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At what point does The Witcher's world distract me from it's gameplay?

Gameplay is barely competent, wins 800 GOTY awards.

Ree.

Gameplay consists of more than just combat mechanics (which I like).

Witcher 3 has great quest design, production value with each quest, and well written stories within them. You always feel like you're seeing something with effort put into it. On the other end something like MGSV has amazing mechanics but is full of boring mission design and repetitive environments.
 
Controls feel pretty good on PC, tried using the DS4 and was instantly annoyed at the button layout. If the complaints are coming from console users, I can sympathize. I also don't understand the compulsory need to compare TW3's combat to Bloodborne; they're completely different games. I'd get it if 2 games within the same series, such as DS2 and Bloodborne, were compared, but its not, so; apples and oranges.
 
Recently bought The Witcher 3, my first game in the franchise so I'm not already invested in the lore etc.

A couple hours into the game and I'm just not feeling it. The gameplay is really quite poor, especially coming from games like MGS5 and Bloodborne in the last few months where every little action you perform feels just so *right*. Instead Geralt feels like a weird floaty thing semi-transposed on the environment with a bunch of other semi-transposed enemies and the combat is really not particularly satisfying. Nothing feels like it has weight.

I'm guessing at some point the world and the lore and the characters will take over as the main drives to play the game? How long did it take you guys to get "whisked up" into the story?

I've played about 20 hours of The Witcher and I'm still feeling the same as you. Been playing games like Bloodborne and MGSV and they just feel so much more fun to play, whereas TW3 feels like a load of cutscenes interspersed with fairly average combat. It's not that I think TW3 is a bad game at all, but it really just doesn't have any pull for me. I'm going to go back to it for one last push, but it's looking like one of my top disappointments from 2015.
 
Even with alternate controls he still feels unwieldy and, well.... bad. It's worst when you're indoors. Outside I don't have too many issues. But it's not much better really, just enough not to annoy so much.

As control in TPV games go, movement and camera, W3 is lower tier. They just didn't design it well. And god that jogging animation is baaaaaaaaaad. lol. You can only laugh.

I don't think the combat is as poor as most say. I don't mind the combat.
 
Gameplay consists of more than just combat (which I like).

Witcher 3 has great quest design, production value with each quest, and well written stories within them. You always feel like you're seeing something with effort put into it. On the other end something like MGSV has amazing mechanics but is full of boring mission design and repetitive environments.

Yeah it does but for me gameplay importance is so paramount that if it doesn't hold up everything else feels irrelevant.

This is clearly a minority opinion at this point though, and not shitting on W3 since everyone seems to love it. I just can't sit down and play a game if what I'm controlling isn't that fun and im just performing game mechanics for the purpose of advancing a story I might find interesting.
 
Halfway through my NG+ and I'm still confident that the gameplay and especially the combat is fantastic

I've got no fucking clue on why people are dismissing it
 
I loved the game mostly for the quests, the beauty, and gwent. I'll agree I feel like the gameplay is not as deep and precise as the likes of MGSV or Bloodborne, but it's good enough to not be a gripe about the game.

My worst moment was arriving in Skellige and seeing all those question marks in water zones. Trying to clear them all actually drove me away from the game for a while. That's the thing I'm most annoyed at with the game: going for completion as I was playing made me want to stop playing in the matter of a few hours of boating and diving for useless junk. That's probably more an issue with me I guess, trying to complete stuff before advancing the story (especially when I heard there was missable content).
 
-Try the alternate movement option
-Play through the "Bloody Baron" quest

If you still aren't into it, drop the game—it won't get any better for you.

You certainly aren't alone regarding combat/movement. I personally loved the game, but I can understand the complaints because I had them myself. I think it's serviceable, but one of the weaker aspects of the game.
 
Alternate control response mode makes movement more responsive and precise. Doesn't turn it into MGSV or Bloodborne, but in my experience it made the Witcher 3 playable.

I wonder how many people who went into TW3 blind without knowing about this setting are the ones commenting about the bad movement response.

It does the opposite of Bloodborne. That's what makes it so good: it makes the game even more responsive than it was already. Bloodborne's all about animation priority, and Alternate in Witcher 3 is about input priority. As someone who prefers input priority, I find W3 a lot more fun. I'm at a point where I don't even think of "alternate" as "alternate." It's THE way to play The Witcher 3.
 
