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[More_Badass]

You are a mod so you have to be something special but... those numbers and facts that you are saying... 25 hours for an RPG and any game in history... like, are you 19-years old? what consoles/ PC did you own in the past?

Oh, I've played tons of RPGs and myriad games in countless genres and various systems. I just don't usually play games for more than 20 hours. It's the rare special games that I put more time into.

As for your questions, I'm 24. First console was PS1, then PS2, PS3, and a few Xbox 360 games when my brother got that console. Got into PC games three years ago, and somehow now have almost 600 games in my Steam library. Got a PS4 earlier this year.

I imagine many here would say me or Toma are the go-to members on GAF for news and info on indie games

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Hearts of Stone is spectacular. The kind of quality that all other DLCs will be measured by.

 

[Cromat]

Oh, and Novigrad is easily one of the best game cities I've been encountered. GTA V's world may be more lively and dynamic, but Novigrad feels like a place you can get lost in. The different districts and kinds of people, the varied architecture, the harbors and squares the realistic feel of the twisting streets and branching alleys, the patrolling guards and random bandit/gang ambushes.

Coming from the countryside through the military outposts and bridges and then the bustling "suburbs" on the outskirts with the city walls looming, into the tightly-packed urban streets...the scale and design of the world is so damn impressive

Witcher 3 has by far the most life-like and rich fantasy world in gaming. It's truly a remarkable achievement. Not to spoil anything, but I just got to Skellige and wow. It feels like a truly different place, and so real. Novigrad too is fantastic. It seems so small at first but it's feels so rich.

I'm also reading the books at the same time and wow, they manage to cram in a ton of references, some extremely obscure.

This game is truly a massive achievement. As someone who couldn't get into the second game, this one completely grabbed me from the get go.

 

[Mifec]

Can someone explain me how do i get access to dlc content? i have to finish the game first? im playing the goty version.

Depends on what DLC you mean, the costumes/gwent reskin is in options under DLC. Some are quests you get from notice boards, the expansions appear in the quest log, some are items you buy in white orchard and an armor in skellige I think.

 

[CHC]

Can someone explain me how do i get access to dlc content? i have to finish the game first? im playing the goty version.

Once you finish the main game you should get a pretty obvious tutorial notice telling you where to go, but if not, check the notice board at the Seven Cats Inn, which is just east of Novigrad. That's the start point for the Hearts of Stone main quest.

 

[Incandenza]

Couldn't agree more, but I always feel like an old man screaming at clouds when I mention it.

The Witcher 3 especially would have been far better without leveling and its gobs and gobs of inventory management. It simply doesn't need it. Its already gated by story progression, and tougher beasts could just require more preparation to tackle. That careful preparation was a big deal in the early going, but seemed to get dropped entirely afterwards.

It's strange that you bring up inventory management, because one of the things I really enjoyed about the game was the lack of inventory management. When I think of that term I think of staring at a list of items trying to decide what to drop so I can stop being over-encumbered. That never happened to me in TW3 because your carry limit is ridiculously high, and crafting items don't take up inventory space, so as long as you don't pick up every single piece of plate mail you come across (which you have no reason to do), you never have to worry about carry limits.

Certainly the crafting interface could be done a lot better, but it wasn't something that bothered me much.

 

[More_Badass]

Witcher 3 has by far the most life-like and rich fantasy world in gaming. It's truly a remarkable achievement. Not to spoil anything, but I just got to Skellige and wow. It feels like a truly different place, and so real. Novigrad too is fantastic. It seems so small at first but it's feels so rich.

I'm also reading the books at the same time and wow, they manage to cram in a ton of references, some extremely obscure.

This game is truly a massive achievement. As someone who couldn't get into the second game, this one completely grabbed me from the get go.

Are the books good? Are the games adaptations? don't want to spoil anything

 

[Mifec]

Are the books good? Are the games adaptations? don't want to spoil anything

All the games happen after the books are already over. The books are ok.

