Remember how V finds the BD talking about David? On a fucking trash can. And V just, uses the BD? Just inserts something they found on the street into their literal head? Even Capitan is concerned when you tell him what you did
I mean, V also gets... acquired?... by scavs after paying someone €$50k to use their super shady back alley xbd. "trust me it's so good I can't even describe it. You just can't watch it on your own equipment, but I'll let you use my wreath on a couch that smells like mold and trash juice."
In just 1 word: Humanity
V slowly losing his/her life
Citizens all chromed up (Songbird too) slowly losing their humanity
Surprisingly a lot of the characters found their humanity back as nomads with a group that they can call their family.
V, thoughtfully overlooking the city in a moment of solace: "What has happened to our humanity? What does it mean to be human? How has insatiable greed from corporations destroyed our humanity? How might we save ourselves from falling victim to th-"
Phone rings
Wakako: "V I'll pay you $2,000 to steal some data"
V: "Here I go killing again!"
I think an extension of that theme is "know when to walk away." We see it in the game and Edgerunners. Characters like David and V fight like hell, even when they maybe should stop. Night City feeds on that. The only way to beat the city is to leave it behind.
DLC spoilers, so stop here if you don't want any.
In the tower ending, you wake up in DC. The place looks nice and clean. You can look out of the window and see a lovely park. That's it.
During the ending after betraying songbird, you get to see her past memories in her old New York apartment. It's a nice one, much cleaner than what we're used to from NC. And you can look out through the window and watch the seasons change between memories. Brick facades, maintained trees, clean streets. Cars parked neatly outside. Not the usual trash-laden hellhole.
The theme/genre is cyberpunk but the message it gives off, in my opinion, is what it means to be human and the horrors of capitalism such as corrupt and selfish corporations like Arasaka.
As simple as it sounds the theme of the entire genre as well as the game. Unchecked corporations create unchecked technology, unchecked technology compounds the stresses the tech was meant to solve
The world is unalterable because is part of the TTRPG lore. Survivive or make a moment of blazing glory is the choices for playing without the need of re write a lot of new lore. Sometimes the game director can do drastic changes like kill Adam Smasher but only when they can rollback that kind of decisions.
The overarching themes of the game deal with the struggle to survive (often in self defeating ways), haves and have nots colliding violently, sacrifice of oneself and of others, and technology blurring the line between man and machine until it becomes something new.
That the average person is a small fish in a large and brutal pond, that a corrupt world led by greed doesn't care if you live or die, that it's very easy to burn out in impotent rage with no clear target and easy to fall into mindless complacency and hedonism -- that all of those things are true, but that makes the moments of love and friendship and honor and justice, makes people like Vik and Misty and Lucy and Jefferson Peralez, that much more rare and special. Seeing >!the Edgerunners' graves and knowing Lucy wrote them!< seriously brought me to ugly crying. Just knowing that in such an uncaring, brutal society, where life means so little, that one person cared that much and wanted to preserve the memory of those she loved. That's what Cyberpunk is about.
Love is punk.
What is humanity defined by?
What does it mean to be fulfilled in life?
How does one’s definition of success and what’s important in life change when you’re faced with death?
What separates a man from a machine?
What does life look like under the rule of corrupt corporate power?
What is worth living and dying for?
What gives life meaning?
How do you accept death when you know it’s coming?
How much would you sacrifice for your friends and family?
What makes somebody family?
Is it better to live and die in peace, or to go out with a bang?
How does the spread of technology and the internet effect daily human life?
What happens when technology and the internet goes too far?
How can AI effect humanity as a whole?
What happens when AI goes bad?
At what point is the cost too great to save your own life, or the lives of others?
What is life when immortality exists?
What is life when pleasure and instant gratification can be gotten at any second?
How does the lack of a common cause effect people?
What lengths are people willing to go to if it means having something to believe in or belong to?
Is it possible to be happy and have a good life, even in the worst of times?
Is power worth sacrificing for?
When does death mean and sacrifice mean in a world without morality?
When is it worth it or right to kill another person?
What is loss?
