CD Projekt Red is known for quality, so when they first announced The Witcher 3, people were excited. I was excited. So how did The Witcher 3 turn out? Well, it’s pretty damn good.

First off, I apologize for the wait in getting this review to you, but I wanted to really experience a good portion of the game before making my final opinions on it. If you don’t feel the reading, just go buy the damn game, it’s worth it if you want to delve into a massive world that’s so full of life and emotions, and features an unbelievable amount of content.

I’m not going into detail about the story since there are really just so many arcs to cover and it all intersects here and everywhere – frankly it’s too big. But the developers seem to have covered all the [major] angles at least, and while there may be loose ends somewhere with smaller quests, I haven’t noticed any.

Quests are pretty mixed in the game and you won’t always find yourself doing the same few things over and over just to gain experience or new items. Story quests can actually exceed a full hour of gameplay if not more, even early on in your adventure. The sidequests even tend to take a little time depending on your character level and the difficulty of the quests in question. You’ll find new items, meet new characters that can play a part later in the game, and of course gain more experience to make Geralt stronger. What I love about the Witcher, compared to other RPG/adventure games is the fact that it’s just such a varied world full of activities, and I never feel like I’m stuck to some path. I’ve got six days without even touching a story quest and I’ve never been bored once.

I said the world was huge – seriously, it is. I jumped on the back of my trusty horse, Roach, and started riding north. After a few areas where I had to run or swim, and then back onto Roach, I finally reached one of the more Northern cities, yet still not the edge of the game map… and that took me about 20-30 minutes. It’s a massive map with so many hidden areas to explore, caves, underwater secrets, forested areas, snow-blanketed lands, and more. This is just the beginning as we know there’ll be fair priced DLC packages for Wild Hunt, and they’ll add even more areas.  Unless you’re truly dedicated and have the time, you’ll likely never see everything this world has to offer.

The Witcher 3 is a true masterpiece and it’s an awe-inspiring experience to play!

When it comes to the visual in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – they’re stunning. Of course there are some pop-in issues, but nonetheless it often shows off some great draw distance, and the world is truly living with vegetation, fog, and the winds actually effect the world. Even close-up textures will impress your eyes, so it’s not just a visual trick to make it look nice from a distance.

The voice acting and sound workings are also on another level with Wild Hunt. CD Projekt Red and the background tracks really set the tone for where you are and what’s happening during the game. Intense battle music, to the sublime undertones of exploring a seemingly quiet, dark forest really help to set the mood and put you in the game. It’s worth noting that this is a completely different experience when wearing a quality headset over using your TV basic earbuds.

 

The inner workings and menu will take time to learn and includes a huge crafting system. You can find materials everything in this world, and earn others by breaking down items, or by doing quests. Weapons and armor can be upgraded through these materials too, but they also degrade over time and you’ll need to find a repair kit or visit a blacksmith. It’s a feature I’ve never liked, notably in Dark Souls II (weapons degraded ridiculously quick in that title), but at least in this game, the kits are pretty common to find so it really doesn’t get to a point where you’ll need to switch up weapons.

In the end, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a massive game with enough content to keep you fulfilled for a solid 40 hours or more. The DLC packs will surely add another 20 hours based on their past track record. Sure, it has minor technical issues, and sometimes you’ll be confused on what to do next, but that’s half the fun in a game like this.  CD Projekt Red knows what gamers want, and they’ve truly delivered a quality experience with Wild Hunt.

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