One of Cyberpunk 2077's strengths is the sheer size of its setting, with CD Projekt Red building a thriving, chaotic metropolis for players to explore. Cyberpunk 2077 may have had more than a few technical issues when it first launched that could have muddied the waters of gamers' enjoyment, but many still agreed that Night City was an impressive location. One of the ways that Cyberpunk 2077 was able to make this sci-fi setting feel so alive was by packing the place not only with things to see, but also with things to do, like Side Jobs.
Alongside the main quest and V's journey from obscure nobody to a mercenary that nobody wanted to mess with, Cyberpunk 2077 had a wide range of Side Jobs that players could complete for street cred and other perks. While some could affect the main story or have unexpected consequences, others were more minor and in a few cases humorously random. Although there was a long list of jobs that gamers could encounter throughout the different districts as they explored Night City and picked up contacts, several felt a little rinse and repeat. So when one mixed things up like the Watson Side Job "Killing in the Name", it tended to stand out.
Cyberpunk 2077's Killing in the Name
"Killing in the Name" may only be a minor Side Job and not something that's going to significantly affect V's path, but it's definitely a bizarre one. It's one of the quests gamers get through Bes Isis, the ex-keyboardist for Johnny Silverhand's band Samurai – although she's now going by her birth name Nancy Hartley and is an investigative journalist for Network News 54. During the Side Job, players follow clues across Night City to figure out the truth behind Leonard Swedenborg-Riviera's identity, a mysterious anti-establishment political philosopher whose seemingly random rantings had gained a large following on the Net.
Nancy had previously been tasked with writing a piece on the elusive philosopher, but her old request for information on an illegal website had gone unanswered, and she'd since forgotten about it. V takes over the search as they scan routers and follow signals all across the city, and they'll eventually end up at an amusement park in Pacifica. Here, they'll discover that the curious case of the slippery philosopher is even wilder than they could have anticipated. Instead of an anti-establishment wordsmith, they find out that Leonard Swedenborg-Riviera is really Leonora, the Savantron – a theme park fortune-telling machine that had been reprogrammed and hooked up to the Net as a joke. Players can leave it to do its thing, disconnect it, or even modify it if they have the necessary stats.
How It Compares To Other Cyberpunk 2077 Side Jobs
Some players might dismiss "Killing in the Name" as one of Cyberpunk 2077's more random Side Jobs with little bearing on the wider game, but it's a quest that encapsulates a lot of the spirit of CD Projekt Red's action RPG. Anti-establishment feeling is everywhere in Cyberpunk 2077, from Johnny's origin story to V's quest against the top corporations that run Night City. It's definitely fitting then that the "Killing in the Name" side quest's namesake is a Rage Against the Machine song that epitomizes these same struggles, and it's a tongue-in-cheek reference for fans as well.
If players leave the fortune-telling machine to do its thing, Nancy is thrilled and V gains some approval points from Johnny, showing that the essence of Cyberpunk 2077 is to not take anything too seriously. This is a theme that also runs through some of Cyberpunk 2077's other side missions, like dealing with AI vending machines or joining impromptu shooting competitions with the 6th Street gang. But among the causal violence, over-the-top action, and comical aspects, Cyberpunk 2077 also deals with some darker themes and more serious subjects. Having "Killing in the Name" alongside harrowing quests like the search for Evelyn shows the multifaceted nature of Cyberpunk 2077 and its ability to transition between satirically irreverent to darkly philosophic.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
