Play Watch Dogs 2, because it is the better game and it is not particularly close, even though Legion had a clever idea in letting you recruit and play as anyone in London, and that idea came at the cost of the characters and the story that made Watch Dogs 2 so good. I have over 200 videos on San Francisco, and I lost an afternoon in Legion recruiting a little old lady and causing havoc, which is exactly the kind of daft fun the series should offer, and I still could not name her in the morning. Both are fun, and only one has heart, which is a verdict I reached by playing both rather than by waiting for the internet to pick a side for me.
I have built entire videos out of starting a quiet data heist in Watch Dogs 2 and finishing it sprinting down a hill with two gangs and a helicopter arguing behind me, and that is the San Francisco I keep coming back for. Legion’s London is a near-future city under an authoritarian boot, with drones everywhere, and you can walk up to almost any NPC, recruit them, and play as them, which as a piece of technology is clever and as a story is a roster. I came off 2 buzzing because I liked the crew, and I came off Legion shrugging because I had been managing a menu, which is the difference between a city you remember and a system you operated.
The split, if you want it in a table
| Watch Dogs 2 | Watch Dogs Legion | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | San Francisco Bay Area | Near-future London |
| You play as | Marcus and the DedSec crew | Anyone you recruit in the city |
| Big idea | A crew with real personality | Play as literally anyone |
| Tone | Warm, funny, likeable | Colder, more scattered |
| Story | Focused and full of heart | Spread thin across everyone |
| Free roam | Superb, a proper playground | Fun, technically clever |
| WillyB’s pick | The one to play | Fun, but a step down |
What I thought Legion was going to add
Watch Dogs 2 got the most important thing right, because it made you care, and Marcus and the DedSec crew are a likeable, funny group you actually want to spend time with, while the tone is bright and playful and San Francisco is a brilliant sandbox that turns every mission into potential chaos. It is one of the most genuinely fun open worlds Ubisoft has ever made, and I say that as someone with well over 200 videos on it, because it has personality, and personality is the thing that sticks with you long after the missions blur together. Steam still sells the hacking, and what sold me is the crew, which is the part I am still launching the game for.
Legion’s headline idea is genuinely impressive, a persistent near-future London where you can walk up to almost any NPC, recruit them, and play as them, each with their own traits and gear, and as a piece of technology and systemic design it is clever, while mucking about with it in free roam is a good time. Recruiting a little old lady and then causing havoc is exactly the kind of daft fun the series should offer, and I lost an afternoon to precisely that, which I also wrote up as the sale-price version of that shrug in is Watch Dogs Legion worth it in 2026. On a sale, as a toy, yes, and as the successor to 2, no, which is the same afternoon wearing two different prices.
I was already on the rooftop
The internet has decided, in that particular way the internet decides, that Watch Dogs 2 was secretly the good one all along, and that Legion is the hollow one, which is fine, because I was already here. The 2026 player spike on 2, which I unpacked in why Watch Dogs 2 is having a resurgence, is people arriving at a conclusion I filmed two hundred times, and people follow a sale, while they also follow a wait for GTA 6, and I try to follow the session. If Legion is the high point for you because play-as-anyone is the toy you wanted, good, and if both are just Ubisoft cities with phones, that is a fair shrug too.
My take is smaller than either of those headlines, because for one more evening I would rather be on a rooftop in San Francisco with Marcus than cycling operatives in London. It is a pattern I have felt across a few of Ubisoft’s newer sequels, where the systems came at the cost of the soul, and by letting you play as anyone, Legion ended up with no one, since there is no Marcus, no crew, and no single character to anchor the story. The whole thing feels emotionally flat compared with what came before, because you are managing a roster instead of living a story, and I could not name a single operative I played as in Legion while I can still name half the DedSec crew.
It is fun in the moment and forgettable afterwards, which is the exact opposite of Watch Dogs 2, and Legion is not a bad game, though it followed one of Ubisoft’s most beloved open worlds and quietly stripped out the part people loved most. I can enjoy the London toy and still miss the crew, because the little old lady I spent an afternoon recruiting is someone I still could not name in the morning.
Which one I would play first
Play Watch Dogs 2 first, no question, because it is the stronger game, the better introduction to what the series does well, and the one you will remember, and if you finish it and want more, then pick up Legion for the London sandbox and the play-as-anyone toy box. Go in with your expectations set correctly, as a clever playground rather than a successor with the same heart, which is how the second game stays fun once the first one has spoiled you. Watch Dogs 2 is the high point of this series and one of the most underrated open worlds going, while Legion is a fun experiment that traded character for a gimmick, and it is a smaller game for it, so if you only play one, make it 2, every time.
For the full case on why 2 is worth your money, see is Watch Dogs 2 worth it in 2026 and why Watch Dogs 2 is having a resurgence, and for Legion on its own terms, read is Watch Dogs Legion worth it in 2026. The full run lives on the Watch Dogs 2 hub, which is where the hill, the helicopter, and the crew are still arguing.
FAQ
Which is better, Watch Dogs 2 or Watch Dogs Legion?
Watch Dogs 2 is the better game, comfortably, and I have over 200 videos on San Francisco and I can still name half the DedSec crew, while Legion's play-as-anyone gimmick is impressive technically and I could not name a single operative I played as. Both are fun, and only one has heart, which is the one I keep launching when I actually want an evening rather than a toy.
Should I play Watch Dogs 2 or Legion first?
Play Watch Dogs 2 first, because it is the stronger game and the better introduction to what the series does well, and come to Legion afterwards if you want more, specifically if a persistent London where you can recruit and play as anyone appeals as a sandbox. Go in expecting a toy rather than a sequel with the same heart, which is the expectation that stops Legion feeling like a betrayal and lets it be a daft afternoon.
Is Watch Dogs Legion a bad game?
No, it is a fun game with a genuinely impressive central idea, and the problem is comparative, because it followed one of the most likeable open worlds Ubisoft ever made, and by spreading its story across dozens of interchangeable characters it lost the personality I actually cared about. It is fun, but a step down, and I still play it as a toy box rather than as a story I would retell in the morning.
What is the difference between Watch Dogs 2 and Legion?
Watch Dogs 2 is a story-driven game where you play as Marcus with the DedSec crew in San Francisco, with fixed, well-written characters, while Legion is set in a near-future London where you recruit and switch between any NPC in the city, so there is no single hero. Legion trades character depth for systemic freedom, and I missed the crew the whole time, which is a review I can give without pretending the London toy is not clever.
Are Watch Dogs 2 and Legion connected?
They are both part of the DedSec hacking universe and share the same broad world and themes, but they tell separate stories in different cities with different casts, so you do not need to play one to understand the other. Playing 2 first still gives you the better version of the series' ideas, which is why I send people there first even when they only asked about London.
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