The Romance System
The romance system in Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t as straightforward as some might think it is. To keep things challenging and interesting, different potential romance partners will have specific preferences. You must meet their requirements for you to be able to even flirt with them. While some of the romances will only be available through certain Life Paths, others are available based on V’s gender. Some characters are into Male V, while some prefer the female version of V. The romance system is also dependent on the body parts, that is, the genitalia. Whatever you choose will affect your overall romance experience in the game. The game’s developers have also included options relevant to the LGBTQ+ community in Cyberpunk 2077. This means that while some characters might have a male or female preference, there are other characters that could go both ways. That means you can have more options than just heterosexual engagements. The game also offers full nudity and non-censored intimate moments, so it is not surprising that Cyberpunk 2077 is intended for mature audiences 17+ (M) only.
Romanceable Characters
There are multiple characters that you can romance within Cyberpunk 2077. The following are some of the main romance options that can have an impact at the end of the game during the epilogue. You may have a different interaction with characters based on who your romantic interest was.
Judy Alvarez
Judy Alvarez is a member of the Mox gang and runs the Braindance suite at Lizzie’s Bar. She is a highly creative and innovative person who is a skilled Braindance technician as well.
She is seen as an exciting person when V first meets her at Lizzie’s Bar, and her personality is one that captivates you.
How To Romance Judy?
You meet Judy quite early in the game but moving forward; it is possible to have a relationship with her. There are specific requirements to be in a relationship with Judy. V must be a female with a feminine voice type to be able to romance with Judy Alvarez. Continue the storyline and make sure to choose dialogues that encourage better relations with Judy. Always try to keep her involved moving forward, and eventually, she will call you to help her taker over the Clouds doll club. This side job is called ‘Ex-Factor.’ Make sure always to choose the dialogues that favor her.
Continue these missions until you get a side job called ‘Pisces’ followed by another side job by Judy called ‘Pyramid Song.’ You must choose the following dialogue options throughout the mission to start a relationship with Judy: This will start a relationship with Judy.
Panam Palmer
Panam Palmer is an ex-Aldecados and a free-spirit. She is a hot-headed woman but soft at heart. She works as a mercenary, and V first encounters her when he finds Anders Hellman.
How To Romance Panam?
Once the main quest with Panam finishes, you will get a side job involving Panam similar to how it was for Judy. V must have a male body type to romance with Panam. After the main questline involving Panam is finished, she will call you, which will start a side job called ‘Riders on the Storm,’ and you will get a chance to flirt with Panam during this mission. You will also get similar opportunities moving forward during the following side jobs - ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ and ‘Queen of the Highway.’
You must select the following major dialogue options to start a relationship with Panam successfully: You will also get several other flirting options through the above-mentioned side jobs with Panam. Take those opportunities to flirt with Panam as much as you can to lead towards the romance path. Having a good relationship with Panam is significant to getting one of the six possible endings of Cyberpunk 2077. Even if you are not interested in a romantic relationship with her, try to be on good terms with her by completing all her side jobs.
River Ward
As hard as it may be to believe this, River Ward is one of those rare honest cops in Night City striving to make this city a better place. It is not hard to fall for the immoral and corrupt system of the Night City, but River has managed to stay clean and held his own.
How To Romance River Ward
You first meet River during the side job called ‘I Fought The Law,’ which is given to you through a call from Elizabeth Peralez sometime after the main story mission ‘Life During Wartime.’ You can complete this mission without worrying about any of the dialogue options as they do not matter when it comes to romance with River. V must have a female body type with female genitals to romance with River, or else it won’t work. River will call you after some time passes by to help find his missing nephew - Randy. This initiates a quest called ‘The Hunt.’ Both V and River go to Randy’s house to find clues that might lead to him. Look for yellow glowing clues to finally get the kidnapper’s Braindance memory. You will dive into the Braindance, and it is imperative that you either scan all the clues to get the correct location or guess it, which is Edgewood. If you guess the wrong location, you won’t get the next quest, voiding River as the romance option. The duo makes its way to the barn, where Randy and other victims are held captive. After saving Randy, River expresses his anger towards the kidnapper and tells V that he wishes to exact revenge. You will get a dialogue option to choose that you are ‘still willing to help him.’ After the quest ends, a few days later, River calls again, inviting you to dinner and, if accepted, initiates yet another quest called ‘Following the River’ (yeah, shocking). He will also express how much he missed you, and in return, you must choose the dialogue that states you’ve missed him too. After dinner, V and River go on top of a tower where they chat, and things get flirty. You must choose all the flirty options to get an option to kiss eventually, after which a sex scene is initiated.
