The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Full Disclosure...I LOVE THIS GAME!!!. I found myself frequently comparing this game to Skyrim and, to be fair, that's not a fair comparison at all. Skyrim is more of a role playing game, Witcher has a pre-defined hero and somewhat more limited decisions that affect who he becomes. But lets not get into that. I'll start with the open world It's EPIC! With the addition of Blood and Wine we know have 3 massive open worlds to discover, as well as two smaller sandbox locations. Skellige has the cold and mountainous feel of Skyrim, Toussant has the colorful feel of Mania from Elder Scrolls IV's dlc, and Velen/Novigrad have the feel of Oblivion's Cyrodiil. The Story If you haven't played or read up on previous installments on wikipedia, I recommend you take the short version and read up on the previous games (or just play the first two games and import your saves you Witcher fan, you). It will help with understanding the lore as well as where Geralt is coming from. There are a LOT of references made to events from prior games (and the DLCs introduce characters from prior games) so it helps to understand who everyone is and what's going on in the world. The story itself, for those unaquainted with the prior installments, is not hard to follow. You're a professional monster slayer trying to rescue a surrogate daughter from a mystical threat known as "The Wild Hunt." You'll have adventures across two continents and through dozens of quests and many more side quests and monster hunter contracts. You'll get to shape the world around you and learn more about the lives of villagers and even help them out on random occasion....back to the main story. It definitely had its moments, and even made me tear up towards the end, and I can truly say its a well-written tale of love, revenge, honor, hope, and more. It's not a pure fantasy tale like Skyrim but a more down-to-earth type tale. You'll hear cavalier talk of rape, and a general downtrodden air about the world Gameplay It's inspired by Batman Arkham Knight although not with all the finesse. Not a problem, the combat manages just fine and the control scheme is easy to learn and master. Walking around as Geralt and Roach is cumbersome but with the advent of an update that adds an "alternative" control mode to both this was made much more fluid. Geralt still suffers from poor fall distance damage but the developers added a "roll" button to remedy that. You can always mod it out on your own. Speaking of mods: MOD SUPPORT!!! It's probably not going to reach Skyrim levels due to the limited modding tools but what is out there is certainly promising. There are mods that improve the lighting, draw distance, graphics, HUD and immersion, as well as custom camera controls, skins, etc. (you know the deal). They're easy to use with Nexus Mods and I highly recommend immersive Cam and friendly hud (just to name a few) as they add a whole new level of immersion to the game.

Possibly the best RPG I've ever played. Not to say I hunt them all down, but to take the crown from Morrowind is no small feat. An excellent story on its own but gains even more depth if you've read the books by Andrzej Sapkowski, also well worth your time. It doesn't have the instantly gripping, fast-paced start of the second game, but it builds in a way that is ultimately more satisfying. Saying too much would risk ruining a few moments so you'll have to take my word, and everyone else's, on that. Gameplay is nicely rewarding and the challenges are effected by more than the difficulty. A powerful shield is almost like cheat mode and a few fights would have been incredible tests of skill without it. I'm not ashamed to have relied on it more than once. You could easily forego it if you're a master at dodging or maybe at knockdowns, or have a panache for setting people on fire. My only complaints are partially of my own making: If you want to complete every quest and point of interest then the pace of the story will suffer somewhat and in Skellige you'll grow to hate the water. And you'll learn, never trust a horse. The visual design has captured the atmosphere of the Witcher's world wonderfully. From the brown, dirty, muted life of war-torn rurals, to the frigid beauty of isolated islands, to the lush splendor of a perpetually partying dutchy. The only disappointment is that the graphics themselves could have been much better - luckily we have mods for that. There's simply nothing to complain about with the audio. Beautifully scored, and with excellent foley work, the emersion is wonderful. As with any RPG, you'll also wish the game had five times the voice content, but what is there is still impressive. As I mentioned, there's no lack of mods to help further enrich things as well. Too many to list but I strongly recommend two: The HD Reworked Project - an impressive bump without changing the world All Quest Objectives - will save a lot of wasted time

The presentation values are excellent, from the gorgeous if slightly familiar setting to the carefully staged cutscenes (complete with realistic camera), the awe-inspiring soundtrack, and superb voice acting that makes even RPG staples like "thank you for saving my life for no payment" feel heartfelt and convincing. The gameplay felt thrown together to justify the excellent story. Playing through Death March difficulty, many enemies were vulnerable to the same tricks and strategies available early on, particularly with one spell that's so effective at stun-locking as to make some of your few others often redundant. Some foes neatly highlight certain tactics, such as 'extinguishing' a fire elemental via a wind gust. Some foes hardly seemed to notice me nearby. The melee is adequate, neither poor nor original, but focusing on magic makes your stamina quick to recharge and has few drawbacks, unlike the melee (repair bills) or potion-making (toxicity); the mutagen system heavily encourages specialization anyway by giving bonuses to same-type skill groupings. Since a spell upgrade allows you to quickly heal in combat for free, you can sell health foods to augment your often meager quest rewards. Most enemies aren't bulky or damaging enough to mandate potion use until the final, much harder boss fights, where to be fair, magic doesn't always help. One quest involving an invincible rat had a companion-AI/locked-door bug that nearly forced me to start the game over but for a backup save. The plot is incredibly emotionally moving but dubiously paced, with a dangerous if unexciting villain often sidelined for genuinely interesting but wildly off-topic tangents like dealing with a man's numerous 'girlfriends' or the poignant aftermath of a miscarriage. Romance feels like a botch, choosing between a woman who manipulates and disrespects you, and a kind one who's drunk at a party. The main story's conclusion is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in a video game.

The Witcher 3 is not just a game. It's not just entairtainment. It is a journey. I was already a fan of Sapkowski's universe, played The Witcher 1 & 2, but I definitely wasn't ready for the third, back in 2015. Every minute spent on it, I do not regret. The gameplay (despite many critics, the combat system is quite challenging on the right difficulty), the music, the story, and oh my, the characters... I believe The Witcher 3 to be my favorite game ever so far. I cannot wait for Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red, Thank you for the best medieval RPG experience. Looking forward to the best futuristic RPG experience.

CD Projekt Red remains to be my favorite video game developer since Witcher 2 release. I replayed W3 Over 3 times now I am playing for a 4th. I don't know what keeps drawing me to play this game. Its amazing. If you are looking for an RPG with great characters, great story, and great exploration just anything! This game is for you!