@@based-ys9um no game is perfect. There's always individual part that is an issue in every game but some games are more than the sum of its parts. Witcher 3 is one example of that even when its combat is mid and the movement is somewhat clunky
@SphericAlpha JA isn't a know-it-all (unless you imagine that sort of tone). But he does sometimes lack perspective over certain design decisions made with a different kind of player in mind.
CDPR has always had amazing writing. I felt emotional when Jackie died in Cyberpunk even though we only knew him for about 2 hours. He was essentially a "tutorial NPC" and yet CDPR managed to make his death felt impactful.
Almost a decade and still my favorite game. I go back to it all the time as a comfort game. Occasionally load up my 100% file just to walk around Toussaint with retired Geralt 😂⚔️
the game starts at ng+ for us. its a game i just have to 100% and ng+ once a year. a true masterpiece, and i dont believe were getting something like it in a long long time if ever. also, strongly disagree with this guy regarding “filler content”, never felt a need to fast travel much less to skip a single interest point even after all this time.
@@sainsburyshopper agreed. It showed how a spiral of bad decisions turned things from bad to worse for the both of them. She shouldn't have cheated but she was lonely and didn't know if he'd ever come back. He should never have hit her, but he was an alcoholic who began drinking because he couldn't cope with their issues, and the drink made him violent. She was rightfully afraid of him, but ended up fleeing into an arguably worse situation. He was genuinely remorseful and filled with self-loathing but can never take back what he did to her. It's messy, complicated, and ugly all around, but we feel bad for both of them.
Despite whatever 'faults' it may have, its the general experience of it that just floors me still. its atmosphere, its music. i still love just walking around in this world. the immersion and escape of it. hell, the way the wind blows through the trees, the sunsets.... i love the side quests too, theres a lot of rich characters and experiences there to help you level. the game was always a little clunky in spots, but its easily overcome by its immersion.
Scenes from a Marriage is the best single quest I've ever experienced in any RPG I've played. It is self contained, tragic, shakespearian, oh so emotional, mature, spooky, incredibly original, and most importantly, with a deep and meaningful choice that will haunt you for hours.
I unironically got introduced to the universe through the Netflix show which may be the one good thing it's done, because since buying the game in 2021, I've gotten about 400 hours, went back to play 1 and 2, and somehow I loved 1 at a level equal if not greater than 2 or 3 and I'm currently reading the books, the universe is amazing and I'm glad I discovered it.
At least one thing the Netflix series was good for, I assume. I played the game in 2019 and refused to watch even a single scene of the series as I knew it will be of poor quality.
It's not the plot, it's how you engage with it. If you write story from Ciri's perspective, it makes sense and is fairly straightforward, but we are playing as Geralt who is dropped in into the story around its middle. So we get to go both forward and backward trying to figure out what is happening.
After all this years I still love Witcher 3 story and i welcome this lengthy review to help me surivive working ours. Also, as a liitle trivia, Heart of Stone plot is slightly based on a polish legend about Master Twardowski, who tried to trick the devil by escaping to the moon
@@Lennox032 Was wondering the same thing. Apparently it's another game reviewer, who is also still active. And to the best of my knowledge, it's a running gag that he'll eventually release the Witcher III video he promissed years ago. At least there are literally dozens of reddit threads all doing the same injoke. If anyone actually has something to add to this, please go ahead since i can't be asked to look further into it. What confuses me though is the overlap here. Are people following many game reviewers ? Is it that simnple ?
@@jmmywyf4lyf he started a comprehensive review series of the Witcher games. He has released the first 2 but the 3rd one has been 4 years in the making at this point.
The Roach mechanic to follow the road absolutely works for me, and always has since 2015, the only thing you have to do is direct her when you come across forks, and sometimes she gets stuck as she is wont to do. I have also always preferred to play this game with controller though, so maybe the difficulty you've always experienced is M&KB related? Idk.
I play M&KB and it works like you said, she just needs a little nudge at forks. CDPR know it's bad, with the Roach quest having some fun. I suspect they've left her a bit janky on purpose
The best game series I've ever played, Witcher 3 being my favorite game ever. Glad you took the time to give your take on it. Looking forward to new 100%s.
Best thing about W3 on pc, is that all the issues you mentioned are already fixed by mod collection and modders. I'm currently in a 3d playthrough with some incredible mod this time and its simply incredible, new items, combat, monsters!
One of my favorite games and had such good memories of playing it all the way back at launch in 2015. I had played the first two games earlier in the year and loved them both so much. I played it for a week straight and got the "best" ending blind, making everything turn out alright😊 when I played the dlc when it came out I had a blast too! One of the best games of all time.
An incredible game, suberp storywriting and together with Fallout New Vegas and Mass Effect 2 in my top 3. Your review is great, always have a blast listening to Mortismal. Have no issues with crashes luckily.
I don't want to spark anything with the whole Triss and Yen thing. But, I don't think the first game really counts for story stuff. When people say Triss manipulated Geralt in the first game by not telling him about Yen or Ciri I always think "well , neither did any of the Witcher who knew about them. " I think with a remake on the horizon we'll get a clearer idea about what CDPR had in mind for Geralt's resurrection
The instant sign casting on controllers with the next gen update was a game changer for fluidity in combat. Needs to be default for the next witcher game
Probably my favorite game of all time nowadays. I've got about 650 hours in it since its release and every couple of years i'll read all 8 books, then play all three games back to back as, to me, it's one huge overarching storyline. Beautiful stuff. Can't wait to see Witcher 4 and the remake of Witcher 1.
My favorite game of all time, with RDR2 a close second. I loved the story, characters, world, graphics, ambient sound, music, gameplay, side quests, contracts, etc. Between my two playthroughs I've put in over 400 hours. Recently replayed it this year and I saved about a dozen hours of side content for when I finally get a PS5 cuz my PS4 is slowing down, but I played through the vast majority of the main game and both expansions and it held up amazingly well. I love the new way you use signs now, makes the combat even more immersive. Played most of the second playthrough with the map off more often than not and it brought the immersion to another level. An absolute masterpiece that has it's minor flaws absolutely blown out of the water by the consistent highs. Anything with the Red Baron, Dijkstra, Gaunter or Regis was a personal highlight.
I guess he must have covered Kingdoms of Amalur and I must have watched it 100 plus times cause every single time I hear that intro music I associate it with that game :p
My favourite Sidecontent was completing the Witcher contracts. I had a blast with them. Also.. I spent quite a lot of time tinkering with the Alchemy. Good times!
@@Noir-c9k Sure, it doesn't match up to modern graphics, but the art direction and set design absolutely do gap 95% of modern games, and honestly the only aspect of the gameplay that feels outdated is the combat. You could argue the horseback riding isn't great (which is a valid criticism) but it's still better than RDR2's horseback riding and nobody considers that game outdated at all.
