The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: Review

After almost a 40 hour game-time mark, I think it’s about time we gave The Witcher its well-deserved review. Beware: there may be some spoilers.

We pick up our story after the mess that was the ending of The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings. The Northern lands are at war with the South, and it is seen everywhere. Battalions of soldiers wander the roads, bloody battlefields litter the gorgeous landscape, and monsters fester in the caves and recesses of the world.

Once again we take up the role as Geralt, famed Witcher, on the trail of surrogate daughter Ciri. On the chase after the young Witcher, we run into some old faces, including Yennefer and Triss from the previous games. From here, we encounter all manner of tough decisions, and even tougher monsters.

The story is beautifully scripted, and every quest is a delight to play, whether it’s playing Geralt as the cold, calculated Witcher he was made into, or going against the meta and choosing a kinder path. Everything you do does have an impact on the world. A woman whose bar gets ransacked recognises you 10+ hours later as the man who wrecked the tavern and killed all the patrons (What? They started it!). Every choice you make resonates with the White Wolf, whether it be having your blade forced due to circumstances involving a plague, an enchantress corrupted by the promise of wealth or a baron who simply made some bad decisions.

The gameplay is a massive improvement from the previous games, from combat to consuming potions and choosing which signs you want to use during a fight. This also includes the way you learn about monsters when taking up contracts to clear out a cave or track down a Griffin, or any number of abominations in the world. Each monster is weak to something. For example, Griffins are weak to Aard, a force push, which stuns them for a few priceless seconds. You have to apply knowledge you’ve learned constantly, as well as making potions and poisons for your blade.

The world is nothing short of absolutely beautiful. Weapons and character models are intricate and detailed, adding a real depth to each person you talk to, even if it is the same model just dressed differently. The environments are populated with people and wildlife, adding a real vibrancy to everywhere you go.

A brilliant game. Hopefully, they’ll end it here, and know when to lay a good series to rest, but with a roster of DLC coming out in 2016, we should still be playing The Wild Hunt well into 2017.