Ubisoft's best open world isn't in Assassin's Creed or Far Cry, but in Watch Dogs 2

The original Watch Dogs was an all-time stinker. Released back in 2014, it represented the absolute nadir of Ubisoft open-world design. It was a dour, joyless slog that had no idea how to actually engage with any of the themes or ideas raised by its near future Big Tech Dystopia setting. The protagonist – Aiden Dogs – instantly became the poster boy for bland, uninspired leading men in videogames. The whole thing reeked of a design by committee obligation created solely to hype the potential...