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The Witcher series, books before or after the games?

J

JustinBB7

Member
I'm a massive Witcher fan, played all the games (including the adventure game and standalone Gwent) and dlc/expansions. (Played first 2 games twice, about to start my second play through of 3 soon) and I read all the books besides Season Of Storms, waiting for the official translation to come out next year.

So I've been recommending it to everybody for a while now and I have some friends starting the books now, some still have the expansions left and another is playing 2 atm and is heavily interested in the books.

So here's my question for people who have finished both the games and books, what order do you think it's best to do them in?

I loved the books myself, but I do think the games were the only reason I loved them so much. Now seeing as Blood & Wine has a ton of fan service and references to the books, it would be best to read them before that expansion at least I feel.
Regis being the biggest surprise of course, I played Witcher 1 and 2 and when he shows up and Geralt is all like wow old friend I missed you, I was just really confused about who he was. After really liking him in the expansion, then reading the books made me love him even more.

But I do feel Witcher 3 itself does an amazing job of introducing everybody and sets a great standard for them. A lot of people only played Witcher 3 and they always say the game does a great job at catching you up on the lore and relationships of the characters. It's really conflicting to me. Thoughts on best order?
 
The books are good, but the game is much much better. But reading them with context brings some great "oh that's what they meant" moments.

So gam first.
 
Books before. They are much better than the games anyway as far as narrative, characters, dialogue and worldbuilding goes. They are better at what books do better. I hear the English translation is horrid though, and that it largely ruined them. The Spanish translation is unique in how good it is, so I'm lucky in that sense.
 
itshutton said:
The books are good, but the game is much much better. But reading them with context brings some great "oh that's what they meant" moments.

So gam first.
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Javier23 said:
Books before. They are much better than the games anyway as far as narrative, characters, dialogue and worldbuilding goes. They are better at what books do better. I hear the English translation is horrid though, and that it largely ruined them. The Spanish translation is unique in how good it is, so I'm lucky in that sense.
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Read books first, they are better =)
 
I'd say people should at least read the first two short story collections first if they don't want to commit to the whole book series. Mainly because those two books establish the most important relationships between Geralt with Yennefer and Geralt with Ciri, which are so incredibly important to the Witcher 3. Plus they are well paced, quick reads due to being short stories. Easy enough for even book-averse people to get through.

That last story's ending in Sword of Destiny especially made me super emotional and made a lot of moments in the Witcher 3 extra special.
 
Definitely books first. Games have many callbacks to them and the feeling you get when seeing for the first time a character from the book is quite amazing, especially when they are given justice when it comes to the portrayal, more so in TW2 and 3 rather than 1, but still.

e.g. Blood and Wine for Witcher 3 without reading books first? I can't even imagine that considering how important role 1 book character plays in that expansion.
 
Reading the books first gives a lot of context for the end stretch of the witcher 3. That's the one stretch of the game where i feel the context is a bit thin unless you meticulously read every bit of lore the game throws at you.

Other than that, the first two novels of short stories are a great read before the game to get you into the mood, but it doesn't really matter if you read them first or after.
 
I began my plunge into the Witcher universe at the start of this summer. Read through all seven books in about a month's time, then played through the first two games, and just now completed the main story of the third.

I don't think my experience of the games (namely, the story and characters) would have been nearly as good without reading the novels. Certain primary characters like
Ciri and Yennefer
are barely mentioned in the first two games, so the books are a great resource for understanding Geralt's relationship and feelings towards them, otherwise the player may be left wondering, "Who are these and why should I care about them?" Plus there are innumerable small references in the games to events/locations described in the books.
 
hamchan said:
I'd say people should at least read the first two short story collections first if they don't want to commit to the whole book series. Mainly because those two books establish the most important relationships between Geralt with Yennefer and Geralt with Ciri, which are so incredibly important to the Witcher 3. Plus they are well paced, quick reads due to being short stories. Easy enough for even book-averse people to get through.

