Jackie Welles DLC, CD Projekt Red missed an opportunity to enhance Jackie’s character and his relationship with V by making the prologue montage after each Lifepath intro actually playable.
If each Lifepath intro is any indication, perhaps Jackie’s relationship with V was meant to vary depending on Arasaka Corporation into Night City. The job goes astray and leads to Jackie and V fending off border security before sneaking into Night City.
Cyberpunk 2077's prologue montage is the same for everyone, with Jackie and V living it up in Night City. V moves in with Jackie and his mother, Mama Welles. Jackie and V can be seen doing merc work with fixers such as Padre, meeting Misty and Victor, clubbing, and spending their hard-earned eddies on things such as Jackie’s iconic pistols, V’s car, and V’s apartment. The two can also be seen getting into trouble with gangs such as 6th Street and the Tyger Claws. Seeing how much relationships matter in Cyberpunk 2077, allowing players to play through this montage could’ve created more in-depth and meaningful relationships with Jackie and other characters.
Cyberpunk 2077’s Montage Skipped Too Much
While there is an opportunity to learn more about Jackie's past in the gig “Heroes,” players never really get to know much about Jackie in the amount of time they have with him. Players know Jackie was a member of the Valentinos gang, thanks to dialogue and Jackie’s database info, but never learn why he ed the gang. Players also know little about Jackie and Misty’s history, but all that is really known is that they are in a relationship and that the two had a fight before “The Heist” gig. Making the montage playable could’ve perhaps allowed for Jackie and V to really talk and get to know each other similar to the brief moment V shares with Takemura.
The added gameplay could’ve also allowed players to get an idea of how various systems and mechanics work, such as fixers, gigs, gangs, and vehicle purchasing, instead of having all of it happen via phone calls. It could be possible that the montage consists of various bits of cut content from Cyberpunk 2077, and the amount of gameplay that could’ve been added through the montage would've added to Cyberpunk 2077 had it been included.
Cyberpunk 2077 is about V’s journey. Although the story is largely focused on the relationship between V and Johnny Silverhand, V’s relationships with characters such as Jackie, Judy Alvarez, and Panam Palmer are also important. While Judy and Panam are given entire storylines, Jackie, the first important character players meet, has his story end early in the game. Jackie has a big impact on the plot of Cyberpunk 2077 in a short amount of time despite having an underdeveloped storyline. If the rumors of the Jackie Welles DLC are true, it could make up for lost time players didn’t get in montage.
