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Witcher or Mass Effect Series?

K

Kevin Shields

Member
So I am not an RPG guy most of the time. I am gameplay first guy so the RPGs I like are Souls games and games like Deus Ex HR. However, I want to broaden my tastes and immerse mysel in a world and push myself to complete a well known RPG series.

I've played Witcher 3 for about to 10 hours and I felt like I watched about 4 hours of cutscenes and since I wasn't that invested in the characters or story I was a little bored. I felt I needed to play the whole series. Same thing for Mass Effect. I played 2 and liked it but I wasn't that invested in characters or story.

I only have time right now for one series right now and it will last me for a long time.

So Gaf, which series do you prefer? What's your favorite game in each series? What do you recommend for me?

P.S. I have PS3, PS4 and Mac so I think I should be able to play everything. With that said feel free to recommend best versions. Thank you!
 
They're completely and totally different. Do you want to play scifi or fantasy? Open world fantasy RPG or a more linear scifi RPG?
 
Whynotboth.jpg?

But for me personally, I haven't gotten much into TW3 yet, while I loved the whole Mass Effect series.
From what I gather the Witcher is much slower paced though, but can also span you 200 or more hours, while I think I did most ME games in about 20.
 
If you're a gameplay first type of person then you might not be heavily invested in either series. They're not exactly known for amazing combat. Either way, both are awesome, but I like The Witcher better overall. It's a series that constantly improved.
 
Very different from one another aside from the obvious low to mid fantasy setting and the other is sci-fi.

Also...CDPR takes pride in what they release. ex. Witcher 3

Bioware does not. ex. Mass Effect 3


If you are looking for an absolute time sink and don't feel like being insulted; go with the Witcher series.
 
i'm not sure how much they have in common other than being 3rd person and RPG

i also don't know shit about the witcher series other than that it's based off books
 
Well, I really like the Mass Effect series but have never got particularly far in The Witcher.

I guess I mostly prefer Mass Effect because I can make my own Shepard rather than being stuck with Geralt.

If you're "gameplay first" then I think you're probably better off sticking to ME2 and ME3. Particularly ME3. ME1 doesn't really have good gameplay, particularly if you're more of an action guy than an RPG guy, and The Witcher's gameplay doesn't have a great reputation either.
 
I would say the Witcher hands down but that is probably because I don't like sci fi that much. But I found the Witcher characters more likable than mass effect too.
 
bigdaddygamebot said:
Very different from one another aside from the obvious low to mid fantasy setting and the other is sci-fi.

Also...CDPR takes pride in what they release. ex. Witcher 3

Bioware does not. ex. Mass Effect 3


If you are looking for an absolute time sink and don't feel like being insulted; go with the Witcher series.
Click to expand...

Bioware cared before EA told them they can't afford to care.
 
If you can play only one series right now, I'd say go with Witcher. You shouldn't miss Mass Effect, though. Play it later, whenever you can. Honestly, I wouldn't let other people decide for me what to like (especially considering what I find unfair criticism surrounding Mass Effect). Play both and see for yourself. But your chances of liking Witcher are higher so, start there.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Whynotboth.jpg?

But for me personally, I haven't gotten much into TW3 yet, while I loved the whole Mass Effect series.
From what I gather the Witcher is much slower paced though, but can also span you 200 or more hours, while I think I did most ME games in about 20.
Click to expand...

Mass Effect has an aura of urgency (and IIRC dawdling too long on sidequests at a certain point in at least one of the games does actually hurt you) whereas with The Witcher you always feel like you have ample time to take in the view and do some activities before progressing with the story.
 
Mass Effect because I prefer sci-fi. Also, I like making my own character. Witcher is a far more mature and dark game however, which I really appreciate, those Bioware clothed dry humping sex scenes tho
 
If the setting doesn't matter to you play the Witcher games. I loved Mass Effect but CDPR improved the formula with every installment of the series.
 
The Witcher 3 is the best game between the two franchises by far. The Witcher 1 is also very good, the atmosphere is awesome, but some dislike the gameplay. Not a huge Mass Effect fan, but the worldbuilding is pretty decent. Mass Effect 2 is the best game in that series.

