20 Games Like Watch Dogs
Our assembled list of games like Watch Dogs offers other diverse open world action adventures where you can explore, drive, hack and sneak through a quest driven storyline.
Watch Dogs is a series of action adventure games based on the modern technological world of the future which first launched in 2014. Offering a wealth of open world content Watch Dogs features a familiar formula of exploration and side activities alongside the main questline. While this questline is different in each game recurring themes include large companies full of corporate corruption, criminal organisations and hacking of the central Operating System (ctOS) that runs the city and stores citizen personal information across several fictionalised cities.
This ctOS network is also vital to your own story allowing you to hack the city to help with combat or puzzle solving by accessing cameras, obtaining information or controlling traffic. Other core gameplay elements of Watch Dogs includes stealth mechanics, driving, fighting and shooting with an arsenal of weapons. During these activities players will need to ensure they don't bring unwanted attention from authorities by being caught performing illegal activities.
The games like Watch Dogs featured below have similar open world elements with a focus on other games that offer stealth or hacking over direct confrontation as you complete your main questline or various side activities.
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an older game with a cyberpunk theme which blends action, role playing, stealth and first person shooting into a single story heavy adventure. Highly rated amongst fans and critics the success of the first game has seen the lore, world and mechanics revived in a number of subsequent games in the Deus Ex universe. Deus Ex is set in a futuristic world during 2052 where conspiracies and a number of different government agencies are threatening to tear the world apart as they fight for co...[Read Review]
Yakuza 0
Taking you back in time to a Tokyo of 1988 Yakuza 0 is as an action adventure title that serves as a prequel to the various other Yazuka titles. Focusing on fictionalised recreations of areas such as Shinjuku Golden Gai and Kabukicho there is plenty of Tokyo to explore in this sixth adventure into the world of Yakuza. Originally launched in Japan in 2015 it took two years for the game to come to North America and Europe although the PS3 release remained a Japan exclusive. Starting the story deep...[Read Review]
The Saboteur
The Saboteur explores a different setting to most open world action adventure titles with a World War II theme that has players trying to sabotage everything within reach to help the war effort. With a setting that the genre hasn’t touched before you’re guaranteed a unique adventure as you play on Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game focuses on Paris during its Nazi occupation with players taking on the role of Sean Devlin as he attempts to sabotage the Nazi’s from within as...[Read Review]
Prototype 2
Prototype 2 offers a mixture of open world gameplay and action adventure with a fun and powerful twist within the core mechanics. Originally published for consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) in early 2012 Prototype 2 was eventually brought to Windows and the next generation of consoles (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One). While there are clear similarities and a story link to the original Prototype (released in 2009) the main character for this adventure is entirely different which helps to keep it a...[Read Review]
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City takes place in the Batman universe and was released in 2011 for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game blends fast paced action with an impressive storyline and an open world environment. Every part of the game world in Arkham City is an enjoyable experience from the well-written narrative to the character design and even just the game areas that players will explore. It is no surprise that the game has received wide spread acclaim and there is no excuse to not have th...[Read Review]
Infamous
Infamous treats players to abilities such as having lightning bolts firing from their fingers alongside other action-adventure gameplay. Playing a simple bike messenger by the name of Cole MacGrath you’ll be at the centre of a massive city explosion that leaves a town in chaos and Cole with seemingly new magical powers. All of these new Cole powers are electrical based and will be vital to your survival in the fictional Empire City which amongst the chaos is now overrun with all sorts of g...[Read Review]
Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs was released in August 2012 and was developed by Square Enix, the game was originally going to be published as True Crime: Hong Kong but was renamed before release. Sleeping Dogs takes place in the city of Hong Kong with players taking on the role of an undercover cop on a mission to infiltrate the Triads. The game offers a free roam and open world adventure that is similar to the Grand Theft Auto series of video games. For the majority of the game players are free to explore Hong ...[Read Review]
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the third and long awaited game in the series. The game is a prequel and is set 25 years before the first Deus Ex game, this allows newcomers to the series to easily pick up the story even if they haven’t played the other games. In Human Revolution you’ll play as Adam Jensen, a leading member of the security team at Sarif Industries (one of the many growing firms dealing with biotechnology). This biotechnology has the power to reinvent the human body by replacing par...[Read Review]
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum kicks off the Batman: Arkham Asylum story arc and was released in 2009 offering a blend of action, adventure and story as players control superhero Batman against his long time enemy, the Joker. With a focus on melee combat blended with stealth and gadget based action it’s a strong opening act to the Arkham Asylum experience which was further built upon over the years. This founding story of the Arkham Asylum plot follows the Joker’s attempt to seize control of Arkham Asylum ...[Read Review]
