Ведьмак 2: Убийцы королей

No I'm sorry, I really am (no I'm not actually, not for the last review either). I didn't finish the last game either. I should stop playing games on their hardest difficulties out of the box for my own sake, but if a game's gameplay isn't fun on it's hardest difficulty, if it isn't engaging and fun, if it doesn't feel fair, it's gameplay isn't all that well polished is it? Now the game is going to test my skill this time around is it? Nothing says good design like being frozen in place even after the animation of a spell or attack has finished, your attempts to dodge completely vain. It is beyond infuriating. It is a poor choice to have such a demonstratedly powerful and capable character through cutscenes all of a sudden fall to a group of grunts. Enemies can block you all day, but not only do you still take damage blocking, but you have very little ability to continue blocking. One person I was talking to was quick to defend this design decision saying it's to encourage players to be agile, use spells tactically, and learn the alchemy system. Geralt is a powerhouse in the game's universe. He is not a thief, acrobat, or tinkerer, at least not primarily (I want to emphasize the player choice aspect here is not wrong, but with no strengths at the beginning of the game at all, he should at least be a good swordsman). He is consistently shown to be a brutal and efficient swordsman. Right off the bat some grunts should be easily dispatched, especially so close to the beginning of the game. And no predictable way to gauge how to break through their block? What the hell is the heavy attack for then? That ugly, out of character orange slash trail? Manipulating the hell out of shitty AI to maneuver around an opponent doesn't feel right the way the game wants you to do it. They could have incentivized tactical play (gadgets and alchemy) and agility without going about it in such a twisted and arbitrary way. The Arkham games (minus origins) do a great job of this.

There is a lot to like about this game. Especially when played just after the first Witcher, you can notice and appreciate how much better it looks and sounds. The writing also seems to be on a great level (I say "seems" because I am not going to finish the game) However, the combat difficulty ruins it for me. At first I saw it as a challenge. When I reached the second boss of the first chapter (the king assassin) I gave up. Repeating the exact same sequence of moves for 40 minutes is not entertaining, it is boring and frustrating. I am giving up.

The story is great and combat is okay. If you enjoyed the Witcher 3 then I would recommend it. With mods it looks pretty good.

I don't know how they managed it but CDPR made EVERYTHING worse in Witcher 2. I rank this among the worst games I've played in 25 years. The character models look atrocious and the erotic encounters are way less inspired than in Witcher 1 and ugly to watch because of the ugly character models. On top of that they made the story split into two branches and the King's arc is completely ingnorable withou any drawback. It's unfulfilling and boring AF. Just follow the Elf when the time comes. Also there is no need replay the game for the King's arc. It will only sour your experience if you played the Elf-arc first. The whole story of Witcher 2 is OK at best. If CDPR had put their manpower behind only one story arc, this could have been a MUCH better game. Combat is a bit better than in Witcher 1 but good it's still an underdeveloped and over complicated, badly imitating combat found in better games. You may get this game now cheap for 2.5 Euros but you will pay with your precious lifetime instead. Better to Just move on to Witcher 3, which is the best of them three - which still does not amout to much, though.

Thank you from Finland ! I have to comment that the last worthy games I have ever bought and played were Baldurs Gate I and II, Fallout I and II, Dragon Age I and offcourse WITCHER I. I Also enjoyed Mass Effect I to some lengths but not part II. Lack of good (and worthy games) led me to games like Eschalon Book I and II and some Spiderweb games (games made with love!). Now I believe that we have a piece of gold in our hands... Made with love and understanding of game experience and story, company which values gaming consumers and doesn't underestimate the intelligence of us the gamers. I believe this game is made with love of the genre and the makers believe at the same principles that I do. This is the reason I have bought this game. I truly believe that this gaming experience is going to be something special after so many years... Thank you.