KCD made me feel something I hadn't felt for some time: powerlessness, struggle, improvement, and, in the end, feeling like a hero. The graphics were top-notch and are still very good. The combat is off-putting at first but, with time, you become better as Henry, your avatar, becomes more powerful. The story is good and avoids the preachy tropes of the last decade. The voice acting ranges from serviceable to excellent. The characters are memorable. The quests are engaging. The game loops are fun. The downsides are all due to budget and mostly comes down to re-use of character models. The DLCs are definitely worth playing as well. There is not another game like KCD. It's worth your time and money.
For VR: Works great on Oculus Quest if you launch it with the VR option in the "More" menu in GoG Galaxy or using the -VR option after the .EXE in a shortcut I have tried this with both an XBox One controller and a Thrustmaster HOTAS. It works well with both. The HOTAS was more enjoyable but there is no good way I have found to navigate the menus without using both the mouse and the keyboard. With "Arcade Mode" turned off, the combat is just the right amount of arcade. The flying is not terribly realistic, but you can stall. Three axes of flight control are possible. The aircraft models are not as cool as those in Ace Combat 7 but the gameplay is far better, in my opinion. All in all, a great game to play for a while and then put down. Almost no learning curve is needed unless you're trying to set up a HOTAS system.
People will say that the game is too simple and too hard. Both are right. CDPR tried to make a PC game a cross-platform game and didn't get it 100% right. The combat system is weird. Worse, they left in all of the references to people and places that you will not know or care about unless you've read the novels. Some mechanics and progressions could have been designed better. Finally, a few quests can be difficult to figure out and you might have to resort to using Google. Still, the only thing that makes Witcher 2 look bad is that Witcher 3 exists. The Witcher series changed RPGs for me. Instead of having a moral stat like "neutral good," characters were people who made decisions that were some times honorable and other times less honorable. The games also ask you to consider what it means to "win," to think about your motivations and Geralt's motivations. No RPG hits every point, but this one hits some important ones: * Interesting, often complex characters * Storylines that are flavored by the complicated world in which they unfold * Excellent writing * Good action * Graphics that were eye-popping in 2011 and still look good * CDPRs value per dollar was great in 2011 and today, you can enjoy Witcher 2 for a very little tldr; even if there are things you might wish to change, you will definitely enjoy this game
9 minutes in, the tutorial breaks. This is apparently due to changes made in path-building that weren't tested in the tutorial. What a mess. Last patch was in 2017.
The models and textures are Playstation 2 quality. The facial animations are nightmare fuel. This game is an eyesore. If you can get past that, the story seems interesting and the gameplay is good.
I bought the game when it came out, but stopped playing due to bugs. Happily, the game is now very playable; I did not experience any game-breaking bugs. KCD feels as game-chaning as Witcher 1 did. Warhorse is doing things no one else has tried, and does them well. KCD has so very much going for it: - Surprisingly accurate history - Good story-telling and voice-acting - Difficult but rewarding combat system - Mostly interesting quests with memorable characters - Consequential decisions without moralizing - Unique, rewarding combat Like any good story, the beginning is rough. You suffer with Harry as he deals with loss and pain. He's a victim with no money, no power, and few useful skills. He is merciless battered by a cruel world. Life is difficult, frustrating, and frightening. As the game moves on, your persistence pays off in skill, money, prowess, and respect. With more, time, money, and resources, this game could have been legendary. It's definitely worth playing. It's challenging, engaging, frustrating, and FUN. The rough edges, however, and very rough. It seems obvious that the game design over-reached the resources at Warhorse Studios. Still, a good time is in the offing and I'm certain that KCD will influence the future of game design in the same way The Witcher has.
