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It’s always a shame when characters that fans like die, but no one can live forever, especially not in Night City. The saddest deaths in Cyberpunk 2077 are all ones that serve a purpose, and further build V’s character, even in the worst of times.
9 Jackie Welles
In the prologue to Cyberpunk 2077, players learn of the friendship that begins between V and Jackie Welles. The two had been through thick and thin and desired nothing more than becoming Night City Legends and taking it easy in the Afterlife. They dream big together as best friends, and that friendship is felt with each scene they are in.
Sadly, after a heist, Jackie Welles bleeds to death after taking a rogue bullet. V sits in the car with the corpse of his best friend, whose last act is giving V the chip that he died for. It’s a gut-wrenching death, and a void that never fills throughout Cyberpunk 2077, as a good friend is dead, and he isn’t coming back.
8 Saul
After forming an alliance and a strong friendship with the Aldecaldos, the two leaders, Saul and Panam declare that they would do anything for V. Even something as wild and dangerous as breaking into Arasaka’s headquarters. Saul is fearless and stays true to his promise to help V to the end. That end was at the hands of Adam Smasher.
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Saul has his head crushed underneath Adam Smasher’s robotic foot. It’s a gruesome end to a character that wanted V to live. It’s horrific to hear the anguished screams of Panam, but there’s no time to mourn, as Adam Smasher must die here and now.
7 Scorpion
When V seeks the help of Panam, they must first say hello to her closest Aldecaldo buddies, Mitch and Scorpion. These two immediately present themselves as friendly, and as a family to Panam. They make V feel welcomed into the Nomad clan. The two also share a rich history as war veterans.
Sadly, the two will help anyone in need, even a crashing Kang Tao vehicle, which sees Scorpion killed by the soldiers inside. The Aldecaldos mourn Scorpion and V feels responsible due to their desire to crash the Kang Tao ship.
6 Johnny Silverhand
Rocker-boy and Night City Legend Johnny Silverhand has a war against the forces of entropy. He hates all corporations, but especially Arasaka. Johnny is killed by Arasaka after they make him victim to the Soulkiller program, which essentially emptied his consciousness into a digital prison, and left his body as an empty shell.
Johnny Silverhand may always seem so narcissistic and cool, but when he discovers that his body was just dumped in an oil field and left to rot, he can’t help but feel emotional. It’s strange yet powerful seeing Johnny Silverhand in such a sensitive state, and V can’t help but console him as he mourns himself, where no one else would.
5 Alt Cunningham
As the best netrunner in Night City, Alt Cunningham was a powerful woman in Night City. Not only was she the girlfriend of Johnny Silverhand, but she also developed the infamous Soulkiller program which eventually killed Silverhand. After being kidnapped by Arasaka, Johnny Silverhand killed many at Arasaka in a last-ditch effort to get her back.
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Unfortunately, her consciousness transcends into the net, leaving her body empty and dead. Johnny Silverhand disconnected her physical body while she was plugged into the Net, and thus her consciousness manifested into a powerful AI beyond the Blackwall. Watching Johnny mourn is sad, and shows his anger issues.
4 River Ward
There’s a lot to River Ward’s questline in Cyberpunk 2077, and many heavy subject matters involved in the NCPD missions. As V and River follow the trail of the Peter Pan serial killer, they discover the very farm that he uses to kidnap vulnerable young boys. Since the player has the freedom to do what they want, they can leave River at this point.
If players take too long or decline to come with River to the farm, then players will find River’s dead body after it was blown up by a mine. Even Johnny comments that V left him there to die. It’s sad and makes another casualty in Night City for a detective who just wanted to save children and his nephew.
3 Rogue Amendiares
There are a few things that Rogue Amendiares hates. She’s the Queen of the Afterlife and the best Fixer in Night City. However, despite her power and sources of information, one thing she hates over everything is Adam Smasher. She despises Adam Smasher, especially since he’s the reason that Johnny Silverhand died.
When V comes to Rogue with the proposition of attacking Arasaka one last time and taking down Adam Smasher once and for all, she can’t help but oblige. However, when encountering Smasher, she is caught by him and blows herself up to take him out with her. Considering what she meant to Night City, and Johnny Silverhand, her death is a real shame.
2 Evelyn Parker
The events of Cyberpunk 2077 all unfold due to Evelyn Parker’s greed. She gets in contact with Dexter DeShawn to work on a heist to steal the relic from Yorinobu Arasaka. When the heist goes south, V tries to find Evelyn Parker to discover who set her up, and what else she knows about the relic. However, V discovers that Evelyn has had a fate worse than he thought, as they find her in a secret location of Scavs.
These Scavs have been forcing Evelyn to do unspeakable and horrific acts for XBDs, on top of having her head scrambled and hacked by the Voodoo Boys. For weeks, Evelyn Parker was tortured and abused by many different people, and despite being in a safe environment with Judy, she takes her own life due to the inability to overcome the abuse she suffered.
1 V
V is quite literally a dead man walking. After being shot in the head by Dexter DeShawn, V woke up with his brain repairing itself thanks to the biochip in his head, which was replacing his mind with that of Johnny Silverhand’s. Desperate to find a way to cling to his life, V’s story is of a person who doesn’t want to die, a fated death sentence that is tragic to witness.
Not only does V die at the beginning of the game, but V can die depending on the endings that the player chooses. Each ending is sad in its own right, but the fact that gamers are playing as someone who knows that they will die in a matter of weeks is a tragic and sad outcome, perfect for Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, and Stadia.
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