The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was the type of game that even if it had been your first venture into the astonishing world of Witchers, Witches, and monsters. Everyone immediately fills a connection to the story, myself included. Admittedly, I committed the ultimate gaming sin and started on the third game of the series having never played the other two. I was familiar with the success of Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and its predecessor. The two games had already achieved selling 7 million total copies by 2014, and the hype behind The Witcher 3 was too much too ignore. I bought the game and within almost an hour came under the realization of what I had truly been missing. I immediately turned the game off and bought the first two parts of the series and played them to fill in all the blanks that were clearly denying me the ability to fully enjoy the Wild Hunt.
Not A Game You Play Once
I’ve started my third playthrough and understand how late I am posting a review almost three years later. Though I feel the series itself is timeless, and the very second I was riding through the White Orchard to hunt down a Griffin I remember why this is my favorite game of all time. In today’s world an RPG needs to immerse its players in the world, have a player-decision led plot line, and tell a great story. The Witcher 3 does all these things and makes all RPGs (in my opinion) look like building blocks serving only to lead us to this masterpiece. The adventure you are taken on is one that you hope never ends, you truly feel that you are Geralt the brooding Witcher in the profession of filling bounties on some of the most fearsome creatures the imagination can create. While throwing in a perfect balance of romance and a combat system not too complicated for first time players, but with just enough substance to keep die hard RPG fans interested.
Welcome to the Late 12th Century
Whether it’s riding through the vast swamps dodging Drowners or walking through the beautiful city of Novigrad, you feel completely invested in the world around you. The sights and sounds are meant to reflect the late 1200s where bandits harass innocent citizens and merchants work their trade while also taking a break to play against you in low stakes card games. This would make it the typical sword and shield fantasy epic that has been done a hundred times over. Yet the Witcher 3 pulls in familiar monsters and new ones for Geralt to hunt down and claim the bounty on living the daily life in the trade of a Witcher. The game has a dreary and sometimes hopeless feeling to the world, fitting the consistent horror theme of the series. Making the player feel they really are the only hope of easing the minds of the poor peasants of the countryside, while making a few coins on the side as well.
Van Helsing With An Undeniably Better Story
The fields of dead soldiers left behind after battles between Nilfgaard and the Northern Realms, Grave Hags or spirits terrorizing villages, or nobles disguised as vampires makes gamers feel as if they are playing out the world’s most captivating horror story. That is by far the biggest draw of the game, the wonderful story that is impossible to pull yourself away from. You feel the repercussions of every in-game decision, big or small. You genuinely want to reunite Geralt and Ciri, but also feeling responsible for the struggling state of the world around you. Making choices throughout the game that can literally come back to haunt you, means you have no choice but to weigh every option thoughtfully instead of just getting through the dialogue. This complimented by an underlying theme of humor perfectly implemented by the writers, and great armor sets make you want to consume every playable hour the game has to offer.
