Fantastic gameplay-wise. While WD1 was pretty limited in how it utilized hacking and offen just diverged from a shitty stealth game into an alright TPS, Watch Dogs 2 is all about hacking, making you use all the drones and cameras you can find in order to execute your mission as efficiently as possible. You can still run&gun, but with little combat abilities and with how abundant heavy guys are throughout the levels, you're heavily discouraged from going in, guns blazing. And, again, it's not like combat is unviable. In fact, all the tools you use for hacking are crucial in a good offensive. I especially enjoyed, in the case of fucking up a stealth route, carpet-bombing swats of enemies with a flying drone, tazing others with a little car one, running around the battlefield and creating distractions. Unlike the first game, Watch Dogs 2 truly is about embodying a hacker that can be a soldier and pack a punch if neccesary, and not the other way around.

And besides that, another pleasant surprise was the story. Honestly! Characters like Wrench, Sitara and Josh are super endearing, and they do grow on you over the course of the game. Their relationships with Marcus (who is sympathetic and fun to play as) is believable and fun to watch. This cunt with glasses and a crew cut was super fun, and Dusan has a surprisingly low level of cringe to him, and actually manages to be a good villian.
I don't think the whole anti-system hacker theme was developed the best, though, as while Watch Dogs 2 is perfectly willing to describe and discuss the ways in which tech companies affect our lives in a bad way, it's not super interested in adressing the moral ambivilance of actions comitted by the good guys. Nevertheless, the story was, at the very least, entertaining, and I really hope that in a hypothetical Watch Dogs 3 we could return to a story more like this one, instead of whatever the fuck Legions was.









P.S.
I must say - I think a story in the setting of Legions but with actual characters would be great as well

no puedo enumerar la cantidad de veces en la que este juego cruzo la línea que cualquier obra de ficción quiere cruzar, la cantidad de veces que me vi reflejado en el charco de agua turbia y lodosa que es su protagonista, la cantidad de veces que me hizo quedarme inmóvil después de un dialogo o un pensamiento, simplemente mirando a través de mi monitor a un vacío infinito mientras escuchaba su música mezclándose con sonidos de una ciudad ruinosa, o las veces que deje de jugarlo para acostarme a llorar en posición fetal.
una vez que lo termine me di cuenta que por mas interesante sea la historia, la historia no es lo que importa, lo que importa es como el juego te habla y aún mas importa como te escucha, porque te escucha, sabe lo que pensas y lo que queres y a veces te lo da pero a veces es caprichoso, como la vida.
compensa no solo tus triunfos si no también tus fracasos, y te regala cosas hermosas, te regala risas y te regala angustia.

creo que no me voy a olvidar de Disco Elysium.
Disco Elysium va a quedarse por mucho tiempo, ahí, fermentandose en mi hipocampo hasta que Martinaise me vuelva a llamar para contarme otra historia.

gracias Disco Elysium.

NOTE: Although I played this game through the enhanced edition, I wanted to log it as the original game.

There is pretty much no way of me being able to start this review without saying that Planescape: Torment is the greatest game I’ve ever played. Even before I beat the game, I knew that was the case. In the past, I’ve considered a few games to be my favorites of all time, like Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Fallout: New Vegas, and while I do love those games to death, neither of them have impacted me as much as Planescape: Torment.

Before I actually played the game or even knew what it was about, I heard that Planescape: Torment was a landmark in video game writing, and I can definitely see why, because this has some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in a video game. The plot and characters are fascinating, and even the small side quests are incredibly memorable with how well written they are. The game is also incredibly philosophical, and I’ve found myself making choices based on what I actually believed in rather than what I felt the game wanted me to choose. I also loved the Planescape setting. Many pieces of fantasy media retread familiar waters by having the same elves, orcs, goblins and so on, but the Planescape setting’s lore, creatures, and locations are all incredibly unique.

I could go on and on about just how incredible this game is, but I’ll end my review with this note: If there was one game that I believe everyone should play from start to finish, even people who don’t play video games, I believe that game should be Planescape: Torment. It’s not only my favorite game of all time, but it’s also one of my favorite pieces of art in general.

A major step up from the last game. Mostly attributed to its much more focused cast of characters, which are all interesting and likeable. Ghost stories overall are executed better and well written, with their purify/destroy routes being a lot less cryptic than in the first game. Illustrations still mantain the quality of the original, and they're even better (although I guess that is subjective).

The multiple choice segments have much better writing so the answers are much clearer. The last stand segments have been redone in a way that's a lot more dynamic, even if the answers are, at times, confusing (which I mostly just felt happened on the first chapter). At least retrying isn't nearly as annoying as the first game, since it mostly saves between "escape scenes" instead of having to re-do the whole encounter.

Horror is also a lot better this time around. I played with "scary mode" on, which adds some jumpscares here and there, but honestly? The game does a great job by itself by presenting very tense horror set-pieces (every single haunting at the apartment was great).

Also, there are actually different endings! Thank you! I've only gotten one so far (the good ending), but I'm gonna go back eventually to experience the other ones (already read up on 'em though). Wish there was a chapter select to speed up the process, but I'm still really glad this game has replayability.

Honestly, the only kinda weak part was the antagonist. Their design is cool and all, it's just their motivation's is weak and their actions are a bit... contradictory. Going into why I think so goes a little into spoiler territory, but it's fairly obvious.

Overall, Spirit Hunter NG is a pretty good spiritual (heh) sequel that doesn't dissapoint and learns from the original's screw-ups.


Will probably give some thought into the other endings once I properly experience them, but I'm sure their content won't change my current stance on the game

The biggest example of a "videogame you can only play once".

Won't spoil anything, but this game completely understands how an adventure feels. Exploring and discovering every single mystery and seeing it all fit together is insane. Understanding and mastering every planet feels great. I also specially love how none of the planets feels... game-y. It really does feel like you're entering a new world that won't hold your hand.


I do have some gripes with it, though. Some things in the game just require you to stay put and wait a bunch of time, which is kinda boring. Also, some planet's gimmicks are really annoying and some of the travels to specific destinations can get boring to traverse.
I also really dislike how bare-bones the ship log is. Towards the end, I needed to keep in mind some details on locations that the log just wouldn't give me (and I personally don't really want to go check every single location AGAIN for a clue I want to have on hand).

Other that that, this game is incredible and an absolute must play for everyone. It is a game filled with so much love, that I can't help but love it too.