The game itself is a 5/5 experience. But this PC port is not. 5/5 game + 3/5 port = 4/5 overall IMO. So overall, for $12 bucks its worth it. Even despite a lot of the games impact is lost so long after release. But if you really want the best experience, play this with patches, or get it on Xbox One. Overall you won't be disappointed with the actual game itself.
This game is so good, that after struggling through the glitches of Witcher 1, after replaying Witcher 2 twice so I could actually play the full game, and after pirating Witcher 3 on my PS4, I logged onto GoG and paid for the game. Thats right, this is the type of game that makes pirates want to put down cold hard cash to get more of and support the Developers. Despite the previous games issues, and the horrible load times on PS4, the Witcher 3 is an amazing game. And as someone who lived through the golden age of gaming pre-2008, leaving me with very high standards in games, this game gave me hope again for the games industry.
After playing Witcher1, Witcher2, Witcher3, and Gwent, Thronebreaker left me puzzled. The game should have to do little to impress long time fans who want more Witcher, and who like Gwent, as this is more of both, right? Sadly, after having played the game for a few hours, I have to say that Thronebreaker's biggest issue is that it just isnt a Witcher game. No matter how hard the game tries to please you, and convince you it is in the same universe, it just doesnt fit. The games identity crisis is only made worse by the fact that Gwent has seen a whole slew of changed since Witcher 3, to the point that it is almost a completely different game. I wouldnt let this ruin my enjoyment of the game if the rest of the experience held up, but it just doesnt. All the nuance and careful crafting of quests from the previous Witcher games just isnt here. The quests in Thronebreaker are pointless, and dont ever get you to invest in them, leaving the game feeling like it was handled by completely different developers from the main series. I really wanted to enjoy the game, even with the new Gwent, but somehow adding pointless quests as deep and engaging as a valley girl, just makes the actual Gwenting even less enjoyable. Thats right! somehow adding context to Gwent matches has made them less enjoyable, and I think that says a lot about how this game was handled.
As of December 2018 Gwent is a completely different game from its original form. If you loved the simple and tactical Witcher 3 mini game, that had no business being as good as it was, then you may be hankering for more, well this is not what you are looking for. Though different, this new incarnation of Gwent had its own good point, along with many bad, but it can still be ejoyable for what it is. The biggest issue that any newcomer faces in modern Gwent is knowing what to tech into. You can very easily waste your starting resources, leaving you with a mish mash of cards that dont work well together and leave you in a position where you cant ever hope to win against anybody but the A.I. This is the games biggest issue, and coupled with a host of reductive efforts where nerfs are used to balance the game, rather than proper rebalances that dont stiffle creativity and leave the meta stale. This all compounds to inhibit the exploration of new tactics by newcomers and veterans, due to inviability of most decks outside the meta. The issue should have gotten better with more and more added cards, but every few months when I come back to the game I'am astounded by how the game is less and less inviting than it was prior.
