Although I finished Watch Dogs Legion, the story was not as memorable as I hoped. I loved building a Dedsec team and using their strengths, but characters were mostly shallow due to the “recruit” everyone schtick. It was clear exactly what I was missing, after finishing Watch Dogs Legion Bloodline DLC. I loved the depth of the characters in the DLC and bringing together parts of the previous games.
Watch Dogs Legion Main Game Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- The power to recruit anyone in the base game was a lot of fun, at least the first half the game.
- The flexibility that recruiting anyone provides to finish missions is fantastic (ex. go John Wick style with a hitman or just sneak in with a uniformed cop or gang member).
- In parts of the city at night there was great lighting, it looked gorgeous with the ray traced reflections.
Weaknesses
- Recruiting anyone loses some of its luster after seeing similar back profiles after awhile.
- The sheer number of possible recruits prevents a deep back story.
- The city is boring after awhile and doesn’t consistently look great.
- Performance is much better after, but still seems a bit “janky”. It’s much more noticeable after playing AC Valhalla.
Watch Dogs Legion Bloodline DLC Story
Graphics and Performance are the same as the base game, but Bloodline vastly improves on character development and story. The focus on a small set of characters keeps things more intimate and tight. Those characters feature Aiden Pearce and Wrench!
Aiden Pearce
The hero of the original Watch Dogs game. There was a side mission in the Legion’s main game to save Aiden, but it was just a taste of things to come in the DLC. After the events of the original Watch Dogs game, Aiden Pearce went on the run. In this DLC, he takes a job to steal tech in England. He’s a cranky old man now filled with regrets of choices he made in the first game.
He arrives after the London bombing in the main game (tutorial), but before the reemergence of Dedsec (main missions). His estranged nephew, Jackson, also happens to live in London. The job goes South due to Wrench interfering in Aiden’s job and it endangers his nephew Jackson Pearce (Jax for short).
Thomas Rempart plays the big bad, a spoiled rich kid taking credit for other’s ideas. After Wrench steals the Broca Bridge out from under Aiden, Rempart demands Aiden get it back. The Broca bridge is a an advanced Brain Computer Interface (BCI) Rempart wants to control his robots. BCI is a popular subject in science now, so it’s a great plot device.
Aiden’s Skill and Weapons
To help track down Wrench, Aiden Pearce has a few new tools.
- A Baton and Gun Combo skill for fancy melee to gun play combos.
- Gunslinger provides a powerful buff when reloads are timed correctly.
- Systems Crash was my favorite of the bunch. It temporarily disables all electronics within a block or so. It’s perfect for sneaking and getting away.
- Aiden also acquires a Multi-Drone able to transform between spider drone (ground) and quadcopter (aerial). It can also airlift small items. Solving hacking puzzles is a lot more fun with this drone.
To help prepare for various missions, Jackson provides resistance contacts. Aiden completes missions for each and unlocks hacks, weapons, etc.. They all feel like part of the story and the rewards are decent. Pretty good as far as side mission go. There’s even a set that ends with leaving a resistance member, Angel, in lock up where he dies later in the main game.
Wrench
Wrench was a super nerdy side kick in Watch Dogs 2. His trademark look was a spiked leather jacket and LED facemask. That facemask covered his pale white face and the red birthmark over his eye. He’s also well known for his unhealthy obsession with robots. It was a whole thing in the 2nd game.
In this DLC, he stole the Broca bridge before Aiden could, and escaped with his excellent cargo drone. He did help Aiden escape the clutches of Rempart, but spent most of the game hiding from Aiden. Turns out Wrench created a startup company that Rempart invested in, then stole his tech. Wrench wanted revenge.
Once Aiden finds Wrench, he sets off a chain of events that end with Aiden Pearce injured and in a coma. With Aiden down for the count and Jackson at his side, it was time to take control of Wrench. He had a whole different set of skills.
Wrench Skills and Weapons
His specialty skills include:
- Summon Sergei to fetch his badass cargo drone.
- Ninja Balls, LTL flashbangs, to distract enemies.
- Weapons include a non-lethal SMG called Princess-Rat-tat-tat and a non-lethal grenade launcher called Captain Boom Boom. Both weapons can stun enemies and hack targets it hits.
- Lady Smash, his weapon of choice, is a big hammer. For a scrawny hacker, he’s brutal with that hammer. He often hits enemies in the crotch before knocking them out with another swing or two.
He spends a few missions gathering supplies to save Aiden Pearce. That included talking to Skye Larson, from the main game (remember this is a prequel story). There’s also a few side fixer missions Wrench takes up in Aiden’s place.
It’s funny listening to the banter between the fixer, Jordi Chin, and Wrench. Jordi does not appreciate all the weird things Wrench says and how much he tries to hit on him.
Watch Dogs Legion Bloodline DLC Better Than the Main Game
Once Skye Larson got involved, I knew I was in for another strange dream sequence. To help Aiden Pearce recover from his coma, she convinced Wrench and Jackson to make him her guinea pig. That’s where I took control of Jackson Pearce and basically hacked Aiden’s mind.
It was actual a great part of the story to dig into Aiden’s mind and help him bury his regrets. These dream-like sequences add needed depth to Aiden Pearce. After he recovered, I realized this sequence helped Skye Larson start off her evil plans that come later in the main game.
With the band back together, our end game was to attack Rempart’s container ship and destroy his 2nd generation battle robot. Shooting at armor pieces while continuous waves of enemies poured in was tough. The end involved Albion arresting Rempart and taking his tech to start their evil plans in the main game.
The real treat for me was the final fixer mission. Marcus Halloway, main character from the 2nd game, surprised Wrench with a fun set of missions. It involved completing several stunts in a car meant for the next Jimmy Siska movie, a Tom Cruise like star from the 2nd game.
It was a great callback to the 2nd game and a nod to fans that hoped for Marcus to show up in the DLC. My hope is this DLC is the start of future content that improves on the original game.