Infamous 2
Infamous 2 was released in 2011 exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and continues where the first game (released in 2009) left off. Infamous 2 promises plenty of action, adventure and open world environments for players to explore. The game takes place not long after the original where the world changed after the birth of Cole’s electrical abilities. The Ray Sphere has advanced since the original game (it no longer blows up entire cities with every use) which means Cole isn’t the only one with spe...[Read Review]
Crackdown 2
Crackdown 2 is the 2010 sequel to the popular 2007 game. The second game in the series maintains the open world and sandbox style features of the original and is only on Xbox 360. Crackdown 2 is set a decade after the events of the original Crackdown game and again is set in the fictional Pacific City. The city did not enjoy the peace from the original for long with the Agency quickly falling apart and crime retaking control of the city. In Crackdown 2 players won’t only have to retake the city ...[Read Review]
Infamous Second Son
Infamous Second Son is the third chapter in the Infamous series of games which sees players once again stepping into a vast open world with their own strange powers. Released in March 2014 and a PlayStation 4 exclusive title this is one that Infamous fans can’t afford to miss with the expansion to the universe that it offers. Set in the year 2016 it has been nearly a decade since the events of the previous game that ultimately led to the death of Cole MacGrath, a noble sacrifice to spare the wor...[Read Review]
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Deus Ex: Invisible War serves as a sequel to the original Deus Ex and follows the story of Alex D in a new world that is constantly at war. Opting for a Windows and Xbox release this time around Invisible War stays true to the series of offering diverse player choice in how they approach the game in general and individual missions within it. Invisible War picks up the story over two decades after the events in the original game and sees players exploring a world further ravaged by war and econom...[Read Review]
Prototype
Prototype gives players their own set of super powers to fight off a zombie style infection in an open world environment. The game is available for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In Prototype players will explore New York City while it is under attack from a new plague known only as Blacklight. This plague makes the infected enter into fits of uncontrollable rage and gives them the urge to attack any plague free persons that they encounter. The new plague is the least of your worries thoug...[Read Review]
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines is an action orientated role playing game that explores the rarely touched vampire fantasy for a video game setting. Offering deep role playing mechanics players customise their recently converted human to design their own playstyle through the vampire filled world full of story, choice and challenges. Set in a modern day Los Angeles players explore four unique game areas that include downtown, Santa Monica, Hollywood and Chinatown that each have their own myst...[Read Review]
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Origins is the third game in the Arkham series of Batman games and continues to offer an open world adventure with particular appeal for fans of the Batman universe and the previous games. Batman: Arkham Origins continues to evolve your gameplay experience with a number of minor tweaks, new locations and challenges thrown at players while also being the first in the series to add online multiplayer gameplay. As the game title suggests the storyline is all about the origins of the ...[Read Review]
APB Reloaded
If you’ve ever wanted to blend Grand Theft Auto with a MMO experience then APB Reloaded may be your solution. The game was originally a paid title but more recently has gone free to play. In APB Reloaded players explore the city of San Paro which is over run with crime and criminals. This game world is entirely persistent and lets you freely explore what the city has to offer while accepting quests and missions. This freedom is definitely in line with what the Grand Theft Auto games offer with p...[Read Review]
Crackdown
Crackdown was released in 2007 for the Xbox 360 and offers players an explosive and fast paced open world adventure from a third person perspective. The game takes place in Pacific City (a fictional city) and has players stepping into the shoes of a powerful agent as they attempt to remove crime from the city once and for all. In order to do this the player will have to take apart the crime syndicates by taking down their bosses one by one. There are a total of four islands in the game and three...[Read Review]
No One Lives Forever 2
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’s Way (NOLF2) is a first person shooter that encourages players to use stealth to achieve their goals. Launching in 2002 off the success of the original this game promises a good experience for players both new and old. The game follows your adventures as Cate Archer, one of the top spies in UNITIY who is chasing the criminal organisation of H.A.R.M. to try and find out what they are up to. The game takes you across a good range of locations from Syberia...[Read Review]
Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition rolls open world gameplay, horror and even comedy into a single ball of interesting to create an adventure that is borderline insane. The game originally released on Xbox 360 in 2010 and saw a Director’s Cut for the PlayStation 3 and Windows released in 2013 after the game attracted a cult following online creating demand for the game to be delivered on alternative platforms. This same following was likely the reason behind the games port to Nintendo Switch in 2019. Part of th...[Read Review]