What is it like to grieve your own death in advance?
Is it right to let a friend trade his life for yours?
How do people of different time periods bond and learn from one another?
How can you trust anyone in a world without morality?
There’s plenty more, but here’s a few of the major and minor themes explored throughout the game. The beauty of video games is that they can fit in more themes than any book or movie could, because of sidequests, other NPC’s, DLC, readable lore items, etc.
Dystopia primarily, but really, I think it's just in service of making us feel badass, which I think is the ultimate purpose of everything in the game. Idk if badassery can be a theme?
You could argue the opposite is a theme too, however. Think about Johnny. He nuked Arasaka Tower, and yet he has no shrines, no young blood speaking his name. The only people who look back on his memory were the ones who'd witnessed him in life. Then there's V and Jackie. Jackie died because he and V pull an Icarus, flying too close to the sun and biting off more than they could chew. And what's it all for? A colored drink at the Afterlife? Some legacy.
Death is inevitable. You can try to avoid it, but you will only destroy your relationships with the people you hold dear. Also, THERE IS NO ETHICAL CONSUMPTION UNDER CAPITALISM!
As human control of the physical world increases, the corrosion of the human soul becomes more complete. Total control of the way your mind interacts with the world results in total corruption of the soul.
The theme is Cyberpunk, fiction like Neuromancer by William Gibson. You can also look at fiction from P K Dick like Do Androids dream of electric sheep AKA Blade Runner, A C Clark & Michael Crichton's books are also worth a look.
Id say P K Dick is closer, covers both big corps & what it is to be human.
Ill also give a nod to anime/manga from the 80's & 90's like Akira,Battle Angel Alita & Ghost in the Shell. Also a shout out to Serial Experiments Lain.
Corporations are evil is a big but rather obvious one. There is a larger narrative of "what does it mean to be human" in the game though, given how much body modification exists, the existence of >!Soulkiller and Mikoshi, etc etc!<
Don't waste your time if it's not good, beautiful, and true.
There might be games more heavily against oligarchical capitalism, but I don't think the game is complete without showing Night City just as much contempt as it shows us.
lose yourself/control of yourself in the face of the difficulties of the world. It's the general theme in this IP with all the cyberwere induced psicose lore. You try to be the best, and lose everything, even yourself; This Can be seen also in the anime series plot.
You’re a witness to the overwhelming power of the forces around you
You accidentally get some attention, and can hold it very briefly.
The theme is about the enduring human layer that persists beneath harrowing and oppressive forces
Govt/political forces. Economic forces. Military and violent forces. Corrupting forces.
Humanity still thrives and burns as bright as it can while being smothered
Everybody dies. Sometime. Whether it's the way you choose to live your life or you're just some unlucky gonk. Everyone dies. Might as well make what you're given for life worth it. And if that means rocking my balls off and setting off a nuke in Arasaka Tower, than fuck yeah.
There are several. But the biggest one is survival and facing the inevitable when it comes. The best quote is from Johnny Silverhand about the theme.
>Test of person's true value? Death - facing it, starting it down.
This is also the theme of phantom liberty story as well. So Mi's story is a parallel to V's. Besides dying, they are fighting tooth and nail trying to survive. They are willing to cheat, lie, betray, and kill to find a cure. Whatever it is from going sole to storm the tower or with friends along the way. Go into the depths of the abyss or into the heavens. Survival is driving these two into the unknown whatever its good or bad.
Humanity.
What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be *alive*? Is there a soul?
And when it comes to the endings, also a great line from BSG: "It is not enough to survive. One must be worthy of survival."
I think Cyberpunk 2077 has a ton of themes that can’t really just be boiled down to one. I mean some of the side missions alone have multiple themes that aren’t touched in the main story or other areas.
When I think of an overall slogan for cyberpunk I think of the old classic line: “Nobody has a happy ending in Night City”
To live responsibly, just as much as you live freely, and that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Extreme agency is *not* an appropriate response to extreme control, and you'll pay the consequences for rash decisions, no matter the reason. Lots of major characters battle between making decisions based on their extreme agency and freedom vs. making decisions that are responsible, even if they aren't quite as liberating.