If you're playing mainly for gameplay, then only TW3 & ME3 are worth playing. Writing is a lot stronger in The Witcher than Mass Effect if that matters to you.
 
Both series are fantastic and I well written. For me, if I had to choose, I'd pick the Witcher franchise due to developer dedication for producing a solid product before and after release. The Witcher 1 honestly was not that great to me, but I still fell in love with the lore. The Witcher 2 blew the doors off the series and transcended it to new heights. 3 is absolutely brilliant.

Mass Effect grabbed me from the get go because I am big into the cosmos - I have a couple of telescopes. Due to its solid entry, IMO, there was little to fix going forward and therefore led to a bit of redundancy when it reached the 3rd installment.
 
Witcher 2 was the best Witcher game in terms of tone and story. Mass Effect 1 was my favourite Mass Effect game, if felt like a role-playing game as opposed to a 'shoot everyone' game. The mechanics needed huge improvement, but then Bioware threw everything out and made it a third person shooter with RPG elements.
 
Mass Effect is far more mainstream since it's basically third person shooter style, the first is a bit more RPG-like and less shooter like, but it's still basically goign to reward that gameplay and be relatively action-y.

Flipside: The witcher 1 is a legitimately bad game in terms of combat and if you're not an RPG fan you're not going to want to suffer through that part to get to the rest, and Witcher 2 is leaps and bounds better but still not great. The Witcher 3 is fantastic, if you can't get into the story dunno what to say, playing the first 2 would fix that part, but they're ROUGH games. There's a reason that relatively few people talk about them. Mass Effect is pretty solid throughout even if it's a bit more 'safe'

Mass Effect is also a lot more about choice, where the witcher is not really that kind of rpg.
 
That's really fucking hard bro, because I adore both series. Mass Effect 2 and The Witcher 2, were my first and second favorites games of the entire last generation. But I think I'll go with The Witcher series. All the entries in The Witcher franchise have brought me immense enjoyment, whereas Mass Effect ended on a sort of sour note for me with 3. I enjoyed 3, but it wasn't able to live up to the hype I had built up for it. Witcher 3 actually met my expectations, and with Hearts of Stones had exceeded them as well. Blood and Wine will hopefully elevate the game even more.
 
Mass Effect 1&2 are better games than the first 2 Witchers.

But Witcher3 is in a new league now. While ME3 is mostly looked on as the one that jumped the shark.
 
Goldenroad said:
I agree with your premise and disagree with your conclusion. Mass Effect 1 > The Witcher 1, Mass Effect 2 > The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3 > Mass Effect 3. I think the W goes to Mass Effect.
Click to expand...

I'd put The Witcher 2 above Mass Effect 2, honestly. I'd argue that both serve as prologues to the final chapter of their respective series, and in that sense The Witcher 2 works far better.

I also don't think you can underestimate the importance of ending on a high note - I quite liked Mass Effect 3's end, even before the extended edition, but it's nowhere near as satisfying as the conclusion to The Witcher 3.
 
Witcher

Mass Effect 2 is better than Witcher 2 but not that much better, but the conclusion of the trilogy is way better realized in Witcher 3 than ME3
 
Mass effect, the whole experience, with DLC is absolutely worth it. The series isn't quite as consistent as I would've liked it to be but each game had their strengths imo and while you might not feel as close to the characters in the first game yet, by the last game for us it reached Saints Row 'crew' levels, absolutely magnificent, particularly the Citadel DLC, worth every second.
 
To be honest I don't think I'll like the gameplay in either series as Witcher 3 didn't seem like anything special so factor in everything. Mass Effect 2 was an alright cover shooter.
 
Witcher is 10 times the game Mass Effect is, the entire Mass Effect Trilogy.

Beautifully hand crafted maps, tons of quests, great story, great dialog.

But I think Bioware is about as good as Bethesda nowadays (not very).
 
jres80 said:
Witcher is 10 times the game Mass Effect is, the entire Mass Effect Trilogy.

Beautifully hand crafted maps, tons of quests, great story, great dialog.

