally softens up and agrees to let Panam step into a leadership role alongside him. If V decides to let the Aldercaldos help them break into Arasaka at the end of the game, V, Panam, and Saul confront Adam Smasher and Saul dies a brutal but honorable death. Saul’s death having great meaning is a prime example ofCyberpunk 2077’s impressive storytelling, bringing a once-annoying character into a beloved spotlight before his demise.
3Rogue’s Death Is One Of The Hardest To Deal With
Rogue is the queen of The Afterlife and one of the most beloved characters among theCyberpunk 2077community. Players first hear of her through Jackie before meeting her in The Afterlife, where Johnny pops up and mentions his relationship with her. She then is an integral part of several flash back quests including Johnny’s assault on Arasaka and his quest to save Alt.
If the player chooses to give Johnny control at the end ofCyberpunk 2077and let him infiltrate Arasaka with Rogue, she is killed by Adam Smasher, similar to Saul. Rogue’s death is a bit more heroic, as she at least gets a grenade to explode in his face, which makes him start one of the hardestCyberpunkboss fights with 80% health. Players get to explore and develop a relationship with Rogue through V and Johnny inCyberpunk 2077, making her one of the hardest-hitting deaths in the game.
2Both Of Johnny’s Deaths Are Emotionally Painful To Experience
There is perhaps no character inCyberpunk 2077who V spends more time with than Johnny Silverhand. Johnny was a narcissistic Rockerboy and also a terrorist who bombed Arasaka Tower before being killed in 2023. He then awakens in the mind of V, as confused as the player as to what’s going on and how he’s found himself here after all this time.
V and Johnny slowly cultivate a relationship with one another that leads to a choice at the end of the game. After having watched Johnny die and ditch his physical form, players have to decide whether to cede control to him forever or freeze him out for good and never see or speak to him again. This is no easy decision to make, and after consulting with Johnny on almost every decision to this point, it’s heart-wrenching to have to say goodbye.
1Jackie’s Death Is The Hardest To Watch
The most painfulCyberpunk 2077death comes in the prologue, mere hours into the game. Jackie is V’s best friend, but their backstory varies depending on which origin story V chooses. However, the additional context quickly becomes irrelevant when it’s made obvious that the two are closer to blood relatives than friends.
V and Jackie embark on the prologue heist to Arasaka Tower in hopes of stealing the Relic, but things go wrong when Jackie takes a bullet to the side. He fights out of the building and makes it into the Delamain cab, but that’s where his journey ends. Jackie’s death came as such a devastating shock because it seemed apparent he was going to be alongside V the entire game, right until he wasn’t.
Cyberpunk 2077may have had its issues in the past, but getting so many deaths to resonate with the player in one playthrough is quite an achievement. The game accomplishes that level of care and investment through great writing, and allowing V to spend plenty of time with each character before their demise. There is a lot to love and discover aboutCyberpunk 2077even four years after launch, but the story and characters have stood the test of time.
Cyberpunk 2077
Based on the 1988 tabletop game, Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person action RPG game set in a dystopian cyber future developed by CD Projekt Red. Players will tackle the streets of Night City as customizable protagonist V, who struggles to keep their memories intact after receiving a strange cybernetic implant that slowly overrides their memories by a deceased celebrity known as Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves.
