The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This game is a masterpiece of the genre. The quests are interesting and actually meaningful, the dev team proved that even a small reward quest can be fun and engaging. The visuals are, in my opinion, unparalleled: stunning sunsets, wind moves trees and grass in a natural fashion, light rays pierce tree cups, it's simply amazing. The sounds and music are incredibly fitting, voice acting is superb for all NPCs. Battles are fun and challenging, this is not Assassin's Creed where you're invincible no matter how many attackers, you can be easily killed if careless. The potion and alchemy system in this game are an innovation (at least haven't seen it before myself in previous AAA RPGs), you brew the potions and get to use them over and over, they are auto replenished after resting provided you have some ingredients, so it's less of a hassle and is not like in other games where you keep saving your potions for that last boss. Gathering ingredients for crafting is thankfully not as annoying as in other games, though you're still forced to get down from your horse (which is a bummer), but alchemy ingredients spawn seemingly randomly all over the place, not exactly fun, but decent system (I still hate crafting, unfortunately they did not manage to make it fun, but it's not required). There is some hand holding, which is my main nuisance, you keep getting quests where you need to use your witcher senses, but you're prompted to do so, so it's completely pointless! other than that, it's tough enough and the hand holding is just a little patronizing and annoying, but can be easily ignored because of the overall quality of everything else. Huge world, epic storyline, awesome characters, great music, immersive world, this game has it all. Could live without the stupid crossbow and bombs, they serve no purpose and Geralt never used them, goes against the character. Oh, and the Triss Merigold alternative outfit is incredibly ill conceived, pure and pointless fan service.

Where do I start? Well, from the beginning I suppose. I'd never played any Witcher game before TW3 but still decided to give it a go after one night craving to play a new RPG. I noticed TW3 and, one week after release, decided to give it a go. The next few weeks, I never stopped playing. Over the next few months, I kept coming back. Although others may not agree, I fell in love with the characters and story behind TW3. More so than I have ever done with any other game. After my first playthrough, I purchased the English translations of the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski and looked for fan translations of those that weren't available. Then, I proceeded to buy the previous Witcher games and play them in chronological order carrying over my saves each time until I eventually got back to TW3. What then? I played it again. Not only are the characters and world beautifully crafted over 22 years through text, but also through visuals. Although TW3 does not look as good as some would've expected, It is still a beautiful world. There are magnificent sights to see and wonderous locations to explore. The art and design of the world truly reflicts a dark and dystopian world full of prejudice and racism. The world of TW3 is not afraid to show it's claws and is not afraid of scrutinisation. The closest comparison of the world of TW3 I can formulate is a cross between George R.R. Martin's GOT and J. R. R. Tolkien's LOTR. Both visually through the film and movie adaptations, and mentally through the horror and deep lore behind the world. If you enjoy RPGs or open world games, you would be a fool for not at least trying TW3. You will love the characters and you will love the world. I am almost sad that I will have to wait another 4 years at the least for another game and am definately sad to say goodbye to Geralt of Rivia. It is with 100% confidence that I can say, other games will have a tough time competing for Game of the Year. Yet, there is more TW3 content to come.

You know, after seeing all of the hype about this game, I expected more. It's not a bad game, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't introduce anything that hasn't been done many times before. In fact, it suffers from many of the same issues that games like this have suffered from for a long time: interacting with and moving around in the game environment can be clunky and unrealistic, the game feels a bit detached from itself at times, and, like some of the other big games in this genre, it is riddled with bugs--sometimes gaming stopping bugs. As of this writing, I have about 8 hours into the game, and I have encountered bugs that have forced me to reload and redo parts of two different missions because of game breaking issues (one with a dog in a doorway, and the other because an item wouldn't allow me to interact with it). The way he interacts with other characters is both rewarding (more cinematic) and, at times, immersion breaking. Also, in my opinion, because of a decay feature, dealing with weapons and armor is more tedious than it should be--and also a throwback to earlier games--one that I was happy to see go away. There are also certain graphics elements that can be distracting and unrealistic, especially in contrast to other onscreen elements. I like the story telling, so far they have done a pretty solid job with it. And although there are some unavoidable A-to-B-to-C-to-A mission elements, they try to provide players with variety. Unfortunately, sometimes it reduces itself to loot-and-grind elements. Maybe it's just because I have done it all before, but running around looting bodies and picking flowers, etc., is something that I find boring and this game has plenty of it. It's a fun game, not amazing or anything, but fun to play for a few hours here and there. It does't push the genre forward, or introduce much in the way of anything that hasn't been done before, but it mingles many of these "tried and true' elements together in a solid manner.

The first rpg's I played was early Ultima and Wizardry games, been in love ever since. After a few years away from PC gaming, Cd Projekt Red brought me back with The Witcher 1, I loved it! Then I enjoyed Witcher 2 and then came Witcher 3 which blew my mind, an improvement in every way. I spent around 200 hours on this game! The Good: - The story is great - Graphics are amazing - Runs well - Soundtrack is beautiful - Characters are fantastic - Dialogue is very good and interesting - It is a very fun game to play - TONS of content, easily 100+ hours to be had in this wonderful game - Great game world Things that could be better: - Mini map is meh - Combat is good but not great, abit more depth would have been nice Amazing game and I suggest any open world fan or roleplaying game fan check this game out asap, it is fantastic! I will see you later again when Cyberpunk comes out, keep up the great work!

Absolutely amazing game from start to finish. Even the Expansion Packs could be standalone games and receive high praise. CD Projekt Red has raised the bar for what is expected from RPGs going forward.