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Watch_Dogs #1-2
Watch_Dogs: Return To Rocinha
Based on the hit-video game of the same name, a young hacker in Rio makes her stand against the corruption in her home!
Sauda, a young hacker from the Rochinha favela in Rio, returns years later to the neighborhood she grew up in to discover her little brother has fallen under the influence of the local gangs. Determined to bring him out, Sauda discovers that drug trafficking is just the tip of the iceberg for the corruption consuming her hometown.
Sauda, a young hacker from the Rochinha favela in Rio, returns years later to the neighborhood she grew up in to discover her little brother has fallen under the influence of the local gangs. Determined to bring him out, Sauda discovers that drug trafficking is just the tip of the iceberg for the corruption consuming her hometown.
- GenresGraphic Novels
96 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2017
9 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 29, 2020
You can't judge a book by its cover. I picked this up at the library thinking it was a superhero or science fiction thing based on the flying woman on the front. Only once I brought it home did I turn it over and find out is based on some video game I have never played or even heard of. It's a fairly dull crime thriller with a young hacker from a Brazilian slum trying to destroy the street gang that killed her parents while also stopping the corporate takeover of all organized crime in Rio. There are crooked politicians, corrupt police, and street kids.
Other than the frequent use of the word "favela" this doesn't seem to have much to really make it seem authentically Brazilian. I bet the generic story could be transplanted almost anywhere else in the world with few changes.
Other than the frequent use of the word "favela" this doesn't seem to have much to really make it seem authentically Brazilian. I bet the generic story could be transplanted almost anywhere else in the world with few changes.
April 13, 2022
Den här gick alldeles för fort framåt i handlingen som gjorde så jag inte brydde mig över huvud taget om vad som hände i den. Fastnade inte heller för någon av karaktärerna.
March 7, 2025
Tried reading this many times to get the sense of what’s going on but the art wasn’t great and it was just confusing since the text was rather small. Pretty disappointing since the art looked decent on the cover!
Borrowed this from my local library via BorrowBox.
Borrowed this from my local library via BorrowBox.
June 25, 2022
An expansion of the Watch_Dogs franchise set in Rio? Sounds great. Definitely a fun and quick read if you enjoyed the game.
August 27, 2021
This is the first comic book based on the Watch_Dogs game franchise. This was a bit of an unusual release in the sense that it is printed as two oversized comics rather than just a four issue run. It makes sense given the way this story is laid out though, so this format was actually a great idea in terms of pressing. Watch_Dogs 2 was the only game that was out at the time and I've played a little bit of that game, but I think this comic has a bit more of a Watch_Dogs: Legion feel. Watch_Dogs: Legion was my first foray into the franchise and I liked it so much that when I saw this comic I wanted to enter the world a little bit more. The Watch_Dogs games seem to be set only in Britain and one of the best features of this comic series is that it's not set anywhere near the UK.
Return to Rocinha brings us all the way to Rio, Brazil and I love the fact that we're outside of London for this adventure. The cTOS system and the Blume company show up in this series trying to expand their corporate interests. This feels very much like one of the major missions found in Watch_Dogs: Legion and the artist and writer did a solid job bringing us into this world. Wrapped up into this you have a lot of the usual ideas concerning corporatists expansion, "colonizing the new world," albeit with corporations now. A lone hacker, Sauda, is poised to put a stop to all of this, now that the corporation is trying to get in bed with the drug runners in her area and using the cTOS system to exploit the poor in general. It's all very much the same story as what's going on in London, just a different location and people with fairly different problems for their unique region of the world.
Our lone hacker is contacted by DedSec and they offer to help her take people down. For the first comic issue it seems she is set to do just that, getting dirt on high up people, hacking drones etc. just like we do in the game, but things change. The first comic really serves as a background to our character before major events occur, which course correct her life. The second issue happens some four years later and what a major turn that took! I really don't want to spoil too much, but the second half was the real reason to stick around, because it really adds this depth to your usual DedSec styled mission. They usually do a good job of this in the game writing for Watch_Dogs: Legion.
So, if you're a fan of the game series, I think you'd find this comic a solid run set in that world. It has just about everything else the game does. While I didn't think the games were the most amazing thing I've ever played, I did find them enjoyable. I was definitely curious as to how this would translate to comic form and I think they did a good job with this. I'm not sure we'll get anymore issues from the franchise, but I would definitely read another one if they ever wanted to make more.
Return to Rocinha brings us all the way to Rio, Brazil and I love the fact that we're outside of London for this adventure. The cTOS system and the Blume company show up in this series trying to expand their corporate interests. This feels very much like one of the major missions found in Watch_Dogs: Legion and the artist and writer did a solid job bringing us into this world. Wrapped up into this you have a lot of the usual ideas concerning corporatists expansion, "colonizing the new world," albeit with corporations now. A lone hacker, Sauda, is poised to put a stop to all of this, now that the corporation is trying to get in bed with the drug runners in her area and using the cTOS system to exploit the poor in general. It's all very much the same story as what's going on in London, just a different location and people with fairly different problems for their unique region of the world.
