Romance

Romance is a gameplay mechanic in. V is able to romance or have intimate encounters 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.

Joytoys
There are four joytoys in Night City that V can sleep with, regardless of gender.

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. It is also necessary to call them during Nocturne Op55N1.

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 during All Along the Watchtower (Panam will always be present here, but then without her romantic dialogue) or in the shower with V in Path of Glory, although they can call them while they are at the Arasaka Orbital Station during Where is My Mind?. They won't appear in the New Dawn Fades, but they will leave some messages that Johnny can read. They will also appear in the credits scenes and the voicemail will vary depending on the chosen ending.

If V has a relationship with Panam or Judy, the partner decide to stay together with V, leaving Night City for good. However, if V is with River or Kerry, they will show up at the watchtower but refuse to leave Night City, ending their relationship with V.

If V has a relationship with River or Kerry, they will decide to wait for V to finish a Crystal Palace job so they can return to Night City. If V is with Panam or Judy, they will comment they don't want to be in NC anymore, but since V cannot leave yet, the partner ends the relationship, and will shortly leave Night City. However, in her voicemail Panam appears to be open to rekindling things, telling V to let her know if they ever get bored of the city.

If V has a relationship with Panam or Judy, they will leave Night City after the call. If V has a relationship with River or Kerry, they will wait for V to return to NC.

V unexpectedly goes into a coma for two years due to the surgery to remove the Relic, leaving their friends and possible romances with little to no idea what happened to them. Panam refuses to take V's calls and Mitch asks V to stop trying to call her. Judy moves to Pittsburgh and is happily married to a woman named Briana. River is too ashamed to see V after making morally questionable choices in order to fund Randy's treatment. Kerry is happy to hear from V and seems happy to resume their relationship, but he is busy on Tour and won't be able to see V in person for two to four months.

Johnny in V's body will ignore all romances and leave Night City. The romanced character will leave angry voicemails on V's phone.

If V chooses to commit suicide, all characters will be devastated and leave upset voicemails on V's phone.