The Family Tragedy Behind The Cyberpsycho in Cyberpunk 2077’s House on a Hill
Of the many cyberpsychos in Cyberpunk 2077, almost all of them have their unique and intriguing background stories. If you take time to look around the environment and investigate the shards and messages, you will be drawn to their fascinating stories. “House on a Hill” is one of the side gigs that involves you in the cyberpsycho stories. Can’t wait to know? Dive in with me!
Key Takeaways
- Russel Greene, a war vet, turned into a cyberpsycho (House on a Hill).
- He accidentally blew up his wife and son when he tried to make a netrunner chair.
- The wife’s and son’s bodies can be discovered in this area.
The location of “House on a Hill” side gig
Cyberpsycho “House on a Hill” side gig (Russel Greene) is located in Badlands. It would be hard to miss him as there are only a very limited number of cyberpsychos in Badlands. After going uphill, you will notice a spot well surrounded and guarded by barricades, drones, and turrets.
Regina Jones will give you a call informing you that a war vet has barricaded himself at home and neighbors heard shots. (I doubt if anyone heard the shots because there is literally no one living next to him…) She will also kindly give you the advice of putting on a nice pair of walking shoes because you will need to climb uphill to reach his house. (I managed to bypass this advice by riding the motorcycle uphill instead. 🤣)
Retell the story of the cyberpsycho “House on a Hill”: it all starts from paranoia
After taking care of Greene, there are a few pieces of information you can collect on the spot:
- a shard on the cyberpsycho
- a message on the computer
- a shard on his dead wife’s and son’s bodies
By going through all the information, you can basically tell what is going on here. Greene grew paranoid that some intruders would come and threaten his and his family’s life. So he built up the barricade and even planted some mines (according to the shard on his wife’s body and my experience of actually stepping onto one 😤) near his house. He also kept his family with him in the name of protecting them.
Related article: The Animals Gang Story in Cyberpunk 2077
At first, the wife and son supported him with his idea of building up protections. But then, the son suspected his father of not being in his right mind, and the wife grew the same suspicion after nearly escaping stepping onto a mine.
The tragedy came with a “boom”
Later on, Greene decided to purchase a chair from WE SELL EVERYTHING NC and tried to upgrade it into a netrunner chair. He believed that ICE would be the last thing he needed to do for the house security. But the chair was of old tech and had a major coil malfunction. It blew up the wife and son who came by to check out what was going on.
This tragedy lined up with the shard you can discover on Greene and the message on the computer. Greene’s shard will tell you what is going on with the accident. After that, he filed a complaint to WE SELL EVERYTHING NC but the retailer said that the chair was too old and outdated to be used as a netrunner chair. So, they advised him to use it as a sofa chair instead. (🥲Another example of the dark humor in Cyberpunk 2077.)
Related article: The Bloodiest Party in Cyberpunk 2077
The unusual elements in the environment design: barricades, machine guns, and dream catchers
The environment design of this side gig is definitely one of a kind.
The heavily barricaded house stands alone in a no-man’s land. Inside the barricade, trashes are piling up around the bin. The house appears to be out of maintenance. Drones surveillance the area. Turrets stand at the top of the roof. It strikes you with the style of a well-guarded prison, echoing the wife’s words on the shard:
“This house is starting to look more like a prison. Still, at least in prison you know what to expect, but here…?”
Related article: Clothing stores in Cyberpunk 2077
What’s more, if you scan them, the information will tell you that they live here judging from their casual outfit. The fact that the son and the wife are prisoners kept by love and care for Greene and the barricade of the house makes the story even bleaker.
Taking a closer look at the house will reveal the living area of the house in the corridor, with some food on the table and some dreamcatchers. The symbolization of dreamcatchers is also in alignment with the story. Because they symbolize protection, traditionally hung over a cradle or a bed. The idea of over-protection is all written over this place, which eventually suffocates Greene and his families.
FAQs
Cyberpsycho House on a Hill non-lethal?
There are many non-lethal ways of taking Greene down. All you need to do is be careful about his HP. Do not deal too much damage on him when his HP is low. I tried to hack into the turret on the roof first to shoot down his HP and then used the suicide hack to take him down.
I personally recommend hacking into the turret, because it makes the whole process a lot easier. You don’t need to worry about taking damage from Greene by using this method.
Cyberpsycho House on a Hill search the area?
The area contains three key information as listed above: 1. Greene’s shard; 2. Messages in the computer (in the garage with the netrunner chair); 3. The wife’s shard.
You can locate the bodies of the wife and son right next to the garbage disposal point near the barricade.
Cyberpsycho House on a Hill evidence?
The evidence you need to finish this gig is two shards on Greene and his wife, and the message on the computer.
Conclusion
You will never be disappointed by looking around for more information based on the clues provided in the dialogues and evidence. Cyberpunk 2077 never fails me with its holistic and real-world detailed design of the game.
In this case, you can turn around and leave the area after collecting Greene’s shard and the messages on the computer. But I choose to linger a while to look for the dead bodies of the wife and son, based on the clues in the shard and the email. And guess what I’ve found!
