So much has occurred since May 2015, eh? Skipping over the politics for a second. Bowie died. Prince gone. A couple of YouTubers mentioned unforgivable issues. Now we’re all trapped at house, unable to see our households, frightened of our personal arms. It’s so dangerous I watched Rise of Skywalker.
For most, the final half decade has been a gradual decline – should you’d instructed me 5 years in the past that was the GOOD BIT then I’d have hit you – however for the Little Guys That Could, CD Projekt Red, it’s been an unbelievable ascent. A studio that at all times made good games, however by no means made a world-changing game. Until it did.
Video games are the silver lining to all this lockdown stuff, for me. It’s the very best alternative to replay The Witcher 3 – a game I already adored – with the time and house to totally respect it. A full, complete revisit is one thing I’ve thought-about a few instances, delving right into a New Game+ earlier than conking out after a number of hours in White Orchard. There was at all times one thing else out; one thing new out. But now there’s nothing else and nothing new. It actually is the very best time to play a game like this. No distractions. No obligations. No dignity in each day routine. Skip the bathe. Don’t dress. Gorge on snacks. Become The Witcher. Roleplay the stink and squalor of a swamp-lurking monster hunter with an absence of human feelings and no social expertise. Wince when an NPC spits at you. It is ideal.
And then there’s WHERE you play it. I play on the PC, largely. I’ve modded it so it seems to be prefer it might’ve come out yesterday. I imply The Witcher Three nonetheless seems to be very fairly, you need to know that should you’re serious about taking part in on a PS4 or an Xbox One. But PC is completely one of the simplest ways to get probably the most out of the world that CD Projekt constructed. HD upgrades for textures and color re-shades and lighting mods all go a good distance towards making this game look astonishing. But you can even play on a Switch! Five years in the past, if you instructed me that issues had been going to get actually dangerous, should you’d have instructed me then that I might be capable of play The Witcher Three for ten-hours straight on my flight from London to Los Angeles… Well, I might’ve hit you once more. It may not be the game’s prettiest iteration, however having the ability to obtain my Steam saves and proceed on the go is a exceptional feat.
The drawback with The Witcher 3, if there’s one, is that there’s a comparatively small variety of sensible moments you bear in mind. The stand out bits. The first time you meet Emperor Charles Tywin Emhyr, precise Charles Dance! The Bloody Baron and his fateful quest to reclaim his household. The Towerful of Mice aspect quest, the place a man kills himself by kissing the corpse of his lifeless lover. The bit the place you undergo house and time (I believe the hunt is actually referred to as Through Space and Time). The first time you get to Novigrad and realise there’s a complete metropolis on prime of the big map you’ve simply been exploring. The first time you arrive at Skellige and listen to that unbelievable music, and realise there’s a complete fucking continent on prime of that different continent. The second you head to Toussaint and, God, you get the image.
There are a whole lot of really unforgettable bits, is what I’m saying. But there’s a lot extra that you just overlook. I discovered myself doing it whereas taking part in. I’m doing it now whereas writing. Great quest after nice quest, incredible story after incredible story; so many to keep in mind that all of it simply coalesces into one in your fool mind. Replaying it with on a regular basis on the earth, placing on a regular basis into this world, has actually been one of the simplest ways to claim it as my favorite game of all time.
It’s the smaller moments I really like. I significantly benefit from the first time you go on a quest with Keira Metz. Wandering within the Dark, it’s referred to as. Geralt’s flirty banter is maybe at its greatest with Keira. She’s no Triss, and undoubtedly no Yen, however the sexual pressure with Geralt is at its greatest with Keira. You head into an deserted elven damage, in pursuit of the Wild Hunt, solely to seek out all method of traps, puzzles and mysteries. I bear in mind taking part in it for the primary time and pondering fuck, Skyrim is beat. And taking part in it now I realise that no open-world RPG has surmounted it in that sense of crafted journey. Everything feels objective constructed and by no means cut-and-pasted. It says lots that Fallout Four got here out the identical 12 months and simply by no means stood an opportunity.
There’s the wonderful little side-quest the place you uncover a conspiracy the place a dwarven blacksmith, legendary for his craft, is definitely not so legendary in any respect. That intersects with a superb Skellige journey the place Geralt and his gaelic buddies search out an infinite big on the island of Undvik. And these intersections simply really feel so pure all through. The writing of each character is sensible. I can’t bear in mind ever spending any time in a character journal in a video game. In The Witcher Three I seek the advice of it often, at all times checking for up to date character logs and rechecking once I come throughout new folks. And there are dozens of them. All of them are fascinating. All of them are totally different. None of them are superfluous.
One bit I cherished revisiting was the Get Junior storyline. Junior might be probably the most hateful and disgusting character in all of The Witcher 3. A great and conventional cunt to rival Joffrey in Game of Thrones. Every scene he’s in, he’s terrible, however in such a grotesquely fascinating manner that you could’t assist however get pleasure from watching him. Needless to say, having the possibility to homicide him once more was one I completely relished.
I’ve additionally at all times cherished the truth that probably the greatest questlines – possibly the very best questline – is the Hearts of Stone enlargement. I believe it says lots about The Witcher 3, and CD Projekt Red usually, {that a} DLC chapter that most likely solely a handful of gamers really performed options some of the artfully written tales in the entire thing. Everything on this game is fine quality and nothing feels tacked on. It was one of many quests I jumped straight into as quickly as I might. Gaunter O’Dimm is simply so, so menacing. Even now. I assumed he might need misplaced among the sinister edge, however he actually hasn’t. Pushing a spoon into somebody’s eye? Delicious.
I talked about Skyrim a bit earlier and I believe, in the end, The Witcher Three made me realise I by no means wish to play a blank-slate RPG once more. Video games are at their greatest after they depend on writing quite than silent roleplay. Yes, give the participant company, however inhabiting that totally fleshed out character is the very best. It’s what makes the Witcher’s contract quests simply so unforgettable. Smart writing masking acquainted, even formulaic mechanics. You overlook the very fact you’re following the identical scent trails and operating via the motions once in a while, as a result of the motives and the mysteries are all there, masterfully crafted with strong writing and – mostly – great acting.
Some folks hate the fight system. I, personally, by no means understood that criticism. Sure it’s a bit flaily. But I’ve been taking part in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey lately – one other game with swords and monsters and some magic spells – and for my cash, The Witcher Three does crowd management a lot better. There’s much less fumbling round with the controller making an attempt to assault the individual you wish to assault. Finishing strikes really feel brutal. You get that sense of being an professional swordsman and the magic powers really feel stronger. I like how they’re targeted on 5 distinctive talents that you could improve and tweak, ever so barely, relying in your playstyle.
And then there’s Blood and Wine. Ahh, Toussaint. I’m nonetheless taking part in via the game’s greatest, sunniest enlargement, really, and it truly is probably the most superbly good send-off for Geralt. Regis is an excellent final companion to see the journey off with. Wise. An actual buddy. There’s no second guessing with Regis, only a correct bromance. And, in fact I need a Witcher 4; who of their proper thoughts doesn’t? But if CD Projekt Red had been to resolve to depart it right here, I wouldn’t thoughts in any respect. Geralt is the place he ought to be, enjoyable in his winery at Corvo Bianco, his job achieved, and I’m completely proud of that. He’s in his completely happy place, and once I play The Witcher Three I’m in mine.
