Support NeoGAF

[Yopis]

GAF hates every game, duh.

It's funny whenever a thread about "I think <insert popular game> is not that great" it slowly starts picking up momentum and by the end it seemingly turns into 90% hating on it and 10% trying to defend it regardless of the game.

I agree with you, though. I can't take anyone seriously if they put "worst" and "Witcher 3" in the same sentence. I know it's not a perfect game and there are some gripes here and there, but that's every game. For one I agree combat is not the greatest, but it gets the job done.

But there are people seriously shitting on the quests and the cast of characters in this game? I mean, really? Y'all played a different Witcher 3 from me, then. Either that or they stopped playing before even getting to Velen.

So true in a month or so Fallout will be the worst game ever. All because a few hundred people on a forum want to whine the loudest.

 

[tuxfool]

I won't quote you both, but please stop trying to explain the game's world by ingame logic.
Read about the 30 years war especially the conflicts in Germany.
Even groups of let's say 100 soldiers/mercanaries were able to turn huge areas into wastelands in no time. Or, if you want a more radical example: Napoleon's Russia campaign - the biggest non-motorized army ever: 500.000 men. This army needed at least the same amount of (wo)men for supply routes, craftsmen, prostitutes, clerics and so on. And when they were retreating with what was left of them (20.000 men after winter), areas as big as Eastern Russia/europe were not big enough to provide them with food. Along their retreat routes there wasn't a berry or apple left.

In a scenario like the one in W3, there's only place for two. You won't find a rabbit, packs of wolves and mobs of drowners on that map. The scale is totally off no matter how much you're trying to find explainations. There is something called the operational radius wich depends on the size of an army. There are maybe 3 miles between Nilfgaard base camp and Novigrad - in a realistic scenario you will have 100 scouts alone on each side, maybe more, collecting intel -truce or not- you won't find drowners and monsters in the space between the bases.

So basically what you're asking for is that they expand the map size? All video game worlds compress their distances, it isn't something that can be avoided at this point. The game doesn't show you what the area to the south of the camp looks like, because you cannot go there.

 

[Moon_frogger]

I think the big takeaway here is that the combat is terrible. Not slower paced than bloodborne, not 'different' or whatever. It's bad. I think it's actually worse than witcher 2. Cueing actions like rolling and then casting aard rarely works, the enemies will be stunned but still break through it and attack you. The lock on sucks, the animations don't flow properly. It's not satisfying. It's glitchy. And really, Even though the writing and world building is top notch, the majority of what you'll be doing in this game is sword fighting. For dozens of hours. It's unforgivable.

 

[Northeastmonk]

So true in a month or so Fallout will be the worst game ever. All because a few hundred people on a forum want to whine the loudest.

It's when hype isn't moving the character along at a steady pace. Someone is gonna be wilderness hiking and get slowed down about something and it'll take a hit.

Get to know how to use quick travel, how to set up quests, and then how to not waste time walking to places that don't need to be explored. I think some people don't realize these games have their own way of being played over just standing there watching everything.

Don't cry bullocks to a game that no one is utilizing properly. I think games get hit with severe criticism because they want it to act on their own without giving it any leeway.

 

[tuxfool]

I think the big takeaway here is that the combat is terrible. Not slower paced than bloodborne, not 'different' or whatever. It's bad. I think it's actually worse than witcher 2. Cueing actions like rolling and then casting aard rarely works, the enemies will be stunned but still break through it and attack you. The lock on sucks, the animations don't flow properly. It's not satisfying. It's glitchy. And really, Even though the writing and world building is top notch, the majority of what you'll be doing in this game is sword fighting. For dozens of hours. It's unforgivable.

That isn't the takeaway here. It is only the takeaway if you like making reductionist descriptions and then presenting them as facts. It isn't the best,no, but we don't live in a binary world.

There are degrees of tolerance here that each person will have to accept based on their own preferences. What is unforgivable to some is highly forgiveable to others.

 

[BlindJesus]

Isn't judging something like Witcher for the combat like judging something like Street Fighter for the story? I never got the idea that the focus was the combat in Witcher, no more so than in Skyrim, I'm thinking it's more like Skyrim or Oblivion with functional third person perspective and maybe a bit darker setting. Not everybody's cup of tea obviously but the same can be said about any game no matter how many 10/10 it gets.

