And a lot of the young men that are still in their villages happen to be smiths who managed to get out of conscription by donating weapons to nilfgaard
@@Alpharabius99 I always turn the music off in Witcher 3. Geralt certainly didn't listen to music while exploring forests and caves. Creates a totally different atmosphere.
@@Zwidawurznthe soundtrack is one of the all time greats in video games and dictates the tone of the different regions. It's utterly integral to the game.
agreed, excellent soundtrack. Most great crpgs have great soundtracks. it is just way more immersive with a strong ost. But Witcher 3 is excellent in all aspects imo.
Velen set the tone so perfectly for the war being a backdrop for the events of the game. This game is such a masterpiece. I could froth about it forever.
@@George-um2vc Yeah, W1 certainly succeeds in capturing that air of oppression. But it is (and feels) an old game now, which for me (playing for the first time in 2023) hampered its immersiveness. I cannot wait for the W1 remake!
@@weetabixharry that’s a bummer, for me I was IMMERSIVED in the story and could COMPLETELY block out the jank and datedness of it (played it for the 1 time a year ago) When you play a game from 2007 that just goes with out saying, you know what you are getting into so I am always baffled when someone plays W1 expecting W3 level gameplay then is taken out of it coz it’s dated, like bruh it’s from 2007 😂 you play W1 for the STORY and the ATMOSPHERE
@@George-um2vc If you're implying that I expected W3 gameplay from W1, then that's not the case. W1's story is, objectively, not as well presented. Part of that is to do with technological advancement, but plenty isn't. W1 was thrown together on a tiny budget, so there is no way it could ever have been as well polished. For example, the English voice acting is poor in W1 - not because good acting didn't exist in 2007, but because it wasn't done well.
@@weetabixharry no sorry I just have a tendency to monologue about W1 as I just had such a fantastic time playing it, I can describe it as like being addicted to a good book, I just had to know more about the story, I know there is jank, lots of repetitive character models and some weird voice acting, but gosh darnit that game is magical! (I am also looking forward to the remake however since CDPR is outsourcing it it could be a disaster, also with the new RedKit editor modders are already creating W1 using the W3 engine which will likely become the definitive way to play)
It is really magical. But since its the Witcher, the beauty is only facet. Hiding the danger that is really going on. And the music in Toussaint… Man i love this game.
@@CygnusX-11 The combat is fine, i dont get the crazy hate against it. I played all the souls games and still enjoy W3's combat. It might not be the most complex system, but it still feels smooth and looks satisfying.
Velen is amazing because it’s mysteriously terrifying. I remember feeling relieved whenever I went to Crows Perch or Oxenfurt. It felt like I could take a breather for a short moment before I had to venture back out into the dangerous wilds. Makes me remember my first encounter with a Leshen in the woods, just wanted to go for a ride to explore and there I was, ambushed out of the blue.
Indeed! I would also feel relieved whenever I got out of it. I only ever got this same feeling reading Dante's Divine Comedy when the characters finally escape hell and enter purgatory.
Kind of agree, while i was in oxenfurt, i always felt like the tranquility of the city was quite comforting and disturbing at the same time, as if something was always compeling me to lay down arms and alertness, just to be remimded that i should not. Music in this game along with the weather and rough atmosphere was really on point
Creepiest shit always happen there lol, i stopped exploring that region at night when i heard a leshen scream followed by boss music while i was looking for herbs in the woods
If you enjoy the relieve momments that you perfectly described, you should play Stalker Anomaly man. You will get the same amazing experience many times.
I will never forget the time when I am collecting Witcher gear and a Leshen teleported into the cave from above and I am stuck in an enclosed space with a terrifying monster 10 levels above me. There is nothing left to do but fight, the euphoria after defeating will never be forgotten.
I didn’t notice those details but now i realize i always felt uncomfortable exploring velen compared to other regions not even isles of mist in skellige gave me the creeps as much as crookback bog lol
Thank you for making the point that the people of Velen were not meant to be seen as in need of conquering, but rather were victims of that kind of mentality, caught up in war after the assassination of the Temarian King and due to their being located between the other warring empires. Landing in Velen early in the game provides context for the greater geopolitical strife and the consequences of it for those without power.
I will never forget when I glitched in a puddle whilst fighting a water hag, will never recover the twenty minutes of jumping and swimming to leave it, the puddle was half a Geralts size
Great to see this game still getting love. Quality games have no time limit. Skellige is my personal favourite, but Velen is beautiful. 200 hrs of consistent brilliance has me wondering if we'll see anything like this again anytime soon. Skyrim is good don't get me wrong, but it ain't no Witcher 3.