That last story's ending in Sword of Destiny especially made me super emotional and made a lot of moments in the Witcher 3 extra special.
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Just do this, then read the rest of the books as you feel the desire too. The books are great, but the games are largely standalone aside from The Witcher 3, which basically picks up the plot threads from the last book. You will get a lot more out of 3 if you've read the entire series imo, but only the short story collections are necessary for the first two.
 
hamchan said:
I'd say people should at least read the first two short story collections first if they don't want to commit to the whole book series. Mainly because those two books establish the most important relationships between Geralt with Yennefer and Geralt with Ciri, which are so incredibly important to the Witcher 3. Plus they are well paced, quick reads due to being short stories. Easy enough for even book-averse people to get through.

That last story's ending in Sword of Destiny especially made me super emotional and made a lot of moments in the Witcher 3 extra special.
Click to expand...

This. They're really good books.
 
i don't think it matters really.

ideally you'd read the books before the games because the books are set before the games but if you don't read them until after Witcher 3 it's OK.

to be honest if i had read the books before the games i'd have been put off the series altogether. the books aren't all that great. it was only because i was hooked after playing all the games that i went and read the books. the first 3 books are quite good but the 4th and 5th kinda go downhill. but it does pick up in the 6th and 7th.
 
DaciaJC said:
I began my plunge into the Witcher universe at the start of this summer. Read through all seven books in about a month's time, then played through the first two games, and just now completed the main story of the third.

I don't think my experience of the games (namely, the story and characters) would have been nearly as good without reading the novels. Certain primary characters like
Ciri and Yennefer
are barely mentioned in the first two games, so the books are a great resource for understanding Geralt's relationship and feelings towards them, otherwise the player may be left wondering, "Who are these and why should I care about them?" Plus there are innumerable small references in the games to events/locations described in the books.
Click to expand...
Yeah this is actually a big problem with Witcher 3, it suddenly introduces Ciri and Yennefer out of nowhere without much context unless you've read the books. If you've only played the prior two games, you really don't have a true understanding of the relationship between Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. The intro with Ciri as a kid helps some, but Yennefer gets no such introduction really.
 
I played the Witcher 3 first (missed the first two) and am part way through the third book in the main saga and honestly I'm enjoying them mainly because of the game and the references. Without it I don't think I'd like them half as much to be honest.
 
FallenGrace said:
I played the game first and am part way through the third book in the main saga and honestly I'm enjoying them mainly because of the game and the references. Without it I don't think I'd like them half as much to be honest.
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i thought the 3rd book in the main series was the worst. i struggled to get through it. i do agree though that if i hadn't played the games first i'd probably not have finished the books.
 
Absolutely books before games if you have the option.
You meet so many characters that mean way less to you if you haven't read the books.
The story of Witcher 3 is so much better if you know the relationship between the characters
 
blly155 said:
i thought the 3rd book in the main series was the worst. i struggled to get through it. i do agree though that if i hadn't played the games first i'd probably not have finished the books.
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I am having a similar issue, I liked the first two a fair amount but the third is a bit of a struggle so far. Meeting up with a character introduced in Blood and Wine has been the highlight currently.
 
Reading the books first enhances the games a lot, but the games are also built mostly assuming you haven't read the books so if you want to just dive right into the games go ahead.

I'd say at least read The Last Wish. It's the first book and I still find it the most enjoyable.
 
I just finish the book after having played only the first game and I can already tell you: Books before the games. There so many reference in the games you won't get if you don't read the books!!

Also noted: I don't read the book, but listen to the awesome audiobook by Peter Kenny. He is an amazing voice actor who have all kind of range and I must say, I loved geralt voice in the game but now... peter kenny take the cake

And some will say start with the book series but the first two Books which are a compilation of short story: The Last Wish and Sword of destiny are really really good too and you see how geralt meetup with yennefer, ciri's parents, ciri, and a lot of NPC you will meet in the games.

Yeah, go for the audiobook if you travel a lot and don't have time to read.
 
FallenGrace said:
I am having a similar issue, I liked the first two a fair amount but the third is a bit of a struggle so far. Meeting up with a character introduced in Blood and Wine has been the highlight currently.
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after the first two books i kept expecting things to get real interesting but instead everything just slowed way down.
 