It is very baffling. Yea, the combat isn't as fluid and precise as the souls games, but is that what every damn argument turns into? "Isn't dark souls, its crap."? That's like me bitching about GTA's car handling and saying its shit because I just got done racing in Assetto Corsa and they don't compare. Well, duh.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

OP, have you tried Dragon Age Inquisition? I liked the combat more in that game than Witcher 3!

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I think the big takeaway here is that the combat is terrible. Not slower paced than bloodborne, not 'different' or whatever. It's bad. I think it's actually worse than witcher 2. Cueing actions like rolling and then casting aard rarely works, the enemies will be stunned but still break through it and attack you. The lock on sucks, the animations don't flow properly. It's not satisfying. It's glitchy. And really, Even though the writing and world building is top notch, the majority of what you'll be doing in this game is sword fighting. For dozens of hours. It's unforgivable.

I don't think it's bad. I certainly don't think it's worse than Witcher 2. It's certainly not going to win awards for its combat system, but I honestly think its serviceable. But like I said, combat isn't what I love about the series. I've been a giant fan since the first Witcher, and that combat system was almost universally panned.

 

[Conkerkid11]

OP, have you tried Dragon Age Inquisition? I liked the combat more in that game than Witcher 3!

I mean, there's flawed combat, and then there's lazy, boring, MMO combat.

GAF hating everything gameplay-related which is not part of the Souls series? What a surprise.

I though it was enough, but you should play the game expecting Bloodborne combat, just like you should expect a massive story à la The Witcher 3 with Bloodborne.

Why can't we expect decent combat out of something like The Witcher 3?

During the development process, at what point did they go, "alright, movement feels like GTA, combat feels clunky as hell, let's get started on that massive world and story now."

Adding in quests and whatnot from The Witcher 3 would ruin Bloodborne. That's not the game that FromSoftware was trying to make.

 

[Scipio]

GAF hating everything gameplay-related which is not part of the Souls series? What a surprise.

I though it was enough, but you should play the game expecting Bloodborne combat, just like you should expect a massive story à la The Witcher 3 with Bloodborne.

OP, have you tried Dragon Age Inquisition? I liked the combat more in that game than Witcher 3!

Now THAT's an example of bad gameplay. At least The Witcher 3 improved upon its predecessors...

 

[Newtype-001]

Apparently it doesn't matter that the gameplay in a game sucks...(&#755;&#728; &#604;&#728&#755;

 

[Fardeen]

witcher 3 is awesome ! its my GOTY with ori

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Apparently it doesn't matter that the gameplay in a game sucks...

Is there a need for this?

 

[RPGam3r]

I wouldn't call The Witcher 3's combat terrible, plenty of variety out of the gate and how to attack enemies. Doesn't evolve much from there though.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

Serviceable is the best descriptor I can think of. It doesn't break the game or sours the overall experience. Years from now it won't be the thing TW3 is most remembered for, but it gets the job done and for me it is enough.

 

[Moon_frogger]

That isn't the takeaway here. It is only the takeaway if you like making reductionist arguments and them presenting them as facts. It isn't the best, but we don't live in a binary world.

You know, posters like you the reason I usually tack a quick 'imho' onto the end of My posts, even when it's clearly my opinion. Obviously it's my opinion that the witcher 3 has terrible combat. If someone enjoys it I'm not going to tell them they're wrong but at the same time my opinion is rooted in facts. At least try to refute even one detail of my critique before basically quoting me to call me a liar lol.

 

[Game4life]

It is very baffling. Yea, the combat isn't as fluid and precise as the souls games, but is that what every damn argument turns into? "Isn't dark souls, its crap."? That's like me bitching about GTA's car handling and saying its shit because I just got done racing in Assetto Corsa and they don't compare. Well, duh.

Is Witcher 3 a walking simulator or a Tell Tale game that does not have combat and has only story and choices? Because as far as I can tell it keeps shoving combat on the player. The comparisons are perfectly warranted.

