Watch Dogs

 PC
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5182 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,662 out of 5182
  2. Mixed: 913 out of 5182
  3. Negative: 1,607 out of 5182
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  1. jade
    Jun 25, 2014
    8
    This game did not crash on me once, so if other reviews complain about that, it doesn't happen to everyone. I run NVidia/intel.

    The game seemed like a mash-up of Grand Theft Auto, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and other sandbox games. I found it entertaining, and couldn't help but rush towards the finale as I progressed. There are numerous mini-games, and I found myself completing more    This game did not crash on me once, so if other reviews complain about that, it doesn't happen to everyone. I run NVidia/intel.

    The game seemed like a mash-up of Grand Theft Auto, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and other sandbox games. I found it entertaining, and couldn't help but rush towards the finale as I progressed. There are numerous mini-games, and I found myself completing more than I had expected.

    This is not a "realistic" game, hacking did not involve searching memory for pointers and references, but a simple mini-puzzle. Cars where extremely resilient when you drove them, and the physics were definitely comic. However, that made it more fun.

    Gameplay seemed most fun as I tried to sneak through the majority of the hostile areas, but then resulted in Max Payne slow motion gun fights towards the end. I found it very entertaining.

    This was a fairly solid game, the worst thing I can say about it was the pre-release hype which was so obviously BS. I'm glad I bought this game, I really enjoyed putting down the main antagonists at the end. Why do we have so many Trolls?!?    … Expand
  2. JayE
    Dec 25, 2014
    8
    Forget all the low scores, this game is a polished and well thought out game that just needs a few patches to get it right.

    It does have it's problems... 1. The default mouse and keyboard control on PC needs fixing. Mouse control is plagued with console helpers such as movement acceleration and laggy unrefined movement. Don't expect to turn and shoot accurately with 1:1 ratio like with    Forget all the low scores, this game is a polished and well thought out game that just needs a few patches to get it right.

    It does have it's problems...
    1. The default mouse and keyboard control on PC needs fixing. Mouse control is plagued with console helpers such as movement acceleration and laggy unrefined movement. Don't expect to turn and shoot accurately with 1:1 ratio like with 99% of other PC games, try 30% accuracy.
    Adjusting the XML settings file helped quite a bit but it is still cumbersome... Not to the point where I stopped playing, sure it took me 10x more retries on some missions because of the bad mouse controls (quickly aiming and shooting an enemy accurately is very tricky), but I persisted purely because this game is actually a good game overall.

    2. Driving controls using the mouse+Kbd is a headache. I though GTA was bad, this game is twice as bad as GTA.
    Hold the arrow keys down a bit too long and the car slides out. Hold the arrow key a bit too short and nothing happens.

    Graphics are good, not great. In high lit areas everything looks like a 2007 game, but things looks quite good in darker lit or sunset scenario's.

    The wireless hacking idea is fresh and works well.
    I like how you can jump from camera to camera, steal ATM codes, activate bridges, etc..

    Audio is excellent, decent actors, lots of variety.

    Gameplay is questionable as pointed above.
    But ignoring the mouse problems, the path finding and overall movement is decent. No excessive "stuck in animation and cant move where I want' issues like with many other games of late (i.e. Splinter Cell).

    Missions can be quite enjoyable, especially the gang hideout missions. Drawing the cops in to take out the bad guys is challenging and rewarding when done properly.
    However after completing a mission, there is some 'ok what do I do now'. Scanning the map for something to do, ignoring the boring sub-games. Chess, 3D pacman, race from point A to point B... I would prefer more missions where you need to infiltrate buildings/hideouts, track down and chase other hackers, something that requires a bit of intelligence please...

    80/100 due to bad mouse keyboard controls.
    93/100 if they fix the mouse/keyboard problems.    … Expand
  3. Dunge
    Jul 7, 2014
    8
    This game is very good and people complaints are over-exaggerated. "It's just a GTA" JUST? Do you have any idea how complex is a game of this type? "It require DX10", damn, DX10 exist since 7years, are you just crazy not to have a card supporting it yet? "It's a console port", what makes it one? It play perfectly on my PC. The fact that you complain about it being a console port and aboutThis game is very good and people complaints are over-exaggerated. "It's just a GTA" JUST? Do you have any idea how complex is a game of this type? "It require DX10", damn, DX10 exist since 7years, are you just crazy not to have a card supporting it yet? "It's a console port", what makes it one? It play perfectly on my PC. The fact that you complain about it being a console port and about it requiring a high-end computer to run are quite contradictory. I love the game, and completed it to 100%. Nice story, nice map, nice action.… Expand
  4. grungebob
    Jun 30, 2014
    8
    This game is fun. I have always been a fan of the open-world / GTA type of games, and this one takes that and adds a new element.

    The problem solving aspect of some of the missions / side-missions make it fun. The element that it's a single player game until someone calls in a hit on you adds a great multi-player aspect in the single player mode is fun. The multi-player hacking adds    This game is fun. I have always been a fan of the open-world / GTA type of games, and this one takes that and adds a new element.

    The problem solving aspect of some of the missions / side-missions make it fun. The element that it's a single player game until someone calls in a hit on you adds a great multi-player aspect in the single player mode is fun. The multi-player hacking adds excitement to a single player story game. The side-missions like the QR Code solving make you really think compared to other open-world games trying to find those hard to find cameras. Makes you think outside the box.

