[IGN] Opinion: Watch Dogs Legion's 'Play as Anyone' Theme Isn't Working For Me

[dex3108]

After roughly four hours with Watch Dogs Legion, I can tell you that everything it adapts from previous games is great. It expands on your ability to easily hack almost everything at the touch of a button – the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind – and offers a big sandbox to experiment in. However, while the moment-to-moment gameplay loop seems to be solid so far, Legion's big new "play as anyone" feature might not be as effective. The feature sounded tantalizing, but I'm a bit worried that "play as no one" is probably a more accurate tagline.

Click to shrink...

In Watch Dogs Legion, however, you're no one. Literally. You are essentially DedSec as a whole. The only character, it seems, that's guaranteed to see you through to from the opening to closing credits is a smarmy AI assistant Bagley (think a snarkier version of Tony Stark's Jarvis). The characters you control exist, to be sure – they're all fully voiced and have a variety of personalities, and Ubisoft has allegedly taken the time gained by its delay to refine NPC diversity – but, even so, eventually you start to get the feeling that they are no more than empty vessels that serve only to do your overarching bidding. And while some players may find the idea of being a mastermind who solves various worldly problems from a God's-eye view exciting, it unfortunately seems to create a narrative disconnect that is left for the various side characters and villains to fill.

Click to shrink...

The very first mission of Watch Dogs Legion has you infiltrating Parliament as Dalton, a former MI5 agent and one of the few characters that everyone will play as in Legion. The mission, which you can check out part of below, is classic espionage action complete with witty banter between Dalton, Bagley, and a few members of DedSec that could be ripped right out of the Kingsman movies. I only got to spend around 20 minutes with Dalton before my demo was transported to a later section of the game where I was in full-on "play as anyone" mode. And after tackling four main story missions as a few different characters, I found I never cared a lick about any of them as much as I did Dalton.

Click to shrink...

Opinion: Watch Dogs Legion's 'Play as Anyone' Theme Isn't Working For Me - IGN

Ubisoft’s narrative risk isn’t landing well with one IGN editor, even after loggin four hours in Watch Dogs Legion.

www.ign.com

This is mine main concern as person who loves story driven games. Gameplay wise looks really interesting but for me gameplay is not enough.

 

[Ocarina_117]

And that's all perfectly fine for me.

With the ethnic diversity of London I honestly can't wait to assemble my deadsec team.

It'll be exclusively Punjabis and we move.

 

[Mary Celeste]

as somebody who plays video games mainly because i enjoy the act of playing a game, the gameplay variety and freedom of approach means more to me than any connection with a character possibly could.

 

[Deleted member 1003]

I understand the concern. Especially when in open world games, the only thing keeping me interested is the character, i.e Kassandra. Without that connection I got nothing.

I'm sure it's for somebody.

 

[Greywaren]

See, I value gameplay far more than storytelling, and Legion is one of the most exciting games this year for me.

I don't need a coherent plot or an intricate narrative if I can play as a dude who attacks with bees, an 80-year old lady with a taser, a professional hitman and whoever else I can find, and all of them give me unique ways to achieve a specific goal.

 

[Theorry]

I have the same.
if i can play the whole game as John Wick tho. Then we are talking

 

[MillionIII]

I don't see how that's different from other silent protagonist games

 

[Aerial51]

Neither Watch Dogs 1 or 2 have good Stories or memorable Characters so that decision doesn't really concern me. I liked the Hackercrew in Watch Dogs 2 even, but none of them are Characters you remember for more than 2 Weeks after you're done with the Game.
The Legion Idea, that you actually play a variety of different Human Beings that are for one Reason or another part of a Resistance Group that fights against Surveliance is narratively more interesting than anything the other 2 Games really did.

 

[dex3108]

as somebody who plays video games mainly because i enjoy the act of playing a game, the gameplay variety and freedom of approach means more to me than any connection with a character possibly could.

