I want to play this one because I am in a place in my life where I believe I will have some time. The thing is, I never played the first two. Do I need to? Or is there an easy way to catch up on the lore?

Thanks Duders.

If you're that interested, read the wiki for a bit. Namely the entries on Geralt, Ciri and The Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 2 is a really good game though, worth playing through.

From what I've gathered, the books are actually more important lore wise than the games. Basically the crux of this game's story revolve around characters that have only been in the books. If you've got the time and the means I recommend them, they're worth reading. The first two books are basically a collection of short stories, so they're pretty easy to jump into with minimal commitment. (Unlike the later books, which are part of am ongoing saga.)

I bet it'll be like most other game series: you may miss some callbacks and references, but the core story will likely be enjoyable regardless of your prior knowledge. Since this is a rather big release on consoles, I could see them spending a bit more time recapping the important bits.

CDPR have specifically said they want this to be newcomer friendly. Besides, the other two games are pretty independent of each other, this one probably is too.

The Witcher 2 isn't a long game as far as RPG's go, if you're really worried you could play it.

Characters carry over but they are pretty great standalone stories that don't require the other games. Also, they are both vastly different games in terms of gameplay. I prefer 2 with its combat but 1 still has a fantastic writing and characters (plus I really dug the multiple stance stuff in the combat). 3 will probably be a great entry point for the series either way you slice it if you want to jump into it there.

You should be able to jump into the witcher 3 without knowing or playing through the other games. It would help, of course, but they are trying to make these games which can be played by people new to the series.

That said if you want to go in with some semblance of understanding, there exist a few resources online to do so. If you like reading, then wikis are your best bet. If you'd rather watch a video though? There is about a 30ish minute 2 part series on youtube by Elder-Geek.com entitled "The Witcher Retrospective - Part 1" or Part 2. (Still unclear if I can leave links in these forums so that's the best I've got)

If you've the time/interest those are quite good at recapping everything. Being so they are, of course, 100% spoilers, covering pretty much every major plot point possible (yes, even the alternative choices). I know I used it as a good "refresh my memory for what happen". If you really would rather not play, but want to know what happen in the last games, that's the best done/produced thing I found when seeking out a similar thing myself.

I read some of those books and have context for the characters, but I would've enjoyed Witcher 2 just as much without that (never played 1). The second game had really clever character profiles that were a lot of fun to read, if you needed to catch up. I assume 3 has that, too.

And many of the new characters weren't part of the previous games, anyway. Ciri, Yennefer, the Emperor... all new stuff.

@bladededge: You can leave links, just don't make new threads with Youtube videos and little else. I'm gonna go rogue and link the two videos you mentioned.

@csl316: Thanks. Beat me too it then.

I'll say this. I started playing through 1 and 2 a while ago in preparation for Witcher 3. I had previously, a year or so, tried to play witcher 2 but couldn't get into it (twice). But now after having played 1 I enjoyed 2 so immensely to the point where I couldn't stop playing. Just having context to what was going on, knowing the characters and knowing how the games played from a gameplay and narrative perspective, was the difference between not getting into the second game, and making the second game one of my all time favorite RPG's.

It is possible that you will get much more appreciation for the Witcher 3 if you've played the previous ones, it certainly was the case for me with 2 and probably with 3.

It's hard to get into the first game. For me it didn't click until act 2, and that's a pretty long while into the game, but once it clicked, it fucking clicked hard. Looking back I think it was highly worth it to play them both, they are now in my top RPG's. They aren't just games to play before 3, they are excellent on their own, and as a series it's even better. But of course they aren't for everyone, and as others have said they are not essential to play Witcher 3. I just think that more people should play the previous games because they are really good.

I never played the first one, and was still able to get into the second game with relative ease. After watching those videos linked to in post #8, it's pretty easy to see why. Aside from a few recurring characters, each game really seems to focus on its own story. I don't think you have much to worry about.

I'm someone who cares a lot about the lore/backstory for a game, but I figured I'd be fine going into 3 relatively (I finished the first act of the first game) blind. As of right now I'm at the part where you meet an NPC (Keira) who I guess has been in one of the other games?

I just feel like they keep referencing stuff that happened before and then I'm either lost or somewhat disoriented. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the game to pieces so far, but I may just put it down until I complete the other two. Then again lore and story are pretty high on my priority list for a game like this.

I would recommend reading the books if you have the time. The first 2 games don't actually tie that much in with the books. But this third game is basically all about the book characters. For example if you just played the games you would probably think Triss Merigold was Geralt's love interest because of how it's depicted in the first 2 games. But if you read the books you will quickly come to realize that it's Yennifer.

It's not like the games are adaptations of the books. The books and games tie together to tell 1 complete narrative. And it's not like these are video game novel level of writing or anything like that. These are actual well written books from an actual author that came out well before any games were conceived. I highly recommend at least the first 2 collection of short stories. They are basically about Yennifer and I read them in a day or 2 so they aren't too long.

Oh and only The Last Wish is actually published in English, but there is a free fan translation of Sword of Destiny that is perfectly fine that you can find online for free.

Despite what people say, 2 ties quite a bit into it, not in the central story but very much so in the world and some character interactions.

I wouldn't play it without the previous ones, they are still fantastic games. Though its up to each and every one.

@top8gamer: As of this week SoD is for sale in English, hoping I can work through that before getting too far in W3.

I love The Witcher games, but the main story arc is not the primary draw in the way that it is with Mass Effect or something like that. The real meat of the games is in the short stories it tells along the way, and it's in this area which it far surpasses most of its rivals. I could tell you next to fuck all about the main story (you kill monsters for a living and chase skirt for fun, some local kings get killed, a powerful empire invades the whole area) but many of the side quests can be more thought-provoking than the entirety of lesser RPGs.

The first two games are absolutely worth playing, but I don't think you should feel like you can't play TW3 because you haven't played the earlier games.

There is no "lore" to catch up on. Whatever you need to know to enjoy Witcher 3 will be well introduced for you in Witcher 3.

1 and 2 are awesome games however and you shuld play them for that reason alone.

Oh, and the game comes with a short little compendium booklet. It's around 15 pages and describes the world and characters in broad strokes. So you'll have a sense of things, but no attachment at first.

I played through both 1 and 2, don't remember a lot of the events, and I'm loving 3. Still worth playing at least 2, but you'd' be fine skipping it.

If you've bought the game from GOG, download and read The Witcher Universe Compendium if you're new to the series and just want the short summary on the world and main characters. It's only 15 pages long but does a pretty good job at giving you the necessary context but avoids all the extra details.

@edmundus: Shouldn't be too bad, it's not that long of a book. I finished it in a day or 2 granted I had a lot of time to read those days.

I have not played the first two, but I am about 15 hours in so far with no plans to stop. There is some stuff that I don't get the reference too, but its not that much of a issue, go with it. If you love the story you can always play the other games/ read the books