It took me a couple quite a while before it grabbed a hold, and I didn't start outright loving it until 15-20 hours in. The combat issues are still there for me, but once you level up more and acquire more skills it becomes less frustrating. Definitely worth sticking with though.
 
Wait until you get to the Bloody Baron questline. However, the gameplay never really changes, so if it's a big distraction it might not be for you.
The gameplay in the Witcher 3 is good. Period.
Ehhhhh...eeeehhhhh. It's serviceable, but I've noticed how bad Geralt controls when coming back for Hearts of Stone.

I like the idea of getting prepared for battle, and the combat is definitely better than Witcher 2, but it's still not where I feel it should be.
 
took me about 5 minutes to get into it. Though I played the other games and read a few of the books. I never had a problem with the combat though. The combat in witcher 2 was maybe more 'weighty' but it was also very difficult when fighting multiple enemies. I think they later patched it but to me witcher 3 feels good.
 
Realized it wasn't for me after about 4 or 5 hours. Just way too much meat on the bones and the combat is nowhere's near where I wanted it to be.
 
Don't play it like MGSV or Bloodborne. It is no where near like those two games and is its own thing entirely. Play a few more hours and if you still aren't invested in the game then give up and return it. Just wasn't for you, nothing wrong with that.
 
No shame in a game just not being your stuff OP. I'd stick with it at least until you level up a bit more, then combat is going to make you feel more like a badass. It's not MGSV or Bloodborne, but I don't think its gameplay is inferior in any way. Just different.
 
If everything becomes Bloodborne, then what makes Bloodborne special? I'm perplexed at the idea of finding one game that's the best at everything. Some games have different focuses. The Witcher 3 has a very clear one and it's not on that style of combat.
 
totally, i don't even understand what the hell is going on in gwent

I hate card games.

I f*cking love Gwent. Seriously, it's by far the easiest one to learn once you get into it. And the patches have made it challenging without every feeling cheap. Before them, it turned into a cakewalk once you got the high-end cards but they've done a great job rebalancing it.

I've put in at least 12 hours or more just for Gwent. Best. Minigame. EVER.
 
Wait until you get to the Bloody Baron questline. However, the gameplay never really changes, so if it's a big distraction it might not be for you.

Ehhhhh...eeeehhhhh. It's serviceable, but I've noticed how bad Geralt controls when coming back for Hearts of Stone.

I like the idea of getting prepared for battle, and the combat is definitely better than Witcher 2, but it's still not where I feel it should be.
Does he control differently in HoS?
 
It does the opposite of Bloodborne. That's what makes it so good: it makes the game even more responsive than it was already. Bloodborne's all about animation priority, and Alternate in Witcher 3 is about input priority. As someone who prefers input priority, I find W3 a lot more fun. I'm at a point where I don't even think of "alternate" as "alternate." It's THE way to play The Witcher 3.

I think Bloodborne's animation priority only applies to its attacks though. Your actual movement -- running, turning, dodging -- is much more responsive than Witcher 3's Regular control mode, which puts more emphasis on animation, taking into account "realistic" momentum and Geralt's weight. It's why he takes a few slow steps before beginning his run animation, and why he turns in a wide half-circle.

In Bloodborne, when you smash the stick in any direction, your hunter moves instantly. When you switch directions mid-run, there's no transitional animation to account for your character turning. It just happens.

Alternate mode in TW3 turns the tide some so that input takes more priority to move it closer to something like Bloodborne (or a lot of other Japanese action games). A godsend, really.
 
I think Bloodborne's animation priority only applies to the attacks though. Your actual movement -- running, turning, dodging -- is much more responsive than Witcher 3's Regular control mode, which puts more emphasis on animation, taking into account "realistic" momentum and Geralt's weight. It's why he takes a few slow steps before beginning his run animation, and why he turns in a wide half-circle.

Alternate turns the tide some so that input takes more priority. A godsend, really.
Please don't blame it on realism or animation. There are plenty of games with incredible (even realistic, though stylized) animation that are still responsive. Naughty Dog gets better with every game.

This is soley a limitation of either dev ability or priority. But either way, it's on them.
 
If everything becomes Bloodborne, then what makes Bloodborne special? I'm perplexed at the idea of finding one game that's the best at everything. Some games have different focuses. The Witcher 3 has a very clear one and it's not on that style of combat.

