Witcher 1 or 2?

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Samaritan

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CreepyUncleBrad

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The Witcher 1 is a slow, in places nearly broken, clumsy mess. But if you can put up with that and the insane amount of back tracking there is a lot their to love. The Witcher 2 is a much more polished game but it still has its share of problems. It is a hell of a lot easier to get into than the first though.

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emprpngn

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I'm a little ways into the Witcher 1, and I plan on sticking it out and finishing it, but the Witcher 2 honestly looks superior in almost every way.

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Raven10

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#54  Edited By Raven10

I'll say this. If you play 2 first as many people did I think it will be very hard to go back simply because of the vastly improved presentation of the second game. If you play the first game first (as I did) I think you'll enjoy it a ton. It doesn't look that much worse than the first Dragon Age and the Enhanced Edition fixed most of the problems with the original game. The story is great, the choices are very meaningful, and the combat is very unique. Some people like that. Others don't. Personally I thought the combat was more enjoyable in the first game. Most will tell you the second has better combat. I'll tell you the second has more standard combat as in a strong and a weak attack, with a block, roll, counter, and so on. The first game uses a rhythmic system that I guess emulates something like the melee combat in the DMC series where you press attack at certain times to chain together combos.

The second game looks better. It is better acted. The story is much more variable. The areas are more varied and interesting. And the combat is easier to get into. Plus they introduced an Easy Mode with the Enhanced Edition which makes it so most anyone can beat the game.

Final thing I'll say is that most people who stop playing The Witcher do so before the end of chapter one. I did this myself several times. Once you get about a third of the way into chapter two, though, you won't be able to stop until the end. The game just has a very lengthy and boring first act. There isn't a ton of explanation about the mechanics or systems, and a ton of the complexity of the combat is withheld until Chapter Two. So if you do try the first and find yourself liking the concepts and the characters but thinking the first chapter is a bit dull I suggest you force yourself through to the second act at which point the game really opens up and reveals its true depth to you.

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AMyggen

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@karkarov: I share your opinions on Witcher 1's combat exactly. It's one of my least favourite combat systems out there, and while not at all perfect, Witcher 2's system is a vast improvement.

For me, playing through W1 was worth it for the lore and the world. But it was a slog at times, the game could've needed an "editor"; it's way too long for what it offers imo. W2 is a brilliant game though, highly recommended.

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armaan8014

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@armaan8014 said:

@samstrife said:

If you truly want to be immersed, you should do what I did; play the first Witcher, fall in love, read every single book (including those not translated into English officially yet) and then play the second game.

I've fallen madly in love with that universe as a result and I couldn't imagine them playing in any other way. Funilly enough, the first game has very little to do with the Witcher's great fiction and is the perfect place to introduce yourself to the world.

Are you me? o_O

Haha I saw your post and thought the same thing. Yeah, I'm a crazy Witcher fan; after falling in love with the first game I read every book, fan translations and all. Well worth it.

Yup. ^^ There definitely is something about the Witcher franchise that makes some of us fall so deeply in love with it. I plan to write a very long blog someday about how the whole Witcher universe is so amazing.

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Karkarov

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@joshwent said:

@karkarov said:

Quite frankly the Witcher 1 is a BAD GAME.

Don't you think after reading some of the other opinions here that yours might not be the definitive one? Those of us who like it aren't all brainwashed, right?

I know it isn't the most common opinion but you will notice most of the time people associate being brainwashed with being the majority view. Bear in mind I bought it and played it myself. I am just happy I waited years instead of buying the very undeserved hype before it went on sale for dirt cheap.

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SamStrife

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#59  Edited By SamStrife
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LackingSaint

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Well I certainly hope the 2nd game is better. Playing through the first feels suuuuuper-tedious to me. Might have something to do with me not being a big fantasy guy, but I was led to believe The Witcher was a bit of a deconstruction.

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audiosnow

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@rusty_: If you haven't bought The Witcher yet I've a free GOG.com copy, if you'd like it.

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PolygonSlayer

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#62  Edited By PolygonSlayer

I'm one of those weird ones who preferred the first game, probably because I didn't care for the fighting system in the 2nd game.. although don't get me wrong, the fighting system in the first game wasn't great either.
I mainly played both of those for the story :)

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armaan8014

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#63  Edited By armaan8014
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gabbadeus

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If you want both for 1 price, so i suggest you to look at GOG.com. Buy any game on GOG.com and get the Witcher 1, free for a limited time.

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Skytylz

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#65  Edited By Skytylz
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avantegardener

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L33T_HAXOR

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I only played a little of Witcher 1. Its much more old-school. The English voice-acting and translation was absolutely dreadful, that's what ultimately killed it for me. There may be a way to switch to the Polish voice-acting, if I have time I might try that.