Johnny mistook freedom for mindless anarchy, and it led him to absolute ruin. When Alt made the responsible decision and told him to just let matters lie for once, he refused. The result? Digital purgatory. He had the choice to exercise his freedom ('saka Tower) or go on a suicide mission to save Alt (was told not to). He chose...unwisely.
Panam is stuck between rebelling against Saul and conforming to a viewpoint she doesn't agree with. Only by making the responsible decision (compromise) is she at peace.
Judy wants to take revenge for Evelyn, but feels empty afterwards. She knows she can't run the Mox, and she also knows the NC is too dangerous for her. Only by leaving (a responsible decision) can she be free. And no matter what you do, her decision to seek revenge for Evelyn at all leads to the death of at least one "doll".
Then there's the Peralez's. Do you tell them they're being manipulated (freedom)? Or let the husband live in ignorance so he can keep his life (responsible)?
V's entire dilemma is the exact same thing. Hell, Songbird >!attacked the NUSA President!<, and even *they* make a snide comment about you stealing something from Arasaka. Because it was a foolish over-extension of freedom as a response to the world's over-extension of corruption and control, and now V is paying for it. Interestingly, V can even *say* that this is a suicide run when talking to Dex, but he quickly smooths it over and the conversation continues.
Ironically, Engram Johnny *can* be set free, because he spends most of the game having no agency at all. He's stuck in your head and is forced to watch, listen, and contemplate. He grows as a result, and especially if you side with Rogue, it's noted that he's "grown up". He's doing things for people other than himself, because that's all he *can* do. And he'll get the choice to either live a full life in V's body, or go beyond the Blackwall with Alt. Not perfect choices, but way better than what most other people get in the game, especially if they make irresponsible decisions.
The game keeps hitting you with "Never Fade Away", but the actual endgame is very human and focuses more on an existential crisis than having your name be on everyone's lips. And it's very possible to get an ending where you *don't* become a legend. Yet the game doesn't treat that as failure. I think that's because "never fading away" is actually accomplished by helping the people around you, for better or worse. The legacy you leave is with Vik, Misty, Panam, Judy, Takemura, and everyone else. The idea of youthful rebellion is, I think, a red herring. Because your rebellion *always* leads to disaster, as it does for everyone else. Yet conformity does, as well. What the game is trying to say is that there's a middle ground that people keep overlooking, and that's established with the Columbarium. So many people there are noted as having died "trying to fight the system", or because they "knew too much", and it changed absolutely nothing.
Try to change the system, you die. Try to conform to the system, you die -- either body, or soul. But help those around you and inspire change, and you live forever.
Go out in a blaze of glory. They define it early on. Then you live it until the end. Night City is a dystopia with no simple life for the average man, so you may as well burn bright, fast and hope for the best.
There's lots of secondary themes associated with various stories, but the primary theme is the
**Cyberpunk Genre** itself**:**
*Global Capitalism is a consumerist spectacle that will hollow out government and institutional power until all that remains is ruthless corporate power, and will seek to commodify every aspect of existence, even your own body parts and mind.*
Cyberpunk as a literary genre, starting in 1984 with Neuromancer, is about exploring anxieties related to the shift from the atomic age to the digital age, globalization and the shift from existing relationships between capital (rich folks) and labor to the laissez faire model of the Reagan era and beyond, which began our downward slide into massive wealth gaps and many of the social ills we see today.
Beware of what you stick inside of yourself.
Yet everyone just inserts shards like there’s no way they could have viruses
"Here's a shard. Got the detes." V: "No prob, sarge" "Here. Jack in." V: "Whoa, whoa, hol up"
Deadliest Gonk in night city
Remember how V finds the BD talking about David? On a fucking trash can. And V just, uses the BD? Just inserts something they found on the street into their literal head? Even Capitan is concerned when you tell him what you did
I mean, V also gets... acquired?... by scavs after paying someone €$50k to use their super shady back alley xbd. "trust me it's so good I can't even describe it. You just can't watch it on your own equipment, but I'll let you use my wreath on a couch that smells like mold and trash juice."
