i fucking hate ubisoft so much.

i want to preface that not every game has to be a think piece, and you can make a good game with just interesting level design and satisfying gameplay. but watch dogs is so obviously desperate to compete with the grand theft autos of the world, and it missed the mark completely because ubisoft is the tech oligarch that the game set out to mock and they are incapable of seeing beyond the quarterly earning calls.

instead of investing in a good script and original gameplay mechanisms, it cut corners by using assassin's creed's foundation, where it still focuses on physical combat, relegating hacking to a cosmetic layer and cliches. wherever it fails to fit the premise of the game, it resorts to throwing pistols and sniper rifles at you to push forward the plot. everything about this game feels extremely out of touch and insincere regarding the theme it attempts to unpack.

despite the effort to inject some world-building into the game with the npc background labels, the city of chicago feels utterly flat and lifeless. the technically advanced yet uninspiring graphic style is a veneer meant to deceive players into believing it's a better game than it actually is. every aspect of this game screams gimmick and marketing ploy to move units off the shelves, with zero creativity invested.

i fucking hate this game so much and everything it stands for. fuck you ubisoft.