Night City can be a cruel place where staying alive for just a day longer can be an immense struggle, and withCyberpunk 2077’s intense dystopia, it’s hard to predict who will live and who will die, unless V gets actively involved in the lives and fates of those around them.
There are a few characters throughout Night City and Dogtown that V can be responsible for, and show a better tomorrow to. With so many people to save inCyberpunk 2077, it’s time to take a look at some important characters that players definitely should save in their playthrough, and how.
8Declan “Brick” Griffin
The Leader of Maelstrom is a Good Ally to Have in Night City
When V and Jackie head into the All Foods Plant to make a deal with Maelstrom for a Militech Flathead, they find themselves at the bargaining table with Royce, not the leader that they expected. The former leader of Maelstrom, Brick, has been usurped, and he’s found downstairs with bombs strapped to him along with a locked door. For those who managed todeactivate the bombsand free Brick, they find themselves with a worthy ally.
Sure, no gang in Night City is good, and Maelstrom is utterly reprehensible for their crimes, but saving Brick means that V has an ally he could use in the future, as Royce is far too unstable to be counted on, and having Dum Dum in charge if other higher-ups die is just a big mistake for the sanity of Night City.
7Barry Lewis
V’s Neighbor, a Cop Experiencing Immense Loss
When V first leaves their apartment in Act Two, after finding out that they have a rocker boy terrorist tumor in their head, they will find two police officers banging on a neighbor’s door. This isn’t for an arrest, but for a well-being check, as Barry Lewis hasn’t left his apartment in days, and the NCPD could really use his good nature in sucha lawless and corruptible place.
V is asked by these cops to go have a talk with Barry, and doing so will see Barry struggling with life and depression after the loss of Andrew. However, a visit to the Columbarium before telling the cops about their chat will reveal that Andrew was a tortoise, and this insight gives V the understanding they need to tell the cops that Barry really needs friends right now, not co-workers, which saves his life and stops his suicide.
6Judy Alvarez
A Skillful Techie Whose Spirit is Crushed by an Evil City
Judy Alvarez has lived a hard life, and Night City seeks to only further destroy her until she has nothing left to give but her eternal soul. Judy has loved and lost, and with the world taking Evelyn Parker from her, and the Tyger Claws taking the other dolls that she sought to liberate, Judy’s confidence and her hopes for a better future are shattered – unless V helps her.
Judy can do the right thing and leave Night City behind, packing her gear and heading out of Night City with her van to visit her parents and flee far from this hellscape, to Oregon, then Seattle. Judy is a wonderful romance companion for female V, showing thatdespite Night City’s flaws, there’s still love here, and it’s something that Judy really needs right now.
5River Ward
The Only Good Cop in Night City Can Lose Himself to Grief
River Ward is one of the few good men still working in the NCPD by 2077, and he’s one of the only men to never take a bribe nor falter to corruption – although Johnny Silverhand still won’t like or trust him. Either way, River is a good man, and he comes to V for help when he discovers that Anthony Harris, a notorious serial killer who targets boys, has taken River’s nephew.
If V refuses to help, picks the wrong location during the investigation, or simply abandons River, then River could potentially die or be thrown in prison due to his unbridled revenge against Anthony Harris.V should always dedicate the timeto helping River, as it means keeping a good man in Night City a little longer.
4Goro Takemura
Arasaka’s Lap Dog, and V’s Potential Only Ally in the Corpo World
Saburo Takemura has been accused of killing the man he was most loyal to, which just so happens to be the most powerful man in the world –Saburo Arasaka. Yet, Goro knows that he is innocent, and knows that Saburo’s own son was responsible for the murder, which is why he digs V out of their new grave to try and help him take down Saburo’s son and reclaim his honor.
Yet, things go awry for Goro after Arasaka’s new leadership attempts to cover their tracks, and if V decides to run away during Search and Destroy, Takemura will be killed by Arasaka agents without a hand to assist his fight. While Takemura’s loyalties are immensely blind to Arasaka, returning a helpful favor seems only right for this lap dog.
3Song So Mi
The NUSA Agent Who’s Desperate to Escape the Blackwall and the President
Song So Mi, also known as Songbird, has a tragic story that mirrors V’s. She’s a woman out of time and out of luck, and she’s desperate to escape the clutches of a dystopian society that’s going to put her in the grave if she continues. As such, she enlists thehelp of a small-time merc, V, to manipulate them into getting her out of this mess.
Songbird is only young, and she deserves to be saved. One mistake cost her a youthful life, and ever since, she’s been in the back pocket of the NUSA, forced to undergo further surgeries to commune with the Blackwall until her mind becomes infested with Rogue AIs. Saving So Mi is great for V’s morals and Johnny’s “F the system” ideals, but even if V decides to help Solomon Reed, it’s not too late to mercy kill Songbird to spare her a cruel life as a NUSA puppet.
2Johnny Silverhand
The Rockerboy Who Hurt Anyone Who Got Too Close
Johnny Silverhand isn’t a good guy. In fact, he’s a blatant terrorist who’s responsible for so much death in Night City because of his one-man feud against corporations like Arasaka. However, within Johnny Silverhand is so much pain and anger, something that V can feel through the Relic – so deep down there must be a reason for all that hurting, right?
As V tries to save their own skin, they’ll find themselves tied in Johnny Silverhand’s story. Sure, he might just be a construct in V’s head, but he has the memories and personality of Johnny, and sharing a brain with someone might open Johnny’s eyes to a new chance. Don’t shut Johnny out with Omega Blockers; instead, listen to what he has to say, talk with him, and grow a bond that might just see him make amends for those he has hurt in the past.
1V
The Merc With Dreams of Becoming Legend
After Dexter DeShawn gives V a nasty bullet to the head, the merc wakes up with the digital construct of Johnny Silverhand overriding their brain, and the fact that their best friend is dead. V has to literally crawl out of the pit of death to try and find themselves again, and to not only forfeit the dream ofbecoming a Night City Legend, but to find a way to live for more than a few months.
V’s quest to become a legend is halted by the fact that the Arasaka Relic is killing them, and the entire journey that they take is to try and stay alive. The fact is, can V actually survive? The best way forward is to save V simply by playing how you’d want V to be – but remember that perhaps saving V also means letting them go, or giving them a hopeful ending with a new lease on life, no matter how short that might be.