Our lone hacker is contacted by DedSec and they offer to help her take people down. For the first comic issue it seems she is set to do just that, getting dirt on high up people, hacking drones etc. just like we do in the game, but things change. The first comic really serves as a background to our character before major events occur, which course correct her life. The second issue happens some four years later and what a major turn that took! I really don't want to spoil too much, but the second half was the real reason to stick around, because it really adds this depth to your usual DedSec styled mission. They usually do a good job of this in the game writing for Watch_Dogs: Legion.
So, if you're a fan of the game series, I think you'd find this comic a solid run set in that world. It has just about everything else the game does. While I didn't think the games were the most amazing thing I've ever played, I did find them enjoyable. I was definitely curious as to how this would translate to comic form and I think they did a good job with this. I'm not sure we'll get anymore issues from the franchise, but I would definitely read another one if they ever wanted to make more.
February 20, 2022
Very harsh realistic graphic novel set in a war with the suffering of children and people throughout
March 9, 2023
I was iffy on picking this up in the beginning but I'm glad I finally did!
One of my favorite game series is Watch_Dogs. It's a bit like the red-headed step-child at Ubisoft, probably because the quality varies so much... but honestly, that's part of the charm. Unfortunately it's also why I don't necessarily jump at all the Watch_Dogs tie-ins, even if Watch-Dogs 2 is in my top 10 most favorite games ever.
The first game introduced a near-future global surveillance state watched by the monopolistic multi-national corporation, Blume (think Google + Apple + a privatized NSA. Terrifying, right?). The first game, set in Chicago (I've had the poster featuring the Chicago skyline -though the game butchered my hometown- on my wall since release day) featured a rather blah protagonist. Also a kind of blah story. But you could see the potential!
Then Ubosoft released Watch_Dogs 2, which was better in every single way - especially because it really embraced the idea of activism and celebrating our differences and challenging the status quo. It's shockingly subversive for a triple A game from a major studio lol, even if if that subversion is commercialized. And it had the BEST protagonist in Marcus Holloway (come on Ubi, bring him and his San Fran deadsec friends back already!).
Then the third game, Watch_Dogs Legion was again not as good, though still better from the first. What was great about the Legion though was in making the story's world truly global, with a "anyone, even you, can take a stand and make the world a better place!" message blaring out. Again, very subversive.
Which, to get to the point finally, means that the world of Watch_Dogs is inherently a David vs Goliath story, with you the reader/player as the underdog. Not an uncommon trope but it is the soul of this world, and it's at its peak with Watch_Dogs: Return to Rocinha... like, this should have been the third game.
All I can think is it will be a shame if this setting and these characters only live here. They need more time, this story was just the beginning. This comic came out in 2019, the last video game came out in 2020, and they appear to continue release tie-ins because I was just approved for an advanced copy of Watch Dogs Legion: Cold Reboot, so I am keeping my hopes up!
If you're into near future sci-fi, surveillance state thrillers, underdog stories about fighting "the man", I very much recommend you check this comic out. It's currently available on Comixology for free, and hopefully more people reading it (or devouring anything else Watch_Dogs - seriously play the second game!) means Ubisoft won't give up on this world!
I love it! Also the art reminded me of Gorillaz, lol
One of my favorite game series is Watch_Dogs. It's a bit like the red-headed step-child at Ubisoft, probably because the quality varies so much... but honestly, that's part of the charm. Unfortunately it's also why I don't necessarily jump at all the Watch_Dogs tie-ins, even if Watch-Dogs 2 is in my top 10 most favorite games ever.
The first game introduced a near-future global surveillance state watched by the monopolistic multi-national corporation, Blume (think Google + Apple + a privatized NSA. Terrifying, right?). The first game, set in Chicago (I've had the poster featuring the Chicago skyline -though the game butchered my hometown- on my wall since release day) featured a rather blah protagonist. Also a kind of blah story. But you could see the potential!
Then Ubosoft released Watch_Dogs 2, which was better in every single way - especially because it really embraced the idea of activism and celebrating our differences and challenging the status quo. It's shockingly subversive for a triple A game from a major studio lol, even if if that subversion is commercialized. And it had the BEST protagonist in Marcus Holloway (come on Ubi, bring him and his San Fran deadsec friends back already!).
Then the third game, Watch_Dogs Legion was again not as good, though still better from the first. What was great about the Legion though was in making the story's world truly global, with a "anyone, even you, can take a stand and make the world a better place!" message blaring out. Again, very subversive.
Which, to get to the point finally, means that the world of Watch_Dogs is inherently a David vs Goliath story, with you the reader/player as the underdog. Not an uncommon trope but it is the soul of this world, and it's at its peak with Watch_Dogs: Return to Rocinha... like, this should have been the third game.
All I can think is it will be a shame if this setting and these characters only live here. They need more time, this story was just the beginning. This comic came out in 2019, the last video game came out in 2020, and they appear to continue release tie-ins because I was just approved for an advanced copy of Watch Dogs Legion: Cold Reboot, so I am keeping my hopes up!
