Every once in awhile, a very special game comes along and confirms that there are still indeed wonderful games out there. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of those gems. It is a definite “must have” for any RPG fan.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a third-person, action RPG with an expansive open world environment. It was developed and published by Polish studio CD Projekt RED. The game is based on the a set of fantasy novels by Polish author, Andrzej Sapkowski (these books are available in an English translation). The game came out in May of this year for PC, PlayStation 4, and XBox One.
The story follows Geralt of Rivia, a witcher who takes care of people’s monster problems for coin. Those who become witchers have been mutated and have special powers such as a special sensing ability and limited magic powers. He is searching for his adopted daughter, Ciri, who is in danger from being captured by the Wild Hunt. The main quest line is compelling and interesting. It also has a bit of a Mass Effect quality to it, since Geralt’s choices do affect the outcome of the story. The side quests are fun to play and range from playing gwent with certain people (more on this later), getting rid of monsters, and helping people out. The sheer amount of side quests can be a bit daunting. It feels like every time a quest is finished, five more are available. This is not a bad thing, though. A player could spend full price on the game, and it is definitely worth its price.
The game play is quite a lot of fun. It’s a well-done third person perspective game. The combat system is excellent. Geralt uses swords and a bit of magic to keep the monsters at bay. He has two swords: one for human foes and a silver one for monsters and such. Witchers can cast magic by making signs, which vary from blasting things for flames to influencing people’s minds. There is also an amazing crafting system for both weapons and potions. Weapons and clothes can be upgraded by finding materials and schematics around the world. Potions can be created in the same way. Players may upgrade abilities by either leveling up Geralt’s character or finding places of power, which give extra allotment points.
The open world is expansive. A player can spend hours and hours just exploring. Geralt moves around throughout the land on his horse, Roach and by boat. The world has its own weather system and goes through a day/night cycle. Depending on the time of day can actually affect the powers of particular monsters (think: werewolves and such). The world can range from quaint orchards, to buggy swamps, to massive cities. It’s amazing to explore.
The mini game in The Witcher 3 is probably one of the best-done ones yet. Gwent is a strategy card game that Geralt plays with the merchants and inn-keepers, and there’s a lot of strategy to it. The game involves three rounds. The person who wins two obviously wins the game. Everyone brings their own deck, so finding and winning more cards is also a strategy. This encourages the player to hunt for more cards either by buying or winning them in high-stakes games.
An open world would not be decent unless it had amazing graphics, and the Witcher 3 delivers. There are surprisingly great. The best graphics in the games are the cut-scenes; they are absolutely gorgeous. The in-game graphics are amazing as well, and actually focus on colors. There are little bits and pieces of detail everywhere from the weather to Geralt’s growing beard. A player actually needs to see a barber because the beard will start to grow after a certain amount of time.
The Witcher 3 is an absolutely must-have. Hands-down. Get it now if you don’t have it. Obviously, it is an adult game (there are some really raunchy parts). But overall, the game is just amazing. It really should get game of the year for 2015. However, with Fallout 4 coming out in the fall, The Witcher 3 may be dethroned as game of the year.
Such an amazing game.