BizzyBum
Member
I feel like I am going to reiterate what many others have already said over the past year, but I have to give my 2 cents and state how simply amazing this game truly is.
Firstly, I really loved The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings which was my first foray into the franchise as I never played the original. Everything about that game was special. I don't think I ever played a game before that had that caliber of writing, voice acting, storyline, quests and graphical fidelity in such a mature setting before in which my every action seemingly changed the outcome of the game. I was instantly hooked on the franchise and the cast of characters I played with. For all its worth, I beat the game at around 50 hours and saved my game file for the inevitable sequel. It was easily my favorite Action RPG ever and 2011 GOTY.
Suffice to say, I was extremely hyped for The Witcher 3. I'm usually cautiously optimistic when it comes to sequels because if the previous game is great it just creates a bigger hype train and expectation from fans to not only be just as good, but even better, which many times leaves people disappointed when the game is actually released due to impossible to meet standards. However, this was CD Projekt Red, I knew they weren't going to fuck this up. Was I a little bummed about the "downgrades" that erupted on GAF near release? Eh, maybe a bit, but I knew something like that wouldn't ruin the game for me. And boy was I right.
I could probably ramble here forever praising this game, but I'll try to keep it short. The moment I finished the quest "Bloody Baron" (the second main quest in Act 1), I knew CD Projekt Red created something magical here. That quest alone was probably better than 90% of most video games in their entirety that I have played in my life. Everything I praised in The Witcher 2 at the beginning of this thread was raised tenfold with The Witcher 3. So much time, effort, and love was poured into this game and it oozed everywhere. The game is so massive that it definitely is a little overwhelming at the start, so much so that certain people were turned off and shelved the game. It is definitely one of those games that require time and effort to complete, but the reward you get in return is something that every gamer should experience and I hope people put off by the open world will eventually come back and try it again.
So I take my sweet time and finally end up beating the main quest, an exhilarating ride to say the least and easily my 2015 GOTY and definitely up there in my GOAT. There was a recent thread on GAF where someone said they believed The Witcher 2 was the better game (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1294378&highlight=witcher+2) and he did make some valid points. But here's the crazy part, and why CD Projekt Red is the best in the business: the DLC was ten times better than the main game and firmly cements The Witcher 3 as the superior game and my undisputed GOAT. Simply put, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are the greatest gaming experiences I ever had without debate. If I had to choose I would give Hearts of Stone a slight edge, but Blood and Wine introduces a brand new area in Toussaint which is also fantastic so it really is a toss up. The next level and quality of the writing with A+ voice acting and the quests associated with them is without equal. Quests often go to places you would never imagine, both in the base game and DLCs. For example, in Blood and Wine
if you choose to save Syanna from the Duchess instead of meeting with the Unseen Elder, it seems like it would be a fairly straight forward quest where you locate Syanna in the castle, have some dialogue, then sneak out. Instead, you are transported to a magical realm via a book in which you do quests that involve mutated and sadistic forms of childhood fairy tales due to the magic becoming unstable over the years. Like, who thinks of this shit!?
A $10 DLC is better than most fully priced games and also trumps the main game which in itself was already better than most games. Just think about that for a few seconds. Also, Blood and Wine has
the greatest sex scene in the history of gaming. I was laughing the entire time because it felt so out of place but at the same time so amazingly awesome.
Also, I feel like Blood and Wine ended the series perfectly (granted you made the right choices). End of Blood and Wine spoilers ahead:
Geralt having that last chat with Regis in which Regis says to Geralt that after all the adventures and turmoil they have been through that it would be nice to sit down and relax as they deserved it (they being us). Geralt proceeds to agree then breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at you and smirks as the screen cuts to black. It's very subtle and quick, but the smirk starts to fade as the screen goes black, almost giving him a disappointed look knowing that it's all over and that we, the fans, feel the same way knowing this will be the last time we have an adventure with Geralt and company. It is indeed a somber feeling knowing this great ride is finally over. At least I chose to spend the rest of my days with Yennefer at Corvo Bianco (aka Witcher 3: Animal Crossing Edition). A nice touch to make you feel a bit happier.
Now, for all the praise I give it, does it have faults? Of course it does. The biggest one being the combat. As every Witcher fan puts it: "It's serviceable." I do feel like it's unfair to expect From Software levels of combat, however. Personally, this game is so great that combat could be only activated via voice commands from Kinect and I would still play the game. Others hate it so much that they simply can't play the game. To that I say it's a shame. The combat does get more varied and interesting as you level up and you devote your skill points to either the Signs or Alchemy trees. The DLC also adds new things like Runewords and Mutations to spice things up. Another thing that could have been improved were NPC variations. The more you play the game, the more you will start to encounter the same faces/voices for NPC's which can definitely break the immersion of the game. All important NPC's are unique, however. There is some "fluff" added due to the sheer magnitude of the game like NPC's labeled Peasants who can't be interacted with and many buildings being inaccessible. It's hard to fault CD Projekt Red for this though because if they made every NPC unique with dialogue and had to render every building then this game would have been released in 2020. When it comes down to it, the triumphs of the game far outweigh the downfalls.
So, all in all, those are my thoughts on the game. I put about 300 hours into this game. If I wanted to I could put in another 300 hours and make entirely different choices and still have a blast. I have a hard time believing I will ever play a game like this again. The only studio to do it would be CD Projekt Red themselves if they make another Witcher game, or I might eat those words when Cyberpunk 2077 releases. I said the same thing when I finished The Witcher 2, so I believe in them to do the impossible.
EDIT: It also gave us some incredible music. The Fields of Ard Skellig, Ladies of the Woods, Sword of Destiny, Hearts of Stone, Toussaint.
And how can I forget about Gwent? The true endgame, FUCKING GWENT.
