History YMMV / WatchDogs2

* FriendlyFandoms: ''Series/MrRobot'' fans have taken a liking to the second game, it seems. Rami Malek, who plays the show's main protagonist Elliot Alderson, even hosted a livestream on Website/{{Twitch}} of the game.

** The upgrade that allow your drones to drop throwables, which will allow you to wreck havoc and accomplish objectives without even being present in the restricted area.

* TheScrappy: Lennie is loathed by a significant amount of the player base thanks to being exceptionally annoying, and a one-dimensional stereotype who contributes little of anything to the main plot.

* SpiritualLicensee: A bunch of hackers in a city run by a MegaCorp who they have to take down using hacking? Is it ''WD-2'' or Series/MrRobot? Leads to FriendlyFandoms.

* ScrappyMechanic: The "''Videogame/PipeMania''" style junction rotating puzzles meant to represent hacking get overused as the game goes on.
* SelfImposedChallenge: A number of fans consider this best if you play a stealthy PacifistRun, so they forego lethal weaponry to do so. Luckily, via an AuthorsSavingThrow, they were given more to play with eventually.
* SpiritualLicensee: A bunch of hackers in a city run by a MegaCorp who they have to take down using hacking? Is it ''WD-2'' or Series/MrRobot? Leads to FriendlyFandoms.
** It might be considered one for ''Literature/LittleBrother.'' Both are about hackers, the protagonists have similar names (Marcus Halloway= Marcus Yallow), live in a tyranny-controlled San Francisco, and were accused of crimes they didn't commit.
** A WideOpenSandbox taking place in a West Coast city based on/set in San Fran and the surrounding countryside, following the adventures of a black man falsely accused of a crime. Is this ''Watch Dogs 2'' or (part of) ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''? San Andreas likewise had ''San Fierro'', a San Francisco FantasyCounterpartCulture and likewise featured a hacker among CJ's SF crew, whose missions involve RC powered planes and remote bombs.
* SpoiledByTheFormat: Of the initial [=DedSec=] members, it's very noticeable that one of them ([[spoiler:Horatio]]) never shows up in any of the side missions except for the selfie one. Thus, it's pretty obvious that one way or another, they won't be staying with [=DedSec=] until the end of the game.
* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The game is largely agreed to be an improvement over the first due to a LighterAndSofter tone, a more likable protagonist, an increased emphasis on hacking and infiltration via drones and allowing you to explore the entire world from the start, rather than forcing you to unlock it using radio towers. Though there are some elements that have been met with criticism from some fans, such as being forced to collect research points to unlock certain skills (despite the first game having nothing of the sort), the side activities being less interesting than the ones in the first game, and the villains not being particularly threatening or intimidating compared to the ones in the previous game.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The ability to aim and shoot while driving (or riding) a vehicle, new to the series. Due to high emphasis on stealth, general low durability of Marcus, how pursuers tend to respawn if engaged in open combat both on foot and during pursuit, and how players are encouraged to use hacking mechanics to evade and hide from the pursuers (as in the first game). Interestingly the game gave you tutorial to do it [[spoiler: in "Automata" mission of the Human Conditions DLC where you have to fend off cops while trying to gain control of the self-driving car.]]

* MagnificentBastard: [[ExpressiveMask Reginald "Wrench" Blechman]], is a destructive member of [=DedSec=] whose love for [[BombThrowingAnarchist causing anarchy]] is matched by his humorous wit, spontaneous brilliance, and loyalty to his allies. Getting Marcus Holloway recruited to [=DedSec=] Wrench helps his friend accomplish many stunts to get people to join the cause, with Wrench personally stealing a robot and sneaking into the Tidis Corporation before blowing up their building, while leaking their shady dealings to the public and would play a role in Dusan Nemec's arrest by destroying all of his backup drives. Leaving [=DedSec=], Wrench would seek vengeance on [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Thomas Rempart]] after he stole all of robot designs, going to [[VideoGame/WatchDogsLegion London]] to steal the [=BrocaBridge=] that made the robots operable. Encountering Aiden Pearce, Wrench would free him from Rempart's captivity and gives him a bomb disguised as the [=BrocaBridge=] to set a trap up for Rempart. When Aiden ends up in a coma, Wrench collaborates with Skye Larsen to use the [=BrocaBridge=] to revive Aiden before continuing his vendetta on Rempart, preventing him from escaping London before handing him over to Albion.