 

[toddhunter]

Over 25 hours in now, just finished Redania's Most Wanted

Officially the most time I put into any RPG, and it'll definitely be the most time I put into any game by next week

Does Firestream get more powerful once it's fully upgraded? It looks and feels awesome to use, but seems like it should do way more damage.

Nothing really gets more powerful, one of the flaws of the game.

I recommend getting through the quest as quickly as possible to get to the heart of stone dlc. This will better showcase what a rpg should be, rather than the rest of the game which is only a small step up from other mediocre modern titles/fetch quest fests (but a step up nonetheless)

In general TW3 is the minimum a fantasy rpg should be and that is about it. Taking this base and applying "quality over quantity" will start to get us back to really special games.

 

[Zakalwe]

The complaints I had been seeing for like a year now, I was expecting that side of the game to be a letdown, but I love getting into fights. Using your signs and bombs effectively, parrying and deflecting arrows, getting in strikes and pulling off finishers

It's fine at first, even awesome at times (first monster encounter feels pretty epic), but it doesn't have enough to keep me interested for the entire game.

I made use of as many aspects of the combat as I could, so I think I gave it a good shot, and even the slight jank with things like movement and camera (especially inside smaller areas) didn't feel too off-putting as the world was so immersive, but it just felt... bland?

I didn't find any joy in it. It was serviceable but not great. I think the main reason it's so apparent as it's one of the only things in the game that /isn't/ great, so it stands out. It isn't bad by itself, but it is by association.

I didn't finish it but I got very close. I adored the characters, the world, the writing for many of the quests. The game's atmosphere at times is stunning, especially the parts inside the tree and with the witches. Really creepy, very unique (thanks to the excellent interpretation of the source folklore).

I really want to play it again, so much so that I'll be getting a ps4 copy after playing it originally on a PC at 1080/60. Usually that downgrade would put me off, but the world is just too alluring to not complete (and experience the DLC which is apparently great).

The idea of the combat is the only thing souring the anticipation.

 

[HStallion]

It's fine at first, even awesome at times (first monster encounter feels pretty epic), but it doesn't have enough to keep me interested for the entire game.

I made use of as many aspects of the combat as I could, so I think I gave it a good shot, and even the slight jank with things like movement and camera (especially inside smaller areas) didn't feel too off-putting as the world was so immersive, but it just felt... bland?

I didn't find any joy in it. It was serviceable but not great. I think the main reason it's so apparent as it's one of the only things in the game that /isn't/ great, so it stands out. It isn't bad by itself, but it is by association.

I didn't finish it but I got very close. I adored the characters, the world, the writing for many of the quests. The game's atmosphere at times is stunning, especially the parts inside the tree and with the witches. Really creepy, very unique (thanks to the excellent interpretation of the source folklore).

I really want to play it again, so much so that I'll be getting a ps4 copy after playing it originally on a PC at 1080/60. Usually that downgrade would put me off, but the world is just too alluring to not complete (and experience the DLC which is apparently great).

The idea of the combat is the only thing souring the anticipation.

If you play it again on the PC just use the mod that replaces all combat encounters with a game of gwent.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

If you enjoyed the base game I can't recommend Hearts of Stone enough.

They could just pump out these standalone 12 hour quest lines from now till the end of time and I wouldn't complain.

 

[HStallion]

If you enjoyed the base game I can't recommend Hearts of Stone enough.

They could just pump out these standalone 12 hour quest lines from now till the end of time and I wouldn't complain.

yeah the DLC is better than the base game in a lot of ways. They even have some decent boss fights in Hearts of Stone.

 

[His Majesty]

Nothing really gets more powerful, one of the flaws of the game.

I recommend getting through the quest as quickly as possible to get to the heart of stone dlc. This will better showcase what a rpg should be, rather than the rest of the game which is only a small step up from other mediocre modern titles/fetch quest fests (but a step up nonetheless)

In general TW3 is the minimum a fantasy rpg should be and that is about it. Taking this base and applying "quality over quantity" will start to get us back to really special games.

I wouldn't recommend rushing anything. Enjoy the scenery, the characters and writing. The Witcher 3 does both quality and quantity at the same time so it would be a shame to miss out on too many of the excellent side-quests.