    Yes, there is some things that are not great about it... the driving at first felt like I was driving a semi-truck... now I figured it out better and treat it as a drifting game. I can easily win any get away missions or multi-player races. People... think outside the box. I do agree having a pipes game is a horrible add to hack into security. It just doesn't make sense. Also, there is some minor 3D building issues I have run across... but just minor. Not the hype problems the video game media is saying.

    I highly recommend if you want a problem solving, mini multi-player open world game. I'm hoping that the DLC is as good in the future.

    ...And a note, if you are having technical issues with the game not working, Upgrade Your Machine! I haven't had one problem and I'm running on a 30" Dell Monitor at 2560x1600 with a single NVidia 770 GTX.    … Expand
  5. Hatredalper
    Dec 6, 2020
    8
    First, this is a good game. The average User Score is misleading. I don't know what kind of technical or any other problem this game had back in the time when it was first released. As of 2020, this is a solid game with a decent story. Due to its open nature, there are so many things that you can do but I don't recommend that. Because missions will eventually force you to those sideFirst, this is a good game. The average User Score is misleading. I don't know what kind of technical or any other problem this game had back in the time when it was first released. As of 2020, this is a solid game with a decent story. Due to its open nature, there are so many things that you can do but I don't recommend that. Because missions will eventually force you to those side mission things in main missions. I avoid most of the side missions, just done a couple of them when I first started the game and then focus just the main mission. My whole game time was little under 20 hours in the Normal difficulty. I definitely recommend this game and looking forward to play Watch Dogs 2.… Expand
  6. Invader-Nik
    Jun 18, 2014
    8
    Let me start off by saying this is NOT a bad game. It may be poorly optimized for PC, but it's still a great game. It may not bring anything new in modern Third person shooters, but it does a great job of making Chicago feel alive. Everyone has a name, and you can also learn their secrets too.

    Contrary to other people's reviews, I found this game very great, and I've been playing    Let me start off by saying this is NOT a bad game. It may be poorly optimized for PC, but it's still a great game. It may not bring anything new in modern Third person shooters, but it does a great job of making Chicago feel alive. Everyone has a name, and you can also learn their secrets too.

    Contrary to other people's reviews, I found this game very great, and I've been playing through it solidly since release. The shooting is nice, responsive and fantastic! Hacking your way around Chicago is great and it really does help out in those car chases and battles.
    Driving could do a bit of work, yet again I'm not a driving enthusiast when it comes to games, but yet for an open world game the driving could have been better. Too slippery. The story is really well done, and late into the game you begin to sort of feel an attachment to these characters, it's really great.

    This is not worthy of GOTY 2014, but it's still a good game to play, rent it if you want.    … Expand
  7. Axiomatic
    May 29, 2014
    8
    Short review of the game, but more of a review of the bad reviewers. The game is really good. (Not great but solidly good) as far as the art, graphics, premise, story. Clearly this is a hastily created port but it doesn't really ruin the fun. As far as the technical issues go. I had about two hours of forum searching and I had 2560x1600 working on a GTX 780 2x SLI system with all theShort review of the game, but more of a review of the bad reviewers. The game is really good. (Not great but solidly good) as far as the art, graphics, premise, story. Clearly this is a hastily created port but it doesn't really ruin the fun. As far as the technical issues go. I had about two hours of forum searching and I had 2560x1600 working on a GTX 780 2x SLI system with all the graphics settings up to ultra or high.

    As far as the low scores for this game. It doesn't warrant it. Trust me, I loath DRM but uplay is no more in the way than Steam or Origin is and its where the industry is at, so just deal with it. If you read between the lines here most of these low score reviewers are just upset that this game is going to require a patch or two before its fully baked. Can you name any game out in the last 5 years that didn't need patching? I can't either. Buy the game.    … Expand
  8. meediocre
    Jun 1, 2014
    8
    Connection issues aside, this is a solid open-world game that feels and plays like Sleeping Dogs, but with a hacking theme, and a less interesting story and central character. There's some genuine fun to be had with the online invasion and ctOS missions, as well as some exhilarating escape from the cops/baddies driving action. The world itself is incredibly detailed and there are plenty ofConnection issues aside, this is a solid open-world game that feels and plays like Sleeping Dogs, but with a hacking theme, and a less interesting story and central character. There's some genuine fun to be had with the online invasion and ctOS missions, as well as some exhilarating escape from the cops/baddies driving action. The world itself is incredibly detailed and there are plenty of side quests and distractions to keep you going for hours and hours, as per AC and Far Cry etc ..

    Negatives, in my opinion, include the average main storyline and the fact that graphically, even on PC it doesn't seem next-gen. Happy to have bought this title though, as it offers great value for money.    … Expand
  9. Wyzak
    May 28, 2014
    8
    Bare through the game for the first 20-30 minutes and you'll be rewarded richly.

    The hand-holding tutorial is a bit too much and you aren't given any time to adjust your settings without missing some parts of the story which caused me to have to restart the campaign. Which meant I had to sit through the entire unskippable intro movie one more time than I would have liked, but    Bare through the game for the first 20-30 minutes and you'll be rewarded richly.

    The hand-holding tutorial is a bit too much and you aren't given any time to adjust your settings without missing some parts of the story which caused me to have to restart the campaign. Which meant I had to sit through the entire unskippable intro movie one more time than I would have liked, but fortunately it was only one time and not with every save/load.

