$2.50 Steam Sale Has Everyone Smashing The Surveillance State



One of Ubisoft’s most underrated games, Watch Dogs 2, is on a super steep sale on Steam right now. So steep, in fact, that it seems to have inspired a new crop of folks to trawl through the technocratic world of digitized San Francisco to put an end to the surveillance state at a time when we’re all under some sort of surveillance IRL.

Over on the game’s Steam store page, you can pick Watch Dogs 2 for just $2.50 until Thursday, July 9. That’s a 95% discount for a game that normally retails for $50. And that’s just the base game! If you wanted to grab the DLC–which includes new cars, co-op adventures, outfits, weapons, world missions, and more–then you can snatch up either the Deluxe Edition for $3 or the Gold Edition for $4. Really, no matter how you look at it, this is a steal for the game.

Likely as a result of this nearly five-finger discount for a game that launched in November 2016, Watch Dogs 2’s player count has soared. According to player tracker SteamDB, over 10,000 people are playing it right now, and it saw a 24-hour peak of over 16,000 people. These numbers are steadily encroaching on Watch Dogs 2’s all-time concurrent high of 18,138 players. That’s impressive for a nine-year-old game.

The game’s surging popularity also makes a lot of sense considering the themes it tackles. As the Oakland-native Marcus Holloway, you get racially profiled and wrongfully accused of a high-tech robbery. This incident causes Marcus, an up-and-coming hacker, to join the hacker group DedSec–an Anonymous-esque collective hellbent on dismantling the technocracy ruling Ubisoft’s San Francisco Bay Area. Through a series of hijinks, all meant to raise DedSec’s clout, you confront the billionaires and the technology that’s making life hell for the digital city’s population. It’s a riveting narrative with a protagonist that’s very Black and very fun.

There are a lot of debates around whether we’re in a surveillance state at the moment. However, given the rampant use of AI, the overreliance on systems that all communicate with one another–think of smart homes–and the infrastructure that makes all of this technology run, it’s not hard to conclude that someone could be surveilling you. A cyberattack can occur in which a hacker gains access to, say, your webcam to watch you, making your “private” home much less so. In any event, it makes for good gameplay opportunities

In GameSpot’s Watch Dogs 2 review, we awarded the game an 8/10, calling it an “effortless mix of covert and action-oriented gameplay [with] a likeable cast that knows how to have fun in their own way.” That’s exactly what you get when you play Watch Dogs 2, which is one of those games that’s hard to put down despite some conflicting narrative decisions.

Now’s a great time to pick it up, especially if you hate the government surveilling you.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    A game dev spent 40 days in the wilderness to make this new Steam survival game

    I’ve always wondered how I’d fare in a survival situation. Lost in the woods, with no food or water, how long would I last? Would I make good choices? Could…

    The people of video games on what gives them cause for hope

    Hello and welcome to one of our final pieces for Optimism Week here on Eurogamer. This time, we’ve turned to the industry itself for some answers, and as such I’m…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Lenovo confirms Legion Go issues after gamers report bricked devices

    Lenovo confirms Legion Go issues after gamers report bricked devices

    Brydon Carse: Michael Vaughan says England need punishment to ‘send a shiver’

    Brydon Carse: Michael Vaughan says England need punishment to ‘send a shiver’

    Photos: JetBlue Opens Chic 12,000 Square Foot Boston BlueHouse Lounge

    Photos: JetBlue Opens Chic 12,000 Square Foot Boston BlueHouse Lounge

    Home-testing kits now available for women who have missed cervical screening

    Home-testing kits now available for women who have missed cervical screening

    Looking at BC Hydro

    ‘Getting no help’: Thousands in Gary, Indiana, still without power nearly 2 weeks after storms

    ‘Getting no help’: Thousands in Gary, Indiana, still without power nearly 2 weeks after storms