 

[RustyNails]

Witcher 3 has by far the most life-like and rich fantasy world in gaming. It's truly a remarkable achievement. Not to spoil anything, but I just got to Skellige and wow. It feels like a truly different place, and so real. Novigrad too is fantastic. It seems so small at first but it's feels so rich.

I'm also reading the books at the same time and wow, they manage to cram in a ton of references, some extremely obscure.

This game is truly a massive achievement. As someone who couldn't get into the second game, this one completely grabbed me from the get go.

I was raiding some random tomb in Witcher 3 and came across a sacrophagus of some dude. Just for the heck of it, I googled the dude's name and lo and behold, turns out he was a half elf-half human hero with his own lore about love and war. My mind was blown.

Nothing in this game is random.

 

[Leizt]

Boring with bad controls? Dude moving that guy around is a pain...

 

[Cromat]

Are the books good? Are the games adaptations? don't want to spoil anything

I've only finished the first book and it was enjoyable - better than most fantasy books in my experience but not a gamechanging masterpiece either. If you enjoy deep-diving into the lore of the game you're currently playing, then it's definitely a good way to do it.

 

[Shaanyboi]

Can someone explain me how do i get access to dlc content? i have to finish the game first? im playing the goty version.

How far in are you? And which DLC content? The Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine threads should (at some point) be added to your quest log if you keep checking quest boards.

 

[EatChildren]

I've said it before, but Novigrad is so impressive and immersing thanks to the technology powering the game combined with CDPR's artistry. It's so common for cities/towns/hubs to be just a series of housing assets dumped in an area and marked as a town, but with The Witcher 3 every location feels meticulously hand crafted as part of the world. In the case of Novigrad it's not just a bunch of city assets, but convinces as a place that was developed organically into the landscape. The fringe towns surrounding its boarders, the various districts and economic differences, the topography not always accommodating the housing structure but the infrastructure making do. Novigrad is aesthetically convincing as a very real place and part of the world.

And what the technology allows if for you to experience all of this without a single loading screen. That's what gets me. You can be miles away and the ride and approach to Novigrad is all done in real time. Novigrad goes from a silhouetted cityscape, distant windows illuminated by fire in the night, to a real geometric presence in front of you. You ride through sunflower fields, the boarder towns, over the bridge, and next thing you know you're in the bustling city moving through the docks, to the slums, to the markets, up to the wealthy districts.

The combination of artistry so carefully building the world and locations with believably, an organic presence, and technology that removes data streaming limitations that break the coherency, results in an impeccably immersive setpiece.

 

[More_Badass]

How do you turn off the POIs on the Map screen? I see the options to turn then off on the minimap, but not the main map

 

[gocubs]

Can someone explain me how do i get access to dlc content? i have to finish the game first? im playing the goty version.

You need to be level 35 for Blood and Wine and I don't remember on the other major expansion. Both of those quests are in your journal.

 

[NullPointer]

It's strange that you bring up inventory management, because one of the things I really enjoyed about the game was the lack of inventory management. When I think of that term I think of staring at a list of items trying to decide what to drop so I can stop being over-encumbered. That never happened to me in TW3 because your carry limit is ridiculously high, and crafting items don't take up inventory space, so as long as you don't pick up every single piece of plate mail you come across (which you have no reason to do), you never have to worry about carry limits.

Certainly the crafting interface could be done a lot better, but it wasn't something that bothered me much.

Its a few things. How silly it is to carry a shipload of items on you at all times for one. Every ingredient for everything imaginable along with every oil and elixir. You carry so much that each item loses its personality and becomes just more junk you lug around as materials.

Then there's the crafting menu where its maddening to see which items are your level without cycling through them all. Another problem with leveled gear and recipes.

There's just too much of it, and it makes the process of cycling through menus slow and lagged with mini delays and loads. I'd streamline it all down to near nothing. Just keep whats vital, and ditch the rest.

 

[Ostinatto]

Depends on what DLC you mean, the costumes/gwent reskin is in options under DLC. Some are quests you get from notice boards, the expansions appear in the quest log, some are items you buy in white orchard and an armor in skellige I think.