If you're into near future sci-fi, surveillance state thrillers, underdog stories about fighting "the man", I very much recommend you check this comic out. It's currently available on Comixology for free, and hopefully more people reading it (or devouring anything else Watch_Dogs - seriously play the second game!) means Ubisoft won't give up on this world!
I love it! Also the art reminded me of Gorillaz, lol
April 17, 2021
Watch Dogs isn't a series with a particularly deep or compelling story. The Watch Dogs ebook was not particularly good. So it's a bit of a surprise that Return to Rocinha is a reasonably entertaining read!
Make no mistake, there's no world-building, no big twists that re-contextualize your understanding of the series as a whole, or anything like that. Return to Rocinha is a mostly self-contained story (with one cameo from a Watch Dogs 2 character). It features common elements to the series, and Watch Dogs 2 in particular, including a tension between hacking (including hackers from the game DeadSec) and violence, surveillance by private corporations (Blume from the games), and an emphasis on drones. It kept me mostly interested, if not exactly hooked, with complex characters and expressive stylized artwork. There was one time jump partway through that wasn't communicated clearly (my trade paperback didn't divide up the story by issue, so that may have been the culprit?), but overall a generally good-but-not-great tale.
I don't know if anyone is enthralled with the world of Watch Dogs. I wouldn't say that I particularly am. But Return to Rocinha is a pretty good one-off story in that world that might be worth picking up if you really need another Watch Dogs story in your life. And while it might be a little confusing for someone new to the series, I would imagine you could understand everything pretty quickly if just want something else in the hacker/resistance/technological surveillance fiction bucket.
Make no mistake, there's no world-building, no big twists that re-contextualize your understanding of the series as a whole, or anything like that. Return to Rocinha is a mostly self-contained story (with one cameo from a Watch Dogs 2 character). It features common elements to the series, and Watch Dogs 2 in particular, including a tension between hacking (including hackers from the game DeadSec) and violence, surveillance by private corporations (Blume from the games), and an emphasis on drones. It kept me mostly interested, if not exactly hooked, with complex characters and expressive stylized artwork. There was one time jump partway through that wasn't communicated clearly (my trade paperback didn't divide up the story by issue, so that may have been the culprit?), but overall a generally good-but-not-great tale.
I don't know if anyone is enthralled with the world of Watch Dogs. I wouldn't say that I particularly am. But Return to Rocinha is a pretty good one-off story in that world that might be worth picking up if you really need another Watch Dogs story in your life. And while it might be a little confusing for someone new to the series, I would imagine you could understand everything pretty quickly if just want something else in the hacker/resistance/technological surveillance fiction bucket.
February 2, 2022
Though I'm familiar with Watch Dogs, I've not played the games. And I don't think I missed anything by that - this story takes place in the Favelas of Rio and, other than borrowing cTOS and a bit of hacking, doesn't really seem to be tied to them. It stands fine on its own, as an exploration of crime and survival in Favela of Rocinha, as Sauda and her brother and friends deal with corruption, information collection, and living in a place that feels thoroughly alien but still well developed. There are two issues, with a four-year time jump between them, upping the stakes for the characters.
It's an interesting story with well developed characters. The biggest weakness is the lettering sacrifices legibility for a South American feel, and some of the characters are hard to distinguish. The story goes just about where you would expect it to, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the story (especially compared to Quake Champions, which I just read and was published by the same company). If you've got an interest in Brazilian culture, especially in the Favelas, this makes for a relatable story with some interesting art and action.
It's an interesting story with well developed characters. The biggest weakness is the lettering sacrifices legibility for a South American feel, and some of the characters are hard to distinguish. The story goes just about where you would expect it to, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the story (especially compared to Quake Champions, which I just read and was published by the same company). If you've got an interest in Brazilian culture, especially in the Favelas, this makes for a relatable story with some interesting art and action.
July 6, 2025
"Watch Dogs: Return to Rocinha" is a short but strong little story. It follows Sauda, a hacker heading back to her old neighborhood in Rio after finding out her younger brother's gotten tangled up with a dangerous gang. No over-the-top tech or car chases here, just smart, grounded storytelling with a lot of heart and tension.
The hacking is subtle but clever, and the setting really stands out. You feel the pressure of the place, the poverty, the fear, and how broken the system is. Sauda doesn’t come off like a superhero, just someone trying to use what she knows to protect her family.
The art’s gritty and expressive, and the story moves fast without feeling rushed. Only downside is that it’s just two issues, so it ends kind of abruptly. Still, it’s got real bite and feels more honest than a lot of game tie-ins.
If you like Watch Dogs but want something more personal and raw, this hits the mark.
The hacking is subtle but clever, and the setting really stands out. You feel the pressure of the place, the poverty, the fear, and how broken the system is. Sauda doesn’t come off like a superhero, just someone trying to use what she knows to protect her family.
The art’s gritty and expressive, and the story moves fast without feeling rushed. Only downside is that it’s just two issues, so it ends kind of abruptly. Still, it’s got real bite and feels more honest than a lot of game tie-ins.
If you like Watch Dogs but want something more personal and raw, this hits the mark.
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May 17, 2025DNF too computer related for me.
October 15, 2025
Interesting in some ways, but didn't hold me as much as I'd hoped it would.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews