The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review

Note: As of writing this review I have not beaten "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" in its entirety, but have put many hours into the game and have a good enough sense of what the game is like.

     I play quite a bit of video games, more than your average player. For as long as I can remember I've loved games, they act as an escape from the monotony of life. And the medium serves as a great way to tell a story, it lets you not just see the story (like in movies or TV) but experience it. It puts you into the shoes of the main character, and over the years games have evolved from linear story lines to ones that allow you to choose your own path. That’s what I love about games; you don't just go along for the journey you are the one making it. Despite how many video games I play though, there are often many major games that I've missed. One highly acclaimed series that I have missed over the years would be the "Witcher" series by developers CD Project RED. The games are based off of a Polish book series by the same name, and take place in a mythical, medieval setting. While the series’ combat and gameplay have often been criticized, the story, characters, and lore have received high praise; the second game of the series, "Assassins of Kings," has often been hailed as one of the greatest western RPG's. The reason I have never played the games is that is because I have never owned a computer powerful enough to play them. Not until now have I owned a platform that could handle one of their games. And the third and final installment, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," has been called by many as the best in the series; and after playing it, it's not hard to see why.

     The story of "Wild Hunt" takes place a few years after the events of the previous games, where an assassin killed several of the kings of the Northern Kingdoms throwing the area into chaos. Since then the southern nation of Nilfgaard has declared war and is attempting to absorb the Northern Kingdoms. You play as Geralt of Rivia, a mercenary and professional monster hunter known as a Witcher. Over the past year and a half Geralt has been looking for Yennefer, the woman he loves, and another Witcher named Ciri, Geralt's adopted daughter that he received as payment when he lifted a curse from her father. After reuniting with Yennefer he learns that she is working for the emperor of Nilfgaard and biological father of Ciri, Emhyr Var Emreis. The emperor hires Geralt to find Ciri, knowing she is being chased by a race of specters from another plane of existence called the Wild Hunt. Ciri was born with magical powers that would allow the Wild Hunt to travel between worlds more freely. While Geralt is hesitant to work for the emperor, he agrees knowing that Ciri is in trouble. So he sets out to save the closest thing to family he has ever known.