Once you finish the main game you should get a pretty obvious tutorial notice telling you where to go, but if not, check the notice board at the Seven Cats Inn, which is just east of Novigrad. That's the start point for the Hearts of Stone main quest.

How far in are you? And which DLC content? The Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine threads should (at some point) be added to your quest log if you keep checking quest boards.

You need to be level 35 for Blood and Wine and I don't remember on the other major expansion. Both of those quests are in your journal.

I'm level 23, and im doing the whoreson junior quest. i have some blue quests on the quest log, but they are lvl 35 or something, what about the Blood and wine dlc content?

 

[Tacitus_]

I'm level 23, and im doing the whoreson junior quest. i have some blue quests on the quest log, but they are lvl 35 or something, what about the Blood and wine dlc content?

They're both post game content (B&W is after HoS level wise), but you can make a level appropriate Geralt for tackling them in the menu.

 

[Mr_Appleby]

I'll pick it up cheap at some point as my experiences with TW1 and 2 soured me somewhat on the series. 1 I played for a fair while but found the swamp section and endless back and forth from swamp to town killed any enjoyment I was having. To be fair the second one I only played for about an hour and dropped it as I wasn't enjoying it either, so I may not have given it a proper chance.

What I like about Elder Scrolls that I don't get out of the Witcher games is character customization. Currently replaying Skyrim abd while I'm still a mage like my original run through, this time instead of dual casting fireballs all day I'm a necromantic vampire lord that summons skeletons and zombies to do my fighting for me, I haven't even learnt any of the destruction skills. I just don't see that that kind of customization could even exist in the witcher series due to main character constraints, but for me it's actually more important to my enjoyment of an RPG than anything story related. For all the hundreds of hours I've put into Elder Scrolls games, I've never once got more than half-way through the main story and I'm fine with that.

 

[TheYanger]

I'll pick it up cheap at some point as my experiences with TW1 and 2 soured me somewhat on the series. 1 I played for a fair while but found the swamp section and endless back and forth from swamp to town killed any enjoyment I was having. To be fair the second one I only played for about an hour and dropped it as I wasn't enjoying it either, so I may not have given it a proper chance.

What I like about Elder Scrolls that I don't get out of the Witcher games is character customization. Currently replaying Skyrim abd while I'm still a mage like my original run through, this time instead of dual casting fireballs all day I'm a necromantic vampire lord that summons skeletons and zombies to do my fighting for me, I haven't even learnt any of the destruction skills. I just don't see that that kind of customization could even exist in the witcher series due to main character constraints, but for me it's actually more important to my enjoyment of an RPG than anything story related. For all the hundreds of hours I've put into Elder Scrolls games, I've never once got more than half-way through the main story and I'm fine with that.

Elder scrolls stories (and even the stories in sidequests) are awful, Witcher doesn't have as much build diversity as something like TES, but it's still plenty diverse, you cannot be a jack of all trades, at all. You're pretty limited in how many skills you can equip in TW3 and there are something like 80 to learn (Even at the highest end you'll have like 20 equipped, for most of the game it'll be like 6-12).

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

It's alright. A typical mediaeval fantasy game. The production values are higher than most and that can be seen, at least on PC. Story and gameplay are nothing special. Main character is a puberty boys dream of a "hero".

If one likes open world games with (the worn-out and used to death) mediaeval setting it's probably the right choice.

 

[More_Badass]

What I like about Elder Scrolls that I don't get out of the Witcher games is character customization. Currently replaying Skyrim abd while I'm still a mage like my original run through, this time instead of dual casting fireballs all day I'm a necromantic vampire lord that summons skeletons and zombies to do my fighting for me, I haven't even learnt any of the destruction skills. I just don't see that that kind of customization could even exist in the witcher series due to main character constraints, but for me it's actually more important to my enjoyment of an RPG than anything story related. For all the hundreds of hours I've put into Elder Scrolls games, I've never once got more than half-way through the main story and I'm fine with that.