    The driving takes some getting use to, it is different from what I would have expected. I crashed into everything at first but after 30 minutes or so I was weaving through traffic like a pro.

    The story is better than I expected so far, and I'm enjoying it.

    The in-game minigames are awesome fun - especially the carmaggeddon and spider tank games. I also enjoyed Alone.

    The multi-player is amazingly fun. I still remember the feeling when the first person invaded my game. The ensuing panic was just epic! Couldn't wait to return the favour.

    There are some issues with the game however. The vehicle damage model doesn't update properly in the event of a major collision. If I crash head-on into a truck the car should be totalled, not just have a tiny scratch. The game definitely supports more collision models as your car will look really bad after a few minutes of crashing into things, but it needs to jump to this state faster for bigger collisions.

    There are still some framerate issues as well which I hope they resolve soon. I was using the Watch dogs ready drivers from Nvidia.

    The graphics looks really good and I am spoilt for choice.

    Current review is 8, but I will make it a 9 once the frame rate issues are resolved and the collision models jump sufficiently on a high magnitude collision.    … Expand
  10. Tubey
    Jun 4, 2014
    8
    It's a very, very good game, let's just get that out of the way first. Of course, reading metacritic, you wouldn't believe that to be the case, given that the score is currently lower than dross such as Orion Dino Horde...

    The reason for the lower meta score isn't because the game is bad in any way, it's more to do with the fact Ubisoft sold a lie with their incredibly over-optimised E3    It's a very, very good game, let's just get that out of the way first. Of course, reading metacritic, you wouldn't believe that to be the case, given that the score is currently lower than dross such as Orion Dino Horde...

    The reason for the lower meta score isn't because the game is bad in any way, it's more to do with the fact Ubisoft sold a lie with their incredibly over-optimised E3 video and thus expectations were through the roof. So, when those expectations are then not met, either graphically or in terms of gameplay, the Metacritic fume meter goes off the scale and you see the overreaction.

    Graphically, on the PC on ultra, the game is one of the best looking games ever made, but it isn't what E3 painted it as, not by a long shot. This is on a par with GTA5, with an Assassin's Creed sheen over the top of it. Gunplay is fine, as is driving, despite the OTT criticism of it because it's a different, slightly more arcadey style to GTA, but it's simply different, not worse.

    Hacking involves one button opportunist situations rather than anything detailed. However, it fits into the game, and when you're involved in cat and mouse chases and looking for terrain hacking opportunities the game comes to life. I'm not quite sure what people wanted here... Did you want to stop the game and put in code to hack the game? How would that work in a car chase?

    The city is well realised and gives a fair degree of things to do, such as city spots and side games. However, compared to the all-encompassing freedom of other open world games, Watch Dogs often feels a bit cramped. Immersion is lost when you don't see reflections in windows, or when you cause chaos and no police are called, yet when you rob a car they're on you like a rash.

    The plot is OK if not stellar. Characters are a bit hit and miss. Side quests provide a welcome distraction to the main missions, but don't have the diversity to really draw you in.

    It is a game where you wouldn't regret buying it if it had came out of the blue and was just released. However, after an age of hype and expectation, it falls short. I can highly recommend picking it up, but don't expect the next-gen game changer that many thought it would be.    … Expand
  11. reaidstar
    May 27, 2014
    8
    What Watch_Dogs is, is what it does well. A new IP that is trying to compete with Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row, which are well established and have a big following behind it.

    What is good: + Huge open world + Story is well written + Acting is brilliant + Hacking is fun as all hell, and helps interaction in the world + It's beautiful (Even if it's not as good as E3, it still has    What Watch_Dogs is, is what it does well. A new IP that is trying to compete with Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row, which are well established and have a big following behind it.

    What is good:
    + Huge open world
    + Story is well written
    + Acting is brilliant
    + Hacking is fun as all hell, and helps interaction in the world
    + It's beautiful (Even if it's not as good as E3, it still has graphics on par to GTA V)

    What it does... not so good:
    - Optimisation is abysmal. Even on the best rig possible, Ultra won't hold a frame rate above 60FPS. People that have obnoxious rigs want 120FPS, and if they can't get that, that's bad.
    - Logic. You can steal a high performance car while everyone is around and run them down. No cops.
    Aim a gun at someone, or steal a car, every cop in Chicago!
    - Reputation System is pointless. Kill people, Save people; there is still no influential consequences or rewards for it.
    - Even though it's beautiful, render distance of objects are terrible

    The big thing about this is the morality choices you are given from seeing the personal information from Profiling them makes you not want to kill people like you do in GTA V and Saints Row, and that is a good reason to try to be a good person.

