Witcher 3 is perhaps my favourite RPG of all time. I'll admit it was a slow burn for the first few hours, and I wasn't exactly captivated initially. I had heard incredible things about this game and I began to wonder what all the hype was about. I'm glad I persisted because the payoff was immeasurable. After getting through the opening missions, the story picks up quickly and I was then sucked into the incredible world created by CD Projekt Red. And what a world it is. The map is absolutely massive, with various different environments to explore. The landscapes are beautiful and appear full of life, from random travellers to nefarious creatures roaming the wild. The sea, likewise, has much variety for those willing to explore the murky depths. The cities and villages feel alive, NPC's actually seem to have some purpose as they go about their tasks, there are shops and taverns everywhere with many accessible indoor areas. There are weather changes and a day/night cycles as well to add even more realism.

The main story presents us with finding Ciri, and reaching her before the malevolent Wild Hunt. For those that haven't played the first two games, while they loosely continue certain events and character relationships, they aren't really necessary to enjoy the adventure here. I would argue though that while the main story does a good enough job of moving the game along, the shining stars are the side quests. Like most RPG's, side quests are a staple with this genre but in Witcher 3 some of these quests are actually much better overall. These quests are everywhere, even a small village has several be it help tracking down a missing person, hunting down a certain creature terrorising the land, or retrieving certain items for a reward. Geralt after all is a bounty hunter and makes his living through these jobs. Also, while some may disagree, I really enjoyed the Gwent mini-game and this could have easily made its own stand alone game (which it eventually did).

The game provides a lot of options for character builds, with options to focus on alchemy, signs, combat or a mix of these. The character tree is deep enough but also not so deep as to need a university math degree to understand, which suits me more than fine. The combat system seems fluid and responsive, albeit simple. Sometimes the camera would frustrate me, especially with multiple enemies.

Finally two expansions were released after the main game. They were offered for free and they may be even better than the base game. Specifically Blood and Wine holds a special place in my heart as the landscapes, characters and overall story is outstanding. I'm amazed that CD Projekt Red would just give these away, yet it displays a certain type of class that just isn't prevalent in the gaming industry anymore.

Witcher 3 was a game I got sucked into during the heat of the Covid Pandemic, and it created some lasting memories into this brilliant world. I was so entranced with the experience (once I finally got hooked) and offered some much needed escapism during this difficult period (I work as an ER nurse). In fact I actually completed all the Steam achievements, collected all the Gwent cards and completed every side mission. And this was before I became a game completionist. I doubt I'll ever be able to recreate the gaming experiences I had during this era. So give this game a go if you can, but give it a fair shot, because there's a good chance you'll be happy you did.

Beautiful game, beautiful characters, beautiful story. Played most of this game on Nintendo switch because that's all I had to game on at the time, but I've always loved the Witcher. Playing on a new PC now and the graphics are amazing,, this will always be one of my favorite single player games.
Sort of non related but I highly recommend that people also read the books. My favorite is the Sword of Destiny. Currently on the Time of Contempt and I think players and lovers of the Witcher would really relate.

I have around 250 hours in The Witcher 3 on the PS4, have seen everything there is to see in the game and I'm playing it again despite me not really replaying games. It's not just my favourite RPG, it's my favourite game, period. I think that says enough.

One recommendation. One thing that elevates the experience is reading the books which are set before the games. I recommend that before starting your gaming Witcher journey as it makes experiencing the gaming world and it's stories so much sweeter. So damn good.

P.S. I can't get pass this as it has bothered me since the Witcher 1: The Dandelion and Triss voice-overs are garbage to the point it messes up two really solid characters. It's a hill I'll die on.

Good game BUT for a really strange reason (probably not money at all ofc) CDRed dropped their game engine to carry over to the really amazing, bug free and really performance friendly UNREAL ENGINE 5 (makes me so horny as an UE5 fangirl tbh).
Another fun fact is, that they started to modarate their threads really hard and everything relating to their UE5 switch, will get deleted - sounds very good.
I was hyped for The Witcher 4 but at this point forget about it. It will be nothing more than photorealistic graphics (without any artistic touch), half baked story, really poor performance and half baked gameplay.
Remember my prediction, thank me later. The only people that will hype The Witcher 4 will be your personal influencer that will be paid by epic games.

Nice game even in 2024

Reminds me of my pending prostate exam next week

good

jestem geralt z rivii jestem wiedzminem o kurwa best game of all time

Awesome gameplay
The story and options made this an excellent game for streaming
while providing single player enjoyment
Maybe not so appropriate for young children
Geralt can be a bit 'spicy'
Highly Recommended

god