The Witcher sacrifices customization for writing and story quality (in both the main quests, secondary quests, and smaller quests you encounter). Rather than needing to have options and stories that are open-ended enough to be approachable by myriad ways and builds, they are able to focus on what Geralt might do and approach things. Constraint brings focus

 

[Coreda]

Just a note on burning effects in general (at least for runes): if you hit an enemy during the burn effect it cancels the effect.

With burning + poisoning/bleeding rune stones equipped the effects can stack, which can massively decrease the length of a fight even against high level enemies. With runes it's still dependent on the chance of activation percentage, but if high enough it's very effective.

Its a few things. How silly it is to carry a shipload of items on you at all times for one. Every ingredient for everything imaginable along with every oil and elixir. You carry so much that each item loses its personality and becomes just more junk you lug around as materials.

Just keep whats vital, and ditch the rest.

Originally the game counted alchemy ingredients as part of the player's carried weight, but since too many complained of being overburdened they patched it out in 1.07 IIRC. I didn't mind having to sort through and keep only what was necessary (at least at that point). This was prior to the Stashes, too, which were introduced around the same time. Can't imagine enjoying the late-game/expansion experience without the latter though.

 

[Frozenprince]

The Witcher sacrifices customization for writing and story quality (in both the main quests, secondary quests, and smaller quests you encounter). Rather than needing to have options and stories that are open-ended enough to be approachable by myriad ways and builds, they are able to focus on what Geralt might do and approach things. Constraint brings focus

Yeah it's something I hope more studios do, Fallout 4 kinda tried, but not really. It's OKAY to make an RPG about a pre-defined character, it allows you more time to focus on the game and writing and thematic cohesion when you're not worried about "WHAT IF THE PLAYER WANTS A SOLO MAGE BUILD?"

 

[Ridesh]

It's alright. A typical mediaeval fantasy game. The production values are higher than most and that can be seen, at least on PC. Story and gameplay are nothing special. Main character is a puberty boys dream of a "hero".

If one likes open world games with (the worn-out and used to death) mediaeval setting it's probably the right choice.

So edgy that I almost cut myself reading this post.

 

[More_Badass]

It's alright. A typical mediaeval fantasy game. The production values are higher than most and that can be seen, at least on PC. Story and gameplay are nothing special. Main character is a puberty boys dream of a "hero".

If one likes open world games with (the worn-out and used to death) mediaeval setting it's probably the right choice.

1) Something being worn out and done to death isn't really a criticism. Some of the best works in genre films and tv are well-trodden premises. The killer animal (

Spoiler

Jaws

). Trapped with and stalked by a killer alien (

Spoiler

Alien, The Thing

). The chase movie (

Spoiler

Terminator, Mad Max

). Elite warrior/unit taking on criminals and corruption (

Spoiler

The Raid 1/2, Hard Boiled

). AI growing self-aware (

Spoiler

Ex Machina, Westworld

)

It's all in the execution.

2) Skyrim is way more typical medieval fantasy than this. Post-war landscape in the midst of occupation, peasant life and villages actually being shitty compared to the usual towns in fantasy games, etc.

3) If that's your assessment of Geralt, I question whether you played the game.

 

[HStallion]

It's alright. A typical mediaeval fantasy game. The production values are higher than most and that can be seen, at least on PC. Story and gameplay are nothing special. Main character is a puberty boys dream of a "hero".

If one likes open world games with (the worn-out and used to death) mediaeval setting it's probably the right choice.

Yeah that mediaeval setting when CD's and Tape decks were doing battle on horse back is something we see all too often.

 

[RedSwirl]

The most interesting conversation on the game I'm seeing in this thread is how the world of the game feels overall. It's one of those pseudo-tangible things, like how some people talk about "game feel." Witcher 3's contains a 3D world I like exploring just for the sake of exploring it and existing within it, and it's kinda tough to figure out why.