I mean, there's flawed combat, and then there's lazy, boring, MMO combat.


Why can't we expect decent combat out of something like The Witcher 3?

During the development process, at what point did they go, "alright, movement feels like GTA, combat feels clunky as hell, let's get started on that massive world and story now."

Adding in quests and whatnot from The Witcher 3 would ruin Bloodborne. That's not the game that FromSoftware was trying to make.

Because it apparently has some decent narrative so in-spite of having to engage in combat a lot you as a player have to forgot that combat exists.

 

[tuxfool]

You know, posters like you the reason I usually tack a quick 'imho' onto the end of My posts, even when it's clearly my opinion. Obviously it's my opinion that the witcher 3 has terrible combat. If someone enjoys it I'm not going to tell them they're wrong but at the same time my opinion is rooted in facts. At least try to refute even one detail of my critique before basically quoting me to call me a liar lol.

I called you a liar?

I have no problem with your critique. The way it is presented at the beginning.

 

[Polioliolio]

I thought I would enjoy Witcher too.. it just failed to captivate me in any way though..

It takes itself way too seriously in all regards and imo, doesn't do well. I just can't get into it.

I only played a few hours of it though.. I'm mostly talking about the character, world, setup, the way the characters talk and the action plays out. It's not my thing.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

It is very baffling. Yea, the combat isn't as fluid and precise as the souls games, but is that what every damn argument turns into? "Isn't dark souls, its crap."? That's like me bitching about GTA's car handling and saying its shit because I just got done racing in Assetto Corsa and they don't compare. Well, duh.

Well, you might say that, but to be fair, a lot of time in GTA5 is spend being forced to drive. A lot more time in Witcher 3 is spend on the combat. In fact, the vast majority of quests in Witcher 3 revolves around pressing down the button for your witcher senses- followed by combat.

One has to be careful not to sweep legit critism under the rug simply because it is not the strength of the game.
I have no problems saying that Witcher 3 is one of my favorite games, due to its story and atmosphere. That is how it was MGS1-4, and the reverse with 5. A game doesn't have to be defined on its weakness in a all-or-nothing "The weakest link decides the strength of the chain" argument- But then again, one has to balance how big relevance and exposure that weak link has in the overall scheme of things.



Pacific Rim pisses me off. I hated the characters. People told me; "why does that matter in a monster vs robots movie?" < Well, fair enough. But those fucking characters are still taking 60% of the screen time. They are not a novel side distraction. They have character development, sub plots, backstories and other shit that just makes me want to throw myself out of a window. I don't accept that it is good entertainment to have a product that is insufferable for 60% of the time, followed by 40% awesomeness.


But then again, I guess... I do. Maybe. Maybe.. Now that I think about it, maybe- What it actually is about is HOW much you enjoy it. I didn't care for the gameplay of MGS1-3. I didn't. The AI was weak, the boss fights were creative but not to play as. I always felt the game failed as both a stealth and action game. But my love for the story and characters were disproportionally massive, in such a way that even though I probably spend more time not having fun, the excitement where such that it was no problem going through. And MGS1-3 rewarded you with great cut scenes every 5 minutes.


I feel Witcher 3 does that too. Every side-quest is interesting and yield in interesting characters. Every arsehole who wants something or something killed. They are all different and there are hundreds of them.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

You know, posters like you the reason I usually tack a quick 'imho' onto the end of My posts, even when it's clearly my opinion. Obviously it's my opinion that the witcher 3 has terrible combat. If someone enjoys it I'm not going to tell them they're wrong but at the same time my opinion is rooted in facts. At least try to refute even one detail of my critique before basically quoting me to call me a liar lol.

OK. Let me help you out here. Tacking on "imho" -- while also being unnecessary in general -- is not a helpful qualifier when you begin your post with a statement like "I think the big takeaway here..." which seeks to summarize a thread that you have heretofore not participated in. You can't seek to assert some kind of consensus opinion AND assert that it's just your opinion simultaneously.

 

[BizzyBum]

Apparently it doesn't matter that the gameplay in a game sucks.

