The official Witcher 3 thread

I finished the game a couple weeks ago, and it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. This coming from someone who loves the books and the previous games. I've been keeping my opinion to myself because the consensus seems to be that 'this game is the best ever', but difference of opinion is good. I started AC4 after finishing TW3, and TW3 succumbs to the common pitfalls of other open-world games. I definitely don't see how it "redefines a genre". I think the Bioshock Infinite effect is going to hit this game hard. Give it a couple months, and people are going to start picking it apart.

For me, that same spark that the previous games had, just isn't there in TW3. They nailed some individual moments, but there's very little tying it all together. The main plot is full of inconsistencies, growing larger as each act concludes, culminating in final decision of the Reasons of State quest, which is just stupid on every level. I can't help but feel that the massive crunch that the employees of CDPR have been in has had this effect on the game. They chose to subtitle it The Wild Hunt, yet they appear for about 4 scenes and say about 20 lines in total. Eredin gets reduced to a generic bad guy, which is a missed opportunity because he has a lot of character, as shown in the books. They do a similar thing to Radovid, who is also very multifaceted, turning him in a complete lunatic, which completely ruins the setup at the end of TW2. This is honestly a very disappointing contrast to the previous games, where the antagonists had their own motives that were believable. You could see things from their side, even if you didn't agree with them. The main plot lacks the subtlety of TW2 and it feels rushed and unfinished. I remember reading in a lot of reviews that TW3's plot is "more personal" than the previous games. I disagree completely. The majority of the game is a combination of helping people that Geralt doesn't care about, to get information regarding the person he does and helping random villages to earn money. In fact, I feel that it's the worse plot of all the 3 games.

Almost everything regarding sex appeal is very juvenile in TW3. It's a hilariously stupid dichotomy. There are some really great female characters, very nuanced and real, yet they all need to show off skin because ... fan service? Triss has stupid amounts of cleavage, made even worse in her alt. outfit which is some kind of Elven style dress. Ignoring the fact that the character isn't meant to be comfortable wearing anything with a v-neck because of the scars she received at Sodden. Plus, she's meant to be in hiding; wearing that outfit in Novigrad is just asking to get caught by the mage hunters. It's unnecessary, and in my opinion not sexy or tasteful. It's the same reason why Ciri's top isn't buttoned up properly. This is one of the things I thought that CDPR had learned from, going from TW1 to TW2. You can make people look good without having their assets falling out everywhere. The design for Triss in TW2 is a good example of this. I'm also not a fan of the implementation of sex scenes either. They were quite tasteful and organic in TW2; the one with Triss in Flotsam was actually kind of sweet. But in TW3 it just feels off. I got Bioware vibes from them. They feel like quest rewards and at that point I'd rather they not be in the game at all.

For a series that prides itself on choice and consequence, there's hardly any recognition given to the events of the previous games, with major characters and plot-points, like the future heir/s to the Temerian throne, or Iorveth, Saskia and Aedirn, hardly even mentioned in TW3. Somehow Thaler is magically resurrected, even though he can die in TW1. I don't really know why they included that optional save simulation feature, because it changes nothing. The biggest difference you're going to notice, if you decide to import a save from TW2, is whether or not you have a tattoo on your neck. That's it. Apparently the main writer for TW2 left TW3 pretty early in development, and moved to the Cyberpunk team. This definitely makes sense, because very few of the themes that were setup at the end of TW2 are explored in TW3. In general, there's also less optional dialogue with characters than in the previous games as well. One of the best moments in the series was philosophising with Zoltan in both TW1 and TW2. It was completely optional and easily misable, but it was so great. There's nothing like that it TW3. Characters appear when they're needed to push the plot forward, and then disappear when they're done. They screw over Triss again. At least in TW2 it made sense that she was absent after about the halfway mark, her story in TW2 was a big mystery and very well done. In TW3 it just feels as if the game is punishing me for choosing her over Yen. Triss has very little dialogue or involvement after her quest in Novigrad is done. Having Triss, Yen, Geralt and Ciri back together for some quests could have lead to some hilariously awkward moments. Such a missed opportunity.