The first 3D game that made me feel like this was Zelda Ocarina of Time back in 1998, and I think it's because at the time it was the most intricately-crafted 3D world I'd seen in a game, but also probably the biggest, or maybe just the biggest in relation to how meticulously crafted it felt. Like before, it's some kind of multiple between sheer size and level of detail. The contrast to this would be typical urban open-world games that are mostly just a bunch of building assets you drive past. In any case, I would spend hours just messing around in OOT in the years after I finished it because at the time that level of size combined with detail was unprecedented in my eyes.

That's kind of how I feel about Witcher 3. EatChildren correctly pointed out how Witcher 3's meticulous environment design plays out at the macro scale. Not only are Witcher 3's locations scaled to proportions that feel more believable than Skyrim, but their layout in relation to each other feels natural. The seamless transitions between the boggy swamp lands, villages in the middle of the fields, river crossings, outlying towns and farms in front of Novigrad, and the different districts of Novigrad itself, makes them all feel like a coherent whole.

Skyrim doesn't have this to the same degree. Towns like Whiterun might have some small farms or stables outside of them, but everything feels obviously scaled down. The fact that Skyrim attempts to represent an entire kingdom at that scale makes it feel very obviously like a video game. Another comparison to make might be in terms of the way the landscape in each game is shaped. Skyrim is supposed to be a mountainous place, but if you ever look at custom free camera screenshots showing birds eye views of Skyrim, you tend to notice how much the mountains jut out of the landscape, and it becomes apparent how Bethesda sort of designed them as "walls" around where it wanted you to go. In contrast, a higher percentage of Witcher 3's map area is traversible on foot, and you tend to get more rolling hills that allow you to look at wide-reaching landscapes almost anywhere.

Another developer I think accomplishes this style of environment design well is Bohemia Interactive. People who've played DayZ might know what I'm talking about. Although it's sort of cheating since Bohemia's ArmA and Operation Flashpoint games use satellite data of real places, the technique still results in engrossing terrains. The landscapes feel real in terms of scale and that lends an these games a unique sense of immersion. Driving down long roads in ArmA 3 feels more like driving down real life roads than any other open-world game I've played.

GTA V also needs to be commended for achieving a unique sense of size in combination with intricate world design. Given how many open-world games get made these days, it really is a rare thing to see video game worlds put together this well.

 

[Mr_Appleby]

Elder scrolls stories (and even the stories in sidequests) are awful

The Witcher sacrifices customization for writing and story quality

I addressed this in my post. I'm sure the story is better, although I do find it hard to judge story quality in games since I usually click through the dialogue as fast as I can (I do actually read it however), and as I always have a novel on the go I am generally more invested in that.

The kind of stories I enjoy in games are emergent narratives I construct in my own head based on things that happen to my character, and narrative-driven games inherently provide a less fertile ground for these.

Just to emphasize I'm not directly ranking the two games or in any way trying to say skyrim is the better game. In many (most?) ways it's a terrible game: playing as a summoner not just characterization but also a response to the clumsy combat.

When I was a kid playing DnD half the fun was rolling up new characters and inventing a back story, motivations, attitudes. I still do it whether I'm playing skyrim, souls or etrian odyssey. It's part of what I personally love most about RPGs and it's part of why I haven't continued playing the Witcher series.

I'm always willing to be proven wrong if TW3 has more customization options than I've been lead to believe or if the story is that compelling it will override my other concerns (this has never happened before so please understand if I am dubious on that front)

 

[More_Badass]

The most interesting conversation on the game I'm seeing in this thread is how the world of the game feels overall. It's one of those pseudo-tangible things, like how some people talk about "game feel." Witcher 3's contains a 3D world I like exploring just for the sake of exploring it and existing within it, and it's kinda tough to figure out why.

Yeah, I just turned off the POI markers, and it's 100 times better

I love exploring in games, but there are developers that do it better than others. Rockstar (or more specifically GTA and RDR) are masters at it. It's so satisfying to just people watch in those games, and just walk through the streets to watch the random moments and NPC behavior. Skyrim was enjoyable but Witcher 3 does it so much better. Minecraft mainly for the natural formations and spelunking in caverns. Watch Dogs 2 is also really good for people watching

The liveliness of the world, the scale and meticulous design, the myriad little side missions and points of interest to come across, and that "what's that on the horizon" aspect makes Witcher 3's environment exciting to explore for me. And I just like being in the world

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Oh, and Novigrad is easily one of the best game cities I've ever encountered. GTA V's world may be more lively and dynamic, but Novigrad feels like a place you can get lost in. The different districts and kinds of people, the varied architecture, the harbors and squares, the realistic feel of the twisting streets and branching alleys, the patrolling guards and random bandit/gang ambushes.