    As I said, as a new IP it's amazing. There are things Ubisoft can improve on exponentially, and they will be working on patches maybe for the next six months, and I would see that Watch_Dogs 2 will improve the series beyond anything we've seen already. Don't be so hard on a game that has the potential to knock Grand Theft Auto off their pedestal, because I already see their tower getting a few dints from this game already.    … Expand
  12. plotlesviolence
    Jun 8, 2014
    8
    OVERALL: Openworld Splinter-cell: 3rd-person stealth shooter with driving and remotely activating environmental cameras and explosives. Good value with all the side missions.
    PRESENTATION:8
    Graphics good, just not as good as Ubisoft's previous Assassin's Creed IV, or as advertised in E3 2013, not next-gen in any way, but certainly near the top of the previous-gen PS3/Xbox360-era. Enemies    OVERALL: Openworld Splinter-cell: 3rd-person stealth shooter with driving and remotely activating environmental cameras and explosives. Good value with all the side missions.
    PRESENTATION:8
    Graphics good, just not as good as Ubisoft's previous Assassin's Creed IV, or as advertised in E3 2013, not next-gen in any way, but certainly near the top of the previous-gen PS3/Xbox360-era. Enemies ragdoll, and most structures have real physics to drive through. The interface is very slick, with pop-ups and a cool fast white-wireframe transition when you hop from-camera to camera to keep you oriented.
    Aesthetically it's boring, browns and blacks: I'm unfamiliar with real Chicago, but I wasn't walking through a distinct city the way Rockstar's GTA series made me feel like visiting the actual cities those were based on.
    STORY: 6
    Story development is good if cliched. The protagonist is as boring as they come; when will game developers learn to stop making every hero an Everyman? Having zero character traits doesn't help me identify with him. I want to play as someone different from me, with unique quirks and flaws.
    But the biggest problem is that plot isn''t really about hacking the way it pretends to be. I expect videogames to immerse me in a new culture, like Tony Hawk and skateboarding culture, but the script here was written by authors who had never even spoken to a hacker but threw together some Hollywood stereotypes. So of course the female character is the Girl-With-the-Dragon-tattoo. They couldn't hire one single actual hacker as a consultant?
    Similarly, there are such wasted opportunities for philosophical discussions, i.e., the role of Anonymous as disorganized collective vigilantes "policing" the new field of cyberspace according to an evolving and non-codified set of ethics, copyright and the right to profit off your own work vs free expression, etc. etc. But the only plot threads the game cares about is the the dangers of overreliance on one centralized technology and Justice vs Revenge, both handled well, but again, if you're going to make a game about HACKING, I expect it to be ABOUT HACKING.
    Every character does has a little blurb about them you can read by highlighting them, which adds a bit to the fun of interacting with them, but it's not developed enough for you to do anything more than hack their bank account.
    GAMEPLAY:7
    I like that it is hard, especially at first. Without upgrades, you are very vulnerable, so stealth becomes a necessity during shootouts. There's no melee combat; you take down any enemy with one button press but this just reinforces the stealth aspects well, because you get shot to death unless you sneak up on a solitary enemy. You have no offensive capabilities while driving besides ramming the enemy and hacking nearby explosives, so you have to lead enemies on exciting chase. It makes you focus, whereas by comparison Saints Row is so easy it's a series of options for killing enemies rather than an actual "game."
    The much-hyped "hacking" ability is just a "use" key that lets you do different things: explode nearby objects, start distractions on an enemy, raise/lower cover or elevators, activate traffic lights (which causes all surrounding cars to unrealistically pile into the intersection, but it's random because of the car distribution), or switch your view to any camera in your line of sight (so you jump from camera to camera). This all works well and adds alot, and it's possible to clear around half of each group of enemies without ever entering the compound if you're clever. But later, when you realize that instant takedown opportunities flash to get your attention, car chases stop being as exciting.
    The "parkour" is functional but hardly as fun or developed as in Assassin's Creed.
    Driving is ok. I particularly like the reckless speed vs easy crashing of the motorcycles. But it's not great, certainly nowhere near the Playstation2-era-GTA series (which remain the best vehicle control in any videogame). And that's disappointing for a game where you drive this much.
    I like that the morality system is functional rather than arbitrary. Shooting feet/knees instead of torsos is a nonlethal takedown; so the distinction comes out of gameplay rather than just switching to a tranquilizer gun identical to your normal pistol. Because it added to the challenge, I also made a constant effort to avoid running over innocents during chases. It's a sign of good design that I did this even though there aren't any real consequences for mass-murderer.
    I do like the nonlinearity, even in the main missions. If police show and who that hurts depends on citizens randomly calling when they hear gunshots. You are almost never ordered to use a specific vehicle, or to kill an enemy a specific way, so everything feels organic.
    Bizarrely, the occasional hacking minigame is pathetic. I'm not saying they should and had you type in actual computer code with a keyboard, but what they came up with is sad.    … Expand
  13. Yuusou
    Jun 1, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is really good depending on how you look at it. Sure the graphics are good, but not as good as expected, the performance by now is ranging from smooth to barely playable, the hacking is way too straight forward, but this game has so many not so obvious good points.

    Let's start with the humor. I don't know how many people have checked the billboard text yet. I don't know how many have checked the ctznOS leaks by DedSec in the bunker (e.g. falling worker is called an UFO in the scan). I don't know how many people have listened to conversations between NPCs ("Since ctOS is watching everyone and everything I don't have the urge to jerk off that much anymore."). I don't know how many people have realized that there's social criticism in the whole game. If you think this game is just a cheap GTA with hacking, you're not taking a look to the right direction the game is aiming for. Aiden barely has eye contact at the bar or newspaper stand owner when he orders a drink. Instead he's paying attention to his phone. This is so annoying, yet one of the many behaviors that people show towards their fellow men. So many people / NPCs are just staring at the phone while walking along the street. So much technology is currently in place to make our life easier, yet you don't see that it could be easily abused by anyone who has the mind and the tools to do so.

