Cyberpunk 2077: Is It Deep or Dumb?

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Cyberpunk 2077 loves to reference philosophers ... but does it actually have a philosophy of its own?

Cyberpunk 2077 has had a lot of people talking - mostly about its fiasco of a rollout. But once you're able to get the game to work, you'll find that it's exploding with sly references to everyone from author Ernest Hemingway to philosopher Descartes. So is the game actually as smart as it thinks it is? Let's find out in this Wisecrack Edition on Cyberpunk 2077: Deep or Dumb?

Special Thanks to the people who provided footage for this video!
Rory Blank ► @bonejail (On Twitter)

=== Watch More Episodes! ===

00:00 - Intro
02:00 - John Locke
04:03 - Descartes
07:12 - A New Perspective
16:05 - Outro

Written by Alec Opperman
Hosted by Dr. Kristopher Alexander
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Motion Graphics & Editing by Jackson Maher
Title Card by Amanda Murphy
Produced by Evan Yee

#cyberpunk2077 #glitches #wisecrack

© 2021 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc

[MrDarthT]

The game seems to be mostly about the inevitability of change and death, and facing them with acceptance. All of the endings seem to explore this in some way, depending on your reading of what's happening. If V is their body, then it's a choice between which personality to choose. If V is their mind, it's a choice between going back to a body that will die in six months, or taking your chances in cyberspace.
I keep feeling like there needs to be some kind of middle ground answer. One in which Johnny and V become one. Similar to how you can merge the Delamain personalities together into a single being.

[poweroffriendship.]

_"WAKE THE F$%^ UP, CJ! WE HAVE A DAMN TRAIN TO FOLLOW."_

*~ Little Smoke 2077*

[AmatMiguel]

Johnny: Strange things afoot at the Circle K
V: Woah

[dan]

I liked the fact that cyberpunk didn't shove the answers to these questions down our throats. And I got a (and I'm gunna regret using this word since I'm not a philosopher, but it's the only way I know to describe it) 'Nihilistic' vibe from the game in general, which I think fits perfectly in a Cyberpunk setting. The 'deep' quotes that some characters sling rang intentionally hollow to me. As if the characters were trying to use them to project intellectualism the same way others use the Neo-Kitsch style to project wealth. They never intended to 'answer' these philosophical questions, just to show the shallowness of modern culture. It's all the typical "style over substance" of the Cyberpunk Genre.

[SPOILERS] I feel like wisecrack fell for the fortune teller in that side-mission.

[meumembro]

I don't know if anyone said this, but Chris is just perfect as an host in this channel.

[joshfloyd]

Kinda dissapointed you didn't look more into brain dances, especially considering the Sinnerman mission line. The idea that you can record memories, fully experience them raises questions about what it means to experience something.

[MaxwellThePanda]

I would argue that analysis fails in one respect which is intent. I don't think the game really tries to answer these quandaries as much as it simply tries to pose them to you and leave them to your interpretation. i think its also a fallacy that you must answer a question to be deep. i think exploring those questions and themes through a new context can be a deep experience in of itself.

[SpoopySquid]

The most cyberpunk thing about this game was its development cycle

[OfficialMTTstudios]

I think cyberpunk is deep, I really enjoy media that poses questions and ideas but doesn’t answer them. I really like that it makes you think and form ideas rather than telling you the truth. Less of a we think identity is the but what if it’s this? And more of what Is identity ? Make me the player think am I V or am I Johnny? Is me agreeing with Johnny because he is taking me over or are my perspectives changing? Since cyber psychosis is a loss of humanity are they even really alive? I like not being told the answer sometimes I can have conversation about this with my fellow gamers who are smart enough to enjoy this aspect of the game.

[SkyReviewsNet]

I wish this video delved in to the Peralez storyline. SPOILERS: the bit about rewriting neurons walks the line on the Ship of Theseus and memory/consciousness themes, one of the best storylines in the game by far.