@Geral454 Yes, hope so. I'm playing Cyberpunk for the first time, and it's not bad at all now they've fixed it. Still would have preferred two more W3 expansions instead mind! 😆
+700 hours in Skyrim, and I thought that it was a great game. Then came Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. Nearly 900 hours and on a fourth playthrough. Now, Skyrim feels like a hollow shell and a game that I will never return to. It's been superseded completely. Geralt and his family are the peak of game creation.
@@markstott6689 I love skyrim for it's exploration and the map is absolutely massive even compared to today's standards. But it fails at creating the atmosphere of a civil war. No battlefields with dead bodies, no bodies hanging from trees, no patrols marching the roads, just empty. The world itself does not show the war at all. It is only shown in the narrative. And the civil war questline is absolutely terrible. All the cities in the game are piss poor compared to novigrad and oxenfurt. The best probably being solitude. Every questline and aspect of the game can be greatly improved with mods, which is always how I play now. Witcher 3 doesn't need mods to feel complete.
Nothing could have prepared me for hearing a group of soldiers in the velen tavern talking about how they raided a family home, killed the mother and father then proceeded to violate the child all while not knowing if the child was a boy or girl and also mentioning that they didn’t care.
On my first playthrough while traveling through Velen at night i came across my first foglet and that scared the heck out of me. I saw the fog moving and was intrigued by it then this big ass monster popped up, i said no sir and turned off my Playstation. I came back to the game the next day but for a while i was afraid to travel in velen at night😂
The ealdorman's line 'ye soon be leavin', and we must tarry on' within its context is possibly my favourite line in any video game. Even outside of its position in characterising Velen as a harsh land where those who live there have to make hard decisions to survive, it is such a powerful point and could only work within the video game medium. In games, we're so used to thinking in terms of numbers to find 'the best' decision. Should you obey the crones or not? You can weigh up the outcomes and make a choice, but at the end of the day you'll be leaving Velen for Novigrad. The peasants have to stay and deal with the consequences of your decision. In a way, it highlights the arrogance of being a video game protagonist, and by extent anyone in a leadership position from a place of privilege, making world-ending decisions that you won't have to live the consequences of. And only a game with as good a level of worldbuilding as the Witcher 3 could make that idea worth considering rather than just dismissing it as 'shut up it's a game it's just a bit of fun'.
Thank you for expressing my thoughts exactly. I agree that this is one of the best lines in a video game, it was so impactfull when I heard it for the first time that I just stood there for a few minutes deep in thought. If only I could one day experience this game for the first time again.
13:30 here as a Pole I have to slightly disagree, I think that Redania symbolises the Polish Lithuanian commonwealth (Poland's golden age) because of tiny details, like the scene with a redanian soldier singing the redanian anthem (which is a copy of the gaude mater Polonia), the crest of redania and the imperial ambitions are also reminiscent of polish imperial ambitions. Before 1795 Poland was an important player in European politics, and I think that the game is probably based on that.
Exactly, this is what I have understood also. And Nilfgaardian Empire should be the Russian Empire where the Emperor is "God like" -figure. Not Prussia.
@@GeneralMiller92FIN I mean, there are many influences in Nilfgaard lore. Like the previous Nilfgaardian War had army groups names straight from September Campaign German Army, for example. So it is similar to many states at once, Prussia, Russia, Nazi Germany, even the Holy Roman Empire.
@@GeneralMiller92FIN I never equated Nilfgaard with Russia, because of one very important obstacle: the language. All northern kingdoms speak the "common language", but Nilfgaard speaks their own language which is similar to elvish. I think it's supposed to be the German empire / Nazi germany because they also spoke a completely different language from Poles (unlike Russians whose language is also Slavic), and also they enslaved people they conquered for a long time. It's hard to pin point Nilfgaard, because as you rightly mentioned, their authoritarianism is very reminiscent of Russian imperial customs... But in the end, since the witcher is sort of a medieval setting, and Russia was not a threat to Medieval Poland (it was a threat after 1650) I think Nilfgaard is a sort of a hybrid of German and Russian empires but more towards Germany. As a Pole I always thought of Nilfgaard as Germany when reading the books (;
Nilfgard is obviously allegory of German colonization , drang nach Osten and Kultur Kampf. With its pompous officials, population expultion and ruthless discipline and organisation it is hard to mistake it. Also the linguistic factor. Redania is more complex as this particular interpretation belongs to the game only. In the books Northern Kingdoms AS A WHOLE were "Poland" as they spoke a common language but were disunited and bickering amongst each other - while somehow wholesome at the same time, valuing personal freedoms. My interpretation of game's Redania is an image of what it would have taken hypotheticaly from historic Poland to oppose the invaders.