    I don't think you learn much from a GTA game for your real life. But this here should make you think about your everyday behaviour, your everyday use of technology and your opinion towards surveillance of public and private life. If you still think that after playing this game your government should have access to your digital data to "protect you", then you're clearly missing the point here.    … Expand
  14. AcidCasualty
    May 27, 2014
    8
    First of all, it appears as if all the negative reviews here were written by the same mouth-breathing simpleton who lacks any sort of command over English grammar. This game is far from a 0. The graphics could be better, but the gameplay is top-notch. Driving is a bit more difficult than in GTA V, which I'm sure is why some people are complaining, but with practice even the dullest noobFirst of all, it appears as if all the negative reviews here were written by the same mouth-breathing simpleton who lacks any sort of command over English grammar. This game is far from a 0. The graphics could be better, but the gameplay is top-notch. Driving is a bit more difficult than in GTA V, which I'm sure is why some people are complaining, but with practice even the dullest noob can master it. The biggest downside here is the uPlay, but the game itself is cool.

    Watch Dogs is a fun action game combining driving, parkour, an emotional storyline, sleuthing, and admittedly simplistic "hacking" (but if it were harder than pressing a button, how would you hack streetlights while driving? Hack gates in a hurry? The hacking style WORKS for this title), and lots of sleuthing. Set aside the knee-jerking going on here and give it a try.    … Expand
  15. XenozViews
    May 27, 2014
    8
    Game is fun and graphics are beautiful. Packs more fun than the latest two main GTAs. Although it's not perfect, like any game out there, it has potential to be a great franchise. For a first entry in a franchise, I think they did a great job.

    Car driving should be improved. I agree it's **** right now. Feels I'm driving with a d-pad rather than analog. Runs fine on my hardware too.    Game is fun and graphics are beautiful. Packs more fun than the latest two main GTAs. Although it's not perfect, like any game out there, it has potential to be a great franchise. For a first entry in a franchise, I think they did a great job.

    Car driving should be improved. I agree it's **** right now. Feels I'm driving with a d-pad rather than analog.

    Runs fine on my hardware too. Some people are upset because they don't know how to adjust the settings of the game to suit their machine and have good performance. They think adjusting = everything ultra + should run @ 60FPS. I've seen even people with low end machines complaining they cant play at max settings with 60 fps... smh.

    Go play on consoles then, the experience will be worst by a far margin.

    Running at max settings here @ 45 - 55 FPS, 1080p.    … Expand
  16. Xandercz
    Jun 3, 2014
    8
    New open-world IP with an underground hacking setting and a revenge plot. The writing could be so much better, some characters are underdeveloped, some are introduced only to get pushed aside, main villain lacks any real motivation.
    Gameplay mechanics are pretty straightforward - complete main story missions to move the story forward, like in GTA, however this game lacks in side    New open-world IP with an underground hacking setting and a revenge plot. The writing could be so much better, some characters are underdeveloped, some are introduced only to get pushed aside, main villain lacks any real motivation.
    Gameplay mechanics are pretty straightforward - complete main story missions to move the story forward, like in GTA, however this game lacks in side activities - there is quite a few of them but they do get old pretty fast and only keep you hooked if you're a die-hard completionist.
    The game doesn't look as pretty as the 2012 E3 demo but it's still gorgeous, certainly one of the best looking open-world games.    … Expand
  17. TGMode
    Aug 4, 2014
    8
    I've tried really hard to like this game. I like free roaming, I like driving about and shooting **** up, but I don't like this game. It is pretty rubbish. Not just the hype either. It's pretty ****e on it's own merit. GTA5 it isn't. I've tried and tried - 10+ hours but it's a dead horse and I'm through flogging. The only way I can get anything from this game is by uninstalling it andI've tried really hard to like this game. I like free roaming, I like driving about and shooting **** up, but I don't like this game. It is pretty rubbish. Not just the hype either. It's pretty ****e on it's own merit. GTA5 it isn't. I've tried and tried - 10+ hours but it's a dead horse and I'm through flogging. The only way I can get anything from this game is by uninstalling it and playing another.… Expand
  18. mileafly
    Jun 1, 2014
    8
    I think this have been the biggest turnaround in my opinion of a game ever. I first saw the footage of Watch Dogs on its press release and was totally blown away by how great it looked, it looked like one of the next truly next-gen titles. Right then it was a must play and I went into a "media blackout" of the title after that (I like to avoid seeing footage of a title I already know II think this have been the biggest turnaround in my opinion of a game ever. I first saw the footage of Watch Dogs on its press release and was totally blown away by how great it looked, it looked like one of the next truly next-gen titles. Right then it was a must play and I went into a "media blackout" of the title after that (I like to avoid seeing footage of a title I already know I will get so to not build up my hype to much)

    Now fast forward to the release date, I install the game and begin to play. Almost the first thing I notice is how bad the game looks compared to my expectations. The graphics feel sterile and the animation of characters and car physics feels very wooden. I almost give up on playing after an hour or so. I would probably score the game a 5 at this point.

    I persist to play though and after a while the game really starts to grow on me. Now I honestly think this is probably my favorite "gta clone" out there if you don't count La Noire or The Getaway.
    The mix of sneaking and shooting in combat feels very fresh and it is imo the best combat system ever in a gta style game. I even started to get used to and like the car physics after a while.