[AspLode]

While it might have come short of the mark, I think its trajectory is good. I'd rather games attempt deeper philosophy than not. But that being said, coming up short gives off an entirely different flavor, like it's watered-down and pretentious, or doesn't have the necessary faith in its audience to "get it". It also seems like in referencing materials and not actually amalgamating it into a position or thesis, it's merely telling its audience that it read a bunch of things, rather than that it's got something to say. There, it can be a bit dumb. But that's consistent with how I feel about the game in general — Yes, this is what I want, just done better and more completely. While it's easy and perhaps even logical to blame the technical shortcomings on the virus and the pressures of its waiting fanbase and businessmen, it's hard to blame the philosophical shortcomings on that.

[Artyom]

For me the game was more about having a soul and what that means to a person. The River mission, Evelyn’s mission, etc. for me it felt like going through BladeRunner 2049 all over again in a more engaging environment.
And yes, also about what it means to be you and what is you in this context.
Still, thought it asked a lot of questions, I might say it was thought provoking, it didn’t gave the answers. And it’s good. It shouldn’t. You should be able to figure out YOUR answers. I hate when people are just sitting and waiting for the answers. We should all work on it, making our own interpretations.

P.S.: the game goes heavy on the subject of death and it’s effects on you and people around you.

[tylerbrinton]

I feel like this video passed over alot of the themes on Buddhism, spirituality and The grand arcana (in the context of the character Misty and the references to tarot cards)

[MisterCynic]

4:48 They directly bring up the question of whether or not engram Johnny and real Johnny are the same at least twice. Engram Johnny concludes he is a different person, but will keep following what he feels are his own motivations, which are largely based on real Johnny's.

[grproteus]

4:37 NO, the game does NOT imply that the digital Johnny is the real Johnny. The digital Johnny changes during the game as he interacts with V - and there are facets of the real Johnny that the original digital Johnny does not remember exactly (they are recreated with the help of the player, i.e. V)

[franktheavocado]

i think the relationship between V and Johnny is one of, if not THE, greatest part of the game. you start out at odds against each other and slowly become close and understand each others feelings about the situation

[budgetbajur]

Despite the bugs I really like this game

[VaeSapiens]

First things first - I was quite dissapointed by the game, but I think that this video is surface level.

2:17 no? It directly quotes Shoppenhaur's "The World as Will and Representation" There are even part of the text that you can find in the game. Locke and Descartes are the very base of the whole "Identity" debate. But I would say that the game concept is more akin to the question posed by Parfit: "Do Personal identity even matter?"
4:48 No? It directly states that Soulkiller kills the soul. So I interpret it as it kills the Will of the construct and erases it's representation. All other things remain. The Buddhist sidequest goes for another theory that the construct is still a person (because in Buddhism soul doesn't really exist) and the idea of the soul is irrelevant.
4:52 Johnny states directly that if the "origianal Johnny" died it's "his fucking problem". They are not the same. Buit again. Does it even matter?
5:17 According to Parfit - Yeah you can. It doesn't really matter, because if the "original" is dead and the "copy" is alive and thinks like the original, walks like the original and for every other person in the world the copy has no other attribute that would distinguish them from the original, then the dillemma is moot. I can go to sleep, my yesterday safe would be killed and my "tomorrow" self would wake up like nothing hapenned.
6:36 In philosophy of law you have something like the educational and societal purpouses of law. So even if the drunk driver would not remember the night he crashed, he would be prosecuted because of the value of "lessons learned" to the society. And again - Parfit - Does an individual really matter or do the connections that the individual makes with other people matter more.

Sure Deluze works here. But I really dig the Parfit angle here, dunno that's me.

[mat]

You guys missed the whole point about souls and physicality in the game. The program written by Alt is named Soulkiller for a reason. She even talks about how a digitized person is not the same and that the soul was not copied.
The part that was copied is the physical part of the brain, as this is the only thing we can see.

I didn't expect that from Wisecrack

[mrpiggrawgry]

I thought about those philosophic references as questions asked by the game for me to think about them. None of the characters in the game have the answers to those questions and the creators of the game don't want to impose their own answers about them. For me the whole premise is that technology in the future will make normal people clash with those problems and questions on a daily basis, but most of them are not philosophers and wont think about the ramifications of it all. Which will make the world a really f* uped place and that Cyberpunk shows quite well.