Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is fantastic, and—like Cyberpunk 2077 itself—it’s something I hadn’t engaged with until recently. I’m new to the post-corpo war hellscape of this setting, but I figured after sinking about 20 hours into the game itself I might as well check out this anime everyone’s been raving about. Spoilers ahead for Edgerunners, obviously.
I knew from my friends that the series was an emotional gut-punch, and through osmosis I knew that it ended in tragedy. That knowledge didn’t help. Battling off a cold last weekend, I wrapped myself up in a blanket and watched the tidy ten episodes in a single day. This was a mistake.
Edgerunners is an achingly beautiful tragedy brave enough to ask: “hey, what if Juliet’s family also died, but she lived, and she had to live the rest of her life alone?” The answer to that question is “it’ll rip your heart open”. I’m a sucker for a good tragic love story, so by the end credits I was a bubbling mess. Nearly made it, too, but that final scene on the moon. Man.
So imagine my horror when I discovered that the Cyberpunk’s 2.0 update added some new “fun” easter eggs in the Columbarium, a type of memorial graveyard which stores the cremains of the dead. While that’s a thing in real life, it’s the preferred method in Night City because people kept digging up the dead to nick their implants. Grim.
If you visit, you’ll be able to find memorials for a lot of characters—including Edgerunner’s cast. The real sobering implication is that Lucy, the aforementioned Juliet stand-in I mentioned, likely had to go and place these herself. I decided to go and check them out, and all I can really say is: ow.
A memorial in Cyberpunk 2077 that reads: “Kiwi: You taught me never to trust anyone in NC.” (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)
A memorial in Cyberpunk 2077 that reads: “Rebecca: I regret not finishing our conversation.” (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)
A memorial in Cyberpunk 2077 that reads: “Pilar, Daria, Maine: You were the only family I ever had.” (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)
A memorial in Cyberpunk 2077 that reads: “David Martinez: You didn’t take me to the moon, but you were still there with me.” (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)
A memorial in Cyberpunk 2077 that reads: “Gloria Martinez: You were right. David reached the top of Arasaka tower.” (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)
This is great for fans who’ve had the time to emotionally recover from Edgerunner’s punk, heartbreaking rage against the inevitable crush of the corporate heel—but I watched the frigging thing less than a week ago. I feel like I’ve just had the wind knocked out of me all over again.
It’s a lovely capstone to the series. Plus, it confirms that Lucy is alive and well—or was at least safe enough from Arasaka to ‘bury’ her friends and leave tributes to them. But the words “you didn’t take me to the moon, but you were there with me” is a fresh dose of salt in the wound. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and throw knives at some Arasaka goons to make myself feel better.