    Now while I really enjoy the game at this point there are many things that needs to be improved if I would consider this to be a 9 or even a 10. My main gripe is that the world does not really feel like a real place. It all feels very artificial in a way, the people wandering the streets don't feel like real people. The way they talk feels very "comic booky" and unreal. When news are reported on the news and the people of the street are interviewed it feels extremely wooden and amateurish, almost like when you where young and found a tape recorded and starting to tape yourself and your friends playing you where doing a newscast.

    Also the game seems to have a major identity crisis and not really trust itself. The game is full of silly mini games that does not fit at all. You can play drinking games or "find the ball under the cup" and other silly things that does not add anything of real value or feel thought out at all. There is also a bunch of minigames where you shoot VR aliens or run around collecting VR coins. I will say that the more expansive mini games where you take some kind of drug that makes you hallucinate are quite well made (at least two of them), but they still feel a bit out of place.
    There is also a feeling the developers try to hard to be "edgy" with language and sex scenes in some places that just feel out of place and just feels like they try to put in to be "cool" and "edgy" but end up being just pathetic. Also the whole conspiracy thing and shell of the game feels very comic bookie and its hard to take any of it really serious.

    All in all despite all these things I really enjoy the game and the core game mechanics are very very enjoyable. I really think a sequel that takes itself a bit more serious and adress some of the major problems could be really amazing. Also I want to throw in as a last thing that I don't understand why more games don't use the Euphoria engine that Rockstar uses in all their games. This is an engine that make everything int he world, including the player have beliviable physics. A big reason other games feels so wooden after playing a Rockstar game is the lack of using this engine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphoria_(software)    … Expand
  19. FredWallace18
    Jun 9, 2014
    8
    This game contained an insane amount of negative hype, simply because people expected it to be the future of gaming and it turned out to be a GTA clone. I've never been able to get into GTA--it's takes place in a world that's too "real" for me. Watch_Dogs on the other hand offers a Sci-Fi adventure with fun (albeit implausible) hacking, Batman-style justice, and mini-games.

    There are    This game contained an insane amount of negative hype, simply because people expected it to be the future of gaming and it turned out to be a GTA clone. I've never been able to get into GTA--it's takes place in a world that's too "real" for me. Watch_Dogs on the other hand offers a Sci-Fi adventure with fun (albeit implausible) hacking, Batman-style justice, and mini-games.

    There are issues to be sure: the graphics could use some optimization (although they are by no means the horrible ugly mess some people are claiming; try playing games from 5 years ago you 12-year-olds!), the DRM is an issue, PC controls need tweaking, and the driving could use some work. Nothing to kill the game, though.    … Expand
  20. Jebble
    Jun 1, 2014
    8
    This game feels like Assassin's Creed 1 felt at the time. The franchise has great potential and the game is pretty good, but it just misses a lot of extra's to make it completely awesome.

    I feel like Watch Dogs 2 (if ever made) will be insanely great. It's hard not to compare a game like this to the GTA franchise and GTA 5 gave us a lot that I therefor miss in Watch Dogs. Getting cars    This game feels like Assassin's Creed 1 felt at the time. The franchise has great potential and the game is pretty good, but it just misses a lot of extra's to make it completely awesome.

    I feel like Watch Dogs 2 (if ever made) will be insanely great.
    It's hard not to compare a game like this to the GTA franchise and GTA 5 gave us a lot that I therefor miss in Watch Dogs. Getting cars is too easy, there's a **** of money you can't use anywhere. There are barely any buildings to enter and there is just a lot of detailedd functions I miss. Think of property, garages, and random buildings to enter or whatever.

    For me the story was fine, gameplay is okay, could use a lot of polish with the vehicles.
    Also the cops in this game are kinda crap.

    You do A LOT of **** like stealing everyones money, but no one ever knows and youre still the good guy.
    That has to be fixed for the next version.

