As far as futuristic dystopias go, Cyberpunk 2077 is certainly one of the darkest of them all. Cyberpunk 2077 holds some dark secrets within Night City, but even darker still, is the characters within. This dystopian city breaks people, mentally or physically, yet no one can leave it. The beauty of Night City and Cyberpunk 2077, is the fact that there is no beauty.
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Amidst the chaos of Night City lies the darkest characters in Cyberpunk 2077. Some would do anything for power, and others, lurk in the shadows, taking out the innocent people who just try and get by without a bullet or worse.
Updated on October 20, 2023, by Jake Fillery: With the release of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, the darkness surrounding Night City grows. Many of the stories and characters players meet in Cyberpunk 2077 will be filled with despair and hopelessness, and as V’s search for a cure for their condition continues, and worsens to desperate degrees, players are bound to come across some truly unsavory characters when they spend enough time in Dogtown and Night City. Night City is a pretty bleak place, and crushed spirits and empty pockets are found here. Not only are there those void of a sense of purpose, but there are those blinded by ideals, so much so that they are a whirlwind of destruction to themselves, or those around them, and Dogtown highlights those characters and puts them on a pedestal.
14 Alt Cunningham
More tragic than dark, Alt Cunningham was one of the best netrunners the world had ever seen. Her talents matched her beauty, and she was kidnapped by the Arasaka Corporation to fulfill their evil desires. With Alt Cunningham, Arasaka was able to complete the Soulkiller program, and in doing so, they terminated her, purging her existence so that her consciousness would exist only as a digital ghost within the Net.
With her consciousness flooding the Net, Alt Cunningham spent decades within and went beyond the Blackwall to become a powerful entity. What makes Alt Cunningham such a dark character in Cyberpunk 2077 is the fact that she is Alt in image only, and instead, she is an emotionless AI, capable of unleashing a great war that could destroy humanity.
13 Solomon Reed
Solomon Reed is a professional, and he puts the NUSA Federal Intelligence Agency above himself, and anyone for that matter. Solomon Reed will do what he has to, and murder is not out of the question. He is blinded by his loyalties and his missions, and some would say that he’s on a different side of the same coin as Johnny Silverhand all for the wrong reasons.
Solomon Reed is a character who has been chewed up and spat out by not only his government but also by Night City. It’s hard to tell what his promises are worth, and it might be too late by the time V gets an answer. Solomon Reed is a man of focus, and who seems to always be one step ahead, even after being buried by his own loyalties.
12 Kurt Hansen
The leader of the Barghest faction and the dictator of Dogtown, Kurt Hansen’s military background helped him come to power, and his ruthless attitude and raw strength helped him to maintain said power. Kurt Hansen has been able to keep governments and corpos out of Dogtown, and his iron fist rule will make sure that all respect him. His influence over celebrities and political dealings makes him a dangerous powerhouse for Dogtown’s reign.
Kurt Hansen believes himself unkillable, and his battle prowess proves just that. Not only is Kurt Hansen great at war, but his tactical genius means that he can thwart any attempt the NUSA provides. His reign over Dogtown makes him one of the darkest characters in Cyberpunk 2077.
11 President Rosalind Myers
Meddling in politics is always a bad idea, and getting involved with the safety of the President of NUSA is perhaps the most gonk thing someone can do. Yet, it doesn’t stop V, who comes to President Rosalind Myers’ aid on the promise of a cure for their condition. Rosalind Myers shows who she truly is when threatened. Whether that’s picking up a gun and killing to stay alive, or using her political power to get people out of her way. Myers is an immovable object.
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Myers knows more than she lets on about many things, and she won’t hesitate to put anyone valuable on a leash to deem their skills and services under her command and loyalty. It’s no surprise she’s the NUSA President, considering her willingness to do the unjust, and her determination to succeed.
10 V (Valarie/Vincent)
V is a person who has lost it all, including his own life. Not only is V broken after the death of their best friend, Jackie Welles, but they are on borrowed time, with their mind slowly slipping away thanks to the Relic, which is eating at their brain, overriding their very soul and memories with that of Johnny Silverhand. Even if this isn’t what Johnny wants, reversing such a thing seems impossible, but that doesn’t stop V from trying, whether that’s willingly accepting help from Johnny, or not.
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Cyberpunk 2077 is full of choices that can directly impact V’s life and the lives of those around them. These are the best decisions players can make.
V is desperate to survive, and they will do anything to keep themselves alive. Whether that entails war with corporations like Arasaka and Militech, or betraying those that trust V, as the clock draws ever closer to V’s inevitable doomsday, more bodies hit the floor, and more stones are unturned, yet a solution never comes. What makes V the darkest character in Cyberpunk 2077 is how they have lost it all, and how they are losing themselves. Despite not giving up, and never fading away, it seems like there’s no solution that can give V the ending that they so desperately crave, or a way out that will see them become a living Night City Legend.
9 Johnny Silverhand
One of the most famous faces of Night City, and the new world in Cyberpunk 2077, Johnny Silverhand was a legend. Leading the band Samurai, Johnny Silverhand took the fight to megacorporations like Arasaka with his songs and his gun. Yet, he would meet his end after bringing a nuclear bomb to Night City to destroy Arasaka’s HQ.
What makes Johnny Silverhand such a dark character is both his fate, his soul ripped straight from his body to leave him in a digital prison, and the fact that he has created nuclear devastation to get the one thing he wants. Johnny Silverhand is a terrorist, anarchist, and every other word for a bad boy. The question is, can V trust Johnny, or is he leading V down the rebel path that got him killed in his crusade against corpos?