* FanPreferredCouple: Marcus and Wrench quickly became the most popular ship to break out from the game, which gained more steam after Wrench was confirmed to be bisexual.

*** Keep in mind that '''most''' of the time, almost at least some cops and gang members can have '''some energy''' that you can refill with, meaning you can '''repeat this over and over'''!

** Marcus and Horatio's woes about being black in America, especially in technological fields can come across as very unsubtle, but [[ValuesResonance for many black/POC players that can identify with their experiences]], the overtness is part of the appeal.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The LighterAndSofter tone is an obvious one to those who were put off by the excessively gloomy tone of the first game.
** Likewise, the story focus on how big tech and people in charge can exploit information network and technology for their personal benefit despite the disadvantages to people at large hits home better to players than the vigilante crime thriller with a dash of technology story of the first game.
** The only way to eliminate enemies non-lethally in the first game was with melee takedowns. Because there were several points where the player is forced to go loud, that made a 100% PacifistRun basically impossible. This game gives you a lot more options for taking down enemies without killing them, making it possible to go through the entire game without killing anyone.
** As with ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate'', Ubisoft is clearly listening to the constant complaints about their tendency towards having a WhiteMaleLead, and accusations of misogyny against the first one. The new PlayerCharacter is black, they have an ActionGirl on the team, and generally a more diverse group of heroes.
** Aiden Pearce got a lot of flak from players for being a generic anti-hero with [[FlatCharacter little personality]] and [[TooBleakStoppedCaring having a pretty depressing story]]. This appears to be fixed with Marcus who not only has [[LighterAndSofter more fun with his hacking missions]], but he has a role in [=DedSec=] who also show a [[ComedicSociopathy comedic side to all their anarchy]], making Marcus the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio]] to Aiden's [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI Altaïr]].
** One throw affects two different groups. The multiplayer trailer confirmed a much larger selection of clothing options when compared to the first game, pleasing both those who didn't like the PaletteSwap outfits from the first game and those who dislike Marcus's default appearance.
** The April update adds a trio of non-lethal weapons, including a taser sniper rifle, addressing complaints that the base game didn't have enough options.

* CriticalResearchFailure: Scrolling over the info marker on Twin Peaks on the map will point out that the place was also home to "[[Series/TwinPeaks a very famous TV show,]]" even though the actual setting of the show and the places that the show was filmed were all in Washington.

** The finale of the mission "Power to the Sheeple" involves voting machines being rigged to favor Blume's preferred candidate in an upcoming Congressional election. Fast-forward to the 2020 Presidential election, which was plagued with widespread claims of vote-tallying machines in multiple states being rigged to favor Joe Biden, whom Silicon Valley all but stated outright was its preferred candidate.
*** Then again, every single one of those claims of supposed fraud and rigged elections came from the single biggest whiniest SoreLoser in the entire history of the United States of America. So you know........ take those with a grain of salt, as they were given every single chance to prove their case in court, and failed to produce a single hint or shred of evidence to back up all their fraud allegations.

*** Then again, every single one of those claims of supposed fraud and rigged elections came from the single biggest whiniest SoreLoser in the entire history of the United States of America. So you know........ take those with a grain of salt, as they were given every single chance to prove their case in court, and failed to produce a single hint or shred of evidence to back up all their fraud allegations.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The ability to aim and shoot while driving (or riding) a vehicle, new to the series. Due to high emphasis on stealth, general low durability of Marcus, how pursuers tend to respawn if engaged in open combat both on foot and during pursuit, and how players are encouraged to use hacking mechanics to evade and hide from the pursuers (as in the first game). Interestingly the game gave you tutorial to do it [[spoiler: in "Lifeline" DLC climax where you have to fend off cops while trying to gain control of the self-driving car.]]

* ScrappyMechanic: The "''[[Videogame/PipeMania]]''" style junction rotating puzzles meant to represent hacking get overused as the game goes on.

** As with VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate, Ubisoft is clearly listening to the constant complaints about their tendency towards having a WhiteMaleLead, and accusations of misogyny against the first one. The new PlayerCharacter is black, they have an ActionGirl on the team, and generally a more diverse group of heroes.

* AccidentalInnuendo: "Now entering Painted Ladies". The titular ladies are houses, and entering their vicinity causes the message to appear.