But I think Bioware is about as good as Bethesda nowadays (not very).
Click to expand...

I was thinking of what I was going to say, but this sums it up well. I have played ME 1-3 and Witcher 1-3 and the overall quality in writing and gameplay mechanics (combat and otherwise) greatly favors The Witcher. This arguably excludes The Witcher 1 as its combat has aged poorly even when compared to Mass Effect 1 (while its writing is still more complex and involved than the whole Mass Effect Trilogy).

I don't like trying to sell people on things, so I don't care what you choose honestly. However, The Witcher is the better overall series, since you asked for thoughts on the matter. Unless you just have to shoot a plasma gun. Then I suppose Mass Effect has that battle.

The genre argument doesn't work in my eyes because Mass Effect isn't as good a series as The Witcher at all, so there's not enough equivalence in overall mastery, unless the two choices are: "A Great Fantasy series or A Largely Middling Sci-Fi series". Someone could choose the second choice fine, since they prefer Sci-Fi, but then there's little reason for the question in the first place.
 
Why not both?
IMO

Combat:
ME1->ME3 progressively better. I enjoyed the ME3 combat a lot.
W1->W3 progressively better, but still not great. W1 combat doesn't hold up well at all.

Exploration:
ME1 most open, but with a lot of bland copy-pasted areas. ME2 and especially ME3 more linear, but tighter experience.
W1: great variety and atmosphere of areas, but often with tedious backtracking. W2 more linear, but tighter experience. W3 giant area with amazing vistas to explore, slightly tarnished because points of interests are a waste of time.

Story/Quests:
ME1: I liked the story, but bland side quests.
ME2: Good character interactions, but some bigger parts of the plot make no sense to me.
ME3: I liked it aside from the ending.
W1: Slow beginning, but manages suspense well. Suffers from fetch-quests and backtracking.
W2: A more focused experience where the final chapter suffers from budget cuts.
W3: Very extensive. Has quests with one of the best storytelling in gaming. Side quests often use the same approach but add a story twist.
 
Witcher I guess, ME is trash past the first one.


Though if you are looking for a trilogy, Witcher isn't much of one to begin with.
 
If you prefer fantasy: The Witcher.

If you prefer Sci-Fi: Mass Effect.

If you don't prefer one genre over the other: The Witcher hands down.

You should really play both though when you get the chance.
 
Witcher 3 is one of the best games I've ever played, but I love ME1 and ME2 A LOT more than Witcher 1 and 2, so I don't know, it's a tie.

W3 > ME2 > ME1 > W2 > W1
 
Ridesh said:
Witcher 3 is one of the best games I've ever played, but I love ME1 and ME2 A LOT more than Witcher 1 and 2, so I don't know, it's a tie.

W3 > ME2 > ME1 > W2 > W1
Click to expand...

Pretty much this

I'd have to say ME as a series is a better playthrough because there is more carryover of player choice from game to game. TW2 did not have as much impact as it should have on TW3.
 
Norci7 said:
Mass Effect. It's superior in every way.
Click to expand...

I'd argue that Witcher at least has much better writing and actually ends in a satisfying way. They're very different and hard to compare in other ways though. You could bring environments into the conversation, but Witcher is open-world whereas Mass Effect isn't. Combat? Sure, Mass Effect is a pretty competent shooter, but Witcher has an entirely different combat system that's gonna appeal to certain tastes; I enjoy them in different ways. Mass Effect has good characters and lore, but Witcher also has fantastic characters and for me arguably better lore.

I love both, but saying one is "superior in every way" doesn't quite check out as being wholly reasonable. To me. You can have that opinion, though. I will say the first Mass Effect was one of the most pleasantly surprising games I've ever played; it had this retro sci-fi feel that I personally felt the sequels damn near completely lacked. I get that they wanted to streamline it a bit, but in the process that atmosphere was lost, at least for me.
 
I have never been a big fan of bioware for years or ME in general so witcher for me easily. I didn't think ME was a very good RPG. The choices in ME are largely laid out black and white and it treats the game as a simpleton imo.

Norci7 said:
Mass Effect. It's superior in every way.
Click to expand...

Agree to disagree.
 
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