    Still a great game :)    … Expand
  21. steelcurtaingam
    May 27, 2014
    8
    Watch Dogs is a game that almost needs no introduction but shouldn't be taken completely lightly at all. From the start it seemed like this game would have to much hype going into its release, but once you get into the game you will start to notice the journey it takes you on isn't what you probably expected but is still breath taking and a fresh idea none the less. Being set in aWatch Dogs is a game that almost needs no introduction but shouldn't be taken completely lightly at all. From the start it seemed like this game would have to much hype going into its release, but once you get into the game you will start to notice the journey it takes you on isn't what you probably expected but is still breath taking and a fresh idea none the less. Being set in a futuristic city of Chicago I feel the best things going for Watch Dogs has to be the innovative story it has set, along with decent character developments that will keep you wanting more even after the story is over. The only things that truly held this game back from being the best it could be was due to a bit of rushed story plot lines, quality control and a tad of repetitive gameplay. None the less Watch Dogs is truly a next gen experience that you will want to play at some point and that is why I feel this game deserves a 8.5/10!… Expand
  22. Orhunkk
    Jun 16, 2014
    8
    I don't know what people expect this game to do.It's a very good open world action game with awesome graphics especially when it rains.It is really fun to play as well and I hope ubisoft will make a better one when the day comes to publish a new watch dogs game.I see a very good potential in this game and even this is the first watch dogs game it is very good.
  23. hasherr
    May 27, 2014
    8
    Well, hype was definately built up for this one and i can see why ppl cry so much around internets. Lets put that aside. This game is far from perfect, but it is still very entertaining - detailed map, nice original music, lots of fun stuff to do. You can play the game both gta style with guns blazing or do stealthy - this alone ads nice replay value. On PC game got nice AA rooster withWell, hype was definately built up for this one and i can see why ppl cry so much around internets. Lets put that aside. This game is far from perfect, but it is still very entertaining - detailed map, nice original music, lots of fun stuff to do. You can play the game both gta style with guns blazing or do stealthy - this alone ads nice replay value. On PC game got nice AA rooster with plenty other graphical options. Perf-wise it runs evenly on all cpu cores meaning it will scale well in future (not like gta4 for example sitting on 3 cores and maxing one of them). Overall it runs 40+ fps on my gtx770 with high settings, hi textures and 2xmsaa. On the negative side characters are a bit flat, storyline could have been more interesting, graphics and physics could be better - for example hair and facialhair seems just lazy. Ofc this does not mean graphics sux, its still very good looking game. Its just not mindblowing, as expected from heavly advertized next gen title. I give it 8.… Expand
  24. seosahm
    Jun 17, 2014
    8
    AMD card working fine for me; visually fine, great hacking and combat play, only marks down are for the slightly lightweight (emphasis: only slightly lightweight) plot and troublesome driving mechanics on keyboard/mouse.
  25. Eide
    May 28, 2014
    8
    As always the community is much more negative than the game deserves. It's quite a solid game, if overly simplistic in its approach to hacking.

    The game revolves around the main character using his magic phone to get around in the city of Chicago. As said, the approach is very simplistic but still fun as you walk around, learning tidbits, watching along with camera's a learn the secrets    As always the community is much more negative than the game deserves. It's quite a solid game, if overly simplistic in its approach to hacking.

    The game revolves around the main character using his magic phone to get around in the city of Chicago. As said, the approach is very simplistic but still fun as you walk around, learning tidbits, watching along with camera's a learn the secrets the city has to offer. Movement, combat and usage of the phone feels solid and well developed. Driving however is woefully undeveloped and can't even stand in the shade of GTA or Saints' Row. The driving aspect of this game in reality needs to a rework and deserves to be patched asap.

    The city feels ok. People are less extreme than they are in GTA but in my opinion they reflect reality better than GTA pulls that off. To continue with the obvious comparison to GTA, story progression is similar with different " acts", each with a set of missions. WD offers missions along the side like its competition. Do jobs for fixers, prevent crimes etc and do mini-games. The mini-games are hit or miss. You like them or never look at them. The side jobs feel fine, have bearing to what the main character us doing and preventing crimis does feel rewarding.

    There's a lot of complaints about performance. On my AMD Athlon 3Ghz, ATI HD7770 and 8Gb Ram setup the game runs flawlessly on medium settings. I haven't tried running it higher but considering my system is quite outdated I was pleasantly surprised by the game's performance.

    Conclusion
    It's not as huge or polished as GTA V, but Watch_Dogs is a good game in it's own right. It does al sorts of stuff very, very well but is held back by the underdeveloped driving aspect and simplistic approach to hacking, both in terms of gameplay as in terms of ethical considerations.    … Expand
  26. robbena13
    Jun 4, 2014
    8
    da it is a good game a playable game but requirements u know too much heavy infact story is interesting u r occupied in the game for hours so so,characters are good and most importantly game is full of action , a gud and a gud and a gud game for me
  27. Shykz
    May 30, 2014
    8
    If you enter this game with the intent of playing GTA5: Hacker Edition DLC, you will be unpleasantly surprised. The best comparison I would give this game is to Assassins Creed 1, this game is solid w/ a lot of potential, and its sequel will make the most of that potential and be phenomenal, but the original will just remain solid.

    Positives: - Hacking is fresh and fun - Upgrade    If you enter this game with the intent of playing GTA5: Hacker Edition DLC, you will be unpleasantly surprised. The best comparison I would give this game is to Assassins Creed 1, this game is solid w/ a lot of potential, and its sequel will make the most of that potential and be phenomenal, but the original will just remain solid.

    Positives:
    - Hacking is fresh and fun
    - Upgrade system is well done
    - A lot of fun extra's to do (Such as Digital Trips)
    - Solid Voice Acting
    - A city which feels 'alive'
    - Enjoyable Multiplayer
    - Good music system
    - Generally interesting story
    - Fantastic Gunplay

    Mediocre Gameplay Elements:
    - The graphics are decent (rarely detract from the experience), but could be a LOT better
    - Sometimes generic missions
    - Limited Player Customization

    Negatives:
    - Stiff Driving
    - Abysmal Uplay Multiplayer Servers
    - No Car Customization
    - Occasionally poor AI

    Additional Thoughts: I have enjoyed my time so far with watch dogs, I have put in about 20 hours, it does start a little slowly, but it picks up later on and the story-line gets fairly interesting.

    Overall: 8.5
    A great start to an awesome new franchise, but the potential wasted is unfortunate. Most likely the sequel will be immensely better.    … Expand
  28. FlareFL
    Jan 16, 2021
    8
    It's a good game, not as good as GTA series games, but this is the Ubisoft game after all.
    I hope that in the following part of this game Ubisoft will improve physics of damages of cars, will make driving by more realistic, will work with shadows and reflections more carefully.
  29. Pinkbeaver
    May 30, 2014
    8
    This is, truly, the end of PC gaming as we know it.