The next morning, some more dialogue options will come up when talking to River. This is where you can decide whether you want to be in a relationship with him or not. V will share her bio-chip issue and how it is messing with her brain, after which she asks River whether he still wants to be her boyfriend or not, upon which you can kiss him and solidify the relationship.
Here are some of the dialogue options you must choose to start romancing with River:
Kerry Eurodyne
Kerry Eurodyne is seen occasionally during Johnny Silverhand’s flashback memories. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the Samurai band until he parted ways with the band to become a successful solo artist.
How To Romance Kerry?
Romancing with Kerry is quite straightforward. However, you will need to have a male body type for this to work, since Kerry is gay. All you have to do is keep doing all the side jobs by Kerry until you reach the ‘Off The Leash’ mission. You will get an option to be flirty with Kerry during this mission. Take every opportunity to be flirty with him.
Continue with Kerry’s arc until you reach the final mission called ‘Boat Drinks,’ where you will get an option to kiss Kerry while you both are thrashing the boat.
The next morning, Kerry will ask for a “round two,” and you can either decline or accept Kerry’s offer. If you accept, you will get into a relationship with Kerry.
Other Romance Options
Aside from the romance options that allow you to start a relationship, you also have other romance options that last for “one-night” only.
Meredith Stout
Meredith Stout is an uptight corporate agent and a Senior Operations Manager for Militech. She is the one that knocks you out in the official trailer. She is a cold-hearted lady, but maybe behind all that tough act, there is a hidden lover?
You come across Meredith during the main storyline mission called ‘The Pick Up.’ Where you are tasked to retrieve the Flathead (bot) from the Maelstroms, you will have an option to call Meredith during the mission, and if you decide to call her, you meet her. She will ask you to pay for the Flathead using her cred chip. To get on her good side, agree to pay with her chip, and not remove the malware from her chip. Later once the mission is finished, she will send you a message.
You can reply positively to her, after which she invites you to a No-Tell Motel where you get to initiate a sex scene with her.
V must have a male body type to romance Meredith successfully.
Rogue Amendiares
Rogue isn’t exactly a type to fall for a long term committed relationship. She isn’t one of the main romance options, but you get to romance her briefly, which is only a one-time thing. You meet Rogue during the main story mission ‘Ghost Town.’ Once you’re done with all the main story missions involving her, you can do some side jobs for her. After doing a couple of side jobs, you will eventually end up with a side job called Chippin’ In. During the mission, Johnny will ask V to let him “date” rogue by letting him control his body. You must agree to it. Note that to get Chippin’ In, you must agree to allow Johnny to use your body as a medium to talk to Rogue during the mission ‘Tapeworm.’
Once you accept, the next side job mission called ‘Blistering Love’ will start where you get to take Rogue on a date. You drive to the drive-in cinema where you get to kiss Rogue. As things start to get steamy, Rogue backs out as she finds it weird that Johnny uses V as a medium to communicate with her (don’t blame her!).
V’s gender here doesn’t matter because ultimately, it is Johnny taking over the body to talk to Rogue. And that’s about it. Romancing with Rogue up to this point will open alternative endings for you, so it is worth doing it.
Joytoys
Joytoy is a funny name given to the prostitutes of Night City. You can find them in Japantown in Westbrook District. Look for an icon that looks like a white pair of lips on your map to find them.
There are only two joytoys - a male and a female. V’s gender here doesn’t matter, and any gender can initiate a sex scene with either of these joytoys provided you have enough eurodollars/eddies to spare.