@@Noir-c9k Looking back on it... yeah roach riding really does fucking suck. Definitely not better lol, idk what I was on. Still, while the horses themselves are realistic and immaculately designed, RDR2's horseback riding is still ridiculously obtuse and repetitive, particularly early on. I'd take Elden Ring and maybe even Shadow of the Colossus' horseback riding systems over it in a heartbeat, but that's not really relevant to the conversation. Regardless, W3 is a decade-old RPG with phenomenal visuals that absolutely hold up to this day, especially when you factor in the immaculate world design and atmosphere. Taking a look at both 2022 and 2023's releases, I can only spot 2 or 3 games each year that you could argue are better than W3. Despite its flaws like the dated combat and bloated RPG elements, it absolutely looks and feels better than 90% of modern games like OP said.
Pick it back up, with a few mods if you're on PC, and maybe try an different play style, make different choices, engage with different systems, and let the immersion suck you in. Personally, I loved the different witcher contracts, while the overall dynamic of each contract was similar, I thought they had their own charm and didn't find them repetitive. Not every game is for everyone though. I do hope you're able to enjoy a playthrough though
The DLCs for this game continue to be some of the greatest stories, not just in gaming but in general. I will never forget the first time I went into the fairytale land in Blood & Wine, or the scene where Gaunter O'Dimm comes walking out of the sky to come claim the debt owed to him. Chills. So good.
Okay the game is showing it's age, but can you show me a more recent and similar game that did all those things better? I think this is why W3 is still the best, because maybe some games did some parts better, but as a whole, Witcher 3 is still the best. Btw great review as always!
Fyi to the one person who is planning to play this game, for the first time, and has not read the books. This is the one game in the trilogi, where you are going to miss out on a lot of context, if you do not have a general idea of the main plot of the novels.
True but I think if your someone who reads the glossary entries you should be ok. I played this game as my introduction to the series, was able to follow it easily supplementing with the in game character entries for enough backstory. You will miss some things but it really isn't too bad, the one big thing that does get left out is what exactly emir did or tried to do that makes Geralt and ciri hate him. So if youre someone who hasn't played the game don't think you need to do a bunch of prerequisite homework, enjoy the game and if you do enjoy it, get the books and play the first 2 games after like I did. Also ignore the Netflix show it is bad fanfiction.
Unpopular opinion, ik, but only read the short stories. The actual numbered books are a meandering poorly written waste of time and provide very little context to help support the game. Frankly, you don't need to know how dykstra got his leg broken by geralt to enjoy the witcher 3. Actually not knowing provides a lot more intrigue because your imagination of the hijinks Geralt and him got up to is probably more exciting than sarpovsky pretending he knew at all where that story was going
I didn’t read any of the books or play any of the previous games and I didn’t have any issues starting with TW3 and learning about what was going on naturally through exposition.
@@iago9711 I agree with the short stories being the best works of Sapkowski, but I have to disagree with your opinion on the actual saga. It's a great deconstruction of fantasy and folklore tropes and themes, mixed in with pretty engaging and decently thought-up, if a little messy, story. The one book I'd actually stay away from would be Season of Storms, it doesn't add much and is written worse than any of the other entries.
I'm in it for the character's man, and the comedy too, but mostly the characters. Geralt and Yennifer and Ciri's arc's through the main books are far and away better then in the short stories. As for whether or not the short stories are better then the novel's, I could see an argument. The intrigue and comedy is great, but, again going back to the characters, everone seems a little to tropey and one note, like Geralt and Yennifer's story is so much more about the journey after the wish then the wish itself for example. And also I don't know if anyone should ever read the short stories and not read the rest of the series. Like yes they are undeniably great but how much of that comes from the pay off's that happen after words. I for one read them all back to back pretty quickly so I don't know that I could say objectively one way or the other but I guess you know my opinion
There is also a quest in Novigrad where Priscilla is almost murdered and you need to figure out who did it. One of my favorite side quests in the base game
Probably staring blankly at his computer screen in a reocurring moment of realization that he has spent literal years of his life chasing an imagined unattainable standard of quality at the expense of his own health, ability to provide for his family, and the goodwill of his audience
Mindblowing is that the amount od content cut off from original saga is so large it would be enough for another full game to release. Entire under the sea world in witcher 1, entire resistence movement from wither 3
The biggest gripe I have is that the character progression doesn’t really open up until NG+. If you want the best skills, you have to dump a bunch of your points into stuff you aren’t interested in using. If you want to have the best perks of 2 different trees, you end up completing most of the game before you get your build together. Thats why I recommend to anyone playing it, just focus on the main story and the side quests, don’t bother with trying to max out your character in your first playthrough. If you love the game like many do, you’ll want to play a NG+ as soon as you finish, and that’s when you want to do everything and go everywhere.
I respect you for calling out the issues with the difficulty and the progression systems because for years I've been saying the same thing and felt fucking insane when 99% of people disagree on the progression systems in particular being mediocre for this type of game. Similar issues remained in CP77 even after the Liberty DLC. I hope they get their shit together for the new witcher game or the remake. I was playing on Death March, the first 10-15 hours felt amazing and maybe a bit overtuned, but +20 hours in I got my first gear set, as well as unlocked what I found to be relatively strong talent skills for my "build" and the game became a cakewalk by then already, the loot started getting autosold, alchemy - worthless, if I was feeling extra cheeky I would spam Quen against enemies 10 levels above me and would still kill them (unrewardingly so, because for some reason they thought 100% protection is a good idea, it would've been a game changer if it was like 90%), etc. Absolutely hated how they handled the experience/loot gains on sidequests too, since if you spent too much time in Novigrad and the surrounding area and then finally went to Skellige, 99% of the content there would barely give you exp, quests in particular, which seems like the most insane oversight and maybe playing good CRPGs like DOS2 and Wasteland 3 spoiled me but those types of games have progression done perfectly in my opinion and CDPR have sooooooo much to learn instead of focusing on scale and bloated systems that lack polish.
