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The Witcher III: Blood & Wine |Reviews Thread| Pour another goblet

the_witcher_3_blood_and_wine_expansion_art_1.jpg


OpenCritic: 92


Gamepressure - 10
So what’s the final verdict about the second expansion to Witcher 3? Blood and Wine is an adventure spanning many hours during which we'll get even more of what we’re already familiar with and a couple of new things thrown in the mix. Those of you who thought that Hearts of Stone had too much talk and too little action will be pleased this time. At the same time, those who praised the consistency of the plot and the unusual approach to the narrative in the adventure starring Master Mirror can rest assured that this story is just as unusual. Every story, however, must come to an end, and I can say without a hint of doubt that this ending is satisfying in every respect.


Twinfinite - 5/5
To spend my final moments here was quite fitting – the darkness laying just beneath a dazzling surface, the vast threads meeting to create either your happy ending or your bittersweet reminders, and the adventures small and large that led there. It has been a life well lived, and if there are to be no more adventures, then a villa in Toussaint doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

PC Gamer - 94
Frankly if one of these expansions came out every year I'd still be playing The Witcher 3 in 2020. However, this is a fine end. Fantasy RPGs like this offer us the chance to walk through the pages of pulp fantasy fiction, to stand opposite the witches, wizards and wights of those stories. Even if we can't form our own words, or ultimately greatly affect the stories they tell, the semblance is powerful enough. Even in its immutable, heavily cutscene-driven form, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine is an accomplished piece of genre fiction with some characters I'll come to miss. Pour a goblet of the red stuff and join them, you won't be disappointed.


IGN - 9
Blood and Wine ends the saga of Geralt of Rivia in style, bringing with it a tale of charming vampires and troublesome friendship set in a stunning new landscape that departs from the bleakness we've known until now. The expansion also brings some welcome gameplay enhancements, including mutations, the ability to dye armor, and a vineyard for growing herbs. Most of all, it leaves Geralt in a good place.


Destructoid - 9
However many little nagging issues I have with Wild Hunt (the combat is still a bit too simplistic), Blood and Wine is the best The Witcher has ever been since the first game. I came in merely expecting a bigger Hearts of Stone, but ended up getting something more expansive in nearly every sense of the word.


Shacknews - 9
Overall Blood and Wine is an excellent addition to the Witcher 3 universe. The new enemies, redesigned UI, and exceptionally well-crafted new land to explore are all pluses in my book. The main questline introduced for the expansion is intriguing, and gives much more insight into the world that Geralt has spent his life adventuring through. In the final moments CDPR brings everything together to really help the player’s impact on the world feel more real, and it’s something that very few developers have ever managed to really accomplish.


Videogamer - 9
Arguably, Blood & Wine is just more Witcher 3, but it goes to great lengths to distinguish itself. Tonally, as mentioned, but visually too. Golden sun-kissed vegetation, a glistening river and a pointy fairytale castle right in the middle are the first things you see in Toussaint. It’s a glorious image, and fitting one for a character who is being put out to pasture. That he’s given the opportunity to take the piss out of aristocratic fools, take their money for fixing their stupid problems and, now, head back to his vineyard for a kip, is everything I wanted for him at the end of his journey. There is wit and wisdom here that was always detectable in The Witcher games, but never quite so accomplished as it is in these, his final hours.


Gamesradar - 4.5/5
Blood and Wine isn't really concerned with reinvention, though. Like its wandering hero, The Witcher 3 may be set in its ways, but it's really good at what it does - in The Witcher's case, that means providing a captivating world to explore, well-thought-out and morally ambiguous scenarios to quest through, and countless beasts to slay. It may be Geralt of Rivia's last video game outing, but this final expansion is a hell of a way to go.


Eurogamer - "Essential"
The lack of upgrades on offer may be disappointing, but the vineyard is nonetheless a great tone setter for Blood and Wine. It creates the sense that Geralt's time as a Witcher (and our time with Geralt) is drawing to a close; that there may soon come a time when he puts down the sword and adopts a quieter lifestyle. It's a tone that resonates throughout the expansion, maintaining a sense of poignancy and reflection in a region of pomp and excess. All in all, Blood and Wine is a fitting swansong for The Witcher 3. It's a playful goodbye, but also a testament to what made the series so good in the first place. It brings a vibrant new perspective to the world of The Witcher while remaining true to the gritty, medieval P.I gameplay that made it great in the first place. It's an emotional yet mirthful fairytale; one every Witcher fan ought to experience.


Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Much like Mass Effect III’s wonderful Citadel expansion, this last outing is as much a victory lap, to remind us of the good times and end in the right spirit. There’s a moment in both games, where the characters seem to step out of themselves, just briefly – Shepard to look at the Normandy and state that it’s been one hell of a ride, even if chronologically she hasn’t fought the final boss yet. She’s talking to her crew, and we’re included because we’re part of it. In Blood and Wine, it’s a more understated moment. A simple glance through the screen from an old man who’s literally seen everything – a look of respect, of gratitude, of recognition. Something ends, something begins.