See:

I don't think it's bad. I certainly don't think it's worse than Witcher 2. It's certainly not going to win awards for its combat system, but I honestly think its serviceable. But like I said, combat isn't what I love about the series. I've been a giant fan since the first Witcher, and that combat system was almost universally panned.

That's the perfect way to describe Witcher 3's combat system (Witcher series in general, really). It's serviceable. It gets the job done. And everything else in the game like cast of characters, the world building, the quests are all amazingly crafted that people can look past that the combat won't win any awards and truly appreciate how great of a game this is.

 

[Majestad]

Is Witcher 3 a walking simulator or a Tell Tale game that does not have combat and has only story and choices? Because as far as I can tell it keeps shoving combat on the player. The comparisons are perfectly warranted.

I think the combat is good and satisfying specially with some bosses. There you go. What makes you think the combat is bad? Just because a loud minority say so? Alright. Let's pretend Witcher's 3 combat is serviceable at best, then everything that it has going for still makes it an incredible game, and one of the best games of all time. Now there's also a lot of people, like me, who like the gameplay. That makes an amazing game even better.

What's funny is that if Witcher 3 was a PS4 exclusive, you would agree is the greatest game ever conceived.

 

[Moon_frogger]

I called you a liar?

I wasn't presenting my critique as anything other than my opinion. Of course I used facts to back up my opinion but since didn't explicitly state 'this is my opinion you automatically feel the need scold me for 'presenting my opinion as fact'. It's ridiculous.

 

[RDreamer]

It is very baffling. Yea, the combat isn't as fluid and precise as the souls games, but is that what every damn argument turns into? "Isn't dark souls, its crap."? That's like me bitching about GTA's car handling and saying its shit because I just got done racing in Assetto Corsa and they don't compare. Well, duh.

This is what doesn't make sense to me too. We're living in a world where the Elder Scrolls games sell fucking gangbusters and GTA games are like the most praised of them all. Don't get me wrong, those games do some great things, but if you pick out individual parts of them, they're kind of crap too. The combat in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls and even Fallout games really isn't great, either. The combat in GTA has been pretty goddamned clunky in the past, too, as has the driving. Those games are probably a more fair comparison to Witcher 3 than Bloodborne.

I don't even personally think the Souls combat is that good. Honestly I had 100x more fun playing Witcher 3 than I did Demon's Souls, but that's just me.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

I feel like everyone should experience the Ladies of the Wood quest line to understand what The Witcher series is all about. I just completed it and it seriously impressed me.

Spoiler

I never expected the witches' designs to be so genuinely creepy. Some of the best witch design I've ever seen. And the whole bog with its creepy setting and folklore was terrifically realized and a perfect setting for the whole quest/

 

[Northeastmonk]

I mean, there's flawed combat, and then there's lazy, boring, MMO combat.

MMO combat is always limited due to the player being engaged to enemies if you ask me. Combat has to be the same UI for everyone and the strengths come from managing that UI. It's gonna be toned down just a bit, but most RPGs are. The character has to utilize the abilities given to them and then they get fortified over time. That's why spells to increase combat or walking speed are put in there.

I don't necessarily hate it, but that's their genre. They mimick traditional RPG's and they lose some quickness in the process.

What I mean is, most fighting systems are limited because they are genre specified.

 

[tuxfool]

I wasn't presenting my critique as anything other than my opinion. Of course I used facts to back up my opinion but since didn't explicitly state 'this is my opinion you automatically feel the need scold me for 'presenting my opinion as fact'. It's ridiculous.

OK. Let me help you out here. Tacking on "imho" -- while also being unnecessary in general -- is not a helpful qualifier when you begin your post with a statement like "I think the big takeaway here..." which seeks to summarize a thread that you have heretofore not participated in. You can't seek to assert some kind of consensus opinion AND assert that it's just your opinion simultaneously.

Re-read my comment.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

I feel like everyone should experience the Ladies of the Wood quest line to understand what The Witcher series is all about. I just completed it and it seriously impressed me.

Spoiler

I never expected the witches' designs to be so genuinely creepy. Some of the best witch design I've ever seen. And the whole bog with its creepy setting and folklore was terrifically realized and a perfect setting for the whole quest/

Even the music in that part is unsettling, at least to me. Totally agreed with the designs too.