Click to shrink...

Point is that they could do that with one character too with big skill tree. There is no reason why Spy couldn't use wrench or hack drone.

 

[Moist_Owlet]

Rather be no one than the douche from the first game

 

[Noog]

Neither Watch Dogs 1 or 2 have good Stories or memorable Characters so that step doesn't really concern me. I liked the Hackercrew in Watch Dogs 2 even, but none of them are Characters you remember for more than 2 Weeks after you're done with the Game.
The Legion Idea, that you actually play a variety of different Human Beings that are for one Reason or another part of a Resistance Group against Surveliance is narratively more interesting than anything the other 2 Games really did.

Click to shrink...

As someone that liked the first 2 games enough to platinum both, I agree. Aiden in the first game was just kind of edgy and brooding, which is fine but didn't make him memorable. I actually thought the team from the second game was kind of embarrassing. They were a little too #quirky for me.

My ideal team would be something like F Society from Mr. Robot. Diverse in personalities without feeling overly annoying or one note. I guess not having a main character is the second best option.

 

[Vimto]

Well ofcourse.. he played segmented demo, but once you play the game from start and you build your team by your choice it will feel much different.

 

[Mary Celeste]

Point is that they could do that with one character too with big skill tree. There is no reason why Spy couldn't use wrench or hack drone.

Click to shrink...

But having a big skill tree will innately lock out players who spec one way from playing another way. They wouldn't be able to get the full experience for most, if not all, of the game

 

[TechnicPuppet]

This is mine main concern as person who loves story driven games. Gameplay wise looks really interesting but for me gameplay is not enough.

Click to shrink...

This doesn't make sense to me. Story driven games to not put gameplay first. Pick a side.

 

[dex3108]

Neither Watch Dogs 1 or 2 have good Stories or memorable Characters so that decision doesn't really concern me. I liked the Hackercrew in Watch Dogs 2 even, but none of them are Characters you remember for more than 2 Weeks after you're done with the Game.
The Legion Idea, that you actually play a variety of different Human Beings that are for one Reason or another part of a Resistance Group that fights against Surveliance is narratively more interesting than anything the other 2 Games really did.

Click to shrink...

I don't know how can you say that when Marcus, Wrench, Sitara, Lenny or Josh all are were memorable because of their personalities and issues.

 

[Chaystic]

For me either, a set protagonist would be way better, the story will most likely suffer because of it.

 

[Lemony1984]

I'd rather that over the awful story in OG Watch Dogs. I did like the characters in 2 though.

 

[TronLight]

I actually like the spin on the main character. It's not like the previous games (or any Ubisoft game really...) has ever been that interesting.

 

[dex3108]

But having a big skill tree will innately lock out players who spec one way from playing another way. They wouldn't be able to get the full experience for most, if not all, of the game

Click to shrink...

Not really if you let players pick any of them on the fly like you pick characters you recruited. Recruiting characters is basically reaching enough XP to unlock skill.

This doesn't make sense to me. Story driven games to not put gameplay first. Pick a side.

Click to shrink...

It can be done to do both.

 

[Metallia]

I'm prepared for it to be little more than flavour, and am fine with that. I enjoy these games exclusively for their moment to moment gameplay and care little for the story. I'm not gonna skip the cutscenes, but I can't say growing attached to individual characters or any sort of intrigue is a selling point to me. If the core mechanics are solid and this doesn't get in the way, I'm good. If anything, I'll see it as a net positive if it means we get some character-unique mid-mission banter with who we are at the time and Bagley. And hell, I like the idea of exploring the concept of playing as a vaguely defined group of people rather than a singular protagonist. Even if nothing special is done with it, it's a unique concept.

