Jackie Welles – the name thick with nostalgia and a tiny bit of pain for those Cyberpunk 2077 players who spent the early hours with this true mercenary of Night City. CD Projekt Red’s official Twitter handle recently shared one Jackie screenshot with the caption, “Jackie Welles-a merc from Heywood, a friend.” Just like that, emotions start flowing.
And the responses-were so, I do not know, some kind of mixture of love and mourning imbued with weirdly, “WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US?” Some called him the “true legend and real choom,” while others said, “You took him from me way too soon.” Ouch-that hurts.
But rewind a bit: Why has Jackie so far to go to hurt? Perhaps because truly, this poor character wasn’t developed enough. The game’s opening montage thrusts you into this epic companionship, and before you could really wash it over yourself, boom—Jackie is gone. This is exactly it: @TheReal_DealDan said, “Don’t go pulling that bait and switch on us again in ORION!” Yeah, CDPR, we see you.
Then came the what ifs. @Digiplayer13 suggested a DLC that would have you relive Jackie and V’s time together through a braindance. @MagicM0rales takes it in the opposite direction, stating that a Jackie Comic-con could’ve fully fleshed out some of those really brief intro scene moments. Honestly? That is a really good idea. I can almost smell the piss-out banter, dumb gigs gone wrong, and the pomp of Heywood’s finest.
Of course, not all were ever Team Jackie. @nykkynn called him a “narcissist” while @sanaplus said he just “held guns and danced around” with V doing everything. Harsh, but you know what? Opinions make the world in all of Night City.
And then there is the real tearing at the guts-the legacy of Jackie. @RealMazaroth nails it with “Jackie, I’d burn the city in your honor but I think you’d rather I take care of Mama Wells and live a better life.” Damn. It is that kind of emotional weight that stays with you long after the credits roll.
Apart from the copious praise to Jackie (or salt), some questions pop up-where’s the Mac port? @NshahdinS and @MJFLIX kept calling out CDPR for their silence. And @jesusrs27? He just wants mods on PS5. Fair enough.
What do you take out of this all? Jackie Welles was more than just a character-he was a vibe. His vibe was that nagging, ever-present memory of what could have been; what CDPR wished they could have given him. Everybody loved him, everybody hated him, or maybe just wished he was there for a little longer. One indisputable truth: Night City will never truly be the same as long as Jackie is gone.
Maybe the next one will have a choom like Jackie again. Just… maybe let them live past Act 1 this time, yeah?
