People Can Fly and Square Enix's new sci-fi RPG looter shooter, Outriders, has become quite successful in terms of sales and players online, and for good reasons. Outriders is not just another "The Division clone," but instead, it is a game with its own heart and soul. This shows throughout the story, and it shows through its characters.
Thanks to the vibrant energy of the planet Enoch, the setting of Outriders, the world feels very alive thanks to how the main characters have depth. Characters like Bailey, Tiago, Dr. Zahedi, Channa, Jakub, and even August all have their own personality and their own distinctive traits. The story of Outriders wouldn't be the same without them, and one of these people quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his sense of humor, his caring attitude, and his swearing. Obviously, that's Jakub.
Jakub's Past On Earth
Jakub wasn't always a soldier, an Outrider, but rather a war refugee. He lost his parents during the Siege of Warsaw, and then he was forced to grow up on the streets alone until he managed to leave his home country and head to the United States. That's when he became a mercenary, and he did so to have guaranteed meals every day. He was employed by Jack Tanner, the leader of the Outriders from the prologue, and he became a truck driver and a mechanic.
Jakub survived through many rough patches, oftentimes alongside the main character (the Outrider players are embodying). He was one of the few survivors of a special unit that air-dropped in Venezuela, and among other things, he also survived a Syrian prison for nine months in 2073. The mechanic managed to escape the Caravel, the ship that was supposed to depart together with the Flores, when its engine exploded and the disaster occurred.
That is when Jakub met Kasumi. He saved the pregnant woman from the Caravel explosion, and he got back to safety. As survivors of the incident, they were both granted seats on the Flores. On Enoch, the very first day that humanity witnessed the Anomaly storms, Kasumi's child was born — Channa. She and Jakub met again, but Kasumi died, and Jakub unwillingly became her foster parent.
What Makes Jakub A Great Character
Despite his constant blabbering about how everything went sideways, and regardless of his temper, Jakub is deep down a very sensitive guy. He may not care about ideals, factions, and Outriders anymore, but he does care about people. He cares about the main character, telling them how sorry he is that he wasn't able to save them on the first day on Enoch, and that he went looking multiple times. He cares about Channa, and he does acknowledge he was a terrible father to her because he didn't want that responsibility. He cares about her so much that he ultimately sacrifices his life to save hers. Still, he does so drinking liquor and swearing, like he always did.
Jakub is funny, and he doesn't really care about other people's opinions. He puts his sunglasses on, he puts on some music, and he just goes with the flow. He is very pragmatic, and he knows the journey he embarks on with the Outrider may be his last one. He relentlessly complains about anything new that comes up, as he clearly can't stand having too many things on his plate, but in the end, he knows his faults. Simply put, Jakub knows the journey is not his quest, but he doesn't back out.
Channa and the others would have never made it without Jakub because he is dependable. He is protective, and he wants the best for those he loves. Plus, he is a great singer and clearly has a thing for music, like when in the forest he asks the main character if they remember his tunes, and then he just goes ahead mimics the beats making sounds with his mouth. He is very instinctive and spontaneous, maybe even too much. And sometimes he seems to break the fourth wall, like when August opens the gate that reveals the desert wasteland, and Jakub just cries out "Oh, come on!" as if to say "Seriously?"
Outriders is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.