The third iteration in the open-world action adventure series is set in a futuristic London where disorder is ironically the order of the day and chaos runs wild. The government has “fucked off” and extremists have taken over. The UK has progressed into a surveillance state with drones around every corner tracking your every move. Organised crime has carved up the boroughs of London into their territories. In the face of this authoritarian regime and the cartels, an underground resistance has grown organically. This resistance which is called DedSec has their own in-house AI, Bagley which interacts with the player regularly. He offers up curt witticisms and talks to the player with that dry British humor.
This game is built on a gameplay mechanic that will enable the player to control any citizen of London as a member of DedSec. You’ll get the chance to recruit any person you want while you roam the open-world expanse of this London and eventually play them once they are successfully integrated in DedSec. Each citizen of this city has their own persistent life and relationships and unique characteristics which makes this city as close to resembling one in real life. They have their own special skill sets and different ways in which they could be helpful to the resistance. Find that next member, profile them, hack into their lives, play the origin mission and win them over. Et voila, you have your newest playable character. All the cinematics and cutscenes in the game are custom made for each citizen and vary according to their background, whether they are an ex-spy, grandma or juvenile delinquent. You can literally play as anyone you want to and this opens up a whole new world of playability, exploration and unique playstyles.
This version of London is set in a future where the uncertainty after Brexit takes a turn for the worse turning the famous city into a police state. Drones are ubiquitous and are operated by Albion, a private military company charged with enforcing law and order in London, whichever way they see fit. The classic Black Cab is present and is drivable with or without the ctOS autopilot. Minute details like the red phone booths being converted into WiFi hotspots make this version of London feel scarily, real. Big Brother-esque survelliance, deportation squads snatching people off the streets and human trafficking rampant, the game paints a bleak picture of a possible future. Legion make one think about the possibility of this being more prediction than fiction.
The Alpha gameplay footage showed Ian Broadwshaw a DedSec operative scoping out prospective members. Just by looking at citizens the player gets a HUD with their skill sets, occupation, etc. Being particularly troubled by drones at the moment, Bagley suggests finding a drone expert to help the resistance. He finds one, Jimmy Shaw, but he gets into a scuffle with some Albion guards. Ian tries to get the heat off from Jimmy but dies in the process. You control two more operatives before Jimmy gets successfully recruited to the resistance. One of them being a 78 year old hacker called Helen Dashwood. She holds a Msc in Bio-robotics and has multiple cats. She hacks into New Scotland Yard with a terrestrial drone to get some important information on Jimmy. Ms. Dashwood is just one example of a multitude of characters with unique traits and skills that can be controlled in the game.
You, the player, can decide on who you want to recruit to DedSec. As such, your resistance can be composed of entrile ex-spies or hipsters, kids from your block or cat owning grandmas. The ultimate objective of this game is to build a popular resistance against the authoritative regime. Everybody has a reason to fight and a hero inside just waiting to burst out and take charge. They just need your help to find it.