 

[golem]

Will be interesting to see how they handle it. I think the personalities of the people youre playing being less defined doesnt necessarily have to be that much of a detriment but it does probably put more of the narrative heavy lifting on the surrounding characters in quests or whatever. For example in Ghosts of Tsushima the main character is kind of a big nothing right now but the people and situations you meet during missions have been interesting enough to drive the momentum forward. Also I think having a crew that you personally picked will add some attachment to the playable characters

On the other hand I really enjoyed the cast of WD2 and hope they cameo in this one. Not sure if there is a large time jump between the games though.

 

[Sunnz]

same reason why I dislike the gta v single player campaign, no connection and attachment to any of them as you kept swapping around, not a fan of swapping characters un less in the style of gta iv with its episodes.

 

[Deleted member 56752]

I have the same.
if i can play the whole game as John Wick tho. Then we are talking

Click to shrink...

I'm concerned about it too. Too many games in the fall for an average story

 

[ThisIsBlitz21]

It's not like the Watch Dogs games have an engrossing narrative to begin with.

Their strength has always been the sandbox gameplay, and Legion only looks to amplify that.

edit: I love Watch Dogs 2, but those characters are one-dimensional and not memorable in the slightest, lol.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Well ofcourse.. he played segmented demo, but once you play the game from start and you build your team by your choice it will feel much different.

Click to shrink...

From reading his impressions, the full game won't really change anything. Because of the play as anyone mechanic, there is no banter or depth beyond some one liners for 99% of the potential NPCs. They don't interact with the story aside from being a puppet tackling a specific objective as They basically amount to hitman disguises that have a 1 of probably a few dozen unique skills or abilities. Because of that, he gravitated to the few hand crafted characters that interact with the story because they actually recorded lines between themselves and the story NPCs and felt more personable.

All of that is legitimate. Almost any personality is better than none in making people invested. This NPC system just hits people differently

 

[NHarmonic.]

I understand the concern. Especially when in open world games, the only thing keeping me interested is the character, i.e Kassandra. Without that connection I got nothing.

I'm sure it's for somebody.

Click to shrink...

Same here, might be the case why i don't really like BOTW. I cared for Geralt, Aloy, etc. Link? A shell of a character, why bother?

 

[degauss]

It looks like Fortnite in a city to me, and designed for people not like me, but that doesn't mean I think it's bad or anything.

 

[SinkFla]

I'd rather that over the awful story in OG Watch Dogs. I did like the characters in 2 though.

Click to shrink...

How I feel about it honestly.

I absolutely love characters in say TLOU but not all games need or even benefit from that concept or aesthetic. WD:L is supposed to be more videogame than cinema and I look forward to it.

 

[ClickyCal']

This doesn't make sense to me. Story driven games to not put gameplay first. Pick a side.

Click to shrink...

Huh? There can be both.

 

[Aerial51]

I don't know how can you say that when Marcus, Wrench, Sitara, Lenny or Josh all are were memorable because of their personalities and issues.

Click to shrink...

I finished the Game today and i don't even know who Lenny is lmao.
The thing is, i liked the Crew because of their incredibly try hardness and all the Cringe that comes out of their Mouths. Their were so earnest that everytime they did something in my Mind i was like "You Kids are allright"
But the thing is that none of them is really interesting, you don't know anything about them other than that they are cool wannabe Hackers that want to change the System. You don't even know what drew most of them to Deadsec in the first place besides Marcus. You don't ever learn something about them. From a Sidequest i know that Sitara has a Sister that streams a lot but that's about it really.
I think that while the Main Plot is mostly bad, Watch Dogs 2 has some surprisingly good Sidequests and even Main Quests that hit on some real dark Subjectmatter. Like the Racism in Silicon Valley or Child Pornography for example but those are isolated Incidents. I would even say that Watch Dogs 2 out of all the AAA Ubisoft Games i played this Gen is the one with the most Personality in it. It doesn't feel as heavily focus tested as every other of their major Franchises but the Cast wasn't the Reason for that even though i kinda liked them. But to be honest i think the Grandma or the Dude that has a drinking Problem or John Wick that you can recruit are already on the same Level when it comes to being memorable because the Cast of WD2 is paperthin when it comes to Character Depth, they stand out because of their Design and the way the speak but that's fine for what that Game tries to be.

