Yes, the original Watch Dogs is worth buying in 2026, as long as you go in for the right reasons, because it is the grittiest, most serious game in the trilogy, its Chicago still feels genuinely lived-in, and the hacking sandbox has aged better than the game’s reputation. Just do not expect the story to carry you, since Aiden Pearce is one of the flattest protagonists Ubisoft has ever written, and I say that as someone who happily sank a whole modded playthrough back into this game and still came out liking the city more than the man.
I went back in for Watch Dogs changed A LOT since I last played it with a living-world overhaul and a natural lighting pack, and the city genuinely looked and behaved like the remaster we were promised over a decade ago. Smarter AI, unscripted street events, the ctOS actually fighting back, five-star chases that felt alive, and turning a busy junction into a pile-up to lose a helicopter still made me laugh, while pinging every phone on a street to pick a mark still felt like a superpower. Then Aiden growled another line about family and I remembered why I usually send people to the sequel first, which is the whole review hiding inside one evening.
What I thought the original was, once I was back in it
It launched on 26 May 2014, developed and published by Ubisoft, and it is set in a version of Chicago run by a central operating system called ctOS, where you play Aiden Pearce, a hacker chasing revenge after a family tragedy, and your phone is your main weapon. You hack traffic lights, raise bollards to wreck a police chase, drain someone’s bank account at a cash machine, and blackout the whole city grid, and it is a third-person open-world action game with driving, gunplay and stealth bolted around that hacking hook. According to its Steam page it now sits at Mostly Positive overall, with recent reviews running Very Positive at around 82 percent, and a Metacritic score of 77.
The numbers tell the same story I will, a flawed launch that has quietly grown into a game people are glad they played, so buy it for the world and the systems, and do not buy it for the plot, which is the whole review in one line and still the line I use. The hacking sandbox is still the best thing here, and for a 2014 game the city is dense, because people talk, jog, busk, argue, and the profiler feeds you a little line about everyone you point your phone at. It makes Chicago feel populated rather than decorated, which is more than I can say for plenty of newer, emptier open worlds, and the story is the weak leg, since the revenge plot is predictable and Aiden has the charisma of wet cardboard, to borrow the phrase every retrospective reaches for. He broods, he growls, and you never quite care, so if you need a protagonist to root for, this is not your game, and I would rather say that before you buy it for a man who will not meet you halfway.
The downgrade, and the evening I went back anyway
You cannot talk about Watch Dogs without the downgrade, because the 2012 E3 reveal looked spectacular, the 2014 release did not, and that gulf soured a lot of goodwill on day one, so out of the box in 2026 it looks its age. The internet decided, in that particular way the internet decides, that this was the broken promise of a generation, and then it decided Watch Dogs 2 was secretly the good one all along, which is fine, because I was already in San Francisco. I also went back to Chicago with mods and refused to wait until it was fashionable to say the sandbox still works, and people follow the downgrade, while they also follow the recast that says 2 is the only one worth launching.
I try to follow the session, so this 3.5 is not me agreeing with a 77, it is me coming off a five-star chase buzzing and still not pretending Aiden is a person. If the original is a redemption arc for you once the lighting pack is on, good, and if it is still a grey revenge game with a dull hero, that is a fair shrug too, while my take is smaller than either of those headlines. For one more evening in Chicago, the city is still the reason, and the good news for PC players is the mod scene, because when I went back in, smarter AI and unscripted street events clawed a lot of that promised look back. If you are on PC, treat mods as part of the recommendation rather than an afterthought, and if you are on console, you are playing the 2014 game, which you should know before you buy.
Where it sits once the other two are in the room
If you are new to the series, the real question is which one to boot, so the version I actually use is the one in the table, and it has not changed just because Chicago looks better with a lighting pack.
| Game | Best for | Tone | My take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watch Dogs (2014) | Origins, grounded grit | Dark, serious | The moody one. Great world, dull hero. |
| Watch Dogs 2 | Pure fun, best sandbox | Bright, playful | Still the one I hand people first. |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | Boldest idea (play as anyone) | Slick, hollow | Clever system, thin story. |
For most players I still point at Watch Dogs 2 first, because it is the most enjoyable open world of the three, and there is a reason it is having a genuine resurgence right now. Legion is worth it too if the play-as-anyone hook grabs you, and I broke down that whole gap in Watch Dogs 2 vs Legion. The original earns its place as the darkest, most grounded entry and the one that started it all, which is not the same as being the one I would start you on, and I am keeping those two compliments in different rooms on purpose.
Who should buy Chicago, and who should start in the sun
Buy Watch Dogs in 2026 if you want a grounded, hacking-led city sandbox, you care about where the series came from, and you are on PC where mods can drag it forward a decade. Wait for a sale, because it drops well below its roughly 18 pound full price often, and there is no reason to pay full whack for an eleven-year-old game when the same streets turn up cheaper every few weeks. Skip it if you mainly play for story and characters, or if you have never touched the series, in which case start with Watch Dogs 2 and come back to the original later if you fall for the world, which is the order I would use if you only have one evening and a sale tab open.
It is also a perfectly reasonable pick if you are just filling the wait before GTA 6, though it is not my top choice there, and if you want the fuller list I ranked my favourites in the best open-world games in 2026, while the countdown to the big one lives on the GTA 6 HQ. Either way, the origin story of this whole series still runs, and the full notes, the old videos and the mod setups live on the Watch Dogs hub.
FAQ
Is Watch Dogs worth playing in 2026?
Yes, the original Watch Dogs is worth playing in 2026 if you want the grittiest, most grounded game in the trilogy and you care about where the series started, because the hacking sandbox and the density of Chicago hold up well. Go in for the world and the systems rather than the story, and it is an easy recommend at its usual sale price, though I would not start you here if you have never touched the series.
Is the original Watch Dogs better than Watch Dogs 2 or Legion?
It depends what you want, because the original Watch Dogs is the darkest and most serious, Watch Dogs 2 is the most fun and the best open world of the three, which is why I still send most people there first, and Legion has the boldest idea, play as anyone, with a hollow story. For pure enjoyment I am not pretending 2014 wins, and I would rather you enjoy San Francisco before you come back to Chicago for the origin.
How is the story in Watch Dogs?
The story in Watch Dogs is weak, because the revenge plot is predictable and the protagonist Aiden Pearce has almost no personality, which is the game's biggest flaw, since he broods, he growls, and I never quite cared. You play Watch Dogs for the sandbox and the setting rather than for the writing, and that gap is exactly why I usually steer people to the sequel first.
Does Watch Dogs still look good in 2026?
Out of the box Watch Dogs is a 2014 game and it shows, partly because of the infamous downgrade from the E3 reveal, so on its own it looks its age. On PC, lighting and living-world mods claw a lot of that promised look back, which is exactly what I did in my modded playthrough, and if you are on PC I would treat mods as part of the recommendation rather than as an afterthought you find later.
How much does Watch Dogs cost and is it single player?
Watch Dogs is a single-player open world with optional online modes, priced around 18 pounds full and much less on sale, which is where you should buy it, and it has no PvP you are forced into and no live-service grind, so you own it and play at your own pace. I would not pay full whack for an eleven-year-old game, not when the sale does the same Chicago for sandwich logic.
Should I play Watch Dogs before GTA 6?
Watch Dogs is a fair pick before GTA 6 if you want a grounded, hacking-flavoured city sandbox to fill the wait, though Watch Dogs 2 or Red Dead Redemption 2 are the stronger open-world time-killers. I was already in San Francisco, and Chicago is the origin story rather than the warm-up I would hand most people, which is the honest order if you only have so many evenings.
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