Speaking of quests, the side quests became so predictable towards the end of the game. They all have similar twists (the quest giver did something horrible, or the jealous lover did it, or the monster really isn't a monster, it's the humans fault ect) but when every quest has a twist, none of them really do. I feel that going open world also didn't suit the game. They should have kept it similar to TW2, with large open levels, that are linear. The world is massive and detailed, yet it's filled with variations of the same thing. Do this special monster contract, that's really easy to fight because you're 5 levels higher than it. Kill the monster guarding this special loot for items that are worse then the ones you already have. Kill these bandits, even though witchers really wouldn't give a s**t about bandits, unless they are an immediate threat. Find the 1000th smuggler cache, because all smugglers leave their goods out in the open ocean, always next to sirens in Skellige. It's just as repetitive as an Ubisoft open world game. There's no point having an open world, when the structure of most of your missions is linear; going from A to B. You're not utilising the point of an open world at that point.

I played on the hardest difficulty, and it was a cakewalk about ten hours in. The levelling system is incredibly flawed, and they really need to go back and rework that. If you do a minimal amount of exploring, you'll start outleveling quests left and right. It doesn't make much sense that they gave a single player RPG a very MMO-like levelling system either. I didn't even do a lot of the quests in Skellige, because I was so over levelled. The only reward I could get was gold, and when you already have enough to buy half of Novigrad ... well I don't really want that anymore. I could have bought my own personal army by the end of the game.

They talked about living breathing worlds at lot, when the PR machine was in full force. And about how the scent of slain foes will attract monsters and the like. I didn't see this once in the game, which is more of a disappointment to me then any visual downgrade that happened. There's also a lot of uncanny valley going on. NPC's look like they're doing things, but they don't actually do anything. It's very similar to the implementation in TW2, so once again I don't see why everyone is saying that it's so impressive.

Ultimately I feel that for every step it takes forward, it takes two steps back. The only thing I have no complaints about is Gwent, which is strange because I could never get into trading card games. I like it a lot, and they should release really a standalone Gwent game. No micro-transactions, add some more decks and deeper mechanics, and I'd gladly buy that. Their best game for me is still TW2. I can't wait for the day they decide to move it over to TW3's engine, give it that glorious facial animation tech and do a proper remaster. Maybe they'll fix my issues with TW3, but so many of them are deeply rooted in the game, that it'll take a significant investment to fix. I just don't see them doing that, as they need all the money they can get for Cyberpunk. A disappointing send off for The Witcher series, I think.
 
Last edited:
[MENTION=11347]The_Imp_ZA[/MENTION] It sucks that you didn't enjoy it that much man. I still love it and that won't change no matter how much time passes. A lot of the stuff you mention I don't agree with at all, but I see no point in discussing it further as it comes down to a difference of opinion and I don't think either of us will convince the other to change their opinion.
 
The_Imp_ZA said:
...

Ultimately I feel that for every step it takes forward, it takes two steps back. The only thing I have no complaints about is Gwent, which is strange because I could never get into trading card games. I like it a lot, and they should release really a standalone Gwent game. No micro-transactions, add some more decks and deeper mechanics, and I'd gladly buy that. Their best game for me is still TW2. I can't wait for the day they decide to move it over to TW3's engine, give it that glorious facial animation tech and do a proper remaster. Maybe they'll fix my issues with TW3, but so many of them are deeply rooted in the game, that it'll take a significant investment to fix. I just don't see them doing that, as they need all the money they can get for Cyberpunk. A disappointing send off for The Witcher series, I think.
Click to expand...

We had a similar discussion in this thread in all spoiler tags , so i think alot of people missed it, but i had similar ramblings. In my case, i didn't read the books and was not as invested in the lore , so the ending of the game was a bit of a letdown (even somewhat confusing) for me , especially as you say, the game is called "The Wild Hunt" (not the "White Frost"). I also felt they made The Wild Hunt into much lesser than the mythical force i learned about in the earlier games, i mean they were still actually a "myth" in the earlier games am i right? In TW3 they came across as almost like another army with a humanlike king (maybe the books don't give this impression, but anyhow).

