Featuring: Cyberpunk 2077, Subnautica, Star Trek: Resurgence
FULL SPOILERS: Basic story knowledge is assumed
This past week I finally finished up my Cyberpunk playthrough, clocking in at around 170 hours. I actually managed to complete the majority of available side missions this playthrough, as well as all of the NCPD scanner hustles and Fixer contracts. In fact, I finished all the minor gigs so early that by Act 3 I was pretty much out of stuff to do to keep busy while I waited for side missions to drop. I like the way Cyberpunk handles this most of the time, waiting a few days before new missions become available, but it did get a little tedious by the end of the game, when I started to feel in a hurry to progress the story. I enjoyed playing the Blue Moon mission for the first time, it was fun making friends with a big pop star and saving her life from a deranged stalker. I've never done this mission before because I think it's one of, if not the very last side mission that can drop before the end of the game, and I've never had the patience to wait for it until now. I also left the Venus in Furs mission incomplete, because unfortunately Meredith Stout just isn't my type. I was also surprised and amused to find that the Iguana egg I took from Yorinobu's penthouse hatched during my playthrough. It's supposed to take 90 in game days, so I guess at least that many passed. I'd long since lost count but I didn't think it had been that long. That was fun to find, though it certainly proves Vic's estimate of "a few weeks" wrong - but I've griped enough about that.
I ended up romancing River, though I almost went with Judy. I'm not sure why I didn't, I think she might have been a better fit for the ending I picked considering she wants to go travelling and leave Night City. As you may have guessed I went with the Star ending, the only one of the main four I haven't seen before. I've only actually beaten the game with one character out of my previous playthroughs but I did play through the ending three times to see some of the others. This time it made sense to finish off with the Nomads, my V being a former Nomad herself, and while being inducted into the clan was a big moment for her, and meant a lot, I feel like a male V who romanced Panam would have gotten more out of it. I think that's what I'll do for my next playthrough, whenever that comes. Maybe I'll go streetkid next time, which is the only life path I've never played. The ending itself was cool. It was fun driving the Basilisk tank again, which you only get to do once, and briefly if you don't pick this ending. It sucks that several of the Aldecaldo's were killed during the mission, and V really felt responsible for their loss, beginning to lose her nerve and wanting to call off the raid. Of course, that doesn't happen. The others insist we push on, and we do. I always enjoy taking down Adam Smasher, but I wasn't expecting Saul to die in such a brutal fashion. I wish I could have spoken to Panam a bit more about it before moving on.
Ultimately Johnny and V parted on friendly terms, Johnny going off beyond the Balckwall with Alt and the other freed residents of Mikoshi, and V going back to her life, though still on borrowed time. The clock may have been reset, but it's still ticking. Johnny's engram rewrote too much of her brain, and now her body is rejecting her own consciousness. It seems this might be an easier problem to solve than her original one since the Aldecaldo's have promised their contacts down south may be able to help, but somehow I doubt it. I think V knows her time is truly coming to an end and is resigned to simply live out her remaining months with the people she cares about. It's somewhat bittersweet, but still about the happiest ending you can get, aside from maybe the Tower. River opted out of coming along with us. I'm not sure if he actually would have if I'd pushed for it, or if he always stays behind. Either way I'm fine with the way things ended. They had a brief, bright romance, but I never really saw it working long term.
So, that's that. I'm glad I was able to finally finish a complete second playthrough of this game without getting sidetracked by something else the way I usually do. I'm going to put Cyberpunk to bed for awhile now, so everything feels a little fresher when I eventually go back again. My last attempt at a playthrough was only back in January, and I only made it to the end of Phantom Liberty before getting distracted by something else. Next time I'm planning to mix it up a lot more. I'm going to play a male V for the first time, a streetkid for the first time, and I think I'll eschew netrunning for real this time. I've always wanted to try a Sandevistan, and they're not compatible with cyberdecks. I usually try to go non-lethal unless I'm in big trouble (or they really deserve it) but I'd like to try a blade build as well. Maybe mantis blades, or gorilla hands. We'll see. That's a ways off, anyway.
A few weeks before I finished Cyberpunk I'd been having some work done in my house, in the room right next to the one where I do my gaming. Rather than try to play a cinematic story game with a bunch of hammering and drilling going on through the paper thin walls, I opted to play something a little chiller. I started up a new game in Subnautica. Subnautica is one of my favorite podcast games. There's almost no dialogue apart from recordings and voice logs. I love exploring, building out a base, gathering resources and aquiring new technology and vehicles. I also love the survival elements, the first few (in-game) days aren't exactly a struggle considering you have a small shelter in the form of your lifepod available immediately, and a bunch of advanced technology to service your immiediate needs, but it is harrowing to find yourself on an alien planet, alone, in the middle of the sea. I've played through the story mode several times and since exploration is really the driving force I don't get as much out of the game as I used to in my first few playthroughs, but I enjoy the opening few days when things are a bit more hectic and uncertain for Ryley, the silent protagonist. It was a good way to pass the time for a few hours but I doubt I'll return to Subnautica and progress this playthrough, at least not now.
Finally, after finishing Cyberpunk I jumped into a game I've had my eye on for a long time: Star Trek Resurgence. As a lifelong Trek fan this game caught my eye before it released, but even in the trailers and promo materials it looked a little rough so I decided to wait for a suitable discount before I picked it up. Finally, over two years after release I was able to pick it up for 70% off. In short - I love this story - but the story is pretty much the only good thing about it. The animations are super janky, the combat and stealth mechanics equally so. The graphics look like an early PS3 era game that's been remastered - everything's nice and sharp, but it does not hold up to 2023 standards. Yet, in spite of all that I had a blast with this game. It felt like an episode straight out of the TNG era, though it focuses on a brand new ship and crew of characters. For the most part it plays much like a Telltale game, very "your choice have consequences", which I loved. The story fits perfectly into the Star Trek universe but in all the hundreds of episodes I've seen I've never felt so directly involved. I feel like all those hours spent consuming Star Trek helped me to get one of the best endings, simply by acting the way I knew a Starfleet officer should, though I certainly had some difficult decisions to make along the way. Overall, the gameplay and graphics were never enough of a turn off to overcome how much I enjoyed the story, and I think I'll return at some point to check out the other paths I didn't follow.
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