Going into the game I was excited. I'm almost 100% sure the creators of this game read books like Snow Crash or Count Zero and was inspired by them to make this game. That's perfect for me because those are some great books. Coming off Deus Ex: HR I was still itching for that cyberpunk game, and this game fit the bill amazingly. Hell it's practically to the dot what I was looking for, since my love for cyberpunk spawned from these sci-fi books. The lingo, the dark and depressive crime-filled world, the street cowboy/samurai vibe. It's beautiful man. Hopefully the story matches the setting. So finally finished the game and sadly it didn't live up to my lofty expectations, but it's still a solid, small RPG. The setting is pretty cool and the text-based adventures is like a DnD campaign. The combat really could use a bunch more refinements, and basically everything from story/characters/enemies could use a bit more depth. Overall it's a fun little title that you'll have a lot of fun with if you're in the headspace to try a cyberpunk isometric game. But X-Com does the turn based squad combat a lot better, as does other RPG titles I've tried like Dragon Age. Decking felt really irrelevant, and most of the weapons and abilities never really felt cool or badass which is a shame because I really was looking forward to being a street cowboy/samurai in this world.
Maybe I just got fed up with platformers or just wasn't in the mood for it this time around. But this didn't really have the same heart and feeling it felt like. Trine was never about the most amazing story but I never felt the urge to finish it. Abandoned my playthrough after a few hours.
Wish I wrote this review when I played this game like a decade ago. God what a fantastic experience. This game proves you don't need fancy graphics to tell an amazing story and immerse you completely into it's world. I still have fond memories of Junktown, the small village you see soon after leaving the vault. Google mods for first time playing. There's a few that add a lot of benefits for the first time experience. Since Fallout I've played all of Mass Effect, DA: Origins, all of the Witchers and other RPGs, all fantastic games in their own right. Fallout from before the millenium still is the best I've ever played.
GO INTO THE GAME KNOWING AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. The levels are amazingly designed, the mechanics are great, the visuals are great. It's worth every bit of the super cheap sale price it's at these days. That's all you need to know. Don't read any in depth reviews of the story or anything like that. Trust me and play it and you'll understand why.
The game looks beautiful even now. All the settings and characters, armors are well done and walking around the world feels incredibly immersive. The story is complex and well-paced. It's full of interesting characters and an uncompromising look at a world that's divisive and bubbling with conflict. Witcher 2 doesn't shy away from the harsh topics like religion, racism and my favorite part of the story is how it focuses on the overarching story as well as the impact of the grand decisions on the common people. Combat is vastly improved from the first game. It still feels a bit mindless at times, but a lot more enjoyable. My favorite thing about the first game, alchemy is back and the system is much more organized and refined. It's also a lot more useful and necessary this time around. My biggest complaint about the game is it doesn't have the same charm of the first game. As flawed and outdated as that game was, the locations were memorable and there's a nostalgia when remembering of Temple Quarters or the Outskirts. I've already forgotten places from Witcher 2 few months from playing it. Rating: 90
Contrary to some reviews there are flaws with The Witcher 3 but the absolutely beautiful gigantic open world, combined with an interesting main story and awesome side quests make this an easy 5. The best: The game is genuinely beautiful. I don't just mean that it has great graphics, but the presentation overall is magnificient. It's colorful and dazzling where it needs to be, dark and depressing in others. To do this in a huge open world and make it so seamless is just mind blowing. Every city feels and looks different. Whether you're walking through Novigrad, Vibrant and lively or Velen, bloody and somber, every little village and city oozes character. The world feels large and the people feel real. You'll have a joy just riding around the outdoors or walking in the villages/cities with Geralt. Side missions, witcher contracts, "undiscovered locations" are THE reason to play the game. They're always interesting and go far beyond a basic escort, kill or fetch mission. They always feel interesting, gives so much depth to the world and really makes the peasant folk and the brutality of the Witcher world feel real. The depth of these missions and the beautiful scenery makes for some of the most immersive experiences in gaming. The potions and crafting system is very well done. The bad: There are issues with Witcher 3 in my opinion. The combat has never been a strength of this series and it's not any different here. While it can be a complicated system, it rarely feels rewarding. The story is good, not great and can be convoluted at times. The loots and gears all kind of feel jumbled up and personally I wasn't impressed with how they looked most of the time. Even the most powerful gear barely changed you compared to low level gear. I'm about 117 hours into the game and about to finish the Blood & Wine expansion. You can easily put in 200+ hours into the game. This is an amazing game and probably still the best looking game ever.
Rating: 8 The Witcher has one of the greatest story I have ever played in a game. The game doesn't get the attention it deserves because the combat simply suck and makes doing many of the missions a chore. The story is fantastic. You are not the savior of the kingdom, just a man with some special abilities trying to do what he can to make things better. The dialogues and NPC interactions are well done and the game gives you extremely relevant choices that shape how the events in the game turn out. The graphics are a bit dated at this point but the game world is lovingly made and it shows. Witcher is oozing with character and life. The outskirts feel like a community of poor folk trying to survive rather than a bunch of isolated huts. Temple quarters is a vibrant town with all sorts of people who all feel real. Walking in town during night and day feel totally different. The leveling system is interesting, but it's nothing impressive. Alchemy is very well done though. It's extremely deep and very relevant to fighting. There are so many different potions, oils and bombs. If you're a fan of gear, you might be disappointed in The Witcher. The upgrade options are pretty scarce. That's not too big of a deal though because you won't have any shortage of stuff to spend money on. The biggest reason this game gets an 8 and not 9.5 from me is the combat. It's a chore pure and simple, which sucks because alchemy is so intriguing and you can't take advantage of it without combat. Next playthrough I'm going to try the full combat rebalance mod, which completely overhauls combat. It's supposed to be much better. If you haven't played the game yet, definitely try it. It can't be worse than the default option. Depending on how good the FCB mod is, the game can be one of the best of this generation. Without it, it's an all time story with real choices, beautiful settings with life, tragedy, heart and characters that you'll remember long after you finish the game.