 

[Bookman]

The Withcer 3 is great. 2 on the other hand is one of the worst games ever made.

Whuuut I love witcher 2. Its one off my favorite games what could possible make you think that its one off the worst games ...

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Now THAT's an example of bad gameplay. At least The Witcher 3 improved upon its predecessors...

I mean, there's flawed combat, and then there's lazy, boring, MMO combat.

Calling it lazy "MMO combat" - What does that even mean? I seriously hope this outdated meme would have died with FFXII.


I liked the combat of Inquisition. I honestly did. It merged DAO and DA2 (improved on DA2) to an extent that made its' own.


Unlike Witcher 3, you can actually build your character in many different ways- Play as a healer, a mage, melee, a hybrid. You can easily take control of other characters, pause the combat and so.
I felt the building of the characters, the way you crafted, the way the game handled talent trees was much more diverse for different setups than Witcher 3.

 

[spliced]

Combat is the most important thing in a game like this, or at least it's a 1a/1b type thing. If I'm not enjoying my interaction with the game why the heck am I playing it. It makes me sad that games like this with weak combat can be so successful, I wish they'd tank.

 

[Wagram]

The Withcer 3 is great. 2 on the other hand is one of the worst games ever made.

I see we're throwing that phrase around loosely at everything these days.

 

[Dubz]

If Witcher 4 changed to Batman style combat, I think it would be better off.

I liked the setting in W3, but the combat was a downer.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

I feel like everyone should experience the Ladies of the Wood quest line to understand what The Witcher series is all about. I just completed it and it seriously impressed me.

Spoiler

I never expected the witches' designs to be so genuinely creepy. Some of the best witch design I've ever seen. And the whole bog with its creepy setting and folklore was terrifically realized and a perfect setting for the whole quest/

The whole Bloody Baron arch is extremely well done imho.

Combat is the most important thing in a game like this, or at least it's a 1a/1b type thing. If I'm not enjoying my interaction with the game why the heck am I playing it. It makes me sad that games like this with weak combat can be so successful, I wish they'd tank.

"No game I personally don't enjoy should be succesfull. People should only buy games that I and only I like"

 

[Majestad]

Combat is the most important thing in a game like this, or at least it's a 1a/1b type thing. If I'm not enjoying my interaction with the game why the heck am I playing it. It makes me sad that games like this with weak combat can be so successful, I wish they'd tank.

I wish games with crappy stories told through item descriptions tanked.

 

[Game4life]

I think the combat is good and satisfying specially with some bosses. There you go. What makes you think the combat is bad? Just because a loud minority say so? Alright. Let's pretend Witcher's 3 combat is serviceable at best, then everything that it has going for still makes it an incredible game, and one of the best games of all time. Now there's also a lot of people, like me, who like the gameplay. That makes an amazing game even better.

I dont care whether you think it is good or bad. You are perfectly validated to think the combat in Witcher 3 is beyond serviceable.

My response was to people saying 'Witcher is not about combat' or 'Witcher's combat should not be critiqued because that is not the point of the game' etc.. which would only be appropriate if Witcher 3 did not have a lot of combat .Unfortunately it does so no.. you cannot blame people for scrutinizing the combat mechanics in Witcher. They are not 'approaching the game wrongly' just because they want more out of the combat.

What's funny is that if Witcher 3 was a PS4 exclusive, you would agree is the greatest game ever conceived.

Edit - Oh you are one of the delusional fanboys. I should not have even bothered with this reply. Either attack the arguments or if you are insecure stop responding to my posts instead of making meaningless accusations.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

I feel like everyone should experience the Ladies of the Wood quest line to understand what The Witcher series is all about. I just completed it and it seriously impressed me.

Spoiler

I never expected the witches' designs to be so genuinely creepy. Some of the best witch design I've ever seen. And the whole bog with its creepy setting and folklore was terrifically realized and a perfect setting for the whole quest/

What creeps me out too is the fact that Yennifer is probably a old hag and looks horrific too. She has extended her life greatly, and basically used magic to give her crazy plastic surgery. Imagine Geralt having sex with one of those abominations.