Because Velen is land of a Slavic myths. I'm Polish that grew up in nineties and Velen brings back memories of my upbringing in the country side. With many of these stories being a part of our folklore, legends and beliefs about these creatures and spirits haunting the forests, fields of rye and wheat, the equinox celebrations... The ritual of talking to the dead so on and so on.. this is all part of our history of common folk. That history is dark, full of terrifying tales and fight for survival. Velen is our Legend.
A true masterpiece of a video my friend. Thank you for teleporting back in time to the time I first discovered velen. It was an incredibly transformative time in my life, and it felt good to revisit it. Keep doing what you do
@@Zwidawurzn don't know man I'm not fan of RPG games I love games like gta 5 but i bought witcher 3 on this sammer sale, don't know I'm gonna enjoy or not
Velen was easily my favourite part of the game. It is such a rich tapestry of ambience, lore and game play that you can interpret much more about the world than any other part. I like to think that the area of Velen comes close to representing the fear and evil that real medieval people saw the world. Minis the monsters, it reflects the dark superstitions, war and famine of the times.
Yet it is humble White Orchard that I find most charming, especially in winter. My next favorite is Kaer Morhen, _home._ Velen, of course, is special. I love sailing down the eastern side with its large empty spaces, an area the game rarely takes you to.
Man, this game is an absolute masterpiece. Over hundreds of hours of pure fun. You start and are immediately pushed into the story so hard, it's impossible to stop. You finish one quest and you're curious what happens next. On the way to the new location to find out, there's something new happening, some random event turns out to be a complete side quest that you end up spending another few hours on, while you could just ignore at the time. But you try once instead and know the more you explore, the more the game rewards you with pure dark slavic magic and traditions where often instead of happy ending you end up with a regret and a feeling "damn... I could have chosen the other story line". And it's just a side quest. Then you also have add-ons that feel like complete new games. Amazing experience. Wish I could erase my memory and start the game over and over again. Once beaten it's not as much fun because you know what to expect and the curiosity goes away. The fighting system, skill tree, pottery, magic and pure dark slavic theme in the landscape and music. It's easily one of the best rpg games ever created.
The Witcher 3 is genuinely so good and so layered that you can actually apply post-colonial theory to it 😂 Cd project ted really hit a different level with this game
I was stuck exploring Velen for so long on my first playthrough I didn't get to Skellige until my level was way over the intended for the main quest and I was sorry I didn't go sooner because I was SPEECHLESS after the area and soundtrack changed so drastically. I didn't expect it, and being a huge fan of Northern Europe and esp. Scotland, it made Skellige easily my favourite. Maybe because I got so used to Velen and the change was a surprise, but still I will never forget Velen's music, the ever looming danger, the whispers the creeking and crackling of branches. Being from Hungary very close in culture and scenery to Poland, no other game has brought feeings of my home country the way W3 did. Velen is just like what the fields and marshes look like I can almost smell the breeze the ponds the grasses. Makes me believe it's not fantasy but actual history, or what it might have been when people believed in folklore.
This is one of the best Witcher video essays I’ve ever watched. Well done. I really hope the next gen Witcher game CDPR just announced has the same depth and phenomenal writing that this game has. I’m excited for it. I’m going to go start a new playthrough now.
I come from Mazury region and it is uncanny how similar it looks to my home. I was brought to tears like many of Poles when playing this game for the first time. Especially when I am homesick in another country I start new playthroughs. Also Forefather's eve is an actual polish custom, we call it Dziady.
At first i thought he said Missouri, the US state that I'm from. I always got so immersed in Velen because it weirdly reminded me of rural Missouri lmao, a feeling I've never gotten from any other game lmao
I played all three games first time at the start of this year and damn this game blew my mind. The contrast between even just the two previous games was huge. Though, if I hadn't played Red Dead Redemption 2 first a year ago and played this when it arrived in 2015, Witcher 3 probably would be my all time favourite.
Would you kindly elaborate the contrast between the games, please? Currently I can only play the third one, but I will play the first two at the first opportunity
@@Geral454 Well, for one, the fact that the game is open world and lets you do anything even in the beginning White Orchid tutorial map. The first two games are pretty tight, even if they have some freedom. They just consist of a bit larger hub areas with a ton of walking between points of interest and you end up doing a TON of walking back and forth. Turning on the speedhack of the Cheat Engine on PC helped a lot. Witcher 3 however has a huge map with a ton of side content in addition to the main plot and to top all that, two excellent DLCs with Blood and Wine probably being as long as Witcher 2. Second, a lot of people have said the combat is bad in Witcher 3, but personally it felt much smoother than in the previous games. I wasn't artificially locked in an animation when I got hit and could do moves however and whenever I wanted. I've yet to play much of these types of games so I can't say if it's better in 3 compared to others, but at least compared to 1 and 2, it's miles better. Third, I suppose the writing and the general direction of how the characters interact with each other just flows better in 3 than it does in the previous two and what helps is that the animations aren't your 2010 Xbox 360/PS3 era jank. However, I do wish they had some characters brought back from the previous games, but it's obvious they ran out of time.
@@_MaZTeR_can’t agree with your last para - the overall writing, voice acting and dialogues are constantly at an astonishingly high level throughout the series. Considering the woeful lows of RDR2 (chapter 1, chapter 5, epilogue 1), I would pick Witcher 3 over it any day of the week, especially after playing the first 2 games
Great video! Velen is also my favorite region in the game. Thank you for sharing your views on why it is good, some of which are also my thoughts, while also introducing me more reasons why it is so immersive.
This video is fantastic. Most videos I see of the Witcher 3 unfortunately seem to be hours-long rehashes of the story, but you've delved into the themes, atmosphere and political landscape in such a satisfying and coherent way. Brilliant work.
Hell yeah the nordic vibe when Gerald wakes up and the woman starts singing in the background, holy shit it felt like I was breathing the cold breeze, seeing all those shipwrecks and the monsters flying, I think Skellige could be much better than Velen if there were gigantic sea monsters, crossing the islands by boat is much more tedious than riding a horse through Velen.
The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring are still the most impressive and vertically impactful fantasy maps I've ever played. They both tell large and small stories in their environments very well.
During my first playthrough I don't really enjoy playing in Velen. The atmosphere is grim and there's always trouble lurking in the corner such as wraith, wolves, ghouls, drowners, etc. However, it was the most memorable area long after I finished the game. I realize that Velen introduced me to the world of The Witcher 3 and its harsh decision you have to make. The entire Baron questline is amazing yet sad, it leaves a strong memory that is hard to forget. I remember the relief when returning to civilization in Crow's Perch to sell my loot after roaming the No Man's Land. You'll never know if the next village you visit is filled with life or abandoned and haunted
That was a great showcase of what makes Velen and why it is appealing in-game, but I'd like to also see now a comparison of Velen and the other regions (including Touissant), and what makes Velen better than any of them!
Velen always made me feel safe no matter where I go. I feel so much for the people who just have to live each day because any day could be their last. The war and monsters accompanied by the sorrowful music just makes me feel hopeless and pitiful towards its denizens.
Those two areas have the best atmosphere by far. Touissant is fine but it's not that immersive in my opinion, as opposed to Skellige and Velen which really make you feel like you're in a real place
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Novigrad is good too it's my third favourite, it's my favourite city in all of gaming No I don't go the brothels why do you ask
velen is really interesting from a design perspective because all of the things it's doing are fundamentally unpleasant, but it does them so well and gets so much value from them that we mostly don't mind. it's disgusting, brutal, violent and scary, you show up and there's corpses in the trees, you go to an inn and dumb brutes attack you, the local leader is an angry pig, the villagers sacrifice children, and worst/best of all there's the constant presence of the crones. it's the crones that really make velen special, slowly as you progress through the velen quests the mystery, tension and anxiety build up as we get a steadily clearer picture of these incredibly dangerous and powerful beings that rule the land. and cdpr expertly teases us with the knowledge that eventually we'll meet them but we can't know or control when that is, then when we talk to the painting it only makes the mystery more frustrating, then when we see them the sheer disgust we feel from their appearance and behavior (especially their flirting is meant to make you feel super uncomfortable) along with the anxiety from the music creates a powerful sense of danger, which again goes unresolved leaving the mystery of their power intact. the confrontation with the fiend and anna's condition are there to guarantee you don't leave velen unscathed, and when you finally go back with ciri to go to the mountain they beautifully capitalise on all the buildup to make one of the best confrontations in the series, which still refuses to release the tension as weavess(?) surprises ciri to steal the medallion and escape, then if your morbid curiosity is enough to deliberately annoy ciri and get her killed you get rewarded with one of the best written sections in the series as geralt battles his way through the swamps, kills weavess then gets swarmed by monsters to possibly die. witcher 3 was called wild hunt for more than one reason, cdpr really wanted to do a deep dive into the mysteries of the witcher universe, where they could showcase the brutal reality of both rural life and being on the witchers' path, and really dabble in some f*cked up things. velen was a masterpiece that did all of that perfectly and really set the stage for the rest of the game
you've definitely done velen justice in this video! i've played the game more than eight times now and i always hate my time in velen because it's so depressing, and i especially hate the mindset of everyone who lives there. but you're so right about how they are looking out for themselves and trying to survive in circumstances that no other people in the game have to deal with. this was such a great analysis
The Witcher 3 is the best game ever I have everr played. It combines everything perfectly from the soundtrack to the gameplay, characters, lore etc. And because of the graphics it will not age very soon. Just can’t wait to play the next part !! Avarti you re doing a great work making these videos. The re very interesting and your voice and you re style of narrating is keeping it up!!
