Watch Dogs: Legion

Watch Dogs Legion is a different type of sequel to Watch Dogs 2, contrasting in its approach to creating a hackable open world playground, but with no less impressive results. Playing as any citizen in London leads to some less-than-engaging story moments, but the web of relationships and activities that crop up as a result of the systemic design is mind-blowing. I rarely did the same thing twice in Watch Dogs Legion, and if I did, I wasn't doing it the same way twice. Watch Dogs Legion truly feels like a living, breathing world, and it's a world that I plan to revisit often, even though I've seen the credits on the main story roll.

Watch Dogs fans and more die-hard anarchists among you might enjoy it more, but between the short storylines, underwhelming tech and mission types and the general “everything is on fire” vibe, it just doesn’t rate highly for me.

Whether you're controlling a trained super spy or a gassy grandmother, Watch Dogs: Legion is a ton of fun.

Watch Dogs: Legion's bold use of roguelike mechanics in an open-world action game pay off in interesting ways, making this visit to near-future London feel more varied than the previous two games.

Watch Dogs: Legion is an anti-fascist game, and it's admirable that it sticks to that message and sees it through to a satisfying and affirming conclusion. It also bolsters the franchise's clever hacking gameplay to offer more creativity than ever. One of Legion's more profound messages is about what it means to be a true Londoner, and by the game's end, you'll have a DedSec crew made of wildly diverse and disparate citizens from unique cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds--all united in their goal to restore their home. If anything, that's as powerful a message for the game as you can get.

Watch Dogs: Legion suffers from a little jank in the tank, but the recruitment system is fantastic and there's just so much to see and do. The open world is full of detail, and the whole experience is full of heart.

Richly realised systems and empowering abilities create a tremendously fun sandbox to dig into, but another toothless story ensures these flashes of brilliance never cohere, leaving Legion feeling less than the sum of its parts.

Playing as anyone works great in Legion—once you've finally found the right group of anyones.