I haven't played the games yet but I have started the first book and I like it a lot. So if the books get even better that's great. I should note that I'm reading the french translation that is pretty good apparently. I've read here and on reddit that compared to other translations, the english one was kinda crap :/
 
Big Nikus said:
I haven't played the games yet but I have started the first book and I like it a lot. So if the books get even better that's great. I should note that I'm reading the french translation that is pretty good apparently. I've read here and on reddit that compared to other translations, the english one was kinda crap :/
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I believe that was before they were officially translated to english when it was just fanmade translation.
 
Javier23 said:
Books before. They are much better than the games anyway as far as narrative, characters, dialogue and worldbuilding goes. They are better at what books do better. I hear the English translation is horrid though, and that it largely ruined them. The Spanish translation is unique in how good it is, so I'm lucky in that sense.
Click to expand...

Done.

Books before OR INSTEAD. And I loved the games, especially 3 (being the one with most references and characters from the books).
 
I completed Witcher 2, watched a movie of Witcher 1, got halfway through Witcher 3, and have just finished reading all the books (in two weeks!). Will start W3 over in a while.

Loved the books. The two volumes of short stories were great, but the saga that followed was fucking epic. It's made for a big budget TV series, so I hope that Netflix do it justice. If they can, then the assault on
Vilgefortz' castle will be fucking incredible and heartbreaking
. I legitimately cried at parts.
 
The games' story is a sequel to the books. The first Witcher game starts some time after the events of the last book. However since your character has amnesia in Witcher 1-2, I'd say it's ok to play those before reading the books, you kind of identify better with Geralt's position in that case. I do recommend reading the books prior to playing Witcher 3 though, it's a lot more closely tied to events and characters described there.
 
Alastor3 said:
I believe that was before they were officially translated to english when it was just fanmade translation.
Click to expand...

No I'm sure I read that for the official translations, it was just a few weeks ago (and in a recent thread on GAF). From what I gathered, it seems particularly hard to do a good polish > english translation but I don't know. People seem to say the style is bland and boring. But I mean, if people ITT have read it in english and liked it that's great, it's just something I read a few times on different sites.
 
The books take place before the games and add much more depth and context to many of the characters and events throughout the games. Having that information all the more enriches the experience you have with the games. So, with all that said, the books are definitely something to read before ever playing.

In terms of the books themselves, the two short story books are definitely the best and essential to read. I find the fully-fledged novels don't match their quality. They have their moments, but things start to focus more on the politics of the world and with that are some very slow moments throughout the novels that are just a drag to read.

However, a lot of the third game involves characters and story arcs from those novels, so they should be read. They're still good reads for the most part, just not as good as the short stories.
 
Big Nikus said:
No I'm sure I read that for the official translations, it was just a few weeks ago (and in a recent thread on GAF). From what I gathered, it seems particularly hard to do a good polish > english translation but I don't know. People seem to say the style is bland and boring. But I mean, if people ITT have read it in english and liked it that's great, it's just something I read a few times on different sites.
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The official English translations are good. If I hadn't known that theyd been translated, I wouldn't have guessed.
 
Lowrys said:
The official English translations are good. If I hadn't known that theyd been translated, I wouldn't have guessed.
Click to expand...

Good to know, then I can also recommend the books to english readers, because what I've read so far is fairly enjoyable. Like, nothing really crazy happens but the way the stories are told is quite immersive and the first short stories make me think of some folklore tales, it's a somewhat different fantasy flavour from what I'm used to. And reading them I sometimes think "heh that could make a great sidequest in an RPG" so I can't wait to play the games :p
 
Alright I told my friend to read the short stories, and she's already into it now. Seems to be the general thought to be books first. She beat Witcher 1 and started 2. And is now reading The Last Wish!

Lowrys said:
I completed Witcher 2, watched a movie of Witcher 1, got halfway through Witcher 3, and have just finished reading all the books (in two weeks!). Will start W3 over in a while.

Loved the books. The two volumes of short stories were great, but the saga that followed was fucking epic. It's made for a big budget TV series, so I hope that Netflix do it justice. If they can, then the assault on
Vilgefortz' castle will be fucking incredible and heartbreaking
. I legitimately cried at parts.
Click to expand...