 

[Deleted member 30681]

To be completely honest. the story in Ubisoft games have been very hit or miss this generation. I find myself usually getting them to spend time in the world and doing the various activities then for the story.

Every once in a while an Ubi game will surprise me story wise (Origins namely), but I rarely come out of an Ubisoft game saying "man what a great story that was." I've yet to play Watch Dogs 1 and 2, so my interest in this isn't the highest admittedly, but I find what they're doing with Legion to just be very interesting gameplay wise, even if it suffers from it in terms of narrative.

 

[ghostcrew]

as somebody who plays video games mainly because i enjoy the act of playing a game, the gameplay variety and freedom of approach means more to me than any connection with a character possibly could.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I think I'm here. Watch Dogs and WD2 weren't any more special because I played Aiden Pierce or whoever it was in WD2. It was hacking the city/doing all of that other fun stuff. Didn't care about the characters of any of the assassins in AC games - I cared about what they were doing. I cared about clearing forts and doing big jump assassinations.

It's one of the things I've been looking forward to in Legion!

 

[XaviConcept]

I mean, its basically the only thing about it thats a selling point for me. Its a different take on a genre that i find pretty damn stale, if you just want more of the same its not like you'll be lacking options

 

[M. Wallace]

It's what sells the game for me. Something different, and it looks marvelous.

 

[Linus815]

The problem is that I don' tsee how Legion is going to offer more gameplay variety than the 2nd game.

You already had skill trees where you could develop Marcus or Aiden to fit your playstyle - and 2 especially already allowed you to complete missions in any way you saw fit. Utilize your gadgets, go guns blazing, hacking, stealth, a mix of all... it was all a viable option in most of the game.

The way I see it Legion just basically took the skill tree branches and turned them into seperate characters. So now if you want a specific playstyle you will have to switch characters, you wont have a "jack of all trades" type of central character anymore. Which will probably be a fun gimmick but if it comes at the expense of a story, then personally I'll be disappointed. And yes, WD1 & 2 didnt have amazing stories but in my opinion they weren't bad either. Both had some great moments and 2 had some fun characters.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Huh? There can be both.

Click to shrink...

No not really. Story driven games tend to have you doing the same thing over and over because what else would make sense story wise. Gameplay driven games fit the story around the gameplay, sometimes the story is wild, but that's fine.

 

[RAWRferal]

This doesn't make sense to me. Story driven games to not put gameplay first. Pick a side.

Click to shrink...

What is this madness? Just because this happens often, doesn't mean it's the way things have to be.

There are plenty of games out there that manage to nail both. Why settle for less? This kind of accepting attitude isn't going to help.

 

[monmagman]

The hacking gameplay has been the main draw of the Watch Dogs games for me....I don't think I'll have any issues tbh.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

What is this madness? Just because this happens often, doesn't mean it's the way things have to be.

There are plenty of games out there that manage to nail both. Why settle for less? This kind of accepting attitude isn't going to help.

Click to shrink...

I don't agree. There's none.

 

[dex3108]

I finished the Game today and i don't even know who Lenny is lmao.
The thing is, i liked the Crew because of their incredibly try hardness and all the Cringe that comes out of their Mouths. Their were so earnest that everytime they did something in my Mind i was like "You Kids are allright"
But the thing is that none of them is really interesting, you don't know anything about them other than that they are cool wannabe Hackers that want to change the System. You don't even know what drew most of them to Deadsec in the first place besides Marcus. You don't ever learn something about them. From a Sidequest i know that Sitara has a Sister that streams a lot but that's about it really.
I think that while the Main Plot is mostly bad, Watch Dogs 2 has some surprisingly good Sidequests and even Main Quests that hit on some real dark Subjectmatter. Like the Racism in Silicon Valley or Child Pornography for example but those are isolated Incidents. I would even say that Watch Dogs 2 out of all the AAA Ubisoft Games i played this Gen is the one with the most Personality in it. It doesn't feel as heavily focus tested as every other of their major Franchises but the Cast wasn't the Reason for that even though i kinda liked them. But to be honest i think the Grandma or the Dude that has a drinking Problem or John Wick that you can recruit are already on the same Level when it comes to being memorable because the Cast of WD2 is paperthin when it comes to Character Depth, they stand out because of their Design and the way the speak but that's fine for what that Game tries to be.

