What We Know About Judy Alvarez, Cyberpunk 2077 Romance Option

Hello there, Night City dwellers! We wanted to let you know that we just recently updated this post with new information on Judy’s questline. Just scroll down to the second half of the post!
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– Mila

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“V: How’d you hook up with the Mox?
Judy: I thought Susie and the gang could really change something in this city.”
(“Cyberpunk 2077 — Gangs of Night City”).

We first saw footage of Judy in Night City Wire: Episode 1. The talented braindance technician immediately caught hearts of many fans as soon as her status as one of the romanceable characters in Cyberpunk 2077 became widely known in the community. However, CD Projekt Red developers have been understandably quiet about Judy’s personal story, her romantic preferences, or her continued role in our story in general.

Is Judy a lesbian? Does she react differently to a Corpo Lifepath character than to a Nomad? What about a Solo build vs. a Netrunner? Will she care if we get involved with Tyger Claws, The Mox gang’s mortal enemies? We do not know definitive answers to any of these questions. However, we have gotten a glimpse of Judy’s personality, skills, and affiliation and that can give us some clues into what she will be like in the game. Some of this information comes from community’s speculation or rumors, but the other we can get by analyzing the in-game footage available to us.

Let’s put some pieces together!

Judy Alvarez: Talented but Modest

Ingrid Olerinskaya will voice Judy for the Russian localization of Cyberpunk 2077, and she had a few thoughts to share about her in the Night City Wire: Special Russian Edition video: “I envy Judy because she is truly amazing. The way she works with tehcnology and how she creates all these braindances… for me, personally, has a ‘wow’ effect.”

This is something we could see ever since the Episode 1, when Judy was asked to teach us how to use the Braindance Editor. Judy was excited about the footage: “His own choomba shot ‘im! Probably planned to all along.” She also felt completely at home in pointing out various angles and signatures we can study the footage from: “See the blinking thing, over the entrance? Surveillance cam.”

And, she knew exactly what happened to V when he snapped out of the braindance’s virtual reality from an overload of emotional stress. Judy leaned on the handle of our chair, her eyes demonstrating both understanding and concern. “Slow, deep breaths,” she told us. “Your cortisol and adrenaline spiked, but the soft activated your hormone blockers. Nothin’ happened, you’re alive and well.” And, as soon as we described the emotional state of the thug from the footage, Judy knew that he probably had some drugs in his system. Judy didn’t even have a moment of doubt in what’s going on.

She was our guest expert in The World of Cyberpunk 2077 lore book, talking about braindance with the same confidence in her voice: “From the pinnacles of society to the lowliest street hoodlums — everyone wants to enjoy the vivid, colorful dreams that BD offers its users.”

But, you might have noticed something. For all the casual talk and braindance knowledge spewing out of Judy, she doesn’t brag about her skill. In fact, in the bit of Japanese localization footage that we got demonstrates Judy being almost disgusted when Evelyn calls her “the best braindance editor there is.” At least in Japanese translation, Judy goes “Yuck, knock it off.” V gets a chance to respond to the situation, so it’s possible that we can make Judy continue reacting to the compliment (presumably, in negative ways).

In other words, Judy is the expert in all things Braindance: a true, respected master of her craft. Yet, she is not quick to accept compliments, especially the ones that paint her as the best expert there is.

With how many illegal Braindance parlors there are scattered around Night City, could we meet an expert to rival Judy Alvarez? What is her history with the more sinister use of braindance? Could there be demons that still haunt her to this day, perhaps quite literally? There are a lot of possibilities here and it would be interesting to see where CD Projekt Red takes Judy’s personal story.

Judy’s Affiliation with The Mox

Judy’s word choice, body language, and the casual but cheerful tone of her voice demonstrate her confidence, even assertiveness. It’s pretty easy to see that she should not be messed with. Well, of course: Judy is an important member of a small but powerful gang in the city. One look at Moxes’ history and their determination to protect those in need to this day shows how far they are willing to go to stand up for each other.

The quote we started this article with, Judy believing that Moxes can bring important changes to the city, is quite understandable in this light.