Yea I'm really praying on my knees Netflix gives it a big budget and does the right thing. I'm really worried it will be bad. What you mentioned will be so cool to watch among other things.
Battle Of Brenna, Borkh, the battle at the mages ball, Geralt and Cahir fighting off Nilfgaard on the bridge.
So many emotional moments happen in the books when I think about it. Please Netflix do the right thing.
 
I would argue books before, and I sat that as someone who has only read one book and that was after completing all 3 games.

It's not strictly necessary but it'd be better for immersion and understanding of the world.
The games have enough references to things that happen outside of themselves that it can become quite distracting.
 
I don't have the option of reading before playing since I already played W3. I have only played a bit of B&W. I'll finish playing the game and then I'd like to read the books.

However, I've read that the English translation of the books is bad. Is there no good version? I don't know Polish but I do know Spanish and I think I saw someone mention that the Spanish version is really good?

On another note; I never played the first game (I own it but can't really get into it because of dated mechanics etc) and played a little of the second game but lost interest. Though I do love W3. I'm wondering if there are good videos out there that cover the first two games? I wouldn't want to sit through a whole let's play so something more condensed would be the best.
 
The books are great.

I played the first game and bounced off it. Then I read the first book, loved it, and tried the second game. Wasn't wild about the second game, but it was better than the first.

I read the second book and then played the third game, which I enjoyed but never finished.

The games reference a lot of stuff in the books, if you're interested in the books anyway, I would read them first. They're better than the games and will only help you enjoy the games more.
 
Books really helps making Ciri interesting. I at least recommend reading some short stories. There are good audio books as well, the guy reading is very theatrical but I like it.
 
Books first always. Especially before Wild Hunt. Otherwise Ciri and Yennefer are lesser characters than they should be, since they hinge on book knowledge.
 
Books before is optimal.

You read the two short story compilations, then the novel. The short story compilations introduce all of the basic characters. While they differ a bit in the games, you'll get the idea.

Novel series is the events that take place before the first game. Introduces important concepts, particularly around ciri, more characters, and the wild hunt I believe.
 
Reading the books is recommended, you get much more enjoyment out of even Gwent (the F2P game -also recommended, really great as of the latest patch), let alone the trilogy. Have to add that by playing the games first you've spoiled a bit of the story in the saga, though not much.
 
LogicStep said:
I don't have the option of reading before playing since I already played W3. I have only played a bit of B&W. I'll finish playing the game and then I'd like to read the books.

However, I've read that the English translation of the books is bad. Is there no good version? I don't know Polish but I do know Spanish and I think I saw someone mention that the Spanish version is really good?

On another note; I never played the first game (I own it but can't really get into it because of dated mechanics etc) and played a little of the second game but lost interest. Though I do love W3. I'm wondering if there are good videos out there that cover the first two games? I wouldn't want to sit through a whole let's play so something more condensed would be the best.
Click to expand...
The spanish version is fantastic but hard to come by.
 
Started playing 2 last weekend, and Geralt and Triss have a long chat about people I'm apparently supposed to know. Very annoying.

So in my limited experience I'd say the books are needed to get the full scope of the games (which again is kind of annoying)
 
Events of books are happening prior to the events of games so books should be read first, obviously. You will understand games plot a lot better after reading the books and you will recognize the characters and will know their backstories which will add another layer of complexity to the games plot.
 
So I read a few of the books after, and honestly...the game was so much better. I just found the writing a bit hackneyed (I realize it's a translation but still), and the fact that every female character Geralt meets is either hot and he sleeps with her or ugly got really old. I felt like the games treated female chracters much better.
 
Pilgrimzero said:
Started playing 2 last weekend, and Geralt and Triss have a long chat about people I'm apparently supposed to know. Very annoying.

So in my limited experience I'd say the books are needed to get the full scope of the games (which again is kind of annoying)
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So your only experience is 2? Books or not jumping in at the second game would have that result I imagine.

I jumped in at Witcher III and there were some moments like that but overall I found it pretty newcomer friendly.
 
I played Witcher 1 and 2 before the books and largly had no real idea what was going on with the world politics. I then read the books and played W3. Was so much better. It all made way more sense.

Books first.
 
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