JAFA23Yod Watch Dogs 2 Review

Positive first: I liked it; it’s an entertaining game with a beautiful city and locations. The story touches on important and relevant underlying themes, featuring a fun, interesting cast of characters and a striking visual style. This is what I’d call the "packaging." My issues start with the execution. I never achieved the level of immersion needed to truly connect with the world. Although some missions are polished and rewarding, others quickly become repetitive; the enemies and locations change, but the objective remains the same. There is a noticeable disconnect between the actual gameplay and the narrative goals. ***Semi-spoiler alert (idk): For example, you can wipe out a secret army belonging to a global tech giant, yet the story later implies you simply "infiltrated and hacked a router" (an exaggeration, but close). The game gives you the freedom to kill everyone, but the narrative pretends you almost didn't harm a fly. After that rant, I want to conclude that the enemies felt waaaaay too basic—nothing memorable. They’re just puppets; it doesn't matter if they are police, gang members, or the Triads, they all feel the same. Because of this, the game never fully clicked for me. It remains a fun experience with some narrative highlights, but it’s carried by its characters rather than its mechanical depth. 7.75/10