Watch Dogs Legion - Preview, DedSec lands in London

The series of Watch Dogs has never been lucky: from the beginning it was under the microscope for possible downgrades, then with a limping first chapter (with an interesting character), and it arrived at the second title presenting opposite characteristics, that is a game with intriguing insertions but with a fairly low level protagonist and plot. The series dedicated to hacking in sandbox sauce has always had problems finding its dimension, centering its protagonist and understanding how to tell the story. Watch Dogs Legion, which we tried for about 4 hours, seems to be squaring the circle, what was missing: on the other hand anyone could be in DedSec, and for this reason it offers a gameplay where anyone can be used.

We are Legion

The idea proposed by this Watch Dogs Legion is based precisely on the idea of ​​the DedSec itself: undercover hacker agents in search of free will and against totalitarian states. Anyone can be a DedSec and anyone can help defeat whoever took over London via a CTOS system. Precisely this incipit, which destroys every possible idea of ​​the protagonist, is what is most striking in the game. We are talking about characters characterized by many details such as accent, speech, character and aesthetics. These differences, however, will be more evident based on their experience, as each of them will have weapons (some are canonical, such as non-lethal ones), objects, bonuses and any gadgets. It is therefore obvious how a hacker with a standard drone can be useful to get in and out without bothering, but perhaps use a spy who can use a silenced gun, a car with pursuit missiles and a more suitable fighting style will be useful to physically infiltrate. in some places.

Any citizen of London can be scanned and, once chosen as our possible companion, we can save it as a favorite o enlist him immediately (by starting one or more dedicated missions). Sometimes, however, these characters may be against DedSec: in that case you will have to work hard, hack their agenda, follow them where they will go and help them if necessary, so as to win their favors. The various characters obviously will not be limited to being usable: they will also participate in random calls that will appear while you are playing, you will find them in some cutscenes and will serve as a side dish at certain times.

In short, the heart of the game is being able to take anyone you want under your wing (with more or less difficulty), so as to have a team ready for use. It will happen that some of these characters can be overwhelmed during the most excited phases, but in that case you just need to find someone else who may have the same profession, but who will still be different in aesthetics, character and customizations.

London Bridge is Super Hi-Tech

The city that offers space for this Watch Dogs Legion is something eccentric: set in 2026, it offers neon signs, many electric cars and automations that I doubt will arrive in the world in 6 years, but which still give that additional color to the locations. Driving is obviously on the left, and this could disturb those who are accustomed differently, but otherwise every single intersection, roundabout or road is perfectly represented, immediately giving an authenticity feedback. Furthermore, moving to a European city immediately gives a different sensation: since these have existed for longer, they lose that “checkerboard” schematic seen in the first two games in favor of a more dynamic, strange and therefore interesting construction to discover. The intersections and roundabouts, for example, give a completely different impact in pursuits and having to adapt to decidedly small traffic flows adds that plus that is noticeable especially during escapes on foot.

Dealing with technology adds a very interesting part of gameplay that transforms into definable stages at the limit of the platform and series of missions where we will have to weigh every single move. We are not faced with a sandbox made up of carnage, but of a reasoned way of thinking before leaving for the goal. Of course, you can still end it all with murder after murder, but differentiating yourself - also thanks to the different usable characters - will add that really pleasant absence of boredom.

There will be those phases of hacking that we already know from the first two chapters, but in this case the feature will be granted more freedom. Furthermore, despite the death of one character will leave space for another, your protagonist (used at that moment) will still be at risk, and this adds everything into something higher than the first two chapters. Even if your favorite citizen turns out to be the best according to your play style, it's also true that abusing him will increase the chances of him being captured or killed. To this we add the fact that some enlistment missions may end badly, forever erasing the possibility of having that character in your ranks. In practice we are faced with a freedom of choice never seen in the Watch Dogs series, and the fear that our decisions could really make us lose our favorite hero, forcing us to reinvent our style.

The right size

But one of the most surprising things about Watch Dogs Legion is the plotIn fact, the construction of the plot seems to be very interesting, placing the accent on mysteries to be solved and on objectives to be completed to free the city from the technological control in progress. The dialogues are well structured and immediately there are small twists that manage to grab attention.

Watch Dogs Legion is the right size: if the first chapter tried to find the character, while the second tried to define the gameplay well, the third shows that there was no need to look for either of the two things. What was needed was a story worthy of the name (and this one seems to have some pretty good spy story tints), a structured and free gameplay, a growth system (which will allow you to unlock gadgets and skills) and a technical department of everything point. Speaking of the latter, the game was tested on a PC with a lot of active RTX and it must be said that this feature will be one of the most interesting to discover in the game: despite graphically much better yield, in reality the ability seeing reflections on surfaces of enemies or vehicles is very useful to be able to juggle with more agility in the city. For a more in-depth judgment, it will certainly be necessary to complete the title but, at least from this test, it seems that the direction is the right one: if this will turn into a game capable only of indicating it or of a title that will instead fully hit the target, we will know. in a month.