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The Watch Dogs series, without a shadow of a doubt, is one of the most innovative open-world titles from Ubisoft. Offering unique and diverse experiences for players to immerse themselves in used to be Ubisoft's forte, but that came to a standstill as the French developer started developing vast open-world games that are filled with mundane and repetitive activities.
Ubisoft's games once used to exude diversity, from the platforming awesomeness of Rayman and Prince of Persia games to the open-world sandbox offerings in the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry titles. The studio used to create games across a wide spectrum of genres. Nowadays, most of Ubisoft's titles feel like the same open-world game but with a different skin and filled with microtransactions.
However, the studio still holds one game series to its name, and although it is highly underrated and underappreciated, it is one of the most creative game franchises' in Ubisoft's history: Watch Dogs.
The first title in the series was ambitious for its time, and some might argue it was too ambitious for an open-world game. The premise was simple. Players take on the role of a hacker in a city where most things are controlled by a central operating system, which allows them to hack into almost anything that is electronic, like street lights, NPC phones, and even cars.
The concept of hacking stays with all the games in the series, where each new entry introduces something new into the open-world design. The gameplay and narrative also differ from game to game, yielding varying degrees of success. Here is a ranked list for all Watch Dogs games from worst to best.
Note: The article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.
Which is the best Watch Dogs game?
3) Watch Dogs: Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion is the most recent entry in the series and one that has the most unique premise and gameplay gimmick that has ever been tried in a AAA title of this magnitude. The game's selling point was its idea of allowing players to play as any of the NPCs that litter the streets of futuristic, dystopian London.
Playing as an NPC, where each of these characters comes with their own unique set of skills, seems like a cool idea, but the implementation of it in Watch Dogs: Legion is not done in a way that makes the experience enjoyable or engaging. The worst impact of this mechanic was on the game's narrative, which basically breaks down due to the lack of a proper protagonist.
Gameplay is also affected by the randomness of the playable NPCs, as players may at times find themselves stuck doing stealth-focused main story missions with a character that is tailored towards combat and does not feature enough options to support a stealthy playstyle.
Watch Dogs: Legion is also really buggy, quite possibly the most technically unpolished game in the series. The launch of the title saw multiple issues, from frequent crashes regardless of the platform to buggy and glitched AI and quests. These problems drastically hampered the overall experience. Luckily, it has received numerous patches since its launch, which have somewhat facilitated its stability and performance, but this game is still nowhere near perfect.
The open world, however, is the only saving grace for Watch Dogs: Legion. It's a real joy to explore and cause mayhem in the streets of this fictionalized version of London, where NPCs are often really dumb, throwing themselves in front of oncoming traffic or onto an exploding vehicle. Watching these NPCs do whacky things in the game is like watching a Sunday morning cartoon.
2) Watch Dogs
The game that started this series in one that itself faced a lot of backlash from players due to its many technical shortcomings. Watch Dogs, before its launch, had been one of Ubisoft's most hyped video games, amassing a large fanbase that was eager to immerse themselves in a GTA-like experience that looked truly next-gen and featured the really cool gimmick of hacking.
The game garnered a lot of attention from players due to its stunning graphics and gameplay features that Ubisoft presented in the game's marketing material. However, at launch, players were beyond disappointed with the apparent downgrade in visuals and the linear and boring storytelling of the game.
That is not to say that Watch Dogs looked bad, but compared to the gameplay trailers and demo clips that Ubisoft had offered for the game's marketing, it was clear that players had been lied to by the developers. Even the most powerful PCs playing the title at its highest graphical preset could not match the fidelity that the trailers had advertised.
Apart from the graphical downgrade, it also suffered from a bevy of other technical issues like frequent frame rate drops, buggy textures, and occasional crashes. The good thing is that most of these flaws were fixed with subsequent patches and updates.
The gameplay of Watch Dogs, although quite interesting for an open-world title, wasn't as revolutionary as Ubisoft had made it out to be.
Stealth in the game showed promise with regard to the hacking mechanic, but it severely lacked depth and didn't give players much in the way of options, something that was massively overhauled in the sequel. Watch Dogs also did not emphasize stealth, as missions often end up in firefights where players are bound to get spotted.
The narrative of Watch Dogs saw players take control of Aiden Pierce as he went face-to-face with an underworld organization run by his former ally. The story started with a really interesting premise, but the odd pacing, along with the lack of any distinct personality and growth of the protagonist, made for an underwhelming story.
1) Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs 2 is undeniably the most refined and well-rounded game in the series. The title addressed almost every complaint players had with the first game and even added fun new mechanics that drastically changed the gameplay and stealth system of the game, while also making the story much more grounded and engaging as a result.
Watch Dogs 2 also saw quite a few changes to its narrative, making it more light-hearted than the original game and giving players a relatable protagonist in the form of Marcus Halloway. Although the story is quite forgettable, it offers some really fun characters and a genuinely appreciable antagonist, something the original game sorely lacked.
The improved gameplay and open world were the highlight of the game, one that made it stand out among other titles in the series. The basic gameplay features and systems were left intact in the sequel, with only minor adjustments made to them.
The driving physics for cars and other vehicles were massively improved upon, making them a fun way to explore the fictionalized rendition of San Francisco.
There were also various refinements and additions made to the core gameplay loop of hacking and stealth, which made the moment-to-moment gameplay really fun and engaging. The title actively encourages stealth-based gameplay using various new features like the addition of a remote-controlled car and a quadcopter in Marcus' arsenal, which players can use for remote hacking and scouting.
Watch Dogs 2's stealth mechanics are on par with some of the best stealth games and immersive sims out there, letting players complete their objective of infiltrating an enemy compound and stealing data without ever setting foot on their territory. The game does incentivize stealth over gun fights, a stark improvement over the first title's gameplay.
Add to that a vast and beautifully rendered open world for players to explore and a cast of witty and charming characters, and Watch Dogs 2 makes for a really fun ride.
It will be really interesting to see how the developers at Ubisoft shape the future of the Watch Dogs franchise. Although the game has never hit mass market appeal, the series has never failed to amaze players with the new and unique ideas they bring to the table. Sure, the execution may not be perfect, but it's really refreshing to see at least one open-world franchise from Ubisoft trying to innovate rather than blindly follow trends.
