I hadn't played any previous Witcher game. I hadn't even heard of the Witcher franchise aside from a few ads of The Witcher 1 & 2 back in my high-school days. A few years ago I saw that The Witcher 3 was announced - still, I payed no attention. Then its launch passed. I was busy with something else back then. A year passed. Still busy. I was so naive. The reviews were star-studded, but I took it with a grain of salt. Lots of games got decent reviews nowadays, 8+ or even 9+. However the more I skimmed around, I noticed The Witcher 3 was nearing or achieved a perfect 10 in many cases - so it was still special in that regard. Eventually, the desire to explore the gritty atmosphere consumed me. I caught it on sale after seeing an advertisement for the first expansion (Heart of Stone) and took the dive. This game blends deceptively simple RPG mechanics with quite the odyssey of a story. The narrative's grasp is light at first, but as you play you become more and more engrossed in this expansive world. The characters whether foe or friend have a wide swath of personalities, from simple to complex, gentle to fierce, nobodies to champions, and everything inbetween. From an RPG perspective, your character truly feels like its growing, both as a product of their experiences in the world and as you equip better items. The combat is accessible in the lower difficulties and challenging in the higher ones. But for me, a game like this is far, far more than just combat. That's what fighting games are for. When I would mention this game to my friends, trying to get them into it, some of the most common responses were approximating "I played it a little, but haven't finished it yet. I need to get into it." Once they did, they enjoyed it. The two expansions are just as enthralling. Some people even like their stories more! If you're on the edge, the experience of this game is waiting for you. Take the dive. It's worth the treasure.
