i was drawn to control's visuals immediately, but i found myself really wanting more narrative depth as the experience progressed (mild spoilers ahead).

the game's central mystery, the hiss, is a concept clearly inspired by folklore and superstition. the use of terms like 'possessed' and 'cleansing' hints at a deeper conspiracy but it never fully unravels. the unsettling atmosphere and the cinematic storytelling, while visually impressive, don't propel the story forward. the oversimplification of the lore made the hiss out to sound like a natural occurrence with aggressive tendencies without any ulterior motives, like a flood or hurricane. and the hiss remains frustratingly enigmatic as the battles continue and as you collect more pieces of the lore, leaving me with more questions than answers.

i don't see myself finishing the game but still enjoyed the concept a lot and probably will be seated for the sequel!

i was drawn to control's visuals immediately, but i found myself really wanting more narrative depth as the experience progressed (mild spoilers ahead).

the game's central mystery, the hiss, is a concept clearly inspired by folklore and superstition. the use of terms like 'possessed' and 'cleansing' hints at a deeper conspiracy but it never fully unravels. the unsettling atmosphere and the cinematic storytelling, while visually impressive, don't propel the story forward. the oversimplification of the lore made the hiss out to sound like a natural occurrence with aggressive tendencies without any ulterior motives, like a flood or hurricane. and the hiss remains frustratingly enigmatic as the battles continue and as you collect more pieces of the lore, leaving me with more questions than answers.

i don't see myself finishing the game but still enjoyed the concept a lot and probably will be seated for the sequel!

watch dogs had so much potential and material to work with to become THE commentary piece for sovereignty in the age of big tech oligopolies, especially considering the political events and scandals coinciding at the time, and Ubisoft leveraged none of that??? the Hollywoodification of the technical mechanism, the forced edgy writing with PG13 dialogues, the cookie-cutting art direction void of any identity, this game feels nauseatingly plain and unoriginal as a player.

as a media enthusiast, i fucking hate the corporate indoctrinated approach to media production and the braindead content taking up so much space in the public sphere. i would rather play horse boyfriend simulator than continue endorsing this piece of shit. fuck you ubisoft.

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.