Wow, i'm so used to hearing a calm voice giving as close to objective insight as possible. But they Yennifer segment was something else. This is why its such a long standing debate XD
TW3 will probably always be my all time fave game. I first played it during covid lockdown and my god it helped me get through it. The characters, the story, the music. Like you mentioned I never minded the combat and game mechanics too much even when they were annoying. It just made me laugh briefly and added to the games charm of being imperfect. I can’t wait for the Witcher 1 remake and then Witcher 4. I hope the corporate takeover of CDPR doesn’t harm the franchise however. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I was interested in your Triss v Yen section. I think a lot of this depends on whether or not you have read the books. Most (obviously not all) people who have read the books will pick Yen. Triss barely appears in the books and umm she doesn't really shine as a character to trust in the books (much worse than she appears in the earlier games) - conversely Yen actually allows herself to be physically tortured to save Geralt and nearly always puts Geralt's and Ciri's wellbeing ahead of her own, she really does think of Ciri as her daughter having trained her from when she was a small child. There is a lot more than that of course. The Netflix tv show didn't do her any favours and most of that rubbish wasn't in the books at all. And I agree that both women are not the nicest of people in the games - I reckon most players would pick Shani over both of them if they had the option to. Personally I quite like Triss in this game - but I read the books. I can see past Yens prickly nature because a book is always going to provide more insight than a game will. I do like that the game provides more than one option for romance and especially what happens if you are daft enough to romance both because it's comical. I loved this game and did 3 playthroughs over a number of years - you know I needed to work and eat and occasionally sleep :) , and oddly its a game I pop into and spend an evening doing something there without - now - feeling any need to continue playing which is probably just as well if I wanted to do anything else for the following month. The DLC's - both of them - were superb. I still think this game was one of my favourite games of all time - and I'm ancient so have a lot of less enchanting games to compare it to.
Personally this game is one of the best ever. Incredible achievement. The only thing, and its merely a nitpick, is the combat. Although it generally is good, compared to most games (the flow of it, animations etc), imo it too often becomes a dodge simulator specially on harder difficulty where the enemies very much like to swarm you. Now I know you can cheese it through the signs specially with the igni, like we see in this video. I'm not talking about that I'm talking of purely the combat. I will die on the hill that the first game had the best combat, although clunky as the game may be. This is basically my only complaint for this game.
The Witcher 3 is my all time favorite game... I have finished it 4 times... I simply love it so so much. Thanks for this awesome review. Greetings from Germany
Last weekend I started my second playthrough of the game. I haven't played it since 2016 and I feel the same taste of awesomeness as the first time. I was shocked that this game hasn't aged at all.
About the gear sets in Blood & Wine, actually my favourite sets are the Vampire sets (forgot the name, sorry!) There’s a black version and a red version. The red version is my preferred, with the mask on. Then I have 6 pieces of the set equipped, and can still also equip Aerondight without foregoing the set-bonuses.
One of my few gripes is that many of the quests conclusions fell flat imo...many times I found myself going '' is that it?'' the actual wrap up would not meet my imagination or hopes/expectation...especially w/ the queen's sister, I thought she'd like jump out the window and to her demise or be banished to the fairy tale land forever...anything but just actually accepting her sentencing
I think that was a very well made review, you clearly thought through the points you made and put in a lot of effort. I am absolutely a fanboy for this game, but I can't deny that the criticisms you made are valid and meaningful. Man, I need to replay this game again...
On my second run, I couldn't resist pushing Yennefer's buttons at Kaer Morhen. I nudged her just enough to have her fling me into the lake, which was a shortcut to the other side for Geralt's exploration. Brilliant review! Cheers!
This is my favorite game. I remember climbing to the top of every mountain and they were well done with a specific way that you have to figure out, and there was a reward of some sort on the top of every one.
Well done review! I like your way of reviewing games. It's very thorough and objective enough for people to know if the should purchase the game or not. Subscribed! I love medieval fantasy in general, I liked the Netflix Witcher series, read the books in the past, but found the books sometimes long winding and even boring at some parts, although I do LOVE the world building of the Witcher. The wold building, the lore is where this game and the books shine IMHO! It's of high, no, very high standards! The game too feels like it has a world that is lived it. It feels alive, not like a CTRL+C and CTRL + V Ubisoft movie set for you to play in. I bought this game on PC, about a year after launch and on PS4 Pro at a sale, years after launch, to give it another go. In total I have about 60-70 hours in this game over both systems, but never finished it once. I think I have tried to finish it 6 or 7 times by now, but the game just doesn't click with me. I had the same with The Witcher 1 and 2 before, but after everybody saying "Best game evvah!" I though let's give it a spin. The game has clunky feeling and stiff animations in combat, even taking it's age into account. The walking feels off at best. It feels kinda laggy or so. Don't really know what it is, but it feels off. In combat Geralt is more like a pirouetting ballerina and his hits don't feel like hits. I really dislike the sword combat (but combat was also the main problem with The Witcher 1 and more or less 2.) The potions, oils and Witcher's magic on the other hand is what I do enjoy of the combat. That makes it a bit more tactical and connects with the lore of the Witchers. Another factor that I don't like, is the music of this game. You can turn it off, but one of the main driving factors for me finishing a game, is a good musical score! Good music pulls you into the story, pushes you forward, wants you to finish the game. Well, the ever repeating, dreary White Orchard area music wants to make me pull my hear out, bang my head against a wall repeatedly and quit the game the instant I hear it! It's like an invite to quit the game. The yelling and screaming in the (combat) music feels very, very, very cheesy to me. Yes, I really dislike the music and this could be the main reason for me not finishing the game. The main story, told mostly via long cut scenes, wasn't very interesting to me either, at least not interesting enough to keep me playing and forget the other cons. I don't like long cut scenes in general, I like to play my games, not watch them, but if the story is really interesting, I can see past this one con. I can absolutely see why other people think this games a classic! Like a lot of things in life, most of the points I mention here concerns personal taste. Nevertheless, I would love to see a proper RPG in the world of The Wicher! One where I can create my own character, choose a class and skills and perks that go with that class and then venture off in the world of The Witcher to create my own stories instead of one story being forced upon you. The world of The Witcher is a really fascinating and interesting one to explore and discover.
This is my favourite game of all time. I am doing the 5 run for now, enjoying it like the first time. This game its really special to me, its part of me life
One of my favourite game of all time. Ive finished it on every platform multiple times. Ive just found out the ps5 has a seperate trophy list so im thinking of picking it up again on that 😂
This is unpopular, but the story section was exhausting to listen to. Really reminds me of how much "your princess is in another castle" the main quest was.
I am actually re- playing through this game right now and I gotta say the new quick sign controls are amazing! Combat is now engaging and extremely fun. 🎉
You have truely become my favourite creator. You put so much effort into all of your videos. And hearing your personal stories makes me appreciate everything you do even more. I hope you know you make so many people happy :)
It’s funny you posted this after your video on games beloved but you don’t enjoy, because I have been saying that about the Witcher for years. I think it’s an objectively amazing game, but I can not for the life of me get into it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and see if I can find a new appreciation for the game.
The problem for me is that they're a love letter to a fantasy series that I don't enjoy very much. I've tried playing the games, reading a couple of the books and watching the first season of the Netflix series, but I just never found the Witcher universe that appealing.