    And, it's not only various developers and publishers fault. It's the typical user's fault too. User's which were raised using consoles and now they demand the same level of compatibility and ease when using their high-end PC systems. (systems often not configured correctly) A lot of people bought it without knowing about 64bit    This is, truly, the end of PC gaming as we know it.

    And, it's not only various developers and publishers fault. It's the typical user's fault too. User's which were raised using consoles and now they demand the same level of compatibility and ease when using their high-end PC systems. (systems often not configured correctly)

    A lot of people bought it without knowing about 64bit requirement, not knowing that the ultra textures are optimized to work in 4k resolutions.(not MUCH difference between high and ultra on 1080p monitor)
    Geforce tweaking guide (which some people show to each other as proof that nvidia knew of the supposed bad optimization) is nothing more than guidelines for making the game look prettier.

    I even saw some youtube videos showing users shooting every npc on the street, and saying to the listeners: "I can't find any fun in this game.i'm looking for some fun, but i cant find any! *Boom*Boom* Maybe five more minutes and something fun will come out of it!"

    The game is solid, the plot is a little cheesy, but what do you expect in this day and age?
    (times with best selling AAA action games without any plot at all)
    The graphics are very nice, LOD's are beautiful, light reflections are gorgeous, i didnt saw ONE ugly texture (on high). Water rendering is quite pretty.
    That said, there is something wrong with dynamic shadows, there ARE shadows from small light sources
    but the dynamic shade for the city is somewhat lacking, (eg The shadows are not moving dynamically with the sun, but rather have stages) and there are no shadows cast when walking through the front of a car with lights on. (GTA IV had them)
    Finally, the game adds some nice new options and ideas to your classic city GTA-ish experience.
    The hacking really finds its place in the sandbox universe, from slowly setting-up the traps using the cameras, to dynamically influencing the infrastructure in high speed chase.

    The only thing that scared me off is this dubstep-ish feel to mini games ("digital experiences"),
    bit like in the last Saints Row game. It looks like the game was in production for a long time, and they
    added (after the shocking success of Saits Row IV) some teenage arcade touches (breaks the realism
    of the game a bit, but nothing excessively brain-dead)

    I, personally, can't imagine an objective point of view from witch i would give this game anyting less than 5/10. Anything less than 5(maybe 4) is trolling or frustartion from first-week technical problems, or AMD owners with little patience for driver fixes.
    I remember the same problem few years ago with EA's The Saboteur (sandbox city simulation too), which hated ATI cards, and was unplayable (i owned one at the time), but the users Metacritic score is 8.0 !!!

    There is something wrong with common PC user. If you expect plug and play - type of games, stick to the consoles, if you don't have the energy needed to make PC games look their best (by fiddling with driver options, using beta drivers, comparing different graphic levels, using the web to learn how to utilize the power of your hyper-powerfull setups) why bother buying expensive PC's?

    I would give it 10, if not for the publisher problems (uplay is horrible), too much marketing, and giving all these moronic promises about 60fps and next-next-gen graphics.

    The game runs on High textures, Ultra quality all options switched on - all besides shadows (high),
    TXAA x4. My setup is i5-2400, geforce GTX 660, 8gb Ram. No SSD. Around 30 FPS, maybe less, the trade-off is worth it, TXAA 4x really takes the textures to the next level (even distant ones).

    If you want to play with Ultra textures, and you have similar PC to mine, buy SSD drive. It takes the hiccups away even with 2GB vram.

    I found only one irritating bug - the textures and the shader sometimes break, and surfaces become transparent (you can see things behind the textures). But changing the resolution reloads the shader, and everything comes back to normal.    … Expand
  30. pekmatyi
    Jun 6, 2014
    8
    This game reminds me of the first Gothic. The car control and physics are far worse then in GTA, but still it only bothers you in the first one two ours, when you get used to it, you will forget who bad it was for the first time. I recommend this game only because the game play, because it gave me a new feel, in other ways it didn't give me anything new. Average game, interesting game playThis game reminds me of the first Gothic. The car control and physics are far worse then in GTA, but still it only bothers you in the first one two ours, when you get used to it, you will forget who bad it was for the first time. I recommend this game only because the game play, because it gave me a new feel, in other ways it didn't give me anything new. Average game, interesting game play that can be developed further.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
20
#20 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 3, 2014
    79
    Ubisoft's flagship title has a really, really repulsive protagonist. The entire storyline feels like it was cranked out of a automated story generator. On the positive side, Watch Dogs looks really good on PC, especially after modding the graphics to match the visual splendor of the early E3 demos. [Aug 2014]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 29, 2014
    70
    There are some strong gameplay elements in Watch Dogs, but overall it's merely an adequate open world game. [July 2014, p.46]
  3. GameCritics
    Jun 23, 2014
    80
    Nothing could have realistically lived up to the immense level of hype that Ubisoft stirred up for this game, and while I value strong narratives and envelope-pushing technological advancements, I place just as much importance in the ability to enjoy the gameplay that's being offered to me. Watch Dogs is one of the more exciting sandbox games of the last few years, and if this is to become Ubisoft's next big franchise, I'm excited to see where they take it.
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