when I was reading the books, I pictured Velen and other regions very close to the game depiction. CDPR did an amazing job, a perfect mix of intricacy and horror.
I’m literally beating myself up cause I had the chance to play this when it came out. Fast forward 2024 I’m literally playing it for the first time and I’m so in love with this masterpiece
A great review from a grateful player who can truly appreciate the developers' love for their world and the amazing work they put into this incredible game 👍
First time arriving at the hanged mans tree was something else man it was mind boggling how such a simple looking area could have such an effekt on people
Kinda wish they would have released a final version of Velen at this point with DOC. It’s clear south of fyke island has bones, but whatever quests were planned for down there got scrapped.
Fine I'll play Witcher 3 again. Btw the quest where you look for Johny had me shivering in my chair playing it at 3 a.m. for the first time. This game truly is masterpiece.
Velen truly makes you feel like a you are in a warzone. I mean all those hanging bodies corpses where ever you go and beasts like ghouls and necrophages on top of that really works as a charm to this game.❤ Witcher 3 is masterpiece.🎉🎉
Velen depict a warzone so perfect, first time I moved to Novigrad and Skellige I'm surprised people could actually live happily there. I first thought the whole world gonna have that warzone vibe
As a person living my childhood on the Polish village, I always though Velen looked like a typical Polish village during ww2. Overall Velen has a lot of the atmosphere of the current time polish villages, but much much darker, destroyed by war. I think my grandmother in her teen age felt like I felt while playing Witcher in Velen, only in real life, which is sad.
I've been writing a book for a while now and every time I watch a video like this, it inspired me to work on it work more. Then I start wanting to bounce ideas off of people, but I don't really have anyone to do that with and I end up back here on RUclips watching videos. It's probably the most infuriating thing about writing, getting stuck and not having a pallet cleanser or a fresh mind to vent your ideas too. edit: anyways, guess I'm just saying thank you for the videos. I don't even play Witcher, but the lore helps, and so does hearing someone else with similar interests speak about such things.
I literally contemplated playing this game again cause I lost 70 hours of progress , I recently just picked it up and I already dove into the lore of the Witcher universe and how it came to be , truly a fascinating story I’d put it up there with Beserk
I think Velen accomplishes its goal so incredibly well. You feel like you're literally in no man's land where you're all alone and there are monsters and bandits everywhere. It just makes the first time you make it to Novigrad that much more special. This game is a masterpiece.
Im from north of Poland and well you just said what I think about it xd I grew up in small village that had forests all around and i dont know how they did it but they captured that "thing" perfect,something about the colors,trees,open fields...👌
I think you've done such an incredbile job at explaining and portraing what Velen is. Its made me want to replay the witcher again, possibly for the 10th or 15th time, I have lost track of how many times I've played this game. Overall, your video pays tribute to this wonderful game in a really fantastic way. One note on the order of the factions. I think Redania and the north are a political statement to reflect the dispersed European countries that come together against this tyrannical empire, Nilfgaard (dont get me wrong the north is also tyranical). In this sense, Nilfgaard is more like Russia, which is prone to annexing and banning flags and languages in areas that it annexes. Nilfgaard is also far more similar to the communist system than the north economically as it centralises everything. Redania on the other hand, is a sort of average between Germany and the Uk, with a city like Oxen(Oxford)-furt(Frankfurt). Even the red coats are similar to those of the British. Whilst mad king Radovid V, is almost similar to Henry the 8th, particularly with his violence against witches. I also remember at one point that the Polish author who wrote the book even said that Nilfgaard is meant to be similar to Russia, while the North is meant to mirror Europe. Poland was meant to be Cintra in his mind I believe, and its fall almost a warning to what would happen to the rest of the continent should Poland fall.
I won’t lie sometimes I go there and fight monsters just so I can hear that dope soundtrack. The fight soundtrack in Velen and the main soundtrack in skellige just sound so beautiful.