Coming from the countryside through the military outposts and bridges and then the bustling "suburbs" on the outskirts with the city walls looming, into the tightly-packed urban streets...the scale and design of the world is so damn impressive

This is something I and a few others like EatChildren love to to talk about. Novigrad is certainly impressive based on all the different districts and how you can actually tell where you are just based on the aesthetics surrounding you.

But what's really amazing is that the city is not just exploring the streets of the city. When you walk towards the city, you don't just see this blob of walls and buildings load in. You actually approach a realistic city. You approach the outlaying countryside and farms. You go through them, cross bridges and pass some of taverns and outside businesses. Then, only after you've passed all that, you actually enter the city. It doesn't feel like an artificial "gamey" spot that just exists for game convenience. It feels like a city that actually is supposed to exist within the confines of the world it's in.

EDIT: Lmao, I see EatChildren has been here to talk about this already.

Are the books good? Are the games adaptations? don't want to spoil anything

Books are enjoyable. I'd recommend reading the The Last Wish and seeing what you think. It's actually mildly referenced in the game (although explained well enough that you don't need to read it).

 

[More_Badass]

This is something I and a few others like EatChildren love to to talk about. Novigrad is certainly impressive based on all the different districts and how you can actually tell where you are just based on the aesthetics surrounding you.

But what's really amazing is that the city is not just exploring the streets of the city. When you walk towards the city, you don't just see this blob of walls and buildings load in. You actually approach a realistic city. You approach the outlaying countryside and farms. You go through them, cross bridges and pass some of taverns and outside businesses. Then, only after you've passed all that, you actually enter the city. It doesn't feel like an artificial "gamey" spot that just exists for game convenience. It feels like a city that actually is supposed to exist within the confines of the world it's in.

I'd say it's Rockstar/Assassin's Creed-level of crafting a living digital version of a real place but giving that authenticity to a fictional location. Novigrad feels like a real place, with history and personality

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I'd say it's Rockstar/Assassin's Creed-level of crafting a living digital version of a real place but giving that authenticity to a fictional location. Novigrad feels like a real place, with history and personality

Yep. It's brilliant how much lore they've poured into the city and around it.

The Witcher sacrifices customization for writing and story quality (in both the main quests, secondary quests, and smaller quests you encounter). Rather than needing to have options and stories that are open-ended enough to be approachable by myriad ways and builds, they are able to focus on what Geralt might do and approach things. Constraint brings focus

We disagree on player options a lot often, but this I agree on.

There's a lot of value to narrowing the "role-playing" down in a game, because games can't really account for the how deep actual tabletop role-playing is. Thus the problem I have with a lot of games is that the role-playing ends up really broad with "options," but really shallow. Geralt is a narrow role to play, but it's actually pretty interesting.

 

[More_Badass]

Damn, just finished the Baron/Anna/Crones quest line. That has to be one of my favorite quests in any RPG I've played. The way it subverts your expectations, the tragedy and humanity of the story, the creepy villains in the Crones, the way it ends

 

[EatChildren]

Damn, just finished the Baron/Anna/Crones quest line. That has to be one of my favorite quests in any RPG I've played. The way it subverts your expectations, the tragedy and humanity of the story, the creepy villains in the Crones, the way it ends

What ending did you get?

 

[More_Badass]

What ending did you get?

Spoiler

Anna dies after the monster curse is lifted, Baron hangs himself

Didn't realize you could get different endings. Interesting

 

[HStallion]

Spoiler

Anna dies after the monster curse is lifted, Baron hangs himself

Didn't realize you could get different endings. Interesting

Yeah there are a few ways that quest can turn out, even what you decide to do with the kids and the creature under the tree.

