It builds off of the previous game in the series, the slightly differently-named Watch_Dogs, which was in some ways a qualified success, but in many more important ways was an interesting failure. I just wandered into this three-way gang war, I swear! You gotta believe me: this is not my fault. Watch Dogs 2 is probably the most complete AAA open-world game that Ubisoft proper has ever put out, which is quite a claim, given the almost 15-year reign that the Assassin’s Creed franchise has had over that market space. The game we’re looking at today has different values, different focus, different commitments - not to mention a different budget - and for all of that, I think I might like it more. The review of that game said it was one of the best open-world Ubisoft formula games I’d ever played, and I stand by that.

We discussed one game in this style not two weeks ago - Mad Max (2015) - which was actually an Avalanche Studios and Warner Brothers production. We’ll restrict our inquiry today, then, to a specific sub-genre of the open-world game: the sort made by Ubisoft, they of the many, many studios across at least three continents. The genre is notoriously ill-defined, and you’ll end up with some people saying The Witcher 3, some people saying Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, some people saying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and some incredibly cursed people arguing that their favorite MMO should count. The question of what the best open-world game of all-time is, is a messy one. These aren’t just limited to Warhammer games, and we’ve recently been looking at some of the best open world games to come out over the last few years, including Mad Max, Fallout 76, and The Witcher 3. This week, Bernhardt is back talking about another serious contender in the open world pantheon: Watch Dogs 2. At Goonhammer, our passion for games extends well beyond the tabletop.

Watch dogs 2 review