Also, what i distinctly remember from TW2 was how my choices i made in the game , mattered IN THE GAME , it changed my story , my companions, hell even entire zones completely. I mean, am i the only one clearly remembering that picking to go with Ioverth or Roche , changed your game and story significantly? I don't recall TW3 having this, i assume this is due to the open-world nature and they didn't want to lock people out from areas/quest options. So the end result is, all your decisions culmulate in a final cut scene at the end of the game , quickly followed by a statement saying how the game will now revert to a state before this cutscene , so you can continue play on your own.

So yea, i think CDPR made quite a few sacrifices in terms of player decisions -> cause & effect in favor of open world sandbox "free roam" design.

Anyhow, as for the simulated save thing, it does make a difference , but only in a very minor non-consequential way, if you let Letho live in TW2, he will be in TW3 and will even join your crew . Likewise with Sile, she will be in the game too. However both i considered as cameo appearances, it does nothing with the world or your gameplay decisions.

I guess personally, i still go with the Sid Meier quote "A game is a series of interesting choices." .

So The Witcher 3 is still a pretty damn good game, and it tells the story magically , but much like Dragon Age: Inquisition , i did not really feel compelled to play the game after the story finished, despite there being hundreds of side quests left. Now if the world was left in a state, based on my decisions, i would most definitely have continued playing, for the sake of experiencing the repercussions of my actions.

In terms of open world free roaming RPGs, i'd say this game is a pretty solid benchmark, although i am still not a fan of the skill/character building part/combat . The skill system was great in the less open TW1/2 , but in an open world sandbox i felt i would have liked more choice and options here....i assume once CDPR moves away from Geralt as the main character, and gives you option to mold your own character the ability to change the whole silver/steel melee setup will also come along..... i think this is probably why , amusingly, playing with Ciri was suddenly so refreshing and exiting.
 
Last edited:
I finished it yesterday and it was very good my main issues with the game is it's combat.It feels floaty it is a improvement on the other games but still is lacking that punch.
I also played the game on the hardest setting and it was a cake walk at the end.I did not need all those positions all I used was quen.
It still is a great game and I would reccommend it to anyone 9\10.
Gwent is 10\10 lol
 
Wow, I must say I'm very surprised to see someone who shares so many of my viewpoints, especially on MyGaming of all places. My experience of the South African gaming community so far has mostly been that if you're not telling everyone how this is the best game in the world, you must pack your bags and fokkof. I've been very confused by how people praise Witcher 3 as if Jesus himself descended to give it to us, while it has so many missteps. I'll add some thoughts of my own. They might overlap a bit with yours.

There might be spoilers here. Don't read if you haven't finished the game.

One gripe with this game by far is the fact that your actions in Witcher 1 and 2 have basically no consequences in Witcher 3. The biggest consequence from Witcher 2 is the fact that if you killed Letho he won't be in Witcher 3. You can also get Sile de Tanserville in your game, but she dies straight after you meet her again anyway. Whoopy! Other than that, the consequences of your W2 choices are minimal. Even your choices in Witcher 3 have very little impact on the game world until the end of the game. Ho-hum! So much for a fleshed-out RPG.

The other big gripe, which you also touched on, is the story. Not only does it not focus that much on the Wild Hunt, but unlike the previous games, the story is not actually about Geralt. The Witcher 3 is actually all about Ciri and Geralt is simply a convenient plot device used to drive that story forward.

The game world is a visually stunning place, but the art direction is pretty bland. One rolling hill looks much like another and with the exception of Kaer Trolde in Skellige, the cities and towns are pretty boring and generic. Novigrad is one of the most boring cities I've seen in a videogame in a while, especially compared to how masterfully Vizima was done in Witcher 1. The towns dotting the map all look alike and are very easily forgettable, once again paling in comparison to previous locales like Flotsam, Murky Waters village or the Ouskirts of Vizima. I understand that putting Flotsam-like amounts of detail into every town is not feasible, but at least have a couple of memorable towns thrown into the mix. As it stands none of them are memorable and I couldn't tell you which town I'm in without consulting the map first.

