The original Watch Dogs will always have a special place in my heart. I remember how I first played it nearly a decade ago. It was the first modern open-world game that had me engaged enough to 100% it. I’ve definitely accumulated over a thousand hours outside of Steam just playing it religiously due to how fascinated I was by the gameplay mechanics. And even now, this game has aged like fine wine in comparison to the soulless cash grabs that Ubisoft is dishing out nowadays. Watch Dogs was a very innovative project at the time and in my opinion, still is. The gameplay and missions were versatile, the story was well-crafted and had multiple layers of complexity to it, the characters had depth and were believable, and the numerous activities in the open world allowed it to feel more alive.

I was also able to play the Bad Blood DLC for the first time recently. A marvelously executed expansion of the original game that wrapped up some loose ends while setting up new themes for the franchise. The character dynamic between T-Bone and Tobias managed to elevate the story especially. By far the best comedic duo that Ubisoft has ever created. Truly a shame that they never ended up bringing them back together or following up on the foreshadowed trio team-up with Aiden. Speaking of Aiden, I never grasped the complaint regarding his. Considering the context of the story, his character is accurately portrayed. A withdrawn man with a cold exterior toward the people around him due to the loss of his niece.

That’s also why I can appreciate characters like Clara who brings out his more humane side, being his only genuine friend up to the end. And who could forget Jordi, the best comic relief character in this franchise? One of the better aspects of the sequel games. I admire how they occasionally use him as the straight man in the later entries, conflicting him with the hipster setting in Watch Dogs 2 for example. The antagonists of the first game were also significantly better. I think one of the biggest problems is how a lot of the narrative is conveyed through audio logs that you have to find. And while those form a complex story with multiple parties involved, it doesn’t get most players engaged enough to invest into it. I can relate to this since that is one of my main grudges with Bioshock 1 and 2.

Something that deserves its own paragraph is the best PvP mode that was introduced in this game. I’m talking about Online Invasion of course. It becomes pretty addictive once you experience the emotional rollercoaster that comes with it. Although just hide-and-seek, it gets your heart pumping fast. That fear of getting detected as the invader, the unnerving audio of the installation as progress is slowly achieved, the eerie sound cues that play when your target is nearby, and the entire escape phase should you end up being spotted. This mode especially makes the whole hacking concept of the game work beautifully. You must use the city surveillance to your advantage to get the drop on your target without him noticing you. In the base game, camera usage was rarely necessary but is highly efficient when playing Invasion.

It’s sad to see this franchise being neglected now. While still fun to play, I’m afraid that the sequels couldn’t quite catch the magic of the first installment. The missions became too repetitive, the story was barely present, the characters were just not interesting, and the dark and serious tone became absent. The only improvement was the hacking which I can commend them for. At this rate, I would settle for a remake of the first game that implements most of the hacking features of the later entries. The only way forward I see for this franchise is by sticking with the original cast of characters and expanding on their story. They seemed to hint at something with Aiden pulling something major in Canada. I wouldn’t mind seeing him with both T-Bone and Tobias reunite for that adventure.

The original Watch Dogs will always have a special place in my heart. I remember how I first played it nearly a decade ago. It was the first modern open-world game that had me engaged enough to 100% it. I’ve definitely accumulated over a thousand hours outside of Steam just playing it religiously due to how fascinated I was by the gameplay mechanics. And even now, this game has aged like fine wine in comparison to the soulless cash grabs that Ubisoft is dishing out nowadays. Watch Dogs was a very innovative project at the time and in my opinion, still is. The gameplay and missions were versatile, the story was well-crafted and had multiple layers of complexity to it, the characters had depth and were believable, and the numerous activities in the open world allowed it to feel more alive. I was also able to play the Bad Blood DLC for the first time recently. A marvelously executed expansion of the original game that wrapped up some loose ends while setting up new themes for the franchise. The character dynamic between T-Bone and Tobias managed to elevate the story especially. By far the best comedic duo that Ubisoft has ever created. Truly a shame that they never ended up bringing them back together or following up on the foreshadowed trio team-up with Aiden. Speaking of Aiden, I never grasped the complaint regarding his. Considering the context of the story, his character is accurately portrayed. A withdrawn man with a cold exterior toward the people around him due to the loss of his niece. That’s also why I can appreciate characters like Clara who brings out his more humane side, being his only genuine friend up to the end. And who could forget Jordi, the best comic relief character in this franchise? One of the better aspects of the sequel games. I admire how they occasionally use him as the straight man in the later entries, conflicting him with the hipster setting in Watch Dogs 2 for example. The antagonists of the first game were also significantly better. I think one of the biggest problems is how a lot of the narrative is conveyed through audio logs that you have to find. And while those form a complex story with multiple parties involved, it doesn’t get most players engaged enough to invest into it. I can relate to this since that is one of my main grudges with Bioshock 1 and 2. Something that deserves its own paragraph is the best PvP mode that was introduced in this game. I’m talking about Online Invasion of course. It becomes pretty addictive once you experience the emotional rollercoaster that comes with it. Although just hide-and-seek, it gets your heart pumping fast. That fear of getting detected as the invader, the unnerving audio of the installation as progress is slowly achieved, the eerie sound cues that play when your target is nearby, and the entire escape phase should you end up being spotted. This mode especially makes the whole hacking concept of the game work beautifully. You must use the city surveillance to your advantage to get the drop on your target without him noticing you. In the base game, camera usage was rarely necessary but is highly efficient when playing Invasion. It’s sad to see this franchise being neglected now. While still fun to play, I’m afraid that the sequels couldn’t quite catch the magic of the first installment. The missions became too repetitive, the story was barely present, the characters were just not interesting, and the dark and serious tone became absent. The only improvement was the hacking which I can commend them for. At this rate, I would settle for a remake of the first game that implements most of the hacking features of the later entries. The only way forward I see for this franchise is by sticking with the original cast of characters and expanding on their story. They seemed to hint at something with Aiden pulling something major in Canada. I wouldn’t mind seeing him with both T-Bone and Tobias reunite for that adventure.