The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Review
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Ent
Developer: CD Projekt Red Studio
Genre:
PEGI: M
Comments:
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt delivers on almost all of its promises. For a moment, forget that the game doesn’t look like the video we saw in 2013. By now, everyone needs to understand the difference between event specific videos and entire games. Despite what some may say, the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt really does look great.
Sure, you might be able to find a few blemishes here and there, and outside of the larger cities, I see a lot of NPC character features used frequently. But the game, story, and RPG elements are all on the better side of great!
The choices you are given is what makes this world more enjoyable to explore. What the Witcher doesn’t try to do is establish a “Let’s Save the World” story line. When players quickly realize this is not the goal of the game, it provides more freedom to how they choose to play Geralt. Are they ruthless? Are they kind? These decisions affect the world that you play in, and frankly, Geralt doesn’t care. He has one objective: to find his once upon a time understudy, Ciri.
With Ciri, I have a small platform to gripe briefly. During the game, you will engage in story’s with characters that will ultimately place you in Ciri’s shoes to tell the story via game play. These game play moments are generally short, but often feel forced. I can only ask if this was CD Projekt Red’s lame attempt to include a female playable character. If it was, they failed.
The story is passable. It’s not outstanding, but it’s not bad. I enjoy that I’m playing a “selfish story.” This isn’t a save the world game; it is selfish in nature which makes your characters decisions more impactfull. The story is what created the world, and the world is outstanding. I spent more time getting lost between main story quests trying to help civilians, destroy monster nests, and create safe areas for people to reestablish old, destroyed towns and hamlets. The world feels alive with swaying trees and grasses, incredibly realistic lighting, and an abundance of wildlife.
The combat can be a bit daunting at first, but it won’t take long before you are tapping those shoulder buttons and using bombs, bolts, and potions like you’ve been playing for years. The combat, in my opinion, is deep and satisfying. It’s not necessarily better than the combat you will find in a game like Skyrim. It is definitely different though.
The voice acting is top notch, but I find a lot of repetition in the soundtrack. If it begins to bother you enough, you always have the option to turn it off.
Overall, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an excellent title on current generation consoles. While there appears to be some issues on how characters level up (it is definitely slow!) most people walk away feeling that it didn’t affect their overall game play experience. Regardless of the issues, this title is still a must own for any adventure / RPG fans!
Authors Note: On Games Reviews, we have tried to provide more specific coverage of games via articles, followed up by a shorter, easy-to-read review. Click on the links for coverage of our Early Impressions and Combat Impressions.
Trailer
Article By Adam Roffel
Adam Roffel has only been writing about video games for a short time, but has honed his skills completing a Master's Degree. He loves Nintendo, and almost anything they have released...even Tomodachi Life.
Follow Adam Roffel on:
Twitter: @AdamRoffel