Wiedźmin - Edycja Rozszerzona

So, in this review I would like to address people like myself who may be wondering whether they should bother with the old Witcher games or just jump straight to the 3rd instalment of the series. I'm not too keen on fantasy, I haven't read the Witcher books, and I didn't find the Netflix show appealing. However, The Witcher 3 is meant to be a masterpiece by CDPR. Whilst I was told there's no need to play the first games to enjoy the 3rd, I thought I'd be best to learn some lore. The story starts where the books end. A criminal organisation raids the Witchers' base and steal their secrets. Your mission: chase them and recover the secrets. The plot thickens as you go along and it's really good. I wasn't too fond of the gameplay at first, but as you learn all the features you start to realise the depth of it. You can customise combat style, weapons, craft items; very complete and fun to experiment with. Moreover, you get to make your choices during the game and they come with consequences. There are a number of optional side quests that will give you extra hours of gameplay too. I've already finished the game and this is a solid 9/10. Now, while it does show its age, it was never a deterrent for me. The reason why I'm not giving it full marks is because of a few things I found annoying. Firstly, there were moments in the game where you wanted to make a choice, but it wasn't obvious. I had made up my mind about who was guilty in a certain case, but couldn't find the way to exonerate a suspect. Turns out I had to go to a party first, and the connection between the 2 just wasn't obvious. Secondly, there were a few crashes here and there, especially on chapters 4 & 5, so make sure you save regularly. Lastly, some dialogs are a bit clumsy and having to access your big inventory via character dialog is something I hope will be parted with in the second game, which I intend to play soon. All in all, a brilliant game with a few flaws.

All the things people applaud Witcher 3 for, the great character writing, quest design, world design, music, is just as good and in some cases even better in this game, it's just held back by CDPR's monetary and creative limitations. Given this was the first game they ever made, this has to be forgiven. The world and atmosphere here is incredible. You just have to push through the clumsy prologue and mediocre combat to truly get to appreciate this delight. Great care went into even the low-level-details of this world and the passion from CDPR is evident in every chapter. This world truly feels lived in, with different characters all acting in accordance to their limited perspectives, with fleshed out lives that make you appreciate them more on second playthroughs. Speaking of replayability, the player-choice enriches your second play-through, seeing different outcomes that you would not expect. It's worth every penny, and it's a shame to see so many people discarded due to that awkward presentation, and I'm sad to say I was almost one of those people.

PROS: • The music is unique and atmospheric. It supplements actual narration excellently. • Believable and vivid portrayals of game characters by Polish voice actors. • The witcher’s fighting choreography. It makes for an amazing visual spectacle and sets him apart from other warriors. With new experience levels you can unlock new combos, which allows combat to evolve. • Intricate alchemy system. There are 5 substances required to prepare potions, oils and bombs. You are encouraged to experiment—it’s possible to discover new recipes on your own. Some ingredients have additional qualities; when combined, they offer extra benefits. • Well written plot with a surprising twist at the end. • Replayability. Depending on your choices, some of the game’s events unfold differently. • Incredible artwork displayed during flashbacks and loading screens. • Great intro and outro. • Varied bestiary. CONS: • While the dice poker minigame is cool, wining is a bit too much based on luck rather than skill. • Yrden and Axii signs take too long to cast and don’t offer much benefit. • Too many NPCs share the same character models. It breaks immersion. • Fast travel is available only for a small portion of the game. • No real challenge even on hard difficulty. • Repetitive locations, particularly interiors—the geometry might be slightly different but textures are exactly the same. You’ll spend at least a third of your time in the same places. • Annoying world traversal—Geralt cannot climb all obstacles. He has to walk around them to reach some spots (invisible walls). • Since defense is performed automatically, using dodges and rolls doesn’t make a lot of sense. • Loading happens too often when transitioning between locations. • Monster deterrents do more harm than good. • Too many fetch quests.

Don't assume that because it's old th at it's not good. This game meets expectations and more. It's got great Witcher lore and stoy and fits in perfectly with the Witcher world. Though the combat is different from the next two games, it's still pretty fun. Please play this, the first Witcher game. You won't be disappointed.

I finished the game and here are my thoughts below. Some spoilers for this game. This is my second review of the game (I asked GOG to delete my previous review). What I enjoyed: 1. The story - the game puts the gamer into morally grey situations to deal with racial tensions between men and elves in Temeria. I liked that Siegfried and Yaevinn were portrayed as two extremists depending on your choices. 2. The gameplay - Although the gameplay is old, it is easy to use even on the hardest difficulty and is quite enjoyable. 3. The music fits the game's atmosphere well. 4. The graphics are old, but it does not hurt the experience.