Everybody praises rightfully Bloody Baron questline, but the real Witcher 3 peak writing for me is Scenes from a Marriage in the Hearts of Stone DLC. It is the best single quest I've ever experienced in any RPG I've played. It is self contained, tragic, bittersweet, shakespearian, oh so emotional, mature, spooky, incredibly original, and most importantly, with a deep and meaningful choice that will haunt you for hours. It is what the Witcher 3 offers best and I would definitely make a pact with GoD to forget all about it and experience it again for the first time.
It’s funny since as someone who enjoys the books more than the games, I always preferred the Novigrad and Skellige portions to the Velen one. The way book elements are tied in is great for me. Awesome video regardless.
Fun fact. Olgierd was not a bad person. He became bad after he met Gaunther who tricked him. And even than he had a code. Gaunther is pure evil. He tortured that poor scholar in the most gruesome way for the no good reason. You say he treated Geralt with respect? He tricked him in helping him and gave him a brutal scar. You do not understand the Hearts of Stone DLC.
Olgierd killed his own brother to take a Faustian bargain which is by definition purely for personal gain. Gaunter is indeed evil which I also stated here, but he didn't trick Geralt into anything. Geralt accepted a contract that was a trick by Olgierd and then accepted a deal with Gaunter to save his own life and yeah he was marked to assure he kept his end of the bargain because yes Gaunter is evil. I understand it just fine, I just feel differently about it and I'm capable of expressing myself in more productive ways than boldly declaring what others do or not understand.
Olgierd had to make a choice betweem the life of Iris and the life of his brother. Gaunther forced him to. That is pure evil. And again that is after he made a deal with Gaunther. You can see Gaunther in the background when Geralt is reading the contract on the noticeboard. He met Geralt in the beginning when he told him about Jennifer, what he also throws in his face. He was playing Geralt all allong and he probely did it to Olgierd. He was not a worse man than the Baron for example. Just a flawed individual. I am a big fan of your content by the way :).
The problem with the Velen storyline is that it's the best writing in the whole game yet comes so early on. After resolving the Crohn story, everything that follows feels less good.
I love the Witcher 3. It is my favorite game of all time, even though it isn't even in my top 3 most played. When I first beat the main story about 7-8 years ago I felt empty inside, like I just let something go I loved. No game has ever gotten that out of me, even if I know some games simply surpass TW3 in a few and sometimes even many aspects. But it simply had that.. thing. Many games I consider to be masterpieces, but not one game to be "perfect". Because thats impossible. But it will always hold that special spot in my heart.
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Years after playing it and its DLC, I'm still kinda in disbelief just how well this behemoth of game came together. Masterpiece.
I hate how the term “masterpiece” is overused these days because it undermines the true masterpiece like witcher 3.
Yes and a modding kit released for it, hopefully it will breath in some more life into the game.
@@based-ys9umsure individually that’s an issue but as a sum of its parts being greater than the whole situation, I would still call it a masterpiece.
@@based-ys9um no game is perfect. There's always individual part that is an issue in every game but some games are more than the sum of its parts. Witcher 3 is one example of that even when its combat is mid and the movement is somewhat clunky
It still lives on my list of top games I can't help but compare everything else to.
Joseph Anderson: No Witcher 3 video for half a decade
Mortismal: Fine, I'll do it myself
JA has Half Life 3’d himself, it’s been too long, expectations are too high.
Couldn't have put it better myself! Mortismal is also pure quality and lacks the snide over-analysis (read: know-it-all) that JA sometimes does
There is honestly nothing JA could say about W3 that would justify a wait of this length.
At least he shut down his pateron when he got called out on it. The guy was getting thousands per month for literally nothing.@@Brooksey1992
@SphericAlpha JA isn't a know-it-all (unless you imagine that sort of tone). But he does sometimes lack perspective over certain design decisions made with a different kind of player in mind.
that Baron quest will always stick with me. SO GOOD.
It's the best part of the game imo
easily the best
that was also when I was like WOAH the quest writing here is actually top notch.
CDPR has always had amazing writing. I felt emotional when Jackie died in Cyberpunk even though we only knew him for about 2 hours. He was essentially a "tutorial NPC" and yet CDPR managed to make his death felt impactful.
I have played it 4 times through, a different outcome each time. Holy crap, one of the greatest and most memorable quests in gaming history.
Almost a decade and still my favorite game. I go back to it all the time as a comfort game. Occasionally load up my 100% file just to walk around Toussaint with retired Geralt 😂⚔️
I go back to The Witcher trilogy and the Bioshock trilogy when I want to experience pure masterpieces
Me too .....toussaint is really relaxing...
the game starts at ng+ for us. its a game i just have to 100% and ng+ once a year. a true masterpiece, and i dont believe were getting something like it in a long long time if ever. also, strongly disagree with this guy regarding “filler content”, never felt a need to fast travel much less to skip a single interest point even after all this time.
I get choked up every dang time Geralt meets Ciri on the Isle of Mists. CDPR handled that really, really well.
The music playing in that scene sends shivers up my spine every time. Just a beautifully directed scene.
Great moment
I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear at that point
@@crispy_338 you cant have Cinderella without the 7 dwarves
My only problem with it was how dragged out it was to get to her
The Bloody Baron quest was so amazing when I first played it. I was literally on the edge of my seat. It felt to real with emotions
It’s the most realistic depiction of a broken relationship I’ve ever seen in a game. Fantastic writing all around.
@@sainsburyshopper agreed. It showed how a spiral of bad decisions turned things from bad to worse for the both of them. She shouldn't have cheated but she was lonely and didn't know if he'd ever come back. He should never have hit her, but he was an alcoholic who began drinking because he couldn't cope with their issues, and the drink made him violent. She was rightfully afraid of him, but ended up fleeing into an arguably worse situation. He was genuinely remorseful and filled with self-loathing but can never take back what he did to her. It's messy, complicated, and ugly all around, but we feel bad for both of them.
@@blackshard641 He also might have had PTSD which made him kill her lover.
CDPR really captured lightning in a bottle with this game, it really is a fantastic work of art with a awesome story and an amazing soundtrack !
Despite whatever 'faults' it may have, its the general experience of it that just floors me still. its atmosphere, its music. i still love just walking around in this world. the immersion and escape of it. hell, the way the wind blows through the trees, the sunsets.... i love the side quests too, theres a lot of rich characters and experiences there to help you level. the game was always a little clunky in spots, but its easily overcome by its immersion.
We let him cook, and he delivered us a feast!
