Watch Dogs: Legion

Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs series has always been an interesting entry in the stable of open-world games. With its unique hacking mechanics from the very first game to the fun traversal options in the second, the Watch Dogs games have always been quite different from its competitors. Each entry pushed the genre to its limits, always introducing new mechanics for the players to run rampant around a big open world and the third entry in the series is no different. Watch Dogs: Legion looks to push the genre into a brand-new direction, with some truly innovative gameplay and a brand-new city. Welcome to near-future dystopian London.

THE FUTURE IS SCARY

In the near future, London is facing its downfall. After devastating terror attacks caused by a mysterious entity called Zero Day rock the city, an all-seeing authoritarian state has oppressed the people, a corrupt private military corporation controls the streets, and a powerful crime syndicate is preying on the vulnerable. The fate of London lies with you, and your ability to recruit a resistance and fight back. The biggest change to Watch Dogs: Legion from its previous two entries is the fact that you can play and recruit virtually anyone in London. Every Londoner has a reason to fight back and thus can be recruited to your resistance. This means that you can walk up to any NPC in the game, convince them to join your resistance team and they will become instantly playable. From a bartender, an ex-spy, a fallen boxer, a well-connected lawyer to a stark raving grandmother. Unlike other open-world games that have one set hero, Legion aims to make every character the hero, allowing for some really fun and interesting options to the player. Tired of playing as the typical dystopian hero, well then recruit a granny and go on a rampage as an angry hacker octogenarian. Each character has their own unique skills, backstory and motivation. It’s incredibly fun recruiting new players and you genuinely start caring for your ragtag team of revolutionaries. You’ll get to hack your way across London by using the advanced tech infrastructure found around the city. Hijack armed drones, deploy stealthy spider-bots or use your tech know-how to rig the system with explosions. As with previous games you have the option of going around terrorizing the man with stealth or go in all guns blazing. Legion retains that “do what you want, how you want” gameplay from the previous games and it’s still as fun as ever.

HACK THE PLANET

Watch Dogs: Legion is a fun game with some interesting ideas, unfortunately, it does fall short in a few areas. Some of the character models feel a bit dated and graphically we really expected more from a series that always pushed the console boundaries. Of course, if you purchase it now you will get a free update to the new consoles and hopefully, there will be some graphical improvements on the next-gen consoles. Story-wise Legion is as silly as ever, but due to the new mechanics it never feels focused, and the multiple characters doesn’t allow for a clear cut goal or any strong motivation. Yet if you’re looking for a big open world with tons of tech toys and some interesting features then Watch Dogs: Legion might be right up your alley.