The Good --- One thing that makes The Witcher series great is that most of the plot and choices are morally gray. None of the characters are pure souls, and it all ties together beautifully to make for an intricate and engaging story. You will often be trying to choose the lesser evil, and figuring out which option is actually “lesser.” If you’re looking for a game where the choices are hard and have a big impact on the direction of the game, this is your game. The graphics in the Enhanced Edition make this 2011 game feel like it fits in with our modern games. The sound was good, but didn’t grab me enough to sing much praise. The voice acting is excellent. A great game to play if you are building up to playing the phenomenal Witcher III (some choices carry over), or a great way to get more of The Witcher if you are sad that Witcher III is done. The Bad --- I don’t consider anything here to be a deal breaker. Most of these are only irritating, but there are enough of them it dropped the game a peg for me. Combat isn’t too challenging. Enemies move formulaically. Once you get a system down, you can trash all the fights. And your system will probably feel cheesy and unrealistic. (Thanks Captain Kirk, the rolling really does help). The game relies heavily on quest hubs…and I can’t say HEAVILY in big enough font. Get to a new chapter and expect to spend 1-2 hours at the hub collecting quests, getting a lay of the land, figuring out the new plot angles, etc. You almost have to read your (very long) journal if you want to fully understand the plot. Sometimes the game doesn’t tell you the full outcome of your quest on camera. The game throws the world at you fast and furious. You get lots of strange names for people, kingdoms, and organizations. If you’re new to The Witcher, it’s a lot to keep straight early on. Your journal is the only thing that can really rescue you, and it will take ~2 h to read everything.