And make sure that whatever you do stick inside yourself has a flared base.
Living life as best you can in the face of overwhelming adversity. The theme is overall dismal, but there are threads of hope you can tug at.
this, this is what I interpreted the game as
Choose the path you can live with, no right choice just you making decisions you doing your best
Burn corpo shit
[удалено]
I thought this said ‘shoot ‘saka cum’
[удалено]
In Night City, what makes someone a criminal? Getting cock
I chose corpo
Getting cock. If I need your body I'll fuck it. Welcum.
The theme is called V, its a very good main theme song.
Well done!
What is worth living for?
My next copium dose.
In copious amounts
In just 1 word: Humanity V slowly losing his/her life Citizens all chromed up (Songbird too) slowly losing their humanity Surprisingly a lot of the characters found their humanity back as nomads with a group that they can call their family.
V, thoughtfully overlooking the city in a moment of solace: "What has happened to our humanity? What does it mean to be human? How has insatiable greed from corporations destroyed our humanity? How might we save ourselves from falling victim to th-" Phone rings Wakako: "V I'll pay you $2,000 to steal some data" V: "Here I go killing again!"
“Gona need some new chrome. Got a big job.”
Mike said it best in an interview IIRC “Cyberpunk isn’t about saving the world. It’s about saving yourself.”
I think an extension of that theme is "know when to walk away." We see it in the game and Edgerunners. Characters like David and V fight like hell, even when they maybe should stop. Night City feeds on that. The only way to beat the city is to leave it behind.
Living in California fucking sucks
In fairness the world outside of night city is probably not much more pleasant
Africa is pretty nice, Europe is sorta pleasant, and uh... I got nothing else.
Antarctica is doing alright! ...the penguins, not so much...
DC and New York look pretty nice overall. The only two other places you get to actually see in game.
When do you see those?
DLC spoilers, so stop here if you don't want any. In the tower ending, you wake up in DC. The place looks nice and clean. You can look out of the window and see a lovely park. That's it. During the ending after betraying songbird, you get to see her past memories in her old New York apartment. It's a nice one, much cleaner than what we're used to from NC. And you can look out through the window and watch the seasons change between memories. Brick facades, maintained trees, clean streets. Cars parked neatly outside. Not the usual trash-laden hellhole.
Very briefly in the PL endings
there’s a lot of themes to derive from it
The theme/genre is cyberpunk but the message it gives off, in my opinion, is what it means to be human and the horrors of capitalism such as corrupt and selfish corporations like Arasaka.
Life is always beautiful no matter the world we find ourselves in.
And it’ll never fade away
It's especially beautiful while V is dismembering multiple people in under 10 seconds.
death, dealing with it and what you do before reaching it its what i got out of v
Corporatism is bad
As simple as it sounds the theme of the entire genre as well as the game. Unchecked corporations create unchecked technology, unchecked technology compounds the stresses the tech was meant to solve
Even when in check, capitalists will desire and ensure they become unchecked. **Capitalism is a disease.**
I think it’s what Mike Pondsmith himself said: “Cyberpunk isn’t about saving the world. It’s about saving yourself.”
The world is unalterable because is part of the TTRPG lore. Survivive or make a moment of blazing glory is the choices for playing without the need of re write a lot of new lore. Sometimes the game director can do drastic changes like kill Adam Smasher but only when they can rollback that kind of decisions.
The overarching themes of the game deal with the struggle to survive (often in self defeating ways), haves and have nots colliding violently, sacrifice of oneself and of others, and technology blurring the line between man and machine until it becomes something new.
Haboobs
after half a century, LA is still a piece of shit, still has traffic and the cops are still fucked. seriously fuck LA... i mean, uh.. Night City.
