Romance

Romance is a gameplay mechanic in. V is able to romance or have intimate scenes with a number of characters in Night City.

Requirements
V must meet specific requirements in order to romance someone. Characters have their own preferences as to who they are interested, dependent on V's body type of choice and gender-dependent voice. Lifepath or genitalia do not affect romance (for example you can romance Judy as a female V with a penis as long as you have feminine body type and voice, and River will romance a male V as long as he has a feminine body type).

If V's body and voice match, they can pursue romances with two characters simultaneously with no consequences. Male V can romance both Panam and Kerry, while female V can romance both River and Judy. However, during Nocturne Op55N1, V will have to choose which of the two to call one last time. The character V chooses is then considered V's primary romantic interest, and plays a role in the game's various endings.

Romantic encounters
Throughout the game, V may encounter a number of characters whom can be romanced but won't count as full-fledged relationships. Instead, the majority will be a one-time event.

Additionally, there are four joytoys in Night City that V can have sleep with, regardless of gender. Two (male and female) can be encountered on Jig-Jig Street in Japantown and offer their services for 100, while two others (male and female) can be encountered at the bar floor in Dark Matter, also in Japantown, (a location which opens up after the Kerry side job Off the Leash) and offer their services for 3,000.

Endings
Only the romances involving Panam, Judy, River and Kerry have an impact on the endings, and it is possible for them to end their relationship with V depending on the path chosen.

If V calls Panam or Judy and then chooses the Aldecaldos ending ("The Star"), they will stay in a relationship with V and leave Night City together. However, if V calls River and Kerry, they will show up at the Watchtower but refuse to leave Night City, ending their relationship with V.

If V calls Panam or Judy and then chooses either the Path of Glory ending ("The Sun") or the Arasaka ending ("The Devil"), they will leave Night City, ending their relationship with V. However, in her voicemail Panam appears to be open to rekindling things, telling V to let her know if he ever gets bored of the city. If V calls River or Kerry, they will stay in a relationship with V and ask V to visit them in Night City when they return.

If V chooses Johnny's ending ("Temperance"), Johnny will ignore all romances and leave Night City, and the romanced character will leave angry voicemails on V's phone. If V chooses the suicide ending, all characters will be devastated and leave upset voicemails on V's phone.

If V's body and voice match and they romanced two characters at once (either Panam and Kerry as male V, or Judy and River as female V), whoever they choose to call will lock the other one out of the endings. This means the secondary love interest will not show up at the Watchtower ("The Star"), or in the shower with V ("The Sun"), although they can call them while they are at the Arasaka orbital station ("The Devil"). They will only appear in the credits with the other characters, and their voicemail is no different than if V never romanced them in the first place.