Watch Dogs 2 was a welcomed surprise. It’s a game that built on the foundation of it’s less loved predecessor in order create a fun, colourful and deep gaming experience. Now, Ubisoft has released a new DLC for Watch Dogs 2, titled Human Condition. So get ready for some more hacking and sneaking in beautiful San Francisco.
Human Condition is more of the same but does throw in one or two new elements to mix things up a bit. The DLC consists of three new mission chains and one new co-op mission, along with some emotes and clothing to kit Marcus out.
Without spoiling too much, each new mission chain follows the same core experience from the main game and, while the stories themselves can seem a bit shallow at times, they do give you enough of a reason to sneak, hack and cause all-around chaos. The new mission chains only unlock once you’ve reached a certain part of the main storyline or if you have completed the full game. And while each mission is a self-contained story, it does tie back into the main narrative.
The first of these missions, titled Automata, centres around self-driving cars that are being developed by Nudle (that company that is definitely not Google). It’s great to see Watch Dogs 2 continuing to focus on technologies that are relevant in our everyday lives. And while this might seem like a straightforward premise at first, the team soon discovers that there is something much more sinister to these self-driving cars.
You see, when an accident takes place, these cars use an algorithm that determines who is worth saving, deciding who’s life is worth more. I actually found myself stopping and really thinking about this as it sets up quite a few fascinating moral questions in real-life. There are some interesting set pieces in the mission, like being trapped in one of the self-driving cars while being chased by the cops, which made for some exhilarating gameplay.
The second mission, Bad Medicine, sees the team joining forces with a returning character from the first Watch Dogs game. Yes, everyone’s favourite homicidal killer Jordi is back and this time he’s teaming up with Marcus and the gang. The mission sees a group of Russian hackers hijacking a hospital’s software and basically holding it for ransom. Along with the tried and tested Watch Dogs 2 formula of sneaking around and hacking stuff, Bad Medicine also tries to mix things up by adding in some basic platforming as Marcus traverses his environment in order to reach the hospital’s servers. Players will also have to deal with Jordi taking shots at anything that explodes which hopefully distracts the Russians from finding Marcus.
Although it did feel at times that Jordi’s homicidal and sometimes cruel personality didn’t fit in well next to the colourful cast of Watch Dogs 2, it was great seeing a returning character from the original game.
Lastly, there is Caustic Progress, a mission that sees a villain from the main storyline joining forces with Marcus in order top do some good. Rival hacker Lenni needs Marcus and the team’s help in order to stop a medical organisation from kidnapping homeless people and injecting them with nanotech for experimentation purposes. While the story might not be original it was refreshing seeing and learning more about Lenni who came across as a two-dimensional villain in the main storyline.
As the shortest of the three missions, Caustic Progress tends to follow the same gameplay formula that players have become familiar with – you sneak, you hack, and you occasionally run.
The Human Condition DLC also adds a new enemy type into the mix called a Jammer. These guys carry equipment that creates a jamming field around them that prevents Marcus from hacking anything in their vicinity. These new enemies do force you to change things up a bit as you find ways of dealing with them.
Overall, the missions do have some interesting narrative beats, but most of it tends to be forgettable. Human Condition won’t change how you feel about Watch Dogs 2 much. If you loved the main game and enjoyed sneaking, hacking and planning, then the DLC does an admiral job of giving more of what you love, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
