10 Choices In Cyberpunk 2077 & Phantom Liberty DLC That Feel Like A Punishment

Summary Cyberpunk 2077 presents difficult choices that feel like a loss either way, some of which can alter the main story.

Despite a problematic launch, updates and expansions like Phantom Liberty have revitalized the game, making it better than ever.

Making tough choices in Cyberpunk 2077, like whether to tell Jefferson the truth or side with Solomon or Songbird, can be heartbreaking.

Whether it's giving control to Johnny Silverhand or choosing between Solomon and Songbird, Cyberpunk 2077 has some difficult choices that feel like a loss either way. The concept of choices altering the story is present from the prologue all the way to the ending, and even in the Phantom Liberty DLC. Players are even faced with a difficult choice during character creation, as selecting specific genders permanently prevents some NPCs from being romanced.

Cyberpunk 2077 had one of the most problematic launches of any triple-A game in history, which ended in many players getting refunds after being unwilling to fight through the bugs and performance issues. The game patched out many lingering issues in the months following launch, but the major 2.0 update and Phantom Liberty expansion revitalized the game in many player's eyes. Cyberpunk 2077 is in arguably its most pristine condition, but that doesn't make several of its story choices any less grueling.

10 Tell Or Don't Tell Jefferson In "Dream On"

The story of Jefferson and Elizabeth Peralez in Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most mind-bending arcs in the game. The story begins with V simply helping solve a murder that would benefit Jefferson's mayoral campaign, but what unravels is something far more sinister. As more details come to light, it becomes clear that both Jefferson and Elizabeth are nothing more than pawns in an elaborate and terrifying game.

It doesn't take long for V to realize Jefferson and Elizabeth are being brainwashed, and they don't even remember aspects of their lives and can't discern what's real and what isn't. V meets with Elizabeth, who implores them not to tell Jefferson, as he will stop at nothing to fight what she knows is a losing battle. Ultimately, even if it means his death, it's better to tell Jefferson the truth than let him continue living such a despicable lie.

9 Helping Or Not Helping Claire Kill Sampson In "The Beast In Me"

Cyberpunk 2077 delivers a classic dilemma with a questline called "The Beast in Me," forcing players to choose between doing the right thing, or helping a friend. V first meets Claire Russell early in the game in The Afterlife nightclub, where she works as a bartender. When V agrees to act as Claire's driver in a series of street races, she reveals her true motive behind asking for a new partner, and it's not prize money.

Claire wants V's help to reach the final, so she can kill Sampson, who she believes is responsible for her husband Dean's death. After reaching the climactic moment where she comes face to face with him, Sampson reveals that he wasn't responsible and Dean got himself killed because he was driving recklessly. Players have the option to either let her kill Sampson or stop her – a lose/lose, considering helping her means an innocent man's death, and standing in the way leads to her no longer being friends with V.

8 Give Johnny Control Or Keep It

After getting to know Johnny Silverhand and cultivating relationships with other characters, the entirety of Cyberpunk 2077 leads to this moment. At the end of the game, when V and Johnny finally reach Alt Cunningham, she tells them that she can't separate them, and V has to make a choice. They must choose whether to give Johnny Silverhand total control of the body, or resume consciousness as V and live out a short life before perishing.

Johnny Silverhand has some creepy obsessions, but this is a compelling option, especially if the player has completed enough of Rogue's quest line, so she and Johnny take down Arasaka together. However, the player spends the game getting to know V and trying to save their life, so handing over control to a new person and ceasing to exist forever is not easy. This choice feels like a punishment regardless of the outcome, as V either says goodbye to a close friend to live out a life on the clock, or hand the keys to Johnny and say goodbye forever.

7 Side With Songbird Or Solomon

One of the toughest choices in all of Cyberpunk 2077 comes in the Phantom Liberty expansion. Near the end of the DLC story, V is forced to choose whether to side with Solomon Reed or Songbird after working with both extensively. After starting the quest "Firestarter," players can either activate the Icebreaker to side with Solomon, or let Songbird continue hacking, side with her, and escape together. There are even more new choices to make in Phantom Liberty, including whether to kill or save Katya, but this is the most challenging.

It's natural not to want spoilers before experiencing something like this for the first time, but this choice is much easier to make with the information that comes with hindsight. It's tough to side with Reed at first, because he wants to apprehend Songbird in exchange for a cure. However, after siding with Songbird, she reveals she can't help V, only herself – either way, V is in trouble and the player is in for heartbreak.

6 How To Deal With The Divergent Delamains

Delamain is a controversial character among the Cyberpunk 2077 fanbase, but the end of its questline still features a difficult choice. The player is first introduced to Delamain in the prologue, when the AI car service gives V and Jackie a ride to Konpeki Plaza. Later in the game, Delamain contacts V and asks for help rounding up some of its models which have gone rogue.