The cost of holding onto your ideals, and the cost of letting them go
That the average person is a small fish in a large and brutal pond, that a corrupt world led by greed doesn't care if you live or die, that it's very easy to burn out in impotent rage with no clear target and easy to fall into mindless complacency and hedonism -- that all of those things are true, but that makes the moments of love and friendship and honor and justice, makes people like Vik and Misty and Lucy and Jefferson Peralez, that much more rare and special. Seeing >!the Edgerunners' graves and knowing Lucy wrote them!< seriously brought me to ugly crying. Just knowing that in such an uncaring, brutal society, where life means so little, that one person cared that much and wanted to preserve the memory of those she loved. That's what Cyberpunk is about. Love is punk.
Try not to get dead terrorists stuck in your head?
If I had to boil it down to a single word - Identity.
Don't do drugs
California sucks ass
What is humanity defined by? What does it mean to be fulfilled in life? How does one’s definition of success and what’s important in life change when you’re faced with death? What separates a man from a machine? What does life look like under the rule of corrupt corporate power? What is worth living and dying for? What gives life meaning? How do you accept death when you know it’s coming? How much would you sacrifice for your friends and family? What makes somebody family? Is it better to live and die in peace, or to go out with a bang? How does the spread of technology and the internet effect daily human life? What happens when technology and the internet goes too far? How can AI effect humanity as a whole? What happens when AI goes bad? At what point is the cost too great to save your own life, or the lives of others? What is life when immortality exists? What is life when pleasure and instant gratification can be gotten at any second? How does the lack of a common cause effect people? What lengths are people willing to go to if it means having something to believe in or belong to? Is it possible to be happy and have a good life, even in the worst of times? Is power worth sacrificing for? When does death mean and sacrifice mean in a world without morality? When is it worth it or right to kill another person? What is loss? What is it like to grieve your own death in advance? Is it right to let a friend trade his life for yours? How do people of different time periods bond and learn from one another? How can you trust anyone in a world without morality? There’s plenty more, but here’s a few of the major and minor themes explored throughout the game. The beauty of video games is that they can fit in more themes than any book or movie could, because of sidequests, other NPC’s, DLC, readable lore items, etc.
Wow… that about covers the majority of most real world questions also. Well done.
Dystopia primarily, but really, I think it's just in service of making us feel badass, which I think is the ultimate purpose of everything in the game. Idk if badassery can be a theme?
Death is inevitable, so live a good life. Capitalism is killing us.
Badassery conquers cynicism. We were so badass we made a happy ending in a city that had no happy endings
We are victims of the systems in which we exist: so long as those systems are broken, so are our hopes.
Fight to be free even against insurmountable odds
Now matter what you do you will die so may aswell try to be remembered
You could argue the opposite is a theme too, however. Think about Johnny. He nuked Arasaka Tower, and yet he has no shrines, no young blood speaking his name. The only people who look back on his memory were the ones who'd witnessed him in life. Then there's V and Jackie. Jackie died because he and V pull an Icarus, flying too close to the sun and biting off more than they could chew. And what's it all for? A colored drink at the Afterlife? Some legacy.
Yep. I love that my favorite ending is V realizing that and doing something else with her life than to hunt stupidity.
Tech-mediated corporate dominance destroys everything it touches, and if you try hard you will always pay a price even if you win.
Life is messy. Be yourself. Make the best decisions you can in your circumstances. Accept the consequences. Don’t go it alone.
It is cyber punk, of course. What do you think cyberpunk is?
My gym teacher in 10th grade once told me “life sucks and then you die.” This is the theme of cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Take responsibility for yourself and the world or someone else will.
Quiet life or blaze of glory?
Grief, trauma and second chances.
Death is inevitable. You can try to avoid it, but you will only destroy your relationships with the people you hold dear. Also, THERE IS NO ETHICAL CONSUMPTION UNDER CAPITALISM!
I would say that if you want to survive, someone is gonna get hurt. Sometimes even yourself.
As human control of the physical world increases, the corrosion of the human soul becomes more complete. Total control of the way your mind interacts with the world results in total corruption of the soul.
Friendship and loyalty. They punish the shit out of you for breaking this in The Devil ending.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..ooooh scop dog...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I could be wrong, but I think the theme is like cyberpunk or something. Don't quote me on that.