A two hour buffet if you will
I can't wait for this stupid saying to die out. It's cringe
Who let bro cook
@@Jaeno311 its just overused sooo much. Anybody does anything: "let him cook" (repeated 10x times)
I preferred the Gaunter O' Dimm content more than the Bloody Baron.
But Witcher III is hands down one of my top games
Scenes from a Marriage is the best single quest I've ever experienced in any RPG I've played. It is self contained, tragic, shakespearian, oh so emotional, mature, spooky, incredibly original, and most importantly, with a deep and meaningful choice that will haunt you for hours.
I unironically got introduced to the universe through the Netflix show which may be the one good thing it's done, because since buying the game in 2021, I've gotten about 400 hours, went back to play 1 and 2, and somehow I loved 1 at a level equal if not greater than 2 or 3 and I'm currently reading the books, the universe is amazing and I'm glad I discovered it.
Netflix series was dogshit though.
The books are pretty cool
Books are great!
At least one thing the Netflix series was good for, I assume. I played the game in 2019 and refused to watch even a single scene of the series as I knew it will be of poor quality.
You did complete TW3 analysis before Joseph Anderson, congrats...
I forgot how convoluted the plot is.
It's been fun experiencing this great game again vicariously. Thanks man.
It's not the plot, it's how you engage with it. If you write story from Ciri's perspective, it makes sense and is fairly straightforward, but we are playing as Geralt who is dropped in into the story around its middle. So we get to go both forward and backward trying to figure out what is happening.
I'm working on the DLC right now. I understand now why this game is so loved.
Which one
After all this years I still love Witcher 3 story and i welcome this lengthy review to help me surivive working ours.
Also, as a liitle trivia, Heart of Stone plot is slightly based on a polish legend about Master Twardowski, who tried to trick the devil by escaping to the moon
Joseph Anderson punching the air right now
Who's Joseph Anderson?
Who?
@@Lennox032 Was wondering the same thing. Apparently it's another game reviewer, who is also still active. And to the best of my knowledge, it's a running gag that he'll eventually release the Witcher III video he promissed years ago. At least there are literally dozens of reddit threads all doing the same injoke.
If anyone actually has something to add to this, please go ahead since i can't be asked to look further into it.
What confuses me though is the overlap here. Are people following many game reviewers ? Is it that simnple ?
Who is that
He is stabbing it, meanwhile I'm batting it
Can't wait for Joseph Anderson to drop a diss track in response to this.
Go watch the EFAP podcast covering him.
@@jmmywyf4lyf he started a comprehensive review series of the Witcher games. He has released the first 2 but the 3rd one has been 4 years in the making at this point.
@@FrostyMts bro it’s from 5 years ago and it’s 4 hours long 😂😭
@@jmmywyf4lyf yes sir
@@FrostyMtswhy why why would they go there instead of just looking up the dude lmao
The Roach mechanic to follow the road absolutely works for me, and always has since 2015, the only thing you have to do is direct her when you come across forks, and sometimes she gets stuck as she is wont to do. I have also always preferred to play this game with controller though, so maybe the difficulty you've always experienced is M&KB related? Idk.
I play M&KB and it works like you said, she just needs a little nudge at forks. CDPR know it's bad, with the Roach quest having some fun. I suspect they've left her a bit janky on purpose
Never had any issues on PC. Just like you said, every now and again she gets confused at a crossroads
My favourite thing about the next-gen update is simply that you can now pause the game during cutscenes. That's a very welcome feature
The best game series I've ever played, Witcher 3 being my favorite game ever. Glad you took the time to give your take on it. Looking forward to new 100%s.
Imagine finishing a Witcher 3 review.
Best thing about W3 on pc, is that all the issues you mentioned are already fixed by mod collection and modders.
I'm currently in a 3d playthrough with some incredible mod this time and its simply incredible, new items, combat, monsters!
Any recommended mods?
Which mods or mod collections would you recommend?
@@pikapika8294 tw3 ultimate experience is the best point to start. has all the important mods.
@@pikapika8294 Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition Redux is the best
Yes, please tell us which mods you would recommend.
One of my favorite games and had such good memories of playing it all the way back at launch in 2015. I had played the first two games earlier in the year and loved them both so much. I played it for a week straight and got the "best" ending blind, making everything turn out alright😊 when I played the dlc when it came out I had a blast too! One of the best games of all time.
A decade old and despite all the problems, such a blast to play! Excellent video! And, I think I'll start a new game and this again! :)
An incredible game, suberp storywriting and together with Fallout New Vegas and Mass Effect 2 in my top 3. Your review is great, always have a blast listening to Mortismal.
Have no issues with crashes luckily.
Add Enderal to the mix
9 years later with hundreds of hours played on multiple platforms and I have still never played a single game of Gwent…
Seee, nowwwww..... I love Yennifer. Everything about her.
There’s times in games that we all look back and wish we could experience for the first time again. The baron in the Witcher 3 is one of those times
I don't want to spark anything with the whole Triss and Yen thing. But, I don't think the first game really counts for story stuff. When people say Triss manipulated Geralt in the first game by not telling him about Yen or Ciri I always think "well , neither did any of the Witcher who knew about them. "
I think with a remake on the horizon we'll get a clearer idea about what CDPR had in mind for Geralt's resurrection
Thanks for making something I can play in the background while I get work done 👍
All the Joseph Anderson comments have me rolling xD
Joseph WHO?
Who is Joseph A?
Joseph Anderson's been real quiet since this dropped.
and before this dropped.
Lol, I love Yen. Girl is Renegade Sheppard through and through.
Witcher 3 and BG3 my best games.
Add Enderal to the mix
Yes, and RDR2.
I love that you go back and do reviews of these older masterpieces. ❤️
The instant sign casting on controllers with the next gen update was a game changer for fluidity in combat. Needs to be default for the next witcher game
I loved how a lot of side content feels as main content , being invested in the characters and stuff. Also loved getting the petter from Alvin
Probably my favorite game of all time nowadays. I've got about 650 hours in it since its release and every couple of years i'll read all 8 books, then play all three games back to back as, to me, it's one huge overarching storyline. Beautiful stuff. Can't wait to see Witcher 4 and the remake of Witcher 1.
My favorite game of all time, with RDR2 a close second. I loved the story, characters, world, graphics, ambient sound, music, gameplay, side quests, contracts, etc. Between my two playthroughs I've put in over 400 hours. Recently replayed it this year and I saved about a dozen hours of side content for when I finally get a PS5 cuz my PS4 is slowing down, but I played through the vast majority of the main game and both expansions and it held up amazingly well. I love the new way you use signs now, makes the combat even more immersive. Played most of the second playthrough with the map off more often than not and it brought the immersion to another level. An absolute masterpiece that has it's minor flaws absolutely blown out of the water by the consistent highs. Anything with the Red Baron, Dijkstra, Gaunter or Regis was a personal highlight.
