SPOILERS INCOMING
TW: SUICIDE
V looks out over Night City, Johnny Silverhand staring at you expectantly. You must make a choice, and make it now. Otherwise both of you will die. Or is that the best option? V looks at the gun sitting next to her, and makes a decision.
All the blood, tears and sweat led you to this balcony. There are five* paths laid before you, all of them requiring some amount of sacrifice. Panem, Hanako and Rogue all stand poised to help you get to Mikoshi.
I’ve played most of the ending paths and there’s one that made me stop in my tracks. V can decide to end everything, and kill herself. Tired of the suffering, the death and the struggle, she puts a gun to her head and pulls the trigger. It was… senseless, but also it makes a sort of sense.
A full scale assault on Arasaka Tower was bound to end in the death of whoever was foolish enough to join V. This way, no such death was required. Nor was selling yourself out to Hanako Arasaka. V left on her own terms, looking out at the city that had taken so much from her.
The credits are what made the most impact though. Judy weeps, unable to say more than a few words before breaking down entirely. Panam is bitterly angry, Misty is in disbelief. The reactions are visceral and real, with a punch that I was not expecting. The reaction that hurt the most was River. He just seemed so numb to it, remarking that “It’s a common way to die in Night City.”
For all of its neon, chrome, endless possibilities and bustling streets, Night City is lonely by design. Colleagues are stepping stones, to be crushed under you as you ascend. Friends are there to be alibis, or bullet sponges. True friends, like Jackie, exist to die for you.
Perhaps V choosing to kill herself was an act of mercy. Rather than linger in the poison of the city, she chose to free herself of it. V died, owing no one anything and on her own terms. In Night City that’s a precious gift, and who am I to say I wouldn’t do the same?
To be clear I do not seek to condone her actions, but to say I understand. This pandemic has made many confront loneliness that they’ve never felt before. A way out, at any cost, seems all the more tempting. However, choosing a permanent solution to what may be a temporary problem means it will never have the chance to get better.
Suicide ain't it, my dudes. Keep going. I love you.
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