Velen is not no-mans-land, except with regards to the current situation with the 3rd Northern War. I think what is difficult for most players to understand about Velen is that not being wealthy is not a curse and that many people live all their lives under such circumstances, and would never trade it for living in a city - full of filth and crime and unsocial, despicable people. I grew up near Detroit (absolute suburbia), but not even an hours drive and you were in deep woods and rural communities that thought you were nothing but spoiled and without values to live by. One of the starkest things I noted was that people would patch and extend their houses with whatever materials they could readily get their hands on--preferably with little to no cost. Other than in larger towns, hardly a house could be found without corrugated steal or fiberglass roofing and/or partial walls. It was never pretty, but it got the job done--and everyone heated with wooden stoves through the winter--and Michigan always has COLD winters. This is how I see Velen. Remember, on Fike Isle there was a lord over all the land, who fled only when the war came, which was very recently. That is not to say he was a well loved man or ever present in the minds of the people. On the contrary. Nobody even mentions him being missing--IIRC he fled to Redania. What the game fails to ever express--which is left to the player to recognize--is that the further away from Crookback Bog you are, the more normal it appears life must have been before the war. The most stark contrast is right across the Pontar in Redania, which is practically no different than Velen with regard to geography, only Velen is less developed. The idea that people in Velen could have no idea of how things worked elsewhere seems to me to be far fetched. The Ealderman of Downwarren and the man with whom Ciri speaks on Bald Mountain seem to want to fight that their "plight" is impossible to escape without the Crones, while obviously everywhere else they live without the Crones just fine; in fact, far better, for there are no constant threats of starvations and plague. They have turned themselves into a cult so heinous, they give their own children to cannibals', whom they warship. !!- Spoiler -!! I have heard over the years so many pleadings, oh, the poor people of Downwarren, when the freed Spirit causes them to kill each other, without a thought to how they are the power-base for the Crones. They provide the ears with which the Crones hear what is happening in Velen, and the children--their own children--to be cannabalize by the Crones, which gives them power and pleasure. No, there is no reason to feel the tiniest bit of pity for the Downwarren villagers. They kept the Crones in power and never lifted a finger to change anything. There is not a single report of them seeking help from the lord on File Isle nor elsewhere. They accepted their situation and liften not a finger to change it. Crying for them is like crying for Nifgaardian soldiers who fought and died in the Nifgaardian wars of agressoin. Nee, not a bit.
I love Velen because of how closely the environments and nature resembles to where I grew up with. The area was largely flat, with sandy soil and ponds here and there. Pines, spruce, birch. There were swamps too. It was instantly nostalgic to me. I was wondering if this is how people living in NYC feel like when they place Spider-man or something. And yes: The soundtrack is what makes it iconic. It's like Skyrim's soundtrack
The difficulty does so much for Velen atmosphere, resources in the area are scarce, my playthrough was on hard so meditating to heal was not a choice and while I had some money there was nobody who sold food or alcohol to restore my potions and if there were they were incredibly expensive, so with no food or potions I was taking contracts and quests with half of my health. It just added so much to the desimated and dead feel of Velen
Yeah Velen is amazing, but for me nothing compares to the first time you reach Skellige and the soundtrack starts playing while looking at the ocean on the shore and the wind howling. Goosebumps bro 🥶
One of my favorite details about Velen is during the Whispering Hillock quest, obviously most people remember the Alderman of Downwarren cuts off his ear, but what he says to Geralt is particularly horrifying "You're a stranger to these lands, you don't know our ways." That the offering of ears is considered the best of several bad options is so telling for the environment of Velen.
Lore and atmosphere wise, Velen is the best. I still get that dreaded feel when traveling though there. It's the music, the lighting, the environment itself, swamps, bandits, monsters everywhere and the wind that never stops. Not to mention that the land is cursed and you feel watched all the time...
@Avarti There's another way to finish the Whispering Hillock quest! If you go to the tree and release the spirit BEFORE starting the quest to meet the Crones the orphan children are set free and the baron and his wife can be reunited at the same time!
My favorite memory from velen is the caves at night. Outside it was stormy and rainy and I went into a random cave to explore. The cave music kicked in and I was forced to pause because the unknown in the cave and the really creepy low stringed instrument kept hitting the really odd warped low notes and I had to rekon again how dark and oppressive the environment of the witcher is.
