I am ashamed to say I never played the first Witcher game, and the second one only for a few hours. This, I think though, is a good thing, as I quite quickly judge a game based on how much I enjoyed its predecessor. This will (mostly) not be the case here.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, is an immersive Third-person fantasy RPG, set in a darker and more realistic medieval world. That is one of the things I like the most about it; the fact that it’s not all bright and happy like other games in the fantasy RPG genre. Here, the peasants are rude, prejudiced and dirty. This alone has made me quite happy. But alas, I cannot judge a game solely based on the NPC’s that inhabit it, so I’ll have to go deeper.
Firstly, the gameplay. Honestly, I do not find much to lament here. But neither is there anything that stands out, amid the myriad amount of fantasy RPG’s that have been bombarding the PC since, well, as long as we’ve had PCs. You gain XP by killing stuff and completing quests, and from this XP you gain levels. Each level you get a point you can spend on something that will make you better at killing enemies and completing quests. It works, and there’s nothing overly wrong with doing the same thing as every other game in the genre. But compared to other games, levelling isn’t really at the heart of the Witcher 3. It’s a side thing, which makes sense to have but won’t change the game too drastically.
Combat is very nice and smooth, more so than the Witcher 2’s, as far as I can judge from the five or so hours I’ve played of it. Here, blocking or parrying attacks does what it says, it stops the attack from hurting you, which I found quite a refreshing change. Rolling and evading are still there and still as unrealistic as ever, but at least now I don’t HAVE to roll if I want to not take any damage when attacked by a goon with a sword. Again, nothing new in the gameplay department.
The music in the Witcher 3 has to be some of my favourite music in a fantasy game. It’s not the sweeping, dramatic music you come to expect from the genre. Instead, it sounds like true medieval music, with violins, basic drums, flutes and what sound like guitars, but could very well be even older stringed instruments. Don’t expect Dovahkiin chants or Minas Tirith musicals, while in-game, you won’t find those here.
The other main audio part of any RPG is obviously the voice-acting, and it’s absolutely superb here. Never did I find a voice to be out-of-place (save for Geralt’s blatant American accent amidst a sea of British voices, but we’ll overlook that one), and all voice-actors seem to know which part they’re playing. In other games it can be quite clear when the voice-actors have no idea who they’re playing or in what situation they’re in. Not so in the Witcher 3.
The main part of any RPG is, obviously, the role-playing and the story. I hate having things spoilt for me, and so I won’t spoil anything here. After all, you, dear reader, are here to determine if you want to buy this game. The storyline is nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t know how much happens in the later parts of the game as I’m not there yet, rather enjoying every little bit I can, but know that you won’t find the most intelligent and different story in the world. It isn’t linear, so there is variation and you have different choices which play out over multiple chapters, which really only adds to the game, but it’s not the most original story either. Also, unlike Skyrim, where every quest revolves around; go into place, slaughter enemy, find cool new gear and return to quest-giver; here there is much more story involved, and you should get ready to sit through many dialogue sequences. I thought they were very good, but some people might miss the lack of action and constant talking. That’s all I really want to say for the story. Really, go play it yourself and see what you make of it.
Something I found quite enjoyable, which I haven’t seen before, are the boards littering most hamlets, which have side-quests and witcher contracts posted on them. Not the most original idea, and I am sure it’s been done before, but I still enjoyed riding into a new town and seeing what problems the people there had which I could help with. Much better than trudging through the dirt for half an hour, looking for quest-givers. Another thing which is quite minor, but still had a major impact, at least for me, on the game is the ability to completely remove the HUD elements. Something as little as getting rid of that mini-map can make quite an immersive difference to the game. Really, it’s these little things that made the Witcher 3 such a fun game so far, and add the kind of atmosphere that makes it really immersive. Nobody needs a card-game in a fantasy RPG, but CD Projekt RED put it in anyway.
Now, here comes the big one. Graphics. Most people who pay some attention to gaming news will know of this, but I’ll say it again. It doesn’t look like the “in-game” footage we were shown in 2013. Not a bit. Render distance, foliage, particle effects, the whole lot. The graphics are the one thing that has been bothering me for the whole time I’ve been playing the game. On the switches screen it looks muddy and blurry. But the Witcher 3 looks as if it is below even the PS4 and Xbox versions of the game, with some things bumped up a bit. The grass is horrendous, and NPC’s pop in sporadically only when I get close to them. That is utterly ridiculous. I’ve contemplated buying a second graphics card just so I can see this game in all its glory. And even then, it’s been said the grass still looks appalling.
The verdict. Well, everything’s been said. It’s an amazingly fun game, without a doubt. Most people who enjoy other fantasy RPG’s should find hours of fun in this one as well. It is a technical achievement to see the game run on a portable console such as the Switch. And who knows, maybe they’ll optimize it a bit with future updates.
Final Verdict: 87/100
+ Interesting, engaging story
+ Swift combat that flows
+A living, open world
+RPG elements are as strong as ever
- Let down by underwhelming graphics