What we love about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I could sing praises for The Witcher 3 all day. This master-class RPG has completely overtaken my life, and I have not played another game in weeks.

Being completely stuck into one of the world’s greatest RPGs, and easily one of the best RPGs ever made, I felt it necessary to list a few of my favourite elements from the dark, grand world of Geralt of Rivia.

Sprawling, Immersive Environments

Get lost; get stuck-in; get wild.

The Witcher 3 takes place in a hazardous and often grim yet also sunny and wonderful world, filled with hidden treasures, bandit camps and all kinds of mysterious pleasures begging for the player to explore.

From grimy, poisonous bogs, to rolling golden wheat fields, to complex and bustling cities, this game will swallow you whole and spit you out once you have fully exploited its mesmerizing areas.

As much as I enjoy quests and storylines in RPGs, my real purpose (as with any fantasy medium) is to lose myself in a surreally enchanting realm, which is what The Witcher 3 does so damn well.

The Witcher 3 is a beautiful place.

Being modelled off places like the already esoteric Scotland, there is much varied countryside adventuring to be done, all filled to the brim with hapless peasants, snarling fiends and vicious bandits and soldiers.

There are also countless hidden treasures to find, bursting with epic loot, most often guarded by some towering behemoth.

There are just too many unique landmarks, all so lusciously and lovingly realised.

The solitary lighthouse perched on top of a rainy island, the hidden village whose inhabitants have fallen prey to malicious and terrifying entities, the sunken ship coated in coral and sea life and stuffed with bountiful cargo.

A Colourful and Profound Cast

The loveable main characters of The Witcher 3.

There is nothing I love more than a fantasy game where the characters feel like real human beings, and not just shallow, cookie-cutter, dragon-hating plebeians.

The cast of The Witcher 3 are as fascinating and fleshed out as they are troubled and mysterious.

The gruff protagonist, Geralt, finds himself once again stuck in the middle of a brooding maelstrom as his beloved Ciri is pursued by inter-dimensional, stone-cold fiendish warriors.

He’s once again joined by the dangerously attractive sorceresses Yennefer and Triss, and their banter and romances are highly enjoyable and sometimes NSFW.

There are hideous underworld kingpins, enigmatic elven wizards and then there are characters like the ‘Crones of Crookback Bog’, three occult abominations worthy of a Silent Hill boss battle.

Relationships like the one between Geralt and Yennefer is fantastic motivator.

The sheer amount of dialogue and interaction every one of the loveable characters employs is mind-blowing.

I cannot fathom how much effort every member of the cast put in to bringing their respective characters to life, and Geralt’s voice actor Doug Cockle must be commended for carrying everyone through.

What happens to the major characters is up to the players. Your treatment and decision-making revolving around central NPCs will decide their fate and the fate of the world you live in general.

Dialogue options must be wearily decided and weighed against each other.

Whether you wish to be the heartless marauder or the passionate humanitarian is entirely up to you.

Armour and Crafting

An example of the upgradable and unique armour sets available to Geralt.

Gear is the bread and butter of any RPG. Rampaging through the fray in completely pimped-out regalia is one of the most pleasurable elements of this genre.

For me, painstakingly gathering all the necessary components, striving towards the required level then finally assembling a fearsome set of armour, pants, boots and gloves (and a couple of overpowered swords to boot) is the highlight of an RPG.

This is why I was highly pleased to find The Witcher 3 had a plethora of gear to plunder and put together.

From simple, common breastplates to intricate and unique ‘Witcher Gear’, this game has everything a keen blacksmith could want.

You’re going to need any advantage you can get.

Then there is alchemy. Brewing potions, oils and bombs to augment the efficiency and longevity of a ‘Witcher’ is all in a day’s work, and essential if one is to tackle the endless amount of lethal beasts roaming The Kingdom.

One can create oils with which to lather their silver swords with.

Each kind of oil is exclusive to a certain monster, adding buffs to each swing one takes at the face of a snarling hellion.

There are countless components needed for alchemy and crafting.

The body parts of dismembered monsters, vibrant and beautiful flora and fauna and ores and ingots must be collected for the creating of armour and brews, and players will spend much time climbing hills and plunging into the depths of the ocean to find rare specimens, as well as rifling through boxes and sacks to find metals and binding agents.

Witcher Contracts

An example of the upgradable and unique armour sets.

Besides wooing dames and halting the apocalypse, a Witcher’s primary raison d’être is the eradication of invading fiends.

Filthy peasants and greasy nobles alike will shell out much gold for your services in vanquishing the murderous, bone-crunching terrors skulking in their territories, snatching children and razing homes.

This is a part of the game that is completely thrilling. The player will begin by contacting individuals who have interacted with said monster and learn what they can from the trembling victim.

One will then venture into the target’s last-seen spot – be it a steaming bog or an abandoned farm – and employ the use of highly sensitive ‘Witcher Senses’.

This cat-like awareness will reveal footprints, olfactory trails and bloody tracks which will guide the player to the lair of the beast for the epic showdown.

This often results in running away at high speeds when you realize you’ve run into something too high-level and volatile.

If you are, however, ready for the fight, expect completely exhilarating and frantic action, reminiscent of the sweaty palmed, heart-pumping handiwork of Bloodborne.