Are there any other games like witcher 3 and rdr2 ?
Never get sick of that intro 😎😎🔥🔥
I guess he must have covered Kingdoms of Amalur and I must have watched it 100 plus times cause every single time I hear that intro music I associate it with that game :p
makes me feel like I'm journeying to friendly arm inn for the first time
My favourite Sidecontent was completing the Witcher contracts. I had a blast with them. Also.. I spent quite a lot of time tinkering with the Alchemy. Good times!
still looks better and feels better than 90% of the games that come out today
No it literally doesn’t bro stop glazing,
This game looks and feels outdated
@@Noir-c9k Sure, it doesn't match up to modern graphics, but the art direction and set design absolutely do gap 95% of modern games, and honestly the only aspect of the gameplay that feels outdated is the combat. You could argue the horseback riding isn't great (which is a valid criticism) but it's still better than RDR2's horseback riding and nobody considers that game outdated at all.
@@aegis9904 it is not better than RDR2’s horseback riding what lmao
@@Noir-c9k Looking back on it... yeah roach riding really does fucking suck. Definitely not better lol, idk what I was on.
Still, while the horses themselves are realistic and immaculately designed, RDR2's horseback riding is still ridiculously obtuse and repetitive, particularly early on.
I'd take Elden Ring and maybe even Shadow of the Colossus' horseback riding systems over it in a heartbeat, but that's not really relevant to the conversation.
Regardless, W3 is a decade-old RPG with phenomenal visuals that absolutely hold up to this day, especially when you factor in the immaculate world design and atmosphere.
Taking a look at both 2022 and 2023's releases, I can only spot 2 or 3 games each year that you could argue are better than W3.
Despite its flaws like the dated combat and bloated RPG elements, it absolutely looks and feels better than 90% of modern games like OP said.
Man, I love your content.
Also Bloody Baron story is peak witcher.
On paper I feel like I should love this game, I just wish I actually did
Pick it back up, with a few mods if you're on PC, and maybe try an different play style, make different choices, engage with different systems, and let the immersion suck you in. Personally, I loved the different witcher contracts, while the overall dynamic of each contract was similar, I thought they had their own charm and didn't find them repetitive. Not every game is for everyone though. I do hope you're able to enjoy a playthrough though
The DLCs for this game continue to be some of the greatest stories, not just in gaming but in general.
I will never forget the first time I went into the fairytale land in Blood & Wine, or the scene where Gaunter O'Dimm comes walking out of the sky to come claim the debt owed to him.
Chills. So good.
Okay the game is showing it's age, but can you show me a more recent and similar game that did all those things better? I think this is why W3 is still the best, because maybe some games did some parts better, but as a whole, Witcher 3 is still the best. Btw great review as always!
Fyi to the one person who is planning to play this game, for the first time, and has not read the books. This is the one game in the trilogi, where you are going to miss out on a lot of context, if you do not have a general idea of the main plot of the novels.
True but I think if your someone who reads the glossary entries you should be ok. I played this game as my introduction to the series, was able to follow it easily supplementing with the in game character entries for enough backstory. You will miss some things but it really isn't too bad, the one big thing that does get left out is what exactly emir did or tried to do that makes Geralt and ciri hate him.
So if youre someone who hasn't played the game don't think you need to do a bunch of prerequisite homework, enjoy the game and if you do enjoy it, get the books and play the first 2 games after like I did. Also ignore the Netflix show it is bad fanfiction.
Unpopular opinion, ik, but only read the short stories. The actual numbered books are a meandering poorly written waste of time and provide very little context to help support the game. Frankly, you don't need to know how dykstra got his leg broken by geralt to enjoy the witcher 3. Actually not knowing provides a lot more intrigue because your imagination of the hijinks Geralt and him got up to is probably more exciting than sarpovsky pretending he knew at all where that story was going
I didn’t read any of the books or play any of the previous games and I didn’t have any issues starting with TW3 and learning about what was going on naturally through exposition.
@@iago9711 I agree with the short stories being the best works of Sapkowski, but I have to disagree with your opinion on the actual saga. It's a great deconstruction of fantasy and folklore tropes and themes, mixed in with pretty engaging and decently thought-up, if a little messy, story. The one book I'd actually stay away from would be Season of Storms, it doesn't add much and is written worse than any of the other entries.
I'm in it for the character's man, and the comedy too, but mostly the characters. Geralt and Yennifer and Ciri's arc's through the main books are far and away better then in the short stories. As for whether or not the short stories are better then the novel's, I could see an argument. The intrigue and comedy is great, but, again going back to the characters, everone seems a little to tropey and one note, like Geralt and Yennifer's story is so much more about the journey after the wish then the wish itself for example.
And also I don't know if anyone should ever read the short stories and not read the rest of the series. Like yes they are undeniably great but how much of that comes from the pay off's that happen after words. I for one read them all back to back pretty quickly so I don't know that I could say objectively one way or the other but I guess you know my opinion
There is also a quest in Novigrad where Priscilla is almost murdered and you need to figure out who did it. One of my favorite side quests in the base game
I wonder what Joseph Anderson is doing right now?
Writing down more wrong takes? I don't get his appeal after his Silent Hill 2 playthrough
Probably staring blankly at his computer screen in a reocurring moment of realization that he has spent literal years of his life chasing an imagined unattainable standard of quality at the expense of his own health, ability to provide for his family, and the goodwill of his audience
Mindblowing is that the amount od content cut off from original saga is so large it would be enough for another full game to release. Entire under the sea world in witcher 1, entire resistence movement from wither 3
I’ve been waiting for a quality Witcher 3 retrospec, thanks Morty
The biggest gripe I have is that the character progression doesn’t really open up until NG+. If you want the best skills, you have to dump a bunch of your points into stuff you aren’t interested in using. If you want to have the best perks of 2 different trees, you end up completing most of the game before you get your build together.
Thats why I recommend to anyone playing it, just focus on the main story and the side quests, don’t bother with trying to max out your character in your first playthrough. If you love the game like many do, you’ll want to play a NG+ as soon as you finish, and that’s when you want to do everything and go everywhere.
Joseph Anderson got some competition! (Joking ofc, you’re both fantastic critics)
I respect you for calling out the issues with the difficulty and the progression systems because for years I've been saying the same thing and felt fucking insane when 99% of people disagree on the progression systems in particular being mediocre for this type of game. Similar issues remained in CP77 even after the Liberty DLC. I hope they get their shit together for the new witcher game or the remake.