8 Mr. Blue Eyes
Is there anything darker than the ominous and irreparable idea that there is an organization out there that watches everything, and is slowly controlling every political power until there is nothing but an illusion of control? That’s Mr. Blue Eyes, a character that players know little about, due to the secrecy behind who he works for, what he is, and what his goals are.
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Cyberpunk 2077 is full of choices that can directly impact V’s life and the lives of those around them. These are the best decisions players can make.
Mr. Blue Eyes is directly involved in a conspiracy to control the minds of the new mayor of Night City, as well as requesting V’s help with a casino heist in space. Rumors circulate about the darkness of this character being controlled by a rogue AI, others, indicating that Mr. Blue Eyes serves a far more important purpose.
7 Lizzy Wizzy
Celebrities often do wild things to stand out in Night City, but fitting an entire body with chrome is perhaps the wildest, which is exactly what Lizzy WIzzy does. Lizzy Wizzy is a musical artist, and with her full-body replacement, she is very much on the verge of developing Cyberpsychosis. It’s alarming to see Lizzy WIzzy have missing patches in her memory, where she blurs the line between fiction and reality.
What’s worse, is how Lizzy Wizzy’s boyfriend believes she is getting worse, and her mind is slowly slipping, so he decides to enter a contract to digitize her consciousness. Lizzy Wizzy, not too happy with this idea, kills Liam by breaking his neck. It’s disturbing that Lizzy Wizzy has no regard for her murdered boyfriend and instead tells V that she is turning into something beautiful.
6 Song So Mi “Songbird”
So Mi’s life was stolen from her after the NUSA discovered her dealings as a young woman. Now, as Songbird, she’s more of an asset than a person. Songbird is perhaps the most talented Netrunner of 2077, so much so, that it seems that the Blackwall has taken an interest in her, or vice versa. As an asset to the NUSA, and a woman on borrowed time, So Mi will do what it takes to find a way out of this life, and out of Night City.
What makes So Mi a truly compelling and dark character in Cyberpunk 2077 is how far she is willing to go to save herself, no matter the wake of death that follows. People will die so that she can live, and she’d do anything to fight for that second chance, which makes V look in the mirror about their own sins.
5 Finn Gerstatt “Fingers”
One of the cheapest and arguably “best” Ripperdoc in Jig-Jig Street, Fingers uses his talents to work on those less fortunate. Fingers work mainly on the working people of Night City, whether they be Dolls or otherwise. However, his work always comes with a sick price, mainly involving his self-pleasure at the hands of someone else.
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Fingers exhibit a creepiness true to Night City. His obsession with the human body, and his desire to get his hands on it, make him a Ripperdoc that some wouldn’t want to go near with a ten-foot pole. However, for the less fortunate of Night City, they don’t have much of a choice.
4 Gottfrid And Fredrik Persson
Most father-and-son businesses end up being tradesmen, or other mutually beneficial enterprises that seek out labor without the intent to harm people. However, the same cannot be said for the Persson family, and Gottfrid and Fredrik are perhaps some of the darkest characters to come out of Night City for what job they possess, and seem to enjoy.
This father-and-son duo produces illegal braindance known as “XBDs”. They’re glorified snuff films, in which the user can experience real-life crimes of an unspeakable nature. Gottfrid and Fredrik are involved with unspeakable evils in Night City, and joyfully edit these disgusting videos out of pleasure, begging the morality question around their fate at the hands of V.
3 Anthony Harris “Peter Pan”
In one of the creepiest missions in Cyberpunk 2077, V and River Ward set out to uncover the secret hideout of the notorious and comatose child predator, Anthony Harris, also known as Peter Pan. This Night City citizen would groom, abduct, and kill young boys, bringing them to his father’s abandoned farm to treat them like cattle before they succumb to their wounds and poison.
Anthony Harris is one of the worst monsters to come out of Night City, and it shows just how bad things have gotten within this dystopia that it took so long to capture this “Peter Pan” character. However, Anthony Harris is in a coma, and will never know the fate he deserves due to the entrapment within his mind.
2 Saburo Arasaka
No power is more elite and dangerous in the hands of Saburo Arasaka. Not even death can stop the Emperor and the CEO of the Arasaka Corporation. Saburo Arasaka is filled with pride, honor, and power, exhibiting all of these traits in every deal, shady or otherwise. Saburo’s age is an indication that perhaps he should enjoy retirement, but his lust for power will see him rule his mega-corporation until all control is his.
It's been reported that Saburo Arasaka is so cunning, so manipulative, that he can even make assassins commit suicide on a request. Saburo even has no love for his flesh and blood, and will happily take over the body of his son if it means he can live again. His crimes are best left unknown to the world, and there are sure to be many of them.
1 Adam Smasher
Adam Smasher certainly leaves a strong impression on the player from their introduction scene, in which he degrades Evelyn Parker to a foul degree. Adam Smasher’s hulking size, and the fact that he’s gone full cyborg modifications, make him less than human, but all the more powerful. There is perhaps no one more fearsome in Night City, and it’s best to steer very clear of this disturbing killing machine.
It's hard to even tell if Adam Smasher has a soul left in his mechanical body. It seems all that Adam Smasher knows is murder and curse words, and he is a foul creature to talk to. Battling Adam Smasher feels like a death sentence, and he will take any excuse to take out Arasaka’s dirty laundry, and his own.
Cyberpunk 2077
- Platform(s)
- PC , Xbox One , Stadia , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X
- Released
- December 10, 2020
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red