After returning all the divergent Delamains in the "Epistrophy" quests, the player breaks into Delamain HQ and is presented with a choice. V then has to decide whether to destroy the core and leave one Delamain behind, reset the core and effectively kill all the rogue personalities, or merge the core and combine all the personalities into a new Delamain. Johnny Silverhand prefers V to either destroy the core or merge the personalities, but regardless, one part of Delamain is getting the short end of the stick.

5 Paying Back Viktor Or Not

While some Cyberpunk 2077 choices affect the story in impactful ways, others are more moral dilemmas. Whether to pay back Viktor is an example of the latter – it may not have any extreme consequences, but it's the kind of thing that nags at completionists to leave idle for so long. Players have to decide if they want to pay Viktor back his 21,000 eddies, or keep the money for themselves.

Paying Viktor back unlocks his shop, which opens another location to purchase cyberdecks and other chrome. Not paying Viktor back doesn't prevent the player from doing anything particularly special, but it's not an easy thing to live with. Eddies aren't easy to come by in the early part of Cyberpunk 2077, but Viktor is a great friend who would give his life for V without hesitation; whether to pay him back is an impossible choice.

4 Can Hanako Arasaka Be Trusted?

If it was up to corpo-hater Johnny Silverhand, siding with Hanako Arasaka wouldn't even be an option in Cyberpunk 2077. Near the end of the game, V meets with Hanako, and she tells them that Arasaka can remove the relic and save V's life. This isn't the happiest ending for V in Cyberpunk 2077, considering her family's corporation has been at the crux of so many of V's problems.

It's clear from the prologue that the Arasaka family is complicated, but Hanako seems to be the only one with her head screwed on straight. While she initially displays skepticism and ignorance, it quickly becomes apparent that she understands her brother is a murderer. Arasaka has the tech and resources to help V remove the relic, but this is also an unforgivable sin in Johnny Silverhand's eyes.

3 Kill Or Spare Oda

Oda is a friend and associate of Takemura who players will encounter in the "Play It Safe" mission in Cyberpunk 2077. Takemura works closely with V to prove his good name and find justice for Saburo's murder after being disgraced from Arasaka's ranks. Players first meet Oda when Takemura introduces the two to explain to Oda what happened on the night of Saburo's death.

Related Cyberpunk 2077: How to Defeat Oda (Tips, Tricks, & Strategies) Defeating Oda, a cybernetic ninja, in Cyberpunk 2077 will test players' reflexes as they avoid his swift and deadly Mantis Blades.

Oda simply won't hear that Saburo's son, Yorinobu, strangled his father, and threatens V and Takemura with death. After defeating Oda in one of Cyberpunk 2077's toughest boss battles, the player can either kill or spare him. Takemura begs V to spare him, and it feels like the right thing to do considering he is clearly beaten, but it's easy to give into the temptation and put a permanent end to someone who has been consistently mistreating V.

2 Work With Maelstrom Or Eliminate An Entire Base

One of Cyberpunk 2077's most difficult choices comes during one of its earliest missions, "The Pickup." V infiltrates a Maelstrom base with his partner Jackie, and can buy the Flathead robot with Militech cred, or wipe out the entire base. This choice is less of an ethical dilemma, and more of a choice of life and death, particularly for those playing on higher difficulties.

"The Pickup" is one of the first several missions in Cyberpunk 2077, and at this point, it's unlikely V has any standout weapons or cyberware. Taking on such a formidable pack of Maelstrom boosters this early in the game, on top of the Royce exoskeleton boss battle at the end, is very likely a death sentence. Having Jackie beside V makes things a bit easier, but neither taking on the whole base nor paying with Militech credits is a sound option.

1 Siding With NetWatch Or The Voodoo Boys

It's rare in Cyberpunk 2077 that siding with a corpo feels like the safest option, but that happens to be the case in the Voodoo Boys vs. NetWatch dispute. During the main mission, "I Walk The Line," V is given the choice to betray the Voodoo Boys and side with NetWatch. This choice comes after the NetWatch netrunner tells V that Placide and the Voodoo Boys are only using them, and that once they get what they need, they'll kill V.

As Johnny Silverhand says, corpos are only good for one thing: lying to save their skin. However, this NetWatch agent can prove that the Voodoo Boys are not telling V the truth if given the chance. Siding with the NetWatch agent ends up being the much safer deal, as Placide does indeed try to kill V, but it still feels slimy siding with a corpo, especially with Johnny Silverhand so vehemently telling the player not to.

When playing through Cyberpunk 2077, especially for the first time, it's inevitable that the player is going to make some mistakes along the way. Unfortunately, some aren't particularly appealing, even after experiencing both sides of the coin. The good news is, with Cyberpunk 2077 currently in its best condition since launch thanks to plenty of updates and the Phantom Liberty expansion, making these difficult choices has never been more enjoyable.