The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Alright, welcome to my first video game review in which we will be focussing on the popular game title, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. An important piece of information to bear in mind as you read through this review is that I was playing on the Xbox One. This will matter when I begin to talk about things such as graphics and controls, however it will not effect things like the storyline. As I am sure you are aware this game has been out for some time already, being released in mid May of 2015. This will be a great starting review for me as I have had a good amount of time invested into fully exploring the game. Also I feel that The Witcher 3 is an incredibly balanced game for me to review as it has many great aspects, however other aspects are underdeveloped and sometimes frustrating.

The Witcher 3, the final in the Witcher trilogy, is an open world RPG in which you play Geralt of Rivia, a renowned monster slayer (Witcher). As someone who is very new to the Witcher series, I am pleased to tell you that in order to play you need no prior experience with the other two games. The storyline is very friendly to us newbies to the trilogy and doesn’t require you to have some kind of outside knowledge to understand what is going on.

Here is a basic synopsis of what is going on in this virtual world… The ‘Nilfgaardian Empire’ are the dominant force throughout and are working on taking over the remaining kingdoms that are still independent of this force. Ciri, a daughter like figure to Geralt, is being tracked down by the ‘Wild Hunt’ due to her immense powers. This group of specters, led by the King of the Wild Hunt are only known as legend to most of the characters throughout the game. Geralt is set on finding Ciri and ridding the world of the Wild Hunt, for Ciri’s sake. Of course it would not be a Witcher game without a series of love afflictions and sex scenes.

Right okay, enough talk, let’s get this review on the road… To begin, I am going to discuss the basics; graphics, controls, general feel of the game. Basically the things that hit you immediately when thrown into the game.

Visuals

The very first thing you are going to notice upon starting the game are the graphics. You are sure to notice that The Witcher 3 is a very pretty game visually. All too often in games these days atmosphere is drawn from colour, or the lack thereof. A lack of contrast and an overuse of greys and dull colours can lead to a very boring virtual world. Not here though. In this game the colours are vibrant and bold, making exploring and wandering around the vast open areas a joy. What I will say however, is that upon closer inspection the graphics are relatively basic. I say this in the nicest way possible as they are still very impressive, just nothing groundbreaking. Some of the textures blend together and it would appear that they used some of the NPC’s character models very repetitively, to the point where I would often get confused to whether or not I was talking to someone different, or someone I had met earlier in the game. It would also seem that CD Project Red (the developers of the game) have been somewhat lazy when designing some of the armour and hair/facial hairstyles. By this I mean that often when wearing a new set of armour you will find that your hair clips through it rather than resting on it. Finally, the text in the menus and on the HUD were very very small. As someone who sits at an average distance from the screen with decent eyesight, I would often struggle to read some of the text. All very minor details that I wish not to dwell on too much. On the whole then I can conclude that it is a particularly pretty and very visually pleasing game.

Character Control

The controls and feel of the game then. Perhaps one of the most important things in a game, after all it is something that you are going to have to play with throughout. The controls themselves are all fine. Nothing unusual and the buttons were very easy and quick to learn. I wasn’t wading through a labyrinth of button combinations to complete simple tasks. However, I often felt like I was manoeuvring the Titanic when walking around with Geralt. It felt somewhat clunky and particularly slow and sluggish, especially when going into or out of water. Things like small doorways or trapdoors were very difficult to navigate – and as for Roach, your ‘faithful steed’, I often found I would prefer to simply walk than even have to deal with his shenanigans. His reluctantly to go anywhere near water, his abrupt halts when he hits the smallest of shrubs, the way that when you ‘summon’ him, he will often spawn far away from you and then struggle to find his way to you.

The combat however is a completely different story. The combat felt fluent and accurate. I felt completely in control and like I genuinely had to use the correct methods in order to survive. All too often in games combat becomes a button bashing fest in which you simply hit the attack button as many times, as hard as you can and the creature will surely die. Not in The Witcher 3. You simply have to make the most of the dodges, counter attacks, potions, strong attacks, weak attacks and special abilities. Even on the easiest difficulty you will find yourself being dominated if you simply mash the attack button.