![Which Witcher School Are You? [The Lore Of Every Witcher School]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fj8wWsfyG-A/mqdefault.jpg)
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Another cool detail in velen, there are almost none young men from 16 to 30 years old, it's because they are either in the army or became bandit
Women and children syndrome
And a lot of the young men that are still in their villages happen to be smiths who managed to get out of conscription by donating weapons to nilfgaard
if it took him 8 years to realize, he's not very smart
@@gm08351 took me about 3 minutes to realise I hate that swampy shit hole
@@gm08351 Why?
Velen's soundtrack makes the zone. its perfect
the magic of tw3 comes from soundtracks imo
@@Alpharabius99 I always turn the music off in Witcher 3.
Geralt certainly didn't listen to music while exploring forests and caves. Creates a totally different atmosphere.
@@Zwidawurznthe soundtrack is one of the all time greats in video games and dictates the tone of the different regions. It's utterly integral to the game.
agreed, excellent soundtrack. Most great crpgs have great soundtracks. it is just way more immersive with a strong ost. But Witcher 3 is excellent in all aspects imo.
god the soundtrack in belen has been stuck in my head for 3 years
Velen set the tone so perfectly for the war being a backdrop for the events of the game. This game is such a masterpiece. I could froth about it forever.
The word I always emphasize when describing Velen is TONE. It has such incredible atmosphere
Velen immersed me in a sense of fear and dread that I haven't experienced from a video game before or since.
Me too, I think you would really enjoy W1, some maps in that game are even more oppressive than Velen.
@@George-um2vc Yeah, W1 certainly succeeds in capturing that air of oppression. But it is (and feels) an old game now, which for me (playing for the first time in 2023) hampered its immersiveness. I cannot wait for the W1 remake!
@@weetabixharry that’s a bummer, for me I was IMMERSIVED in the story and could COMPLETELY block out the jank and datedness of it (played it for the 1 time a year ago)
When you play a game from 2007 that just goes with out saying, you know what you are getting into so I am always baffled when someone plays W1 expecting W3 level gameplay then is taken out of it coz it’s dated, like bruh it’s from 2007 😂 you play W1 for the STORY and the ATMOSPHERE
@@George-um2vc If you're implying that I expected W3 gameplay from W1, then that's not the case. W1's story is, objectively, not as well presented. Part of that is to do with technological advancement, but plenty isn't. W1 was thrown together on a tiny budget, so there is no way it could ever have been as well polished. For example, the English voice acting is poor in W1 - not because good acting didn't exist in 2007, but because it wasn't done well.
@@weetabixharry no sorry I just have a tendency to monologue about W1 as I just had such a fantastic time playing it, I can describe it as like being addicted to a good book, I just had to know more about the story, I know there is jank, lots of repetitive character models and some weird voice acting, but gosh darnit that game is magical!
(I am also looking forward to the remake however since CDPR is outsourcing it it could be a disaster, also with the new RedKit editor modders are already creating W1 using the W3 engine which will likely become the definitive way to play)
Toussaint was mind boggling beautiful when I first played it. This game deserves another play through.
It is really magical. But since its the Witcher, the beauty is only facet. Hiding the danger that is really going on. And the music in Toussaint… Man i love this game.
Toussaint is really beautiful. I prefer being there than anywhere else in w3
indeed , but i wish the combat was better
@@CygnusX-11 The combat is fine, i dont get the crazy hate against it. I played all the souls games and still enjoy W3's combat. It might not be the most complex system, but it still feels smooth and looks satisfying.
I have like 5 playthroughts on the game
Velen is amazing because it’s mysteriously terrifying. I remember feeling relieved whenever I went to Crows Perch or Oxenfurt. It felt like I could take a breather for a short moment before I had to venture back out into the dangerous wilds.
Makes me remember my first encounter with a Leshen in the woods, just wanted to go for a ride to explore and there I was, ambushed out of the blue.
Indeed! I would also feel relieved whenever I got out of it.
I only ever got this same feeling reading Dante's Divine Comedy when the characters finally escape hell and enter purgatory.
Kind of agree, while i was in oxenfurt, i always felt like the tranquility of the city was quite comforting and disturbing at the same time, as if something was always compeling me to lay down arms and alertness, just to be remimded that i should not. Music in this game along with the weather and rough atmosphere was really on point
Creepiest shit always happen there lol, i stopped exploring that region at night when i heard a leshen scream followed by boss music while i was looking for herbs in the woods
If you enjoy the relieve momments that you perfectly described, you should play Stalker Anomaly man. You will get the same amazing experience many times.
I will never forget the time when I am collecting Witcher gear and a Leshen teleported into the cave from above and I am stuck in an enclosed space with a terrifying monster 10 levels above me.
