There is nothing more gutting than finding what could have been the perfect operative that is now glorified virtual London roadkill – as awfully practical as that sounds it makes sense when you’re playing. An unexpected side effect to this new recruit system is unlike any other open world game I’ve played before is the immense guilt I feel when an NPC gets caught in the crossfire between my operative and whoever I have pissed off. I’ve yet to come across a repeat operative which is great as it makes the game that more immersive and makes you care about each of your unique DedSec team members. Walking the streets to try to find the perfect operative with a mix of hacking skills, helpful attributes and killer arsenal is like playing the lottery and there is nothing more satisfying than finding the right Londoner to join your team. ![]() It changes the game completely, every NPC can be your main character and they have their own lives, schedule and even family members (I managed to recruit a grandfather and grandson without even realising – call that joining the family business). However, I am happy to report that I was so so so wrong, the recruiting operatives aspect of this game is inventive at worst and revolutionary at best. During its reveal at E3 2019 my first impression was “no way this is going to work, its way too ambitious, how is the story going to work, will it not be too overwhelming?” and I was left cautiously concerned at best. The activities around the city are also fun and quintessentially British with darts and my favourite pastime: going to the pub, which is lovingly labelled on the map as “get pissed” – this game understands me. Finally, the soundtrack completes the London feel with plenty of grime courtesy of Stormzy, Skepta and J Hus as well as some head banging British pop rock from Muse, Foals and Sam Fender – bopping along to banging tunes whilst cruising around London is good, clean and simple fun. However my favourite aspect of this bustling open world would have to be how the citizens of London interact with it something I haven’t seen any other reviewer mention is how NPCs dynamically walk in and out of buildings to give a real sense of an actual lived in city that’s not just a load of building facades, its a genius method to making London feel alive. There’s plenty of cheeky nods to British culture and politics – my favourite being the “GBB” being a parody of a certain well known British news organisation which is constantly criticised for being (and as the game quotes) “once great but now a bit shit”. This future, proto-cyberpunk approach to London is as grim as it is gorgeous, vehicle designs are an awesome blend of futuristic and classic British retroism and all the landmarks of London look stunning (even when they’re covered in propaganda). Oppressive military force, Albion holds London in a facist, police state chokehold. His never ending stereotypically British sarcastic and dry wit is the hilariously unexpected star of Watch Dogs Legion and in true Watch Dogs fashion of course he’s a super intelligent AI, so no matter where you are in London’s bustling streets, he’ll always be there to help you out. ![]() The story isn’t afraid to take darker turns than its predecessor’s with some truly disturbing dystopian takes on cybercrime, digital ethics and cyberterrorism its some heavy sci-fi stuff here so it’s lucky that we’re accompanied by Bagley, one of my favourite companions in recent gaming history. ![]() ![]() London is on its knees and “you” (notice the lack of a protagonist’s name – we’ll address that later) and your DedSec allies are all that remains to fight back against the evil tech corporations. Watch Dogs Legion takes place in a near future London in which notorious hacker group DedSec are classed as terrorists and facist militant corporation, Albion, holds an iron grip over the citizens, making personal and digital freedom hard to come by. Legion somehow manages to up the stakes yet again with a gritty yet quirky sci-fi dystopian story, villains that give 007 baddies a run for their money and the most mind blowing take on open world NPCs ever – it’s truly revolutionary. As a series, Watch Dogs is a strange one as after a frankly “meh” first entry in the series, Watch Dogs 2 came back swinging with a stellar fresh and quirky take on the open world action/hacker premise and made some truly meaningful gameplay and story upgrades to make one of my favourite games of the generation. Watch Dogs Legion is the most ambitious game I have played in years… maybe the most ambitious game I have played ever. *Review copy and images of Watch Dogs Legion provided by Ubisoft – thoughts and opinions are my own* Watch Dogs Legion Review by Lewis Empson | ★★★★☆
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