10 Devastating Video Game Deaths That Came Out Of Nowhere - Commenter Edition

2. Jackie - Sleeping Dogs

Cult favourite Sleeping Dogs follows the story of former San Francisco cop Wei Shen who is transferred to the Hong Kong Police Force and tasked with infiltrating and taking out the Sun On Yee triad. His childhood friend Jackie is a low-level member who is able to help get Shen’s foot in the door. Shen joins the group and completes various jobs as instructed by the Triad boss Winston Chu.

As you can imagine things don’t all go to plan. Shen gains Winston’s trust right before he and his fiancée are brutally killed off by men disguised as members of the rival 18K Triad.

Shen steps into Winston’s position after saving the leader of Sun On Yee and then finds himself stuck in a power struggle for control over the Triad. Another branch leader begins ordering attacks on rival branches to intimidate them into supporting him or kill them if they won’t. This violent initiative included kidnapping Jackie and handing him over to the 18K Triad. Shen receives a message from Jackie asking to meet but instead finds his childhood friend hung on a pipe in an alleyway and disembowelled.

It was an absolute shock and a heart-sinking moment to see a character you’d grown so fond of go out in such a nasty way, especially given you’d just gone out of your way to rescue Jackie in the prior mission.

If it’s any consolation you do get to chuck his killer in an ice chipper, though.