The next point is the abysmal quality of side content. So little of it is worthwhile. The majority just boils down to glorified fetch and kill quests, compared to Witcher 1 and 2 where many side quests were just as deep and fleshed-out as the main story quests. Witcher Contracts, though, are abominations. Considering that the biggest part of being a Witcher is killing monsters, you'd expect CDProjekt to at least flesh out their contracts so that you have to use your brains to overcome certain monsters or solve quests. Instead, what we got was silly quests that required us to follow instructions from the quest log while holding in the right mouse button. What should have been puzzling encounters boiled down to pressing E on brightly glowing spots and following bright red trails until you reach a monster. Few things in this game bother me as much as the mindless simplicity of Witcher contracts. When you start reading The Last Wish and you see how much planning and preparation went into even something as simple as the Striga contract, it makes the lack of depth in this game's contracts all the more disappointing. It's unforgivable how a game called The Witcher can get being a Witcher so wrong due to a lack of depth and variety.

And that's where I'll stop for now, otherwise I'll just be parroting what The_Imp_ZA said.
 
Some awesome changes coming with patch 1.07

  • A new, alternative (optional) movement response mode for Geralt.
  • A player stash for storing items, available in various locations throughout the game. Stash locations are marked on the player's map.
  • Crafting and alchemy components no longer add to the overall inventory weight.
  • Books are now placed in a dedicated tab in the Inventory and books that have already been read are properly grayed out.
  • Multiple sorting options are now available in the Inventory.
  • Alchemy formulas and crafting diagrams can be "pinned", meaning all components and ingredients required to make them will be conveniently marked in the Shop panel.
  • Dozens of fixes for quest related issues, both major and minor.
  • A few performance enhancements, including the optimization of FX, scenes and general gameplay.
  • Various improvements to horse behavior.
 
MetalSoup said:
Some awesome changes coming with patch 1.07

  • A new, alternative (optional) movement response mode for Geralt.
  • A player stash for storing items, available in various locations throughout the game. Stash locations are marked on the player's map.
  • Crafting and alchemy components no longer add to the overall inventory weight.
  • Books are now placed in a dedicated tab in the Inventory and books that have already been read are properly grayed out.
  • Multiple sorting options are now available in the Inventory.
  • Alchemy formulas and crafting diagrams can be "pinned", meaning all components and ingredients required to make them will be conveniently marked in the Shop panel.
  • Dozens of fixes for quest related issues, both major and minor.
  • A few performance enhancements, including the optimization of FX, scenes and general gameplay.
  • Various improvements to horse behavior.
Click to expand...

 
Ahoy people,

Does anyone have the data files for the game from GOG* in the Pretoria east area?
GOG is limiting my dl speed to ~100KB/s (on a 2mbps line) :(

Slightly late to the party, seeing some people has already finished the game. :p

*
Spoiler: show

Recently bought a gtx 970 that came with the witcher 3 code :D


Update

nvm, finally finished downloading :D
 
Last edited:
Digital foundry just did a article and the performance on both ps4 and xbone has gotten worse after patch 1.07.I thought patches should increase performance not decrease it.
 
The Joker said:
Performance on pc has also decreased with this patch.
Click to expand...

On your PC specifically? I haven't read anything about the patch affecting performance, but some guys on another forum have said that they got better performance on PC after the patch. It's still exactly the same on my PC.
 
Wlad said:
On your PC specifically? I haven't read anything about the patch affecting performance, but some guys on another forum have said that they got better performance on PC after the patch. It's still exactly the same on my PC.
Click to expand...

Figured it out, for some or other reason all the Nvidia settings were enabled.
 
I'm disappointed to hear that consoles have seen a dip in performance with the new patch. I'm really happy with it considering that I'm playing on PC. I think the inventory changes were necessary and have made it so much easier to sort through everything. I haven't made use of the stash yet, but I am glad that it's there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top