The 2020 release of Watch Dogs: Legion was a mixed bag for the unique Ubisoft franchise, with many fans being of the opinion that the project did not live up to the expectations that were set by the series' prior successful entries. Disappointed players were initially intrigued by the unique core game mechanics and locations that set Legion apart from its predecessors, although the state that the project launched in put a huge dent in its reputation, something that has been extremely difficult for it to overcome in the time since its debut.
With almost five years having passed since the initial launch of Watch Dogs: Legion, the title has fallen to the wayside in terms of discussion and new engagement, though that has recently changed thanks to the game's inclusion in the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. This has opened up Watch Dogs: Legion to an extremely wide audience of potential players, who could either revisit the game or experience it for the first time, and the current state of Legion makes it worth a try in 2025.
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2025 Could Help Salvage the Overall Legacy of Watch Dogs: Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion takes the franchise to a dystopian London dominated by tech, following the same open-world third-person formula with a focus on hacking and player freedom when it comes to tackling certain situations. While this sounds quite in-line with the previous entries in the Watch Dogs franchise, Legion attempts to set itself apart by featuring a unique approach to its player characters.
Unlike its predecessors, which focused on singular main characters like Aiden Pearce and Marcus Holloway, Legion fascinatingly allows the player to recruit and play as any civilian or other character they see. Every figure in Watch Dogs: Legion is a potential playable character, with different people possessing their own unique backgrounds and skill-sets, allowing the player to mix-and-match abilities on the fly to approach combat or infiltration in a near-endless combination of ways.
Watch Dogs: Legion's "Play As Anyone" mechanic uses procedural generation to create its playable figures, effectively meaning that there are millions of potential characters for players to control in-game.
This ultimately sees the player build a wide roster of playable characters over the course of a playthrough, with these recruited operatives being switched between seamlessly as the situation demands. Legion is perhaps best known for this unique gameplay element, making it a gameplay experience that is absolutely worth checking out casually through its presence on Xbox Game Pass, or even on sale through other platforms. It is worth noting that Legions also supports up to four-player co-operative gameplay, making it a perfect title for wacky and high-octane gameplay between friends.
A 2025 Playthrough of Watch Dogs: Legion is a Much Smoother Experience
Of course, the infamously buggy nature of Legion's launch rightfully pushed many players away from really engaging with it, and a 2025 revisit has the added benefit of the numerous patches that Ubisoft has released over the years. While the game's performance is still not perfect, a lot of work has been done to undo the early criticisms of the project, allowing for a much more enjoyable and streamlined experience in 2025.
Sadly, it seems unlikely that fans will be receiving any new Watch Dogs projects any time soon, with Legion currently standing as the send-off title for the franchise. This makes Legion all the more worth experiencing at least once for players who have enjoyed the series over the years, and fans should not miss the potentially short window that the game will be available through Xbox Game Pass. The mixed reputation that Watch Dogs: Legion holds to this day is quite understandable, but the improvements and polish that have been made to the game over the years more than justify a 2025 playthrough of the project.
Watch Dogs Legion
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 74 /100 Critics Rec: 60%
- Released
- October 29, 2020
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Engine
- Disrupt
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Watch Dogs