But how does Judy fight for this cause? We certainly know the quiet but highly deadly approach of the Voodoo Boys when it comes to the Net, but it’s not quite as clear what Judy is capable of doing when it comes to confronting corporates, police, or other gangs: we don’t see her wield a weapon, hack into devices like a Netrunner, or even play into Evelyn’s schemes.

Yet, we heard Ingrid, the Russian voice actress for Judy, scream into the microphone: “Hey, take your hands off her! You will regret fucking around when all of the Moxes will get to this shithole!” Judy is absolutely pissed off within the context of this mysterious situation. Who is the lady she is trying to protect? What wound her up?

What we know is that this exclamation shows Judy being aware of her affiliation with the gang. Just like other Moxes, she is ready to protect women when they are treated unjustly. We don’t know quite how Judy looks like when she fights herself, but we know that she can summon others in the gang to do it for her, if needed.

Could it be that she might require our protective services as well? Or are we underestimating Judy and she has some powerful cyberware hidden under her casual mechanic’s outfit? It would be very cool to see Judy come back and kick some real ass later in the game.

Rumors: Is Judy a Lesbian?

Now here’s an interesting question: is Judy even interested in male characters? Those who got a chance to play a female V character got a chance to flirt with Judy using a Tech skill speech option early into the game, but is this enough information to assume her sexuality and start feeling disappointed or plan for playing a hacker girl build?

It’s not clear as of yet whether Judy only likes girls or is bisexual… or, perhaps, neither. We don’t even know how much Judy is into girls, since it’s doubtful that anyone was able to progress romance far enough to see Judy get serious. Flirting is not quite the same as a relationship and we had series like Dragon Age show us that initial positive reactions don’t always mean that the NPC character will be interested in starting a relationship with the player character in the end.

Many players were quite passionate about it, getting into conversations of whether limiting player’s choice is even fair to begin with, questioning CDPR’s approach to introducing exclusively homosexual characters to the game.

But, we have talked about some of the more controversial decisions the developers are making with Cyberpunk 2077 and their general approach to these more sensitive topics. It’s likely that there will always be players who disagree with their approach, regardless of the direction they take it in. What will be interesting to see if whether Judy’s sexuality will make sense to her private struggles and her personality as a character.

(Update) Part II: Judy’s Questline

November was quite a juicy month for all of us. Night City Wire: Episode 5, accompanied by two of the Specials, as well as people who got a chance to play several hours of Cyberpunk 2077 brought us some exciting new information about the game, including new details about Judy.

This time we are talking Judy’s appearances in quests beyond her initial Braindance training, and boy do we have some exciting information to share with you!

Automatic Love Quest

With selected scenes featured in Xbox Special, this quest is described as V “attempting to hunt down a missing person via any means necessary.” CDPR has purposefully cut out majority of storyline material from the quest to keep it spoliers-free, but what we read from Phil Hornshaw’s experience with the game rang a little familiar once we saw the title and noticed that Judy is involved.

Long story short, Phil has talked about completing a quest for Judy where you search for her missing friend. The friend in question is a “doll,” a sex worker who gives up the control of their body and mind to an AI via their cyberware system. That AI then matches the doll to a customer based on their listed preferences. Many such dolls do not even remember their experiences with clients.

Judy’s friend has indeed gone missing, and what better title would explain this complicated situation than “Automatic Love.” With the possibility of Judy’s friend having little will during the matching process, the title starts to sound a little more sinister. Judy asks you to keep her appraised of the situation and appreciates your updates — that’s likely why we see an option to call her during the quest.

Once you talk to Evelyn at Lizzie’s, a Mox member will address you as you exit the bar. “Forget Evelyn,” she challenges, “admit it, this is about Judy’s virtus, isn’t it? Good shit, if I say so myself.” It’s likely that the Mox girl is showing that she understands your interest in Judy in pursuing this quest and wants to hear your opinion on her.

Pick “Not bad” and V (in this case, a female) will state, “nobody can hold a candle to Judy. Cuts virtus like they were diamonds.”
Mox will return, “damn straight.”