Witcher 2 is fucking great. Quality is close to the Mass Effect 2 level, no bull. The X360 version has a little screen tearing, otherwise its fine. One of the best looking games I've played on the 360.

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GreekTrojan

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I'll echo what most said. Witcher 2 was on my backlog for ages and I finally powered through it and beat it a few days ago so I have a fresh perspective. Both can be had for dirt cheap if you wait for a sale (which is frequent) so its probably not a terrible idea to do both.

The Witcher (1) is a very methodical, slow burn of a game. There is little grinding but a decent amount of backtracking. The gameplay is really simple and pretty easy once you get the timing down and past its learning curve (even the un-moded hard mode is pretty easy for a first timer). What W1 excels at is exploration and lore. The world builds itself up in a great way over the course of the story and that is what draws you in (it did me, and I HATE LoTR style medieval fantasy because it bores me). I really like it but it does take a while for it to click and gain momentum, and its a very long game (beat it twice, about 50 hours for a "100%" run doing all of the content). Until the end, most of the game is rather "Low stakes"/"low urgency" which is a nice change of pace and fits the world.

The Witcher 2, is the ME2 to W1's ME1 (though more pronounced). The combat and presentation is much better and the game is much more streamlined so that a lot of things that were present in W1 are there in W2 but not as repeated (fewer sex scenes, less expansive dice poker/fist fighting side quests). Same thing with the story, which is more focused and larger in scope. This makes sense since the world/lore is pretty established in the first game (though you do not need to play the first to follow the second). Even having played the first two times, there are points in W2 that I don't know a specific character/term so its rather like Game of Thrones where you can get a little lost and still follow/enjoy the story fine. I would recommend this game first to someone new in the series.

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Krataur

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#69  Edited By Krataur

I played The Witcher 1 for the first time last year. Put 50 hours into it and loved it (although the first Act was pretty rough). It tells an excellent story, but that story doesn't really become apparent until the second or third Act. The combat is very strange, but I grew to like it by the end.

I started The Witcher 2 almost immediately after it and only got a couple hours in before stopping. I think I was just burnt out on RPGs at the time. I liked what I did play and will be going back to finish it before The Witcher 3 comes out.

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sawtooth

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"Did you see a dog run by with a liver in it's mouth?"

I really like the first Witcher.

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GaspoweR

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I believe GOG.com currently has an offer wherein you can buy certain games and get The Witcher for free.

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Kidavenger

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#72  Edited By Kidavenger

I haven't finished Witcher 1, but what I did play was very good, it's just fairly hard in the way that most older RPGs are hard; manageable but no hand holding and a lot to figure out.

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monetarydread

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I'm a little ways into the Witcher 1, and I plan on sticking it out and finishing it, but the Witcher 2 honestly looks superior in almost every way.

Keep playing it. I find that the game gets better with every chapter. The Witcher 2 is superior in most ways. I prefer the original Geralt voice, and I feel that the first game dealt with the 'racism' theme a little better than the squeal.

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Marz

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#74  Edited By Marz

witcher 1 is a great game in terms of story, the combat mechanics are kinda an acquired taste... but most likely not enjoyable. I won't say it's required before playing Witcher 2 but it's not a bad game at all.

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cornbredx

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While Witcher 2 is superior in most every way (except the writing which is top notch in both) you would not go wrong if you wanted to play both. And they're both insanely cheap now. If you have time, play both. If you just want the best one you can skip 1, but you will be missing out on some story that you will be more fulfilled knowing if you played the first Witcher.

Up to you. Both are definitely good games, though. No reason to skip either.

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deactivated-5f9398c1300c7

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Tough one.

The second game is certainly leaps and bounds better in the gameplay department, especially in presentation and cutscenes. However, though subjective, I found the first Witcher to have a better story.

Nevertheless, if you want a game that's playable by today's standards, definitely go for The Witcher 2. If you have patience, expect the first Witcher to blow you away.

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Aterons

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The second is slightly more enjoyable and If I had to pick only one id pick the second.

But if you play the first one and aren't tempted to go and pick the second right away than you might as well not play any of them.

The first one, I fell, is greatly under-appreciated. The universe it presents is great, the open world element fells great, the characters aren't as powerful as the one from the second game but you will meet some minor characters that you will fall in love with and finally the way it goes about choices you make is relatively good. It's one of the only RPG's I played where the actual RPG element of talking to people and figuring shit out based on what they said still matters for you to finish with the "best" results and pick the easiest routes.

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mosdl

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#78  Edited By mosdl

You know what would rock - Witcher 1 remake with Witcher 2/3 tech

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RavenousJoker

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#79  Edited By RavenousJoker

I would say go with the first one, I always prefer starting the series from the beginning so that I can get the most out of the series.