Is it worth visiting London in post-Brexit? Watch Dogs: Legion seems to think so…
In the near future, London is facing its downfall: the people are being oppressed by an all-seeing surveillance state, a corrupt private military corporation controls the streets, and a powerful crime syndicate is preying on the vulnerable. The fate of London lies with you, and your ability to recruit a resistance and fight back.
I love the Watch Dogs games, the first was my favourite with it’s gritty take on Chicago and while most didn’t take to Aiden Pierce as a protagonist, I personally thought he was pretty cool overall and I really enjoyed Raymond Kenney/T-Bone and the chance to play as him in the Bad Blood DLC. The sequel set in San Francisco was more light-hearted in nature and was more a “the city is your playground” kind of thing and while it was fun, it didn’t surpass the original in my opinion. Now our next destination is London, so what’s going on in old Blighty?
The difference with Legion is that you don’t play as an individual protagonist, but instead you can play as almost everyone you see, recruit them to your cause and switch between them as you wish. Everyone has their own individual talents so finding the right person for whatever mission or location you are trying to enter. The game handles like the past games, but its more streamlined and its back to its roots with the gritty nature of London.
London in the game itself is truly incredible, it’s a great representation of my capital city (Yes, I’m English) and it maybe too close to comfort for some, especially with all the newly added surveillance and PMCs controlling the streets which wouldn’t come as a huge shock to us if it were to happen. Ok that’s enough of me getting political, if you get me started then we’ll be here ALL day so let’s move on, quickly…
As with the past games, Legion lets you hack almost everything from cameras to drones and everything in-between. It’s the big selling point that you can screw with traffic lights or cause a blackout at a touch of a button and that still is true here. In terms of story, Legion has a fairly decent one that will divide opinion, especially in the political climate we face at the moment with post-Brexit and Covid-19, some may think it’s a little to “on the nose” but personally I think it’s great and well worth pursuing.
Visually, Legion is seriously impressive for a PS4 game that is so close to the end of the console’s life cycle. London looks amazing and is highly detailed, while character models and effects are designed well. There are a few bugs here and there but nothing that really hurt the overall experience and there have already been patches to improve things, so it’ll only get better from here on out.
At the time of writing, the game is single player only but that will change in December when the multiplayer launches. This is also the review for the PS4 version so while it looks damn impressive already, those who own this version will get a shinier, prettier and faster loading PS5 version in just a few weeks.
The Verdict
Watch Dogs: Legion’s take on London is remarkable and scary at the same time. It’s gritty and dark, but it also has a beauty to it, much like the city itself. It’s definitely the best in the series so far and I can’t wait for the PS5 upgrade and multiplayer in December. This is only the beginning.