I was playing on Death March, the first 10-15 hours felt amazing and maybe a bit overtuned, but +20 hours in I got my first gear set, as well as unlocked what I found to be relatively strong talent skills for my "build" and the game became a cakewalk by then already, the loot started getting autosold, alchemy - worthless, if I was feeling extra cheeky I would spam Quen against enemies 10 levels above me and would still kill them (unrewardingly so, because for some reason they thought 100% protection is a good idea, it would've been a game changer if it was like 90%), etc. Absolutely hated how they handled the experience/loot gains on sidequests too, since if you spent too much time in Novigrad and the surrounding area and then finally went to Skellige, 99% of the content there would barely give you exp, quests in particular, which seems like the most insane oversight and maybe playing good CRPGs like DOS2 and Wasteland 3 spoiled me but those types of games have progression done perfectly in my opinion and CDPR have sooooooo much to learn instead of focusing on scale and bloated systems that lack polish.
Wow, i'm so used to hearing a calm voice giving as close to objective insight as possible.
But they Yennifer segment was something else.
This is why its such a long standing debate XD
@@ChristmasLoreyup. Yennifer stans astound me. It's like some people want a toxic and abusive partner.
TW3 will probably always be my all time fave game. I first played it during covid lockdown and my god it helped me get through it. The characters, the story, the music. Like you mentioned I never minded the combat and game mechanics too much even when they were annoying. It just made me laugh briefly and added to the games charm of being imperfect. I can’t wait for the Witcher 1 remake and then Witcher 4. I hope the corporate takeover of CDPR doesn’t harm the franchise however. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I was interested in your Triss v Yen section.
I think a lot of this depends on whether or not you have read the books. Most (obviously not all) people who have read the books will pick Yen. Triss barely appears in the books and umm she doesn't really shine as a character to trust in the books (much worse than she appears in the earlier games) - conversely Yen actually allows herself to be physically tortured to save Geralt and nearly always puts Geralt's and Ciri's wellbeing ahead of her own, she really does think of Ciri as her daughter having trained her from when she was a small child. There is a lot more than that of course. The Netflix tv show didn't do her any favours and most of that rubbish wasn't in the books at all.
And I agree that both women are not the nicest of people in the games - I reckon most players would pick Shani over both of them if they had the option to.
Personally I quite like Triss in this game - but I read the books. I can see past Yens prickly nature because a book is always going to provide more insight than a game will.
I do like that the game provides more than one option for romance and especially what happens if you are daft enough to romance both because it's comical.
I loved this game and did 3 playthroughs over a number of years - you know I needed to work and eat and occasionally sleep :) , and oddly its a game I pop into and spend an evening doing something there without - now - feeling any need to continue playing which is probably just as well if I wanted to do anything else for the following month.
The DLC's - both of them - were superb. I still think this game was one of my favourite games of all time - and I'm ancient so have a lot of less enchanting games to compare it to.
Personally this game is one of the best ever. Incredible achievement. The only thing, and its merely a nitpick, is the combat. Although it generally is good, compared to most games (the flow of it, animations etc), imo it too often becomes a dodge simulator specially on harder difficulty where the enemies very much like to swarm you. Now I know you can cheese it through the signs specially with the igni, like we see in this video. I'm not talking about that I'm talking of purely the combat. I will die on the hill that the first game had the best combat, although clunky as the game may be. This is basically my only complaint for this game.
love the way you close off videos, the little outro speech
Have rarely felt a game series satisfied me more then this one. So well rounded and stuck the landing wonderfully with the final dlcs.
The Witcher 3 is my all time favorite game... I have finished it 4 times... I simply love it so so much. Thanks for this awesome review. Greetings from Germany
Last weekend I started my second playthrough of the game. I haven't played it since 2016 and I feel the same taste of awesomeness as the first time. I was shocked that this game hasn't aged at all.
Try minimising the HUD as much as you can tolerate. The game shines on no HUD.
About the gear sets in Blood & Wine, actually my favourite sets are the Vampire sets (forgot the name, sorry!)
There’s a black version and a red version. The red version is my preferred, with the mask on. Then I have 6 pieces of the set equipped, and can still also equip Aerondight without foregoing the set-bonuses.
One of my few gripes is that many of the quests conclusions fell flat imo...many times I found myself going '' is that it?'' the actual wrap up would not meet my imagination or hopes/expectation...especially w/ the queen's sister, I thought she'd like jump out the window and to her demise or be banished to the fairy tale land forever...anything but just actually accepting her sentencing
I got this game on super sale on steam and have barely played the game. It feels too big and daunting of a task.
Just dive in! It is a masterpiece, and you'll be done before you know it. I wish I could go back and play the game for the first time again.
It's a huge game. But really fun. Totally worth playing.
The Witcher 3 is a super couch game. Difficulty is easy even on death march and gameplay is braindead. The story is good.
The mechanic for Roach to stay on the road works well for me on controller. Most of the time.
The game where even the 2 DLCS is longer and contain more contect than 99% of the games. MASTERPIECE. Btw Triss is love, Triss is life :)
I think that was a very well made review, you clearly thought through the points you made and put in a lot of effort. I am absolutely a fanboy for this game, but I can't deny that the criticisms you made are valid and meaningful.
Man, I need to replay this game again...
Witcher 3 is still, simply the best game ever made.
A very comprehensive review. Great work, Motym! 💯
Top 5 game for me.every quest was worth doing and the world almost felt as good as a Bethesda game.highly recommended
The best game ever made on any platform, ever. An absolute masterpiece.
On my second run, I couldn't resist pushing Yennefer's buttons at Kaer Morhen. I nudged her just enough to have her fling me into the lake, which was a shortcut to the other side for Geralt's exploration.
Brilliant review! Cheers!
This is my favorite game. I remember climbing to the top of every mountain and they were well done with a specific way that you have to figure out, and there was a reward of some sort on the top of every one.
Well done review! I like your way of reviewing games. It's very thorough and objective enough for people to know if the should purchase the game or not. Subscribed!
I love medieval fantasy in general, I liked the Netflix Witcher series, read the books in the past, but found the books sometimes long winding and even boring at some parts, although I do LOVE the world building of the Witcher. The wold building, the lore is where this game and the books shine IMHO! It's of high, no, very high standards! The game too feels like it has a world that is lived it. It feels alive, not like a CTRL+C and CTRL + V Ubisoft movie set for you to play in.
I bought this game on PC, about a year after launch and on PS4 Pro at a sale, years after launch, to give it another go. In total I have about 60-70 hours in this game over both systems, but never finished it once. I think I have tried to finish it 6 or 7 times by now, but the game just doesn't click with me. I had the same with The Witcher 1 and 2 before, but after everybody saying "Best game evvah!" I though let's give it a spin.