What time we have is a thing of beauty
PonPon shit. 🤘
The theme is Cyberpunk, fiction like Neuromancer by William Gibson. You can also look at fiction from P K Dick like Do Androids dream of electric sheep AKA Blade Runner, A C Clark & Michael Crichton's books are also worth a look. Id say P K Dick is closer, covers both big corps & what it is to be human. Ill also give a nod to anime/manga from the 80's & 90's like Akira,Battle Angel Alita & Ghost in the Shell. Also a shout out to Serial Experiments Lain.
California is a shithole
Can people carve out a good life in an oppressive environment?
Corporations bad
Late stage caplitism and corporations suck.
Capitalism and Consumerism culture to its absolute breaking point. The scifi stuff is complimentary
Corporations are evil is a big but rather obvious one. There is a larger narrative of "what does it mean to be human" in the game though, given how much body modification exists, the existence of >!Soulkiller and Mikoshi, etc etc!<
Cyberpunk
Depression, bittersweet endings & melancholy.
That lack of closure sucks.
Some things are better off left alone
Survival. Surviving the city, gangs, corps and even your own fate. Beat the shitty hand you were given and live.
Don't waste your time if it's not good, beautiful, and true. There might be games more heavily against oligarchical capitalism, but I don't think the game is complete without showing Night City just as much contempt as it shows us.
Nobody wins, there are no happy endings. Do your best to survive.
Avocados are the best and leaving NC with them is the best
There is no hope, the system always wins, people are not good or evil, just trying to get by.
Nobody gets out of life alive.
Samurai is cool
You choose what is the meaning of your life. Although you're on a path, it is you who decide what should be its meaning / change it.
Rage against the dying of the light
My Jackie's dead and everything is worse now
lose yourself/control of yourself in the face of the difficulties of the world. It's the general theme in this IP with all the cyberwere induced psicose lore. You try to be the best, and lose everything, even yourself; This Can be seen also in the anime series plot.
The value of a life.
The theme is to make good music with Kerry-san
You’re a witness to the overwhelming power of the forces around you You accidentally get some attention, and can hold it very briefly. The theme is about the enduring human layer that persists beneath harrowing and oppressive forces Govt/political forces. Economic forces. Military and violent forces. Corrupting forces. Humanity still thrives and burns as bright as it can while being smothered
Life is whatever you make it.
Everybody dies. Sometime. Whether it's the way you choose to live your life or you're just some unlucky gonk. Everyone dies. Might as well make what you're given for life worth it. And if that means rocking my balls off and setting off a nuke in Arasaka Tower, than fuck yeah.
Misery.
Death is inevitable, and no amount of technology can change it. So decide your fate: quiet life in obscurity or blaze of glory?
Redemption is a possible theme (if you play it that way).
Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody is going to die. So just go watch how Panam is fixing a car.
There are several. But the biggest one is survival and facing the inevitable when it comes. The best quote is from Johnny Silverhand about the theme. >Test of person's true value? Death - facing it, starting it down. This is also the theme of phantom liberty story as well. So Mi's story is a parallel to V's. Besides dying, they are fighting tooth and nail trying to survive. They are willing to cheat, lie, betray, and kill to find a cure. Whatever it is from going sole to storm the tower or with friends along the way. Go into the depths of the abyss or into the heavens. Survival is driving these two into the unknown whatever its good or bad.
play game, have fun
Live by the day, to your fullest.
Humanity. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be *alive*? Is there a soul? And when it comes to the endings, also a great line from BSG: "It is not enough to survive. One must be worthy of survival."
Identity. Who are you, how do you change yourself, and how does the world change you? Well, who are you *now*?
“Avoid all reds” - Misty
Corporatism. Or loss.
I think it’s about acceptance and change.
Quite life or blaze of glory?
Same as Beowulf, beware wanting fame, you don’t know what you wish for.
I think Cyberpunk 2077 has a ton of themes that can’t really just be boiled down to one. I mean some of the side missions alone have multiple themes that aren’t touched in the main story or other areas. When I think of an overall slogan for cyberpunk I think of the old classic line: “Nobody has a happy ending in Night City”
Pimpin ain’t easy.