I honestly wish I had read the Witcher books, as his relationship with Yennifer and rapist Triss (let's face- she is basically rapist, when you fuck someone with amnesia and tell their GF is dead, or whatever the backstory in the book was) is very complex and nuanced. Years of breakups and get-backtogethers. It's obviously not a romance on a level you hear a lot about in mainstream media.

 

[RespectThySole]

I think the big takeaway here is that the combat is terrible. Not slower paced than bloodborne, not 'different' or whatever. It's bad. I think it's actually worse than witcher 2. Cueing actions like rolling and then casting aard rarely works, the enemies will be stunned but still break through it and attack you. The lock on sucks, the animations don't flow properly. It's not satisfying. It's glitchy. And really, Even though the writing and world building is top notch, the majority of what you'll be doing in this game is sword fighting. For dozens of hours. It's unforgivable.

That's definitely not the takeaway here. There is room for improvement in the combat system, but there is so much more to the game than just combat. People mainly play Souls/Bloodborne for its combat system, but that is not the case with The Witcher and even those who really like the combat system(like myself) probably don't have the combat on the upper end of the short list of why they enjoy the game.

 

[KorrZ]

You should be banned for not including Ladies of the Woods here

I mean, if we're being real then really I should have just linked the entire soundtrack.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

The whole Bloody Baron arch is extremely well done imho.

I am still fooling around in Novigrad, but I do think in terms of story and character exposition, the Baron questline is outstanding, and I fear I won't be able to find anything like that throughout the remainder of the game. It was very well crafted.

 

[RespectThySole]

You should be banned for not including Ladies of the Woods here

Yup. The whole soundtrack is great.

 

[Majestad]

I dont care whether you think it is good or bad. You are perfectly validated to think the combat in Witcher 3 is beyond serviceable.

My response was to people saying 'Witcher is not about combat' or 'Witcher's combat should not be critiqued because that is not the point of the game' etc.. which would only be appropriate if Witcher 3 did not have a lot of combat .Unfortunately it does so no.. you cannot blame people for scrutinizing the combat mechanics in Witcher. They are not 'approaching the game wrongly' just because they want more out of the combat.

You have the people that think the combat is a lot of fun, such as myself. Saying the combat is bad is ridiculous hyperbole. It is similar like saying Zelda games have bad combat. That's not the aim of the game. Sure, you do a lot of it, but there's other things where the game shines, like temples. In Witcher's case, there's a lot of combat, sure, but that's not the game's selling point, like it is in the case of a combat oriented game like bloodborne. Witcher 3 is about exploring a gigantic world and engaging in some of the most well crafted storylines in games, from simple NPC's to major characters. That's its focus.

Edit - Oh you are one of the delusional fanboys. I should not have even bothered with this reply. Either attack the arguments or if you are insecure stop responding to my posts instead of making meaningless accusations.

You are the one who comes with those garbage hyperbole comments like "X PS4 game obliterates........or destroys............or annihilates......... or absolutely utter completely murders" and crap like that. I would look through your post history, but I don't have the time.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I doubt I'll appreciate the morality the same way you did. I studied philosophy and have adopted a very strict black-and-white set of ideals, so there's not much gray for me to play in. A game has never made me question it or racked me with guilt due to the consequences of my actions. But who knows, maybe Witcher 3 does. I'll get around to playing through it eventually, I just can't afford the time right now and clearly I'm fatigued by fantasy which would just cloud my enjoyment. It's a LTTP title for me.

You could have just posted the second part you know? The entire bolded part of the post was entirely unnecessary condescending sarcasm. No need to be an ass when I was just responding to information you would have missed if you didn't get far into the game or aren't familiar with the property.

As to the game itself, do give it a try at one point. Some of the later missions do border on the side of fantastic writing for modern video games, particularly the Bloody Baron quest, and others introduced in the DLC.

 

[SomTervo]

Has Bloodborne's combat completely spoiled me or does it open up and improve as the game progresses?

Possibly.

The combat animations 'clicked' for me after a while - but if combat is the main thing ruining the game for you, put it down to easy difficulty. It's a masterpiece of interactive fiction alone.