Menus

As far as the menus are concerned, they are about as good as they can be. There is a lot of information to have to relay to the player such as alchemy, inventory, quests, the map, the levelling up page and more. They have found a way in which to present all of these options to you, without bombarding you with information and simply confusing the player.

Gameplay

So enough about the technical things, let’s talk about the game itself; the storyline, the fun factor. After all, that is the main thing that this game has to shout about! I am most certainly going to try to avoid spoilers at all costs, so feel free to read on without me detracting some of the drama for you.

I have to say this has to be one of the most exciting storylines I have played in a long time. For a game that boasts a very long main quest line, it’s ability to have a grasp on me in such a way that I am urged to get back to playing it whenever I am away, is incredible. You travel from place to place in the huge expansive world, completing quests for various different people throughout the game. The game is set out in such a way that you should be able to go through the main quest line without struggle. It isn’t the type of game in which as you level up, the enemies around you become more powerful as well. In fact, the enemies don’t change. They are at their own level and nothing will change that, you simply have to level up yourself until you are strong enough to contend with them. This adds another layer of realism to the game. If you are struggling with a quest it is always a good idea to go away, do some other little side quests, level up a little and come back and try again. As I played through, I very much stuck to the main quests, doing the odd side quest here and there. However, if you were to ‘100%’ this game, you could spend weeks and months trying to do so with a vast amount of activities to do.

Throughout the game you will meet a multitude of weird and wonderful characters that you can do things for in return for currency, items, or in some cases, sexual favours… All things considered, this is possibly one of the best value for money games I have bought since Skyrim! One picking point I do have however, was one that I found particularly frustrating. As you come towards the end of the main quest line you are given a prompt to save the game. Basically, if you go on to complete the main quest line most of the side quests become null and void; you cannot complete them anymore. This was annoying as, like in Skyrim, I like to play through the main game and then come back later to do all of the side quests etc. However, you simply are not given that option in The Witcher 3.

Geralt

Okay, I’ve spoken about the game in depth, but I haven’t yet gave you an overdue review of the man who you are going to be spending a lot of time with; Geralt himself. When playing games such as Witcher, where you, the protagonist are the hero, trying to overcome an evil force in order to save loved ones, you want that said protagonist to be amazing. Too many times in games does your character come across as unimpressive, perhaps overconfident and arrogant, or maybe overpowered? Well I think Geralt strikes a perfect combination. He is far from overpowered in the sense that as mentioned earlier, you absolutely have to play smart and strategically and cannot simply tank as many enemies as you wish at once. He certainly is impressive though. He more than stands out from the crowd as a large, towering, powerful man, laced with the finest armour carrying two swords on his back. With nimble accurate moves and magic powers known as ‘signs’. He also wonders around with a tone of arrogance that is far from annoying, and more simply… Awesome.

Gwent

So great! A beautifully visual game, a badass protagonist, a compelling storyline with a tonne of extra activities to partake in, and plenty of women to keep you occupied as you go. But wait, there’s more! The Witcher 3 even has a built in card game called ‘Gwent’… This isn’t just another silly little side quest that you can complete once or twice, but a whole new activity in which you can buy/win/trade cards, play against other NPCs throughout the game, win prizes and money. It is marvellously in depth as well. I have even heard stories of how people are going out and buying the game, simply for the addition of Gwent… If you have been even remotely considering buying this game as of late, I strongly urge you to, even just down to its incredible value for money, and how much play time you are going to get out of your £55.

It’s not all good news…

Okay okay, so it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. I do have some things to point my finger at and pick holes in. Before I go on, I want to make it absolutely clear that the things I am about to mention are minor details, simply little things that I found frustrating and silly. These should not put you off a purchase, or make you think any less of the game. They are things that I simply could not bring myself to leave out of the review.