That’s all that will happen in this exchange, and it’s not quite clear what “virtus” are, especially since the word is pronounced alike “virtues” (gives off a bit of a different meaning, huh?), but this takes us back to Judy’s relationship with Moxes. They all look after each other and will likely closely watch your interactions with Judy. Perhaps there will be a special story in regards to that…

Then, V heads to “Megabuilding HB,” accepting a call from Wakako Okada from Tyger Claws who talks about Sandra Dorsett, whom V and Jackie have rescued from Scavengers in the 2018 Demo video. She states, “we must settle our accounts,” which is a bit unclear. Later she texts you, “Remember, V – it’s unwise to engage.” Is that Scavenger kidnapping related to this case of a missing person? Well, based on the details we will mention later, it might just be.

As you ride the elevator to “Clouds,” Johnny manifests in your field of vision. Interestingly, he doesn’t think your mission will go well. V asks for clarification. Johnny returns, “Braindance chick is hidin’ somethin’. No coincidence we already saw two Tyger Claws. They must control the building.”

V is confused. “Why don’t you believe Judy?” option produces “Think Judy’s lying? Why?”

Johnny spits out, “Little something called intuition, V. Ever heard of it?”
V retorts, “Oh, so what you meant to say was you’re full of shit. Got it.”

Conversation ends. V is clearly on Judy’s side here, but what can we expect from the complicated situation between the Mox and the Tyger Claws? Could we be caught in a situation sticky enough that Judy would choose to betray us if it meant that Moxes come out on the top? The footage does not provide answers.

You head inside a bar that seems to feature the AI doll technology, then having a confused encounter with Tom. In “Woodman’s office” you interrogate a large, bald man having his lunch. Leaving Clouds involves a shoot-out, so something must have not gone too smoothly here.

We don’t have a footage for that moment, but we know that eventually Judy will accompany you on a later part of the quest, serving as another gun when you search through a Scavenger hideout. Once again the unfortunate body-part harvesters are involved, and you already have some experience with a rescue you did with Jackie (we mention it above).

Other Quests with Judy

The next cut comes with a change in the quest (The Space in Between, also quite a suggestive title), so this is probably all we will get about Automatic Love before the game’s release. The Space in Between involves us going through a district fairly populated with sex workers and sex shops, meeting a peculiarly involved Fingers (claiming to be more than just a “chop-doc”), and a rather disturbing Braindance footage featuring kidnapping, so the two quests may be connected. It is not easy to tell with how the footage has been cut.

Let’s go back to Judy.

Tyger Claws come up in the dialogue with Johnny, and a specific scene from the Gameplay Trailer comes to mind:

As you have a meeting with a Tyger Claw boss, Judy contacts you: “V. You gotta take ’em down! That’s why we’re here.” Perhaps this is related to your quest with Automatic Love, but it’s more likely that there are a few quests where Judy will be involved. She will be there for some of the crucial events in finding the biochip with Johnny on it (that already happened, since we can see him standing in the background of the scene), and it’s likely that her Braindance detective sequences will be of major help to us afterwards.

There are moments in the Johnny Silverhand trailer where Judy points out that Johnny “died, like, forever ago.” So, whether it’s by your choice or is a part of the main story, Judy can get involved with the central struggle of your mind getting merged with Johnny’s. You don’t have much time left before irreversible damage is done, as Vic has told you, and Judy might just be one of the people you can trust enough to recruit to help you.

Getting Closer to Judy

So, keep Judy updated about things she cares about, let her get closer to you, and you will create a bond with her. In his article Phil mentions that Judy will begin sending you messages to check on how things are developing and to see how you are doing. More story will be unlocked, and if you treat her well… well, more options will become available.

We have two demonstrations of these “options,” one from the Gameplay Trailer:

And the other from Johnny’s trailer:

Is it just me, or it’s getting a bit warm in here?

CDPR certainly seems to be putting some talented people in charge of creation of these scenes, making them come across as very enticing and sensual. (Well, I like them.)
This demonstration of talent is quick to make all of us want to see what else they have prepared for us in regards to Judy, perhaps some bits that wouldn’t be as appropriate to upload to YouTube.

After all, based on how CDPR has been handling Cyberpunk 2077‘s content, it’s unlikely that they would be quick to reveal the game’s best story moments before its release.

Let us know your reaction to Judy! Do you feel like she is getting too much attention or do you also feel interested in learning more about her?
Are you one of the people who find her attractive and want to ensure that you can romance her on the first playthrough? If that’s the case, what is it that you think makes you like her?

We would love to hear from you!