You (not you specifically) can't help but compare the gameplay of top-notch games. MGS and Bloodborne are more on the gameplay side and they excel at it. Witcher 3 excels in other aspects but has a lacking gameplay in comparison (less possibilities and responsiveness). But that's in comparison, it's still a very fine gameplay that supports the game more than enough.

I think it's just the order in which you play those games that can give you a bad taste when you're handling Geralt.
 
If everything becomes Bloodborne, then what makes Bloodborne special? I'm perplexed at the idea of finding one game that's the best at everything. Some games have different focuses. The Witcher 3 has a very clear one and it's not on that style of combat.

I like Bloodborne. I really do. But for fucks sake not every game needs to play like Bloodborne.

You can have good melee combat that doesn't ape Bloodborne, unfortunately Witcher 3 doesn't fall in to that category.
 
In my opinion (just finishing bloody baron now) the game play is below average...

With that being said, the story in the last 2 hours was so good that I'm going to keep going...I want to keep going. Give it until then, OP.

But yeah, Geralt and Roach control awkwardly for sure.
 
I think it took me till Bloody Baron to really declare the game as awesome. The gameplay is just barely competent.

Me too. Bloody Baron was when the game clicked for me. The gameplay in general is overall good but the combat is decent at best.
 
I'm staring to think we need a Witcher 3 is not Bloodborne |OT| because we get basically at least 1 thread per week now complaining how it doesn't play like Bloodborne

Its because of this i have an irrational hatred for dark souls and bloodborne games.


anyways the game clicked for me at the very beginning which is in part of me being invested in the lore and playing witcher 2.
 
You can have good melee combat that doesn't ape Bloodborne, unfortunately Witcher 3 doesn't fall in to that category.

I agree. The combat in Witcher 3 can be a bit funny to play but I enjoy it regardless. Better than the first Witcher with the double click-fury attack nonsense.
 
I completely get where you're coming from. Geralt's animations have authority over his movement, so he feel incredibly loose and floaty to move around. Got frustrated constantly in the game trying to do small navigation.
 
Does he control differently in HoS?
It's the same as the base game I believe, or at least it feels that way. Now, I haven't tried the alternative mode yet, but I still feel like there would be some gameplay/mechanics problems with dodging, the distance you roll, stun-lock time when you get hit, etc.
 
Please don't blame it on realism or animation. There are plenty of games with incredible (even realistic, though stylized) animation that are still responsive. Naughty Dog gets better with every game.

This is soley a limitation of either dev ability or priority. But either way, it's on them.

Well it differs by game and developer. The Uncharted games do feel better to control than TW3 I agree. The movement in TW3 isn't realistic by any means, but much like Uncharted or similar western games, it takes into account character weight and momentum. But every game is different in this sense, animation priority or not.

What really makes TW3 weird among other unwieldy western games like Uncharted, is that in the latter, combat is more consistent due to the fact that when you pull the trigger on a gun in that game, you generally know 100% of the time what will happen. You pull the trigger, a shot comes out and hits an enemy depending on weapon type.

In TW3, you press an attack button, say the fast slash button, and the game's combat system will decide between a short sword swipe or a long-ass pirouette, and there's no way to tell when which will happen at any given input. Up close or from a significant distance, there's no way to tell which will come out. And it doesn't seem like weapon types plays any real factor into this.

It makes the combat awkward and inconsistent. Compare it to Bloodborne, where you know EXACTLY what comes out when you press a button, there's no guessing game.
 
I like Bloodborne. I really do. But for fucks sake not every game needs to play like Bloodborne.
Doesn't need to. There are a multitude of control styles for TPV.

Some are strafe-style, where the control like fps. Some are free camera, with all character movement on the left stick. Some are hybrids. Some allow back peddling. Some you turn direction on a dime.

There are so many types.

TW3 is just low tier. It could be many other things besides this or Bloodborne. But it is what it is. The developer is weak, outclassed in this particular area.
 
OP is just asking a question. I'm not sure why he / she HAS TO think the gameplay is good. If it is to you, great, that's not what OP is asking.
 
are you on console? if you have the option of pc then i'd advise you switch to that--gameplay was jank city on pc until i scaled the gfx back to get close to a consistent 60 fps. have you learned when the invincibility frames are triggered? i was having a hard time until i watched the linked video, been a much better experience since then. the bane of the combat is against multiple enemies because the weird ass hitboxes reveal themselves in those situations but those don't happen too often.
 
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