The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone

I generally like the ideas and plot in Hearts of Stone, but the bulk of the expansion is quests focused on talking and cinematics, not gameplay. The base Witcher 3 game already walks a fine line with feeling like a movie a lot of the time, and for me Hearts of Stone tipped it over onto the bad side of that coin. That said it's a good movie, with cool characters and locations. If you're fine with an interactive story focused questline then you'll like it more than me. I just like a little more gameplay in my games.

"Worth every penny. And then some." "Did I beat this expansion or did this expansion beat me?" "I robbed CDPR for getting this on sale." "Almost worth buying the base game just to play this." "Best girl Shani is still best girl."

Had some annoying boss battles, some items where you only had one chance to get them. I had to add them through console commands. Otherwise a really great DLC.

So after I initially waited 9 months to finish the base game, you'd think I would have finished the smaller expansion in much less time. However, Hearts of Stone delivers a story & experience that's in no way watered down from the original game. I started this in Oct 2017, put it off because once again I just didn't want the game to end. Only finished it today Jun 2020. Naturally I have a hole in my heart now, the sinking feeling that I'll never experience this again despite knowing I can replay it, only to end up feeling the same again. All I can say is that if CD Projekt Red never ceased to amaze with this game. This is an expansion that feels like a game on its own. I'd say imagine what they could do if they made an entire game but we already know how that goes. This is a testament to the level of talent & dedication they put into their work. Heart of Stones is also a stand alone expansion, you don't really need to play the base game to get into it but naturally it would help greatly if you do. The narrative in this strips away your sense of power, making you feel like you've been pulled into a current & you're along for a wild ride. The characters they introduce will have you hating them & feeling sorry for them. Sometimes vice versa depending on how things go. The area it was lacking was mainly gameplay. It does introduce some new upgrade system & enchanting? But I didn't bother much with this. Since I was able to use my vanilla save, I already had most of the gear I needed. Although you do get some armour & even weapons that seem to be pretty good comparing the stats. Otherwise, it doesn't really change up much. You'll do all the same sword dancing, you'll Aard & execute much like the vanilla game. Fortunately, the narrative is so good you easily disregard that. Definitely worth playing if you've finished the base game. I loved it. Save for a few moments where a group of enemies wail on you, it's otherwise a great addition to an already great game.

Not quite as good as Blood and Wine, but still a flawless addition to the game.