The world of Cyberpunk 2077 has no time for people who insist against tattoos because they are permanent. Life is not permanent. Skin is not permanent. Night City, beautiful as it is, is not permanent. V lives a life where it's not pessimistic to assume it will all be gone tomorrow, it's a stark reality.
So go ahead and get inked! There are five choices to make, but unlike the facial tattoos, each one comes with designs on the front and back, so the choice is twice as hard.
5 Body Tattoo #2
The people of Night City are a diverse bunch and following them around is enriching, but if you try tagging behind them with these eyesores, they're liable to shoo you away. Even they have standards.
From the front side, it's hard to tell what the idea was. It looks like it started out as some kind of stencil tracing, but then it turned into a chain link that fades from belly button heat?
You can play with a Geralt of Rivera lookalike in the game, who is no stranger to scars, but even his scars caused by accident seem more well thought out than whatever this is.
Black is a fine color, but when it's tossed on there with a handful of symmetrical lines, it's just too plain. The bar along the spine doesn't go with the piece. Lastly, the writing is illegible and also fails to match the rest.
4 Body Tattoo #1
It's difficult to completely hate this; in fact, it might be the very best selection for a very specific V. The only real reason to rank it down is that it's just too specific to recommend for most players.
Like many other things in Cyberpunk 2077, this is heavily influenced by a certain culture, but it does not become its own signature design. It's beautiful in the very right light, but you won't always have the luxury of staying in that light at all times.
Artists know that their art has to appeal to some kind of audience, even if it doesn't appeal to everyone. They can't just cater to a single individual. The incredible guitarists in the game have a style that might not suit all, but it certainly targets a range of clientele.
This artwork is so specific that you'll basically have to craft your entire backstory around it. It's got initials on it, for crying out loud! It's inspired and powerful, but a little too specific for it to be popular.
3 Body Tattoo #5
There's no doubt that Cyberpunk 2077 and Deus Ex exist as competing games in the same space. Both know that part of the action RPG experience within a cyberpunk word is the grittiness. Maybe skeptics should look to this tattoo if they need just a bit more grime.
V is down for a fight. From the front side without a shirt, you can feel it in the DNA. The word "HATE," the skulls, guns, dog tags, all of it goes together to tell the world that it's time to get down to the business of violence.
One advantage of getting the best settings into your PC for Cyberpunk 2077 is that you'll be able to read some of the words more clearly. The backside of this tattoo lets up on some of the violence and becomes slightly more whimsical.
You should take care to read the date (04-20-2069) which suggests that V is prepared to do good work on the battlefield, in the streets, and in the bedroom. It doesn't really match the front side, but it's still an effective statement.
2 Body Tattoo #3
You'll be undoubtedly enjoying yourself as you visit some of the hottest locations in Night City, and part of that enjoyment means having V look the part. With this chest tattoo of a snake, he might even be a little too hot to fit in.
It's a tattoo in all black, but it's done with enough care that each line is striking. The scales of the snake are shaded and artistic. And the heart over V's heart acts as a morbid medical display and a symbol.
"The future is disposable," proclaims this tattoo. The front side is all art, this back side is all statement and they go together perfectly. The words are clear and precise, almost as though written on a typewriter, but when they are laid over a skull, that's when it really hammers the message home.
It's good to know that poetry in the future still rhymes, even if it is cryptic. But that's kind of the point, right? That the innocence of a childhood rhyme has been polluted with words of technology, growing up in a world where metal has replaced the soul.
1 Body Tattoo #4
Amateur artists will use a bucket of paint to make a tree. Expert artists will use a single stroke and write an entire story. Nowhere is this expertise more evident than in this tattoo. It's striking in beauty and simplicity but encourages other intrigued parties to inquire further.
The blue flowers are a focal point, but the waves of dark hues emanate off of them and grow thick on the chest, where the waves from the arms meet, forming a design that is just asymmetrical enough to appease mathematicians and painters alike.
The back acts as a foil to the front by mimicking its style but reversing the polarity of the waves. Instead, the single flower in the center is where the waves calm down and die out. The tranquility in the back and boldness in the front is a direct metaphor for the mind of V.
The overall design is mixed with past and future, a fusion of manmade patterns and metals mixing seamlessly with primal flowers and wavelengths. It's ruggedly handsome and delicately pretty at the same time, which makes this particular choice perfect for a V of whatever walk of life you choose.