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This is the beginning of the brilliance that CDPR had and it shows that they understood exactly what they were going for and what their ultimate goal is and there's so many things that can be noticed here. So first off, the story is unmatched with the amazing chains of events and choices that are presented to the player that will play off in totally unexpected ways with many many beloved characters, some of them might be familiar and some new but all are equally fleshed out and have a ton of personality that they feel like real people. The RPG aspect of the game is passable, not gonna lie, it's not the best in the series or even ever but it gets the job done, the traversing of the game is kind of bad but you get used to it. The music is top notch as with all Witcher games and the combat is simple but there's tons of customization to add more flavor to it. Overall I would recommed this game for Witcher fans who want to go through the whole story after the books.

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.

The age of the game shows on several occasions. Firstly, repeated character models with clunky animations. Secondly, the engine wasn't optimized to handle large number of NPCs. So the game is lagging in crowded areas. The movement is pretty limited. You can walk only on paths. You cannot cross bushes, water or jump even over small fences. You simply must go around. It is noticeable in areas outside the city, like marshes and fields. It can be pretty annoying. However, for me it has the best atmosphere in the trilogy. You really feel like the Witcher. The alchemy is integrated pretty well in the game. Something, that I lacked in the sequels. The combat is hit or miss. It took some time for me to get used to it. But in the end, I enjoyed it. Geralt has really sick fighting animations that were pleasure to watch. The story, the characters known from the books, choices that are not black and white... Those are things that hooked me to the screen. Despite its flaws and age, the Witcher holds special place among my favourite games.

Me and my wife just finished Witcher 1+2+3 and we have plans to start them again. I've played and finished probably hundreds of games since the age of 15, and this is by far the deepest one i've ever played. So much thought has been done about the story, that it's absolutely amazing. You make choices, moral choices that make A HUGE difference on how the game evolves. The game is funny, thrilling, interesting, evolving ... Playing the witcher for the 1st time, was like seeing Lord of the rings for the first time. You KNOW you're in the middle of a "one of a kind" experience, and you cherish every minute. I highly recommend on buying Witcher 1+2+3. Enjoy