The game has clunky feeling and stiff animations in combat, even taking it's age into account. The walking feels off at best. It feels kinda laggy or so. Don't really know what it is, but it feels off. In combat Geralt is more like a pirouetting ballerina and his hits don't feel like hits. I really dislike the sword combat (but combat was also the main problem with The Witcher 1 and more or less 2.) The potions, oils and Witcher's magic on the other hand is what I do enjoy of the combat. That makes it a bit more tactical and connects with the lore of the Witchers.
Another factor that I don't like, is the music of this game. You can turn it off, but one of the main driving factors for me finishing a game, is a good musical score! Good music pulls you into the story, pushes you forward, wants you to finish the game. Well, the ever repeating, dreary White Orchard area music wants to make me pull my hear out, bang my head against a wall repeatedly and quit the game the instant I hear it! It's like an invite to quit the game. The yelling and screaming in the (combat) music feels very, very, very cheesy to me. Yes, I really dislike the music and this could be the main reason for me not finishing the game.
The main story, told mostly via long cut scenes, wasn't very interesting to me either, at least not interesting enough to keep me playing and forget the other cons. I don't like long cut scenes in general, I like to play my games, not watch them, but if the story is really interesting, I can see past this one con.
I can absolutely see why other people think this games a classic! Like a lot of things in life, most of the points I mention here concerns personal taste.
Nevertheless, I would love to see a proper RPG in the world of The Wicher! One where I can create my own character, choose a class and skills and perks that go with that class and then venture off in the world of The Witcher to create my own stories instead of one story being forced upon you. The world of The Witcher is a really fascinating and interesting one to explore and discover.
When this came out for switch during lock down I was in early sobriety. This game helped me soooo much
Im doing my first playthrough now. Idk what took me so long this is amazing
This is equal parts ridiculous in both how impressive and good it is. Thank you. Onward to 400k. All glory to the algorithm.
This is my favourite game of all time. I am doing the 5 run for now, enjoying it like the first time. This game its really special to me, its part of me life
The one thing that made me love this game so much is every sidequest felt genuinely interesting compared to most other RPGs.
Here I am after 400+ hours in the game watching a review again… great video!
One of my favourite game of all time. Ive finished it on every platform multiple times. Ive just found out the ps5 has a seperate trophy list so im thinking of picking it up again on that 😂
This is the Witcher 3 commentary we were waiting for
A 2 hour long feast. I’ll be watching this during work.
makes me wish I had a job I could do while watching youtube...
No, work
My man, and this is how you should live!
As a witcher book fan, it's always Yennifer and Geralt. not Triss.
yeah and the banter between Yen and Geralt so much better than Triss, it like they the old married couple.
Yen is a better fit for him, period. They complement each other so well.
This is unpopular, but the story section was exhausting to listen to.
Really reminds me of how much "your princess is in another castle" the main quest was.
Since i started making content, i can appreciate the work you put into your videos.
I am actually re- playing through this game right now and I gotta say the new quick sign controls are amazing! Combat is now engaging and extremely fun. 🎉
Good take on Triss and Yen. I choose Triss everytime, but neither of them is a great deal excluding looks tbh
Triss or Yennifer?
Shani
Wow I saw your last Witcher 3 2024 impressions video and thought to myself ‘aw I wish he did a full review’ and BOOM there it is!
You have truely become my favourite creator. You put so much effort into all of your videos. And hearing your personal stories makes me appreciate everything you do even more. I hope you know you make so many people happy :)
You have the absolutely correct take on Triss and Yennefer.
It’s funny you posted this after your video on games beloved but you don’t enjoy, because I have been saying that about the Witcher for years. I think it’s an objectively amazing game, but I can not for the life of me get into it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and see if I can find a new appreciation for the game.
Same. Its massively overrated.
This is how I feel. Man, I want to get into it. But it just feels so clunky and slow to play.
The problem for me is that they're a love letter to a fantasy series that I don't enjoy very much. I've tried playing the games, reading a couple of the books and watching the first season of the Netflix series, but I just never found the Witcher universe that appealing.
@@Mire_Klicknot at all what OP said lol. Reread the post.
@@johnathanera5863 apply your own recommendation on you tiny little brain.
Everybody praises rightfully Bloody Baron questline, but the real Witcher 3 peak writing for me is Scenes from a Marriage in the Hearts of Stone DLC. It is the best single quest I've ever experienced in any RPG I've played. It is self contained, tragic, bittersweet, shakespearian, oh so emotional, mature, spooky, incredibly original, and most importantly, with a deep and meaningful choice that will haunt you for hours. It is what the Witcher 3 offers best and I would definitely make a pact with GoD to forget all about it and experience it again for the first time.
It’s funny since as someone who enjoys the books more than the games, I always preferred the Novigrad and Skellige portions to the Velen one. The way book elements are tied in is great for me. Awesome video regardless.
Fun fact. Olgierd was not a bad person. He became bad after he met Gaunther who tricked him. And even than he had a code. Gaunther is pure evil. He tortured that poor scholar in the most gruesome way for the no good reason. You say he treated Geralt with respect? He tricked him in helping him and gave him a brutal scar. You do not understand the Hearts of Stone DLC.
Olgierd killed his own brother to take a Faustian bargain which is by definition purely for personal gain. Gaunter is indeed evil which I also stated here, but he didn't trick Geralt into anything. Geralt accepted a contract that was a trick by Olgierd and then accepted a deal with Gaunter to save his own life and yeah he was marked to assure he kept his end of the bargain because yes Gaunter is evil. I understand it just fine, I just feel differently about it and I'm capable of expressing myself in more productive ways than boldly declaring what others do or not understand.
Olgierd had to make a choice betweem the life of Iris and the life of his brother. Gaunther forced him to. That is pure evil. And again that is after he made a deal with Gaunther.
You can see Gaunther in the background when Geralt is reading the contract on the noticeboard. He met Geralt in the beginning when he told him about Jennifer, what he also throws in his face. He was playing Geralt all allong and he probely did it to Olgierd. He was not a worse man than the Baron for example. Just a flawed individual.
I am a big fan of your content by the way :).
The problem with the Velen storyline is that it's the best writing in the whole game yet comes so early on. After resolving the Crohn story, everything that follows feels less good.
Seems like just last week i was watching the trailer for this game and i was so excited. Man, 9 years.
I love the Witcher 3. It is my favorite game of all time, even though it isn't even in my top 3 most played.
When I first beat the main story about 7-8 years ago I felt empty inside, like I just let something go I loved. No game has ever gotten that out of me, even if I know some games simply surpass TW3 in a few and sometimes even many aspects. But it simply had that.. thing.
Many games I consider to be masterpieces, but not one game to be "perfect". Because thats impossible. But it will always hold that special spot in my heart.