Cyberpunk 2077 has a lot of problems, not the least of which are the insane glitches, but most admit that at least the main story is well written and contains interesting missions. The first act may be a little hard to get through for some, but things really start to pick up afterwards as Johnny Silverhand enters the picture.
However, even he is not perfect, as the ten entries below show. Still, the game could have done a lot worse when it came to a companion you stick with through 99% of the adventure. We wonder what the future holds for Johnny Silverhand, or if his character will remain only in this game, assuming there is a future for the series in the video game medium.
10 Love: He's A Rockstar
It is cliche to say rock is dead, but the genre and the idolization of its creators is not what it used to be. Those who long for the days of hedonistic rock stars can take comfort knowing Johnny Silverhand leans full tilt into this lifestyle. It does not make him a good person, but this celebrity status mixed with his ideals certainly makes for an interesting personality.
9 Hate: Vulgarity
One major complaint surrounding the game is its indulgence in edge lord tropes, and Johnny Silverhand does nothing to alleviate this. He rambles off vulgarities like a kid eating candy on Halloween. We're not saying cusses have no place in Cyberpunk 2077, but Johnny goes a little overboard. The same point would have gotten across if he acted the same while using a more sophisticated vocabulary.
8 Love: He Grows As A Person
Cyberpunk 2077's main quest is significantly shorter than The Witcher 3, but characters still go through development. Johnny Silverhand in particular goes from a narcissistic rockstar to someone with real depth.
He starts putting others before his own ego as the story goes on. The game is as much about V, the player character, as it is about Johnny Silverhand.
7 Hate: Narcissism
Johnny Silverhand is unlikable by design at first. He is greedy, disregards others' feelings, and routinely puts his friends in harm's way to further his cause. He claims to be fighting for his ideals, but it really seems like he is just in it for his own ego. After all, does a celebrity really help any cause if all they do is stand behind a microphone and say "things are bad, people!"?
6 Love: Keanu Reeves
Movie star Keanu Reeves portrays Johnny Silverhand both in voice and likeness. Many people probably did not have the game on their radar until the actor's involvement was announced. Keanu Reeves did not just pop in for an afternoon to record some lines, either; he is a constant presence in the plot. He never feels like he is phoning in his performance. We hope he plays more roles in video games in the future.
5 Hate: Reluctant Takeover Of V's Body
This one is not so much Silverhand's fault as it is Arasaka's and bad luck's, but we cannot help but partly blame Johnny for V's predicament. On one hand it saved V's life, but it also doomed them to either die or completely lose their soul and consciousness to Johnny. If Johnny had not attacked Araska tower all those years ago, the corporation would not have uploaded his consciousness and soul to a computer chip.
4 Love: His Gun
In the first flashback you take control of Johnny Silverhand as he nukes Araska tower. During the attack, you use Johnny Silverhand's pistol, the Malorian Arms 356. It is extremely powerful and the melee attack shoots fire. V only has the chance to use it once they complete the Chippin' In side mission where you take it off the quest's boss character. After acquiring it, you won't need another pistol for a long time.
3 Hate: Terrorism
Regardless of the cause, terrorism is never acceptable. While most can agree Arasaka is an evil corporation, ending the lives of employees by blowing up their tower is a low act. Innocent people worked there. Did the janitor sweeping up the floors deserve to bite the dust? This is a lesson even Barret Wallace learns in Final Fantasy VII when he realizes blowing up the Mako reactors regardless of collateral damage is not the right way to fight Shinra.
2 Love: His Hatred Of Corporations
Even though he goes about it the wrong way, most players can get behind Silverhand's cause. When companies end up more powerful than governments, things start to go wrong. Think of all the power industry had at the height of the industrial revolution.
That's not a world to which we should return. If only a real Johnny Silverhand could have voiced his concern about the broken state CD Projekt Red forced the game to be released in. If the actual development team had a say, we'd still be waiting for Cyberpunk 2077.
1 Hate: He Was A Bad Boyfriend
Johnny's selfish nature hurts more than just friends. Throughout the main quest we see him romantically involved with two people. You can guess that both of these ended up in disaster. To Johnny's credit, he realizes the error in his ways and does what he can to reconcile these mistakes. We guess one finds a new perspective on life after your soul has been uploaded to a computer.