The Witcher 3

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

I started playing this game about a year and a half ago, and I have loved every second of it. For the couple hours I play a week I am totally transported to a different world, and even though the play-through has been slow it has allowed me to really soak up all this game has to offer.

The main reason I love this game is the world it creates. I can't imagine how long it took to record all the voice work alone. With well over 100 unique character encounters and different storylines depending on the options you choose this game is very immersive. The amount of lore embedded in this world that I didn't get close to is impressive in itself. The scenery is beautiful to look at, and the music really ties it all together. The monsters, the people, it's all great.

I also really enjoyed the combat. It took a while for me to get the hang of it, since I didn't play often enough for muscle memory to kick in, but I really enjoyed how challenging it was and the wide array of moves at Geralt's disposal. I never felt overwhelmed but all the options, and was impressed by how fluid battles felt (even if sometimes Geralt would encounter monsters and refuse to take out his sword...).

Speaking of which, I did stumble into a couple pretty hilarious bugs. It didn't really take me out of it, but it was pretty funny, this huge polished world going from realistic to ridiculous every once in a while, with crazy npc movement or Geralt's chin poking through some piece of his armour.

My one real flaw in this game is the movement. In battle Geralt is as fluid as can be, but just traversing the landscape can be super janky. He can climb up only the shortest of cliffs, and has no tolerance for slightly steep inclines or short falls. Picking up flowers is made difficult by the lack of fine motor skills, every step he takes covering some weird amount of distance making it hard to move only a bit. Swimming is a nightmare, with controls seemingly changing at random and the camera swinging wildly. And don't get me started on the terrible horse riding. It seems like a large complaint, but I do think everything else in this game is so good it makes you forget what smooth traversal in other games is like.

This game is littered with side quests and fun encounters, and some of the most fun I have had is unknowingly starting a longer side quest and getting really into the story. The moral choices didn't really move me, but I still struggled at times to make them since I wanted to experience each quest to the fullest.

I could go on and on, but I think it is clear that I think this game is amazing. I am 100 hours in and still going, enjoying it as much right now as I ever have.