When you get used to oiling your weapons, quaffing potions, knowing whether to dodge or block (block against sword enemies, dodge against monsters and heavy enemies), knowing Geralt's attack animations etc - it gets much easier.

 

[Karl Hawk]

Combat is the most important thing in a game like this, or at least it's a 1a/1b type thing. If I'm not enjoying my interaction with the game why the heck am I playing it. It makes me sad that games like this with weak combat can be so successful, I wish they'd tank.

In that case, we wouldn't get the expansions (Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine) nor the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 if Witcher 3 tanked as you dearly wished.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

I can only repeat: Bloodborne and Witcher are just not comparable. Bloodborne is built around the combat system. Everything in the game is there to serve the combat. It's all about the encounters. There are no puzzles, quests, villages etc. Bloodborne (like all the souls games) is about the enemy design and the situations they put you in. It's not the combat that's great in Bloodborne, it's the encounters.
Witcher is not about that.

What creeps me out too is the fact that Yennifer is probably a old hag and looks horrific too. She has extended her life greatly, and basically used magic to give her crazy plastic surgery. Imagine Geralt having sex with one of those abominations.

Spoiler

At the end of the books it is very heavily implied that Yen is actually a hunchback. They possibly reference this in the opening of the game

 

[Conkerkid11]

Calling it lazy "MMO combat" - What does that even mean? I seriously hope this outdated meme would have died with FFXII.


I liked the combat of Inquisition. I honestly did. It merged DAO and DA2 (improved on DA2) to an extent that made its' own.


Unlike Witcher 3, you can actually build your character in many different ways- Play as a healer, a mage, melee, a hybrid. You can easily take control of other characters, pause the combat and so.
I felt the building of the characters, the way you crafted, the way the game handled talent trees was much more diverse for different setups than Witcher 3.

Did you call my opinion a meme? What?

And you talk about everything in that post except for the actual combat of the game. You're describing the skill trees, and the fact that there are the three main roles you usually have (in an MMO). But when it comes down to the actual combat, it's literally MMO combat.

I mean, you might find it enjoyable, but this thread is currently discussing actual action-based RPGs, not standing still hitting keys until the thing is dead. There's dodging, there's blocking, there's kiting, there's LoS. That's Souls combat, and as flawed as it is, that's The Witcher 3 combat. It's more movement based. It's more about learning your foe's attack patterns, and timing everything you do in accordance with that.

Plus, it doesn't help that not only does DA: I have boring combat, but it's also nowhere near The Witcher 3 in terms of world design, quest design, or story development. Bunch of fetch quests in various MMO-like instanced environments bundled with microtransaction-based multiplayer.

 

[Pachinko]

A Has Bloodborne's combat completely spoiled me or does it open up and improve as the game progresses?

Yes, Bloodborne had spoiled the combat for you , I've heard this particular complaint often enough that it's got evidence behind it. There's a certain level of timing and finesse present in Bloodborne that Witcher 3 lacks in it's basic combat system. What I enjoy the most about it is the story/characters/world. While, the graphics are gorgeous too, since I'm playing on PC.

I should add that the combat does give you a few options that aren't really in Bloodborne in the form of the magic system. It reminds me of Mass Effects combat system , depending on enemy type you switch out your active spell on the fly to effect various things. For example if you find you aren't very good at riposte or dodging you can just stay on the armor spell, it gives you a free hit and if you level it up it can even knock enemies back giving you a chance to recover.

You have to play this game like Bloodborne slowed down 2fold , your actions take more time to animate and you can't cancel one animation into another. Everything is a commitment , if you can get past that and utilize the magic / bomb/potion system effectively ? There could be some enjoyment there.

My personal thoughts on combat - it's good enough , it's not the games shining point by any means but it gets the job done. Basically, there's nothing wrong with throwing in the towel if the combat hasn't clicked with you. If you've managed to play through the games training area (white orchard) in it's entirety and still aren't having fun fighting stuff ? This probably isn't the game for you.

 

[Dictator93]

I actually enjoyed the combat in TW3, I played a light armour build so I had to focus on dodging to stay a live on Death March. One thing I wish though is that you could not take potions in combat, it makes it too easy at times, and also takes away the strategy of preparing for a fight.