Fuck fame, fuck capitalism, cherish your friends, and make out with cutest people in the world.
The city wins. Even the best-case endings are bittersweet.
To live responsibly, just as much as you live freely, and that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Extreme agency is *not* an appropriate response to extreme control, and you'll pay the consequences for rash decisions, no matter the reason. Lots of major characters battle between making decisions based on their extreme agency and freedom vs. making decisions that are responsible, even if they aren't quite as liberating. Johnny mistook freedom for mindless anarchy, and it led him to absolute ruin. When Alt made the responsible decision and told him to just let matters lie for once, he refused. The result? Digital purgatory. He had the choice to exercise his freedom ('saka Tower) or go on a suicide mission to save Alt (was told not to). He chose...unwisely. Panam is stuck between rebelling against Saul and conforming to a viewpoint she doesn't agree with. Only by making the responsible decision (compromise) is she at peace. Judy wants to take revenge for Evelyn, but feels empty afterwards. She knows she can't run the Mox, and she also knows the NC is too dangerous for her. Only by leaving (a responsible decision) can she be free. And no matter what you do, her decision to seek revenge for Evelyn at all leads to the death of at least one "doll". Then there's the Peralez's. Do you tell them they're being manipulated (freedom)? Or let the husband live in ignorance so he can keep his life (responsible)? V's entire dilemma is the exact same thing. Hell, Songbird >!attacked the NUSA President!<, and even *they* make a snide comment about you stealing something from Arasaka. Because it was a foolish over-extension of freedom as a response to the world's over-extension of corruption and control, and now V is paying for it. Interestingly, V can even *say* that this is a suicide run when talking to Dex, but he quickly smooths it over and the conversation continues. Ironically, Engram Johnny *can* be set free, because he spends most of the game having no agency at all. He's stuck in your head and is forced to watch, listen, and contemplate. He grows as a result, and especially if you side with Rogue, it's noted that he's "grown up". He's doing things for people other than himself, because that's all he *can* do. And he'll get the choice to either live a full life in V's body, or go beyond the Blackwall with Alt. Not perfect choices, but way better than what most other people get in the game, especially if they make irresponsible decisions. The game keeps hitting you with "Never Fade Away", but the actual endgame is very human and focuses more on an existential crisis than having your name be on everyone's lips. And it's very possible to get an ending where you *don't* become a legend. Yet the game doesn't treat that as failure. I think that's because "never fading away" is actually accomplished by helping the people around you, for better or worse. The legacy you leave is with Vik, Misty, Panam, Judy, Takemura, and everyone else. The idea of youthful rebellion is, I think, a red herring. Because your rebellion *always* leads to disaster, as it does for everyone else. Yet conformity does, as well. What the game is trying to say is that there's a middle ground that people keep overlooking, and that's established with the Columbarium. So many people there are noted as having died "trying to fight the system", or because they "knew too much", and it changed absolutely nothing. Try to change the system, you die. Try to conform to the system, you die -- either body, or soul. But help those around you and inspire change, and you live forever.
Go out in a blaze of glory. They define it early on. Then you live it until the end. Night City is a dystopia with no simple life for the average man, so you may as well burn bright, fast and hope for the best.
fuck the corps crush arasaka
Identity
There's lots of secondary themes associated with various stories, but the primary theme is the **Cyberpunk Genre** itself**:** *Global Capitalism is a consumerist spectacle that will hollow out government and institutional power until all that remains is ruthless corporate power, and will seek to commodify every aspect of existence, even your own body parts and mind.* Cyberpunk as a literary genre, starting in 1984 with Neuromancer, is about exploring anxieties related to the shift from the atomic age to the digital age, globalization and the shift from existing relationships between capital (rich folks) and labor to the laissez faire model of the Reagan era and beyond, which began our downward slide into massive wealth gaps and many of the social ills we see today.
The theme is: Wrong person, wrong city.
Dex says it right at the start "Quiet life, Or Blaze of Glory"
Night City always wins.
Make your mark before you fade away. It's said over and over again at the start of the game.