 

[PFD]

Spoiler

Anna dies after the monster curse is lifted, Baron hangs himself

Didn't realize you could get different endings. Interesting

I got the same ending. It was heartwrenching

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

One surprising thing I'm loving is that even though I've beaten the main story as well as the DLCs, I still have some uncompleted quests that allow me to continue Geralt's story even after 175 hours of playtime. Taking on easy quests here and there totally fits in with the cannon I've conjured up of Geralt living out his life continuing to do Witchery things. I don't need another game from CDPR to achieve that continuation of the story thanks to the insane number of side quests.

 

[RoninChaos]

I think it comes from people... Well, simply playing it "wrong". Half those whining about the combat probably don't know that you're able to deflect arrows, nor how half the signs' alternate versions work.

So how do you play it right?

I'm about 5 hours in and the combat reminds me of a beat em up. Like I know I can land three hits on a ghoul before it will back up to lunge at me. Shit like that just feels very weird.

 

[DrunkShogun]

I great game that I rank high in the current gen games I own. I've read a handful of the books and never played any prior games. Loved the main cast and the side stories really set a standard I hold against other games. Was frequently buggy unfortunatley for me, would freeze on loading screens and would have to use earlier saves to bypass that issue. Average gameplay but it had strong components elsewhere to keep me satisfied. Was also team yen with respect to triss supporter.

 

[Sarek]

I would give Witcher 2 a whirl as well when you finish with 3. Also a pretty damn good game

I'm doing just that at the moment. I beat The Witcher like 4-5 years ago, and immediately started on TW2 after it. However back then my computer wasn't strong enough to run TW2 properly. I tried starting playing it couple times after, but for some reason never got farther than the start of Chapter 1. One of the reasons definitely was that I didn't like the controls at all with M&K.

I never uninstalled it though and so it has been sitting installed in my Steam library for years now. Recently saw TW3 GotY for 25 euros and ordered it. Didn't want to play it before finishing TW2 though. So I plugged in in my PS4 controller, and found out TW2 is really made for playing with controller. So much better than M&K. Now I'm good ways into Chapter 2,

Spoiler

#teamroche by the way,

and I'm absolutely loving the game. Can't believe I had game this good just waiting to be played. Already planning a second playthrough just to see what would have happened differently if I had chosen to help

Spoiler

Iorveth

.

TW2 has also aged really well, not that it is that old game anyway, but playing it has made me think that it would be a perfect candidate for PS4/XB1 HD release. Especially since it was never released on PS3.

Edit: Does 3's start immediately spoil 2 btw? Kinda itching to give 3 little try to see how it looks and plays.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

I'm doing just that at the moment. I beat The Witcher like 4-5 years ago, and immediately started on TW2 after it. However back then my computer wasn't strong enough to run TW2 properly. I tried starting playing it couple times after, but for some reason never got farther than the start of Chapter 1. One of the reasons definitely was that I didn't like the controls at all with M&K.

I never uninstalled it though and so it has been sitting installed in my Steam library for years now. Recently saw TW3 GotY for 25 euros and ordered it. Didn't want to play it before finishing TW2 though. So I plugged in in my PS4 controller, and found out TW2 is really made for playing with controller. So much better than M&K. Now I'm good ways into Chapter 2,

Spoiler

#teamroche by the way,

and I'm absolutely loving the game. Can't believe I had game this good just waiting to be played. Already planning a second playthrough just to see what would have happened differently if I had chosen to help

Spoiler

Iorveth

.

TW2 has also aged really well, not that it is that old game anyway, but playing it has made me think that it would be a perfect candidate for PS4/XB1 HD release. Especially since it was never released on PS3.

Edit: Does 3's start immediately spoil 2 btw? Kinda itching to give 3 little try to see how it looks and plays.

Not really. The start to 3 is a direct consequence to the ending of Witcher 2, but without context it's not gonna spoil anything for you.

 

[Mifune]

Finished the Ugly Baby quest last night. Holy shit, this is my Game of the Generation. I don't want it to end.