First off then, the thing that absolutely griped me the most. Candles. Yes, you read correctly, candles. Basically they added a mechanic in which you can light candles by pressing ‘A’. Unfortunately, every other button to interact with anything, is also ‘A’. Oh, and there are candles EVERYWHERE. This makes it unnecessarily frustrating when trying to interact with objects and people in buildings, when Geralt is simply standing there lighting and extinguishing candles until his heart content.

Secondly, and on a very similar note to above, is that interacting with objects just seems harder than it should be. For example using ladders, or opening doors. Again, you must press ‘A’, however it seems as though you have to stand in such a precise spot, and face in such a precise direction before you are able to complete the action. Again, this could very much be to do with that fact that I was playing on the Xbox One, perhaps the keyboard and mouse configuration is much easier to use.

This one is something I feel pretty strongly about. A lot of games don’t give the player much of a say in how the game goes. Just throwing one out there as an example, the Call of Duty series (campaign). You are very much just working your way along a fixed rail, doing as you’re told and have no say in what you do next. Well Witcher allows you to make decisions! You can choose what Geralt says, changing the way characters react and what they think of you, therefore changing what happens along the storyline! Or can you? It does give you options, however, it seems that no matter what option you choose you will inevitably end up doing whatever the game wants you to do anyway… It’s as though you are still on the classic fixed rail, just working your way through the game and the ‘options’ mean absolutely nothing. On top of this, sometimes the most important decisions you need to make, are on a timer. They force you to make a quick decision and put you on the spot, to put you in Geralt’s shoes, understandably. However, when pressing my response well before the timer had expired, it would take some time to process my response and it would be ignored. Instead, Geralt simply stands there with no response, leaving me with an awkward silence, but worse, the outcome I didn’t want!

And finally… All games have their glitches, that is to be expected, but I certainly found some entertaining ones in my time playing The Witcher 3. I’m pleased to say none of them were game-breaking. I didn’t die due to any glitches, or get stuck in an area that I shouldn’t have been in, they were all simply cosmetic glitches. I am always sympathetic when it comes to glitches, as it is almost impossible for a developer to iron out every single crease in the game, and let’s be honest, glitches can lead to some pretty good laughs.

You’ll be relieved to know that the rant is over. I have complained about every minor detail that I wish to complain about, and it is time for me to sum up everything that I have found.

To summarise…

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a game that I believe to be absolutely outstanding. Visually, it is so pleasing. I am one to agree that graphics are not everything in a game, and some of the best games out there have shocking graphics, however, when a game like this comes along that is such a joy to look at it is so refreshing. The storyline is fun and compelling. I am constantly wanting to play more and filled with sadness now that it is over. I absolutely will be playing again and working my way through the mountains of side quests and activities and becoming a Gwent champion! Geralt is the best protagonist I have ever played with, even in my opinion, trumping MasterChief… Yes, I said it. His love life is more complicated than the mind can perceive and he has the world on his shoulders, yet he still has enough time for the odd game of cards.

The thing I love about this game the most, is by far it’s value for money. Games these days are so shockingly expensive, that you want to be able to play it for a good amount of time without being bored. The Witcher 3 achieves exactly that. It is rather frustrating that I had to abolish the majority of the side quests in order to continue with the ending of the main quests, however, when I replay this game, I will take that into consideration, and complete the side quests before moving on.

Of course, there were a lot of little things that annoyed me such as the infamous candles, and a lot of little glitches to make the game seem a little less professional than it really is. However I feel as though I can brush these aside for what is a truly amazing game.

All things considered then, I am ready for my final ratings…

Graphics/Sound: 8/10

Character control: 5/10

Storyline/Quests: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

I hope this review has helped aid your opinion of this game. I would love to hear your thoughts on my first review so please feel free to review my review in the comment section, and I look forward to improving upon my next review.

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