I like to think that it’ll be happier than most of what’s come before.

Gamekult - 8
 
Gamekult: 8/10

GOOD
  • As much content as a full game
  • Main quest has good pacing
  • Witcher 3 Enhanced edition
  • You have your own house
  • Toussaint looks wonderful
BAD
  • ...but we still want more
  • A few AI bugs
 

Putty

Member
I finished W3 not long after it came out and didn't play any expansion(s). With this in mind would i get a meaty amount of playtime with previous DLC AND this latest DLC?
 

Nere

Member
Can't freaking wait but also feel sad since it is the last expansion for that wonderful game and who knows when and if we will see Geralt again :(
 
I finished W3 not long after it came out and didn't play any expansion(s). With this in mind would i get a meaty amount of playtime with previous DLC AND this latest DLC?
30 hours ish based on estimates I believe.. But if you're up for doing everything way more.
 
I finished W3 not long after it came out and didn't play any expansion(s). With this in mind would i get a meaty amount of playtime with previous DLC AND this latest DLC?

i think you might be able to get like 30+ hours from both of these two dlcs
 
Yep, this is going to suck not having more Witcher content for years, if ever from CDPR. I sure hope now that the game is finished, they get a real mod kit out, so modders have enough tools to expand on everything.
 

Makareu

Member
I want to play it badly but I'll wait. Once I upgrade my GPU later this year, it will be the first game I'll launch.
And it will delay a little the end of Geralt's adventures.
 

tuxfool

Banned
I finished W3 not long after it came out and didn't play any expansion(s). With this in mind would i get a meaty amount of playtime with previous DLC AND this latest DLC?

That would put it at 40 hours. 10 hours for Hearts of Stone and 30 hours (estimated) of Blood and Wine.
 

RDreamer

Member
Gamekult: 8/10

GOOD
  • .As much content as a full game
  • .Main quest has good pacing
  • .Witcher 3 Enhanced edition
  • .You have your own house
  • .Toussaint looks wonderful

BAD
  • ...but we'd still want more
  • A few AI bugs

I don't usually care/complain about scores but this one seems funny. It has as much content as a full game and one of the only two bad things they can say about it is that they want more? And that gets it an 8/10?
 

xVodevil

Member
Damn, I wanted to finish my second playtrough in preparation, but was it even possible with Doom and Overwatch stealing my May...
Whatever... when I get there, I know it'll blow my mind!
 

BigTnaples

Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
i think you might be able to get like 30+ hours from both of these two dlcs



Well Blood and Wine alone is supposed to be at least 30.


I know HoS was supposedly much smaller, but still somewhat meaty.




I can see myself easily getting 50+ hours out of the expansions alone if the way I play the Wild Hunt is any indication.


Played the game for untold hours so far and still haven't gone to Skelliege.


I love that this game is getting better and better the longer I hold out on playing it.


Common EVGA, CDPR did me good, balls in your court now.
 

Exentryk

Member
Also hoping that they release the 1.20 patch notes this week. The patch itself might be a day before the expansion.
 
Wow, amazing reviews, looks like it blows HoS out of the water.
Now that I think about it, Toussaint is a very fitting place to end the saga.
 

Mendrox

Member
Gamekult: 8/10

GOOD
  • .As much content as a full game
  • .Main quest has good pacing
  • .Witcher 3 Enhanced edition
  • .You have your own house
  • .Toussaint looks wonderful

BAD
  • ...but we'd still want more
  • A few AI bugs

I understand their point. :D

Can't they just release one expansion every year from now on? Game is too awesome to end now ;__;
 

dEvAnGeL

Member
I don't usually care/complain about scores but this one seems funny. It has as much content as a full game and one of the only two bad things they can say about it is that they want more? And that gets it an 8/10?
Since when is 8 a bad score? Is a great score in fact
 

JarrodL

Member
It's finally here. Been waiting for this to start my second Wild Hunt completionist playthrough with both expansions.

Should only take me a year or so, see you then GAF.
 
I don't usually care/complain about scores but this one seems funny. It has as much content as a full game and one of the only two bad things they can say about it is that they want more? And that gets it an 8/10?
As needs to be stated every single time, review scores don't start at 10 and get dinged points for each negative criticism.
 
Awesome early reviews. Though I expect nothing less from CDPR, my standards for them are so freaking high.

Saying bye to Geralt and Nate in the same month doe :'(
 

RDreamer

Member
Since when is 8 a bad score? Is a great score in fact

It's not bad, but I'd expect more critiques than one small one and another that they've already contrasted in the "good" list.


My post was less about the score and more about the fact that the good is that this is an expansion with content of a main game and a bad is that they want more. That's praise. That's not a bad thing...
 

Mifec

Member
Will be better than any full game that comes out this year.

6 more days.

Hope I can finish Doom before then.

I 100%-ed it in about 14h on the highest difficulty they give you at the start, so unless you work a lot and have too many commitments I'm sure you will be able to finish it.
 
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