With innumerable open world titles out there, Ubisoft succeeded in making a game, back in 2014, that stood out in every way possible due to its innovative concept, gameplay and story. The sequel Watch Dogs 2 is fundamentally similar to the first game, with a few additions to and improvements in gameplay mechanics with a not-so-serious story.

Watch Dogs 2 is an action-adventure open world game with all its gameplay mechanics based on its concept of “hacking”. Players play as Marcus Holloway, an employee of DedSec who intends to take down Blume and CTOS 2.0.

The game improves on its skill tree allowing players to unlock skills across a variety of categories such as; Botnets, Social Engineering, City Disruption, Tinkering, Marksmanship, Remote RC and Vehicle Hacking, that allow for a more tailored gameplay experience based on the player’s play-style (except if players manage to unlock all skills). Upgrades can be obtained as players earn followers and research points. It should also be noted that some skills require Key Data in order to be unlocked. The gameplay mechanics were validated upon consulting real-life hackers, for authenticity.

Marcus is equipped with a stun gun that can be used in gameplay sections where stealth is imperative or even if players choose to play with a stealthy approach as opposed to just obliterating everyone on their path. Players can obtain various weapons, drones and RC jumper by 3d printing them in the safe house. Enemies can be taken down by strangling them with the weapon’s cord.

Watch Dogs 2 lets players craft their own experience in missions to an extent, where players can either complete their objectives stealthily or by wiping out everyone on their path or even by just sending in the RC Jumper and Drone to complete their objectives (although there are a few missions that require Marcus’s presence).

(For stealth players only) The best stealth experience can be gained by using the stun gun to temporarily stun the enemies as killing them depopulates the level making the game boring, as quoted below;

“The vast majority of players embark on relentless concussion rampages, which depopulates a level/ severs connections between systems/ makes the game boring. So the optimal choice results in increasingly worse game” – Robert Yang – Professor, NYU.

Watch Dogs 2 takes place around the San Francisco Bay area, CA with the map being roughly twice as big as the original game with tons of content for players to play and experience, keeping players invested in the game for days. The driving mechanic was overhauled to introduce a sense of realism to driving and the world players live in. Level design that supports the mechanics and abilities of the player, the dynamics, placements of the hack-able objects, patrol points of the enemies all come hand in hand in providing a stellar experience to players. 

The gameplay mechanics, combat, parkour and the world design all contribute to making Watch Dogs 2 a great game to play and experience.