     Going back towards the beginning of the year, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" was one of my most anticipated games of 2015. Never playing the series before had actually peaked my interest, especially hearing all the good things said about the previous games. So after finally getting to play "Wild Hunt," I see why people loved this series so much. In short, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is simply one of the best role playing games I have played developed in the western world. The developer of the series, CD Project RED, has a reputation for being some of the best and most fan friendly developers currently working and I can see why. When you buy a physical copy of the game it actually comes with a thank you note from the developers appreciating their support. The company has also announced that on top of a few large, paid downloadable content packs, there will also be over a dozen free ad-ons to be rolled out over the game's life cycle. Now-a-days most developers would charge for every piece of additional content, not many would give it up for free. But CD Project RED isn't just a fan friendly company; they also know how to develop a damn good game. First off, the graphics. This series has always been known for having great looking games, the second game in the series which came out in 2011 still holds up graphically speaking. "Wild Hunt" is truly beautiful; the graphics are absolutely stunning on a technical level. I played the game on the PS4, and it's probably the best looking game I've ever played on a console. But not just on a technical level, but the aesthetics and art style are gorgeous to look at. The world of "Wild Hunt" is massive, beautiful, and expertly designed; whether you are in the forests or in a large city, it is one of the most amazing video game words I've ever experienced. There is also an astonishing level of detail, every little village and backwoods swamp is teaming with something that makes it feel special. Not since GTA 5 has an open world map felt so detailed. It's not just the world that is well designed, but its inhabitants as well. The character models look great, you can see every wrinkle and boil on their faces; even subtle emotions are picked up and shown. The enemy design is also top notch as well. I thought that the recent game "Bloodborne" had the best enemy design of any game I've played in years, but "Wild Hunt" gives it a real run for its money. The game is also filled with interesting characters; while there aren't a lot of characters you have extensive contact with, those who you do are often memorable. They really help add to this rather amazing story. The plot of the game is interesting to say the least, and truly grabs you and never lets go. The series is rich in lore, there is so much stuff happening in this little universe with so much history it is amazing. Yet surprisingly, the game is welcoming to new players. While the story and lore is complicated, the game gives you enough information to understand what is happening; especially if you go looking for info and read books and letters you find. While playing the previous game would certainly help (which I didn't do), I never felt that confused or overwhelmed. One thing that also greatly impressed me was the level of choice you are given. In almost every mission you are given, major or minor, you can make a choice that may affect the rest of the game. During one particular mission I made a choice that completely changed its outcome, and resulted in the death of several characters I did not want to die. There is no hand holding in this game, whenever you make a decision it doesn't tell you what the consequences may be, you make your decision and you deal with it. The biggest criticism I've heard of the previous games was probably the combat, but from what I've heard from people who have played the previous games "Wild Hunt" is a huge step forward. The combat is complicated, there is a lot of stuff going on in a fight and there is a steep learning curve; despite that, the combat is solid. There is a certain weight to it; every time you swing a sword you feel it. You also need to fight smart, any enemy that is of a higher level (or even a little bit lower than you) can do serious damage; you need to stay on your toes and dodge pretty much every attack. Other than sword play, there are several other combat aspects that make it unique. Your character has the ability to use five magical spells: shooting fire, casting a shield, slowing enemies down and making them more vulnerable in a small area, temporarily hypnotize them, and a telekinetic pulse. Each power can be upgraded and adds to their abilities. I also appreciate the fact that you get each of these powers at the beginning of the game and just upgrade them from there. You also have several accessories such as a crossbow and various bombs at your disposal that add a different element to the combat. While the controls may feel overwhelming at first, you'll get the hang of it after a few fights. The game also has a truly beautiful soundtrack. Whether you be exploring the countryside or engaging the enemies, the music is absolutely superb. Another reason why CD Project RED is a great company is that they actually give you a separate copy of the soundtrack for free. Most developers will sell you the soundtrack separately for $10 or so, but if you buy a physical copy of the game it come with an actually CD with the score on it; that's something I have never seen before from a developer. Now up to this point I have done nothing to praise "Wild Hunt," but like any game it suffers from some flaws. During my playthrough I experienced various minor technical difficulties and glitches, nothing game breaking but noticeable enough to be an annoyance. Once I got on my horse heading to a mission when all of a sudden my horse started to float. The most common technical problem I encountered was the occasional frame rate drop. Usually occurring when a lot of stuff was happening on screen, it was never a real hindrance but it would usually take me out of the experience for a second. Yet of everything the thing that bothered me most was the camera, the best way I can describe it is fickle. The camera is very precise and can often be a burden. When I wanted to interact with something or someone the camera needed to be in a very particular place to do so. One ability your character has is called "Witcher sense," which allows you to see irregularities in the environment. When you enter this mode the camera zooms in just above your shoulder and greatly restricts your field of view, and since that camera is so sensitive the slightest movement will change your view greatly. The only way to somewhat solve these problems would be to play around with the settings to find something that works for you. Despite these problems though, this is a great game. One thing that many people will love is the sheer amount of stuff you can do. Exploring, finding treasure, fighting off bandits and monsters that have taken over areas and the extraordinary number of quests gives this game a lot of bang for your buck. Video games are expensive, with a new game for consoles costing around $60. But if you compare it to a movie which costs around $10 for two hours, games are a great deal. "Wild Hunt" will likely take you around 100 hours to finish, with upwards of 300 hours of various missions you can do (that's not including all the DLC and expansions that will be released). This is a game that will satisfy almost anyone who is willing to put the time into it. Whenever there is a game I am looking forward to coming out I often get nervous, because I know that there is a chance that it might not be as good as I hope it is. *Cough, "Destiny," Cough*. "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is not one of those games. It has surpassed my expectations, and will likely go down as one of the greatest role playing games ever made.

Pros: Beautiful art style and aesthetics, stunning graphics, astonishing level of detail and refinement, steep learning curve, doesn't hold your hand, solid combat, fascinating story, lets you make your own decisions, interesting characters, impressive looking character models, great enemy design, rich lore, gorgeous world, amazing soundtrack, tons of missions to do, lots of bang for your buck, accessible to new players to the series.

Cons: Camera isn't great, some minor technical difficulties, suffers from occasional frame rate drops.

5/5 Stars

Note: I played "Wild Hunt" on the PS4, where it ran at 1080p and 30fps. It ran perfectly fine, but this is one of those games that was designed to be played on a computer. If you have a PC that is powerful enough to run this game I would recommend picking it up for that platform.