I'm a couple if hours in (spent some time roaming around, playing gwent, side quests), and I'm already pretty certain this game will become a classic.
Playing on PC and it looks incredible. Ultra/high settings at 1080 with 60fps. I'm constantly having to stop to take in the detail and atmosphere. I wasn't following the downgrade scandal, but if this is what we're left with I'm more than happy.
The character animations are a huge improvement over TW2. Body animations are still a little awkward at times, but facial expressions and character model detail are both vey impressive. Watching the characters converse is a joy, they spring to life on screen.
The VA is also great. Every voice actor so far has been of a very high standard. Geralt himself had come a long way since the first game, so far in fact that I think I can safely say he has my favourite VA of all time.
I tend to not enjoy the art direction of fantasy games that much. Sci-fi is my favourite, I prefer clean gleaming tech to fur and rough materials. Saying that, the art direction in TW3 is superb. The design of the armour, the weapons, the creatures, even the background characters are slick, highly detailed, and have a distinct feel. Compared to something like DA:I, this just feels leagues above.
Combat is just night and day better compared to TW2. It feels responsive, and has a lot more depth. The two dodge types make movement very responsive, the new counter system is easy to use and let's you tactically create space in a brawl, switching between spells and using potions and healing on the fly all feel fluid. Everything just feels intuitive and, most importantly, enjoyable. I'm actually seeking out encounters to test the system instead of avoiding combat and mindlessly hacking though it when I have no choice as I did in TW2.
The open world design is he biggest improvement though. I'm not generally a fan of open world games as they tend to be cluttered with bloat content and busy work, with travel feeling ponderous. So far the open world feels like a place you can truly explore, and the quests feel much more meaningful than your standard open world game. The lack of pointless collectables is a huge boon, it prevents exploring feeling like work. I find males getting sidetracked just exploring the environment because it feels so good to move through and finding new enemy encounters and hidden treasure chests make it feel very rewarding.
Little touches a destruction when you use spells to explode barrels or destroy crates ketc...add a level of depth to the world. It really improves the atmosphere.
Gwent seems like a fun distraction too.
Everything is just a huge step forward from TW2. I enjoyed that game mostly for the characters and lore, I found the combat and general gameplay a chore. CDRP have surpassed my expectations.
So far, I'm very impressed. A game hasn't grabbed me like this since Mass Effect 2. I was beginning to think I'd lost my passion for this hobby a little. :3
