Summary
Now that Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update have transformedCyberpunk 2077into the title fans expected ahead of its initial launch, anticipation for its announced sequel is starting to ramp up, and one loose thread left dangling at the game’s outset yearns to be explored forProject Orion. The mysterious Mr. Blue Eyes, who offers V a miracle cure of their terminal split personality (and strikes a similar deal with Songbird in Phantom Liberty), has been set up in the world ofCyberpunk 2077as an almost omniscient force within Night City’s criminal underworld and corrupt political machine. It would be a travesty not to peel back the layers of the aptly-named character for the next installment in the franchise.
CD Projekt Red could veerthe future ofCyberpunkin any number of directions. Depending on which ofCyberpunk 2077’s endings it will eventually consider canon, the tale of V’s path to becoming a Night City legend ranges from resolutely concluded to somewhat open-ended. Many expect that the story of V will be put in the periphery, with a new protagonist for the sequel. Others point to the groundwork laid throughout the course of the game’s many flashbacks as sign that the next title will be a prequel. The studio knocked it out of the park with its impeccable imagining of Night City, but that is not stopping the studio from potentially fielding a new setting altogether. The bottom line is that, as of now, nothing onProject Orionis certain and everything is up in the air.
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Mr. Blue Eyes is Cyberpunk 2077’s Biggest Unsolved Mystery
Players' first brush withMr. Blue Eyes inCyberpunk 2077is during the Dream On side job, which follows the clandestine usurping of mayoral candidate Jefferson Peralez’s free will via constant monitoring and brain rewiring. As V uncovers how low the forces-that-be are willing to go to turn Peralez into their very own Manchurian Candidate, an ominous holo-call from an unknown caller serves as both a warning and vague threat that no matter what length V goes to, Peralez’s fate is sealed. Though never explicitly stated during this encounter, in a blink-and-miss-it moment, observant players can spot Mr. Blue Eyes overseeing the rendezvous, presumably as its driving force.
The next run-in with Mr. Blue Eyes is during the finale ofCyberpunk 2077as well asthe conclusion of Phantom Liberty, though only if the right choices are made. In the Path of Glory secret ending, after successfully storming Arasaka Tower and jacking into Mikoshi, Mr. Blue Eyes takes notice of Night City’s newest legend, commissioning the impetuous merc for a high-stakes heist on the Earth-orbiting casino, Crystal Palace. He implies that the gig’s success will be rewarded with the prize V has sought throughout the course of the game: a cure for the mind-invading relic. He offers a similar salvation for Songbird, who has a rogue AI running amok in her mind. If players side with the FIA Netrunner and send her aboard the shuttle to the Moon, it will be revealed that Mr. Blue Eyes is the one arranging her transit and assumed cure.
The Sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 Will Have to Reconcile the Loose Threads of its Predecessor
As a narrative device, Chekhov’s Gun has to do with imbuing a sense of purpose to every element of a story. If a gun is described in the first act, it must go off in the next. The unanswered questions behind Mr. Blue Eyes' identity and motivations are too pronounced to be let alone, and the future oftheCyberpunkfranchisewill have to reckon with this all-powerful figure bending the goings-on of Night City to their will.
It will be years before the curtain is peeled back onProject Orion, but theunresolved aspects ofCyberpunk 2077could be telling of what players will be in store for. The set-up of Mr. Blue Eyes could be the connective tissue between the two games, but only time will tell what CD Projekt Red has in store.
Cyberpunk 2077is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
