The Misunderstood Reputation of Watch Dogs

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- Chapters-
Intro: 0:00
Chp 1: The Windy City: 3:58
Chp 2: Hack Everything/Change Nothing: 14:52
Chp 3: Meaningless Code: 25:16
Chp 4: Ghost in The Machine: 36:48
Chp 5: Bad Blood: 55:53
Chp 6: A Dystopian Future: 1:00:13
Outro: 1:04:49

What comes to mind when I say Watch_Dogs? Is it disappointment, deceit, mediocrity? For a few of you it’s something positive, but that few is a growing minority. Why is that? Simply put, the years have been kind to Watch_Dogs, and each year separates us from the E3 demo of 2012 that promoted a game still yet to release. Sure, the idea for Watch_Dogs is there, but any comparison to the demo makes it clear that this was not running on current console hardware, and if that wasn’t clear, here's the proof. Jonathan Morin, creative director of Watch_Dogs made it clear that the game was not ready to be shown, and was being developed for next gen consoles that weren’t even known at the time. The team didn’t know what to expect, or what would be possible on the hardware, but Yves Guillemot insisted that the game be presented, knowing full well there was a high probability that promises would not be kept. We can add that to the list of his crimes alongside promoting a toxic work environment and being a French Canadian, but it takes two to tango. When met with limitless presentation, why wouldn’t we think that limitless gameplay potential was to follow? Even in those early showcases, Watch_Dogs laid its gameplay bare, but it didn’t stop the allure of a new intellectual property, and the endless possibilities that come with such a new frontier. A world where everything is connected, and becoming less and less fictional has the potential to say a lot. What are the ethics of the government, or anyone for that matter, knowing everything about you? What are the social implications, political implications, criminal implications? Watch_Dogs only answers a few of these, and often with little depth. The concept is fresh, but it is supplemented by ideas that could fit anywhere.

This is a theme present across all of Watch_Dogs. The idea that the game does not need to have hacking, in fact, many of its best qualities ignore the hacking. It’s gameplay is at it’s best with one hand clutching a grenade and the other gripping iron, the story's greatest qualities are the mystery that unfolds, Aidens response to his trauma, and its setting is unique because of its gloomy atmosphere, coat physics included. The hacking is unique, but stays an arms length away from everything else, and the moments it does intersect are fleeting. If your game that is marketed entirely on a hacking mechanic is still good without it, there may be a problem, or an excellent foundation. Regardless, the qualities here were overpowered by the taste left in players' mouths leading up to the game's release. With such a taste, the internet spit a toxic narrative that Watch_Dogs lied to the player about much more than its presentation. What resulted was a rude awakening, regarding both the game, and the effects of hype culture. This is what warrants a retrospective evaluation. We’ve had plenty of reviews that focus on what the game was supposed to be, or what we were told it was going to be, but the discussion of what the game is, and what its qualities are, disconnected from the could would, and potentially, should, is few. Because unfortunately for Watch_Dogs, it fell victim to the very dystopia it painted.

Watch Dogs is an interesting game. Watchdogs was initially panned upon release, but eventually Watch_Dogs was looked back upon as not being as bad, and eventually, we even got Watchdogs 2. Watch Dogs 2 would then lead to Watch Dogs Legion and uhh... Watchdogs Legion was a game. This Watch Dogs critique, Watch Dogs review, Watch Dogs analysis, Watch Dogs retrospective, or whatever you want to call it will be looking at Watch Dogs years later and Watch Dogs Bad Blood. Analysing the Watch Dogs gameplay, story, world, and more to understand the misunderstood reputation of Watch Dogs, and how it would eventually affect the Watch Dogs series. Aiden Pearce will play a central role in this argument, and there will be a heavy Aiden Pearce analysis to back up my claims. This video could also serve as a Watch Dogs story explained video. I hope we can get a new Watch Dogs someday, and one better than Legion.