Click to shrink...

But you do learn about those characters. Josh has Asperger's syndrome for example and really wants to be normal kid like others from the group.

Wrench wears mask and is loudmouth because he has issues with his appearance and it is really shy under 5hat facade.

All of those characters have issues with social interaction and that is why they went with "hacker" way of life because they don't need to interact with other people. And during WD2 you are watching them bonding together and trying to resolve those issues.

 

[shoemasta]

After Watch Dogs 2 I can see where that's coming from. Marcus was a lot of fun.

 

[Jonnax]

The problem with this game is that it comes off as a silly carnival.
But they've also advertised it as one that's going to explore living in a surveillance state.
With all these potential protagonists, it seems like it's storytelling is likely to be very surface level.

Of course there's kinda the personal narrative and the storytelling as separate things.
There are books with good characters and bad overall story and the other way around as well.

There's a lot of scope to do something interesting.
But at the same time, I feel that it's Ubisoft.
There's too much design by committee

I don't agree. There's none.

Click to shrink...

The Last of Us 2 had some of the best TPS gameplay I've experienced ever in a game.

 

[AlexBasch]

The superb gameplay of MGSV is one of the reasons I can forgive the horrendous mess of an incomplete story that the game was. I can imagine how TLOU (haven't played the second )having good gameplay and atrocious storytelling compared to the first one would be something very bad, but I didn't expect too much from Watch_Dogs lore, tbh, even when I liked 2 a lot more than the first one.

 

[Carlius]

game looks absolutely terrible...its a franchise that has no soul, no identity....3 times, 3 different games with same crappy controls and gameplay.

lets hope its good, but from what i've seen so fat, it looks so bad.

 

[Acquiescence]

I agree. Ever since the 'NPC as the main character' angle was confirmed, I've been hard out ever since. And that's coming from someone who loved the first game and bought the sequel close at launch. I have a keen interest in Watch Dogs as a franchise, but I doubt I'll ever play Legion. The story will be shit and I don't want to play a long-ass open world game as a bunch of random non-characters selected at a whim. That shit is even worse than playing as a silent protagonist.

I really wanted Jordi as the main character for WD3. Charismatic, unhinged, morally dubious. With the dark, noirish tone of the first game making a return. That would've been perfect.

 

[Deleted member 887]

It's looking to be the best part of the game. And actually giving "true" freedom in a game. Depending on what character you have you can tackle objectives in various and unique ways.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Strongly agree. This kind of setup is a complete nonstarter for me. Connection with the character you play as is a huge deal.

 

[Hugare]

Exactly what I feared. Bummer.

I hate games where the MC is the players "vessel".

"Silent protagonists are just like that", absolutely not. Gordon Freeman has characterization that goes beyond "he is a banker and likes kittens".
Hell, even Doom's guy and Agent 47 are characters with developed backgrounds.

And its not about putting story above gameplay.

Nintendo is a company that puts gameplay above everything else. But even them can see the appeal of having a established MC for every entry of their franchises.

 

[rochellepaws]

It's my main concern as well, I liked the crew in Watch Dogs 2 and their plight added motivation and purpose. I think I'll skip this one.

 

[Alastor3]

Can't wait to make my team composed of only elderly people : The Not-So-Close-To-Death Squad