There is nothing left to do but fight, the euphoria after defeating will never be forgotten.
Witcher 3 is one of greatest rpgs of all time. Love it when my subbox gets a witcher 3 upload.
its the second best singleplayer game of all time
@@JamesHunt-d1mwhat’s #1?
Whats first?@@JamesHunt-d1m
It's like a drug. You're not alone. Wish I finished the books before playing. But regardless, TW3 is the new bar for greatness
@@JamesHunt-d1m what would you consider the best?
Velen is an essay in atmosphere. Out of all the areas in the game it tells us the more about the world simply through sight and sound
I didn’t notice those details but now i realize i always felt uncomfortable exploring velen compared to other regions not even isles of mist in skellige gave me the creeps as much as crookback bog lol
Thank you for making the point that the people of Velen were not meant to be seen as in need of conquering, but rather were victims of that kind of mentality, caught up in war after the assassination of the Temarian King and due to their being located between the other warring empires. Landing in Velen early in the game provides context for the greater geopolitical strife and the consequences of it for those without power.
I will never forget when I glitched in a puddle whilst fighting a water hag, will never recover the twenty minutes of jumping and swimming to leave it, the puddle was half a Geralts size
I know the exact puddle you speak of lol
@@Bruvkek are we brothers in puddle torture? I am totally biased against Velen because of it
@@uszkera we are. I was walking around and suddenly i sank into the puddle xD i never managed to get out though
The exact same thing happened to me too haha
Oh God it happened to you all as well?
Great to see this game still getting love. Quality games have no time limit. Skellige is my personal favourite, but Velen is beautiful. 200 hrs of consistent brilliance has me wondering if we'll see anything like this again anytime soon.
Skyrim is good don't get me wrong, but it ain't no Witcher 3.
Hope in The Witcher 4!
@Geral454
Yes, hope so. I'm playing Cyberpunk for the first time, and it's not bad at all now they've fixed it.
Still would have preferred two more W3 expansions instead mind! 😆
rookie numbers buddy ive got 350 at least, jokes aside i got so much dopamine from this game that it has ruined every other game out there for me
+700 hours in Skyrim, and I thought that it was a great game. Then came Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. Nearly 900 hours and on a fourth playthrough.
Now, Skyrim feels like a hollow shell and a game that I will never return to. It's been superseded completely.
Geralt and his family are the peak of game creation.
@@markstott6689 I love skyrim for it's exploration and the map is absolutely massive even compared to today's standards. But it fails at creating the atmosphere of a civil war. No battlefields with dead bodies, no bodies hanging from trees, no patrols marching the roads, just empty. The world itself does not show the war at all. It is only shown in the narrative. And the civil war questline is absolutely terrible. All the cities in the game are piss poor compared to novigrad and oxenfurt. The best probably being solitude. Every questline and aspect of the game can be greatly improved with mods, which is always how I play now. Witcher 3 doesn't need mods to feel complete.
Nothing could have prepared me for hearing a group of soldiers in the velen tavern talking about how they raided a family home, killed the mother and father then proceeded to violate the child all while not knowing if the child was a boy or girl and also mentioning that they didn’t care.
On my first playthrough while traveling through Velen at night i came across my first foglet and that scared the heck out of me. I saw the fog moving and was intrigued by it then this big ass monster popped up, i said no sir and turned off my Playstation. I came back to the game the next day but for a while i was afraid to travel in velen at night😂
Lmao u made me laugh
The ealdorman's line 'ye soon be leavin', and we must tarry on' within its context is possibly my favourite line in any video game. Even outside of its position in characterising Velen as a harsh land where those who live there have to make hard decisions to survive, it is such a powerful point and could only work within the video game medium. In games, we're so used to thinking in terms of numbers to find 'the best' decision. Should you obey the crones or not? You can weigh up the outcomes and make a choice, but at the end of the day you'll be leaving Velen for Novigrad. The peasants have to stay and deal with the consequences of your decision. In a way, it highlights the arrogance of being a video game protagonist, and by extent anyone in a leadership position from a place of privilege, making world-ending decisions that you won't have to live the consequences of. And only a game with as good a level of worldbuilding as the Witcher 3 could make that idea worth considering rather than just dismissing it as 'shut up it's a game it's just a bit of fun'.
Thank you for expressing my thoughts exactly. I agree that this is one of the best lines in a video game, it was so impactfull when I heard it for the first time that I just stood there for a few minutes deep in thought. If only I could one day experience this game for the first time again.
13:30 here as a Pole I have to slightly disagree, I think that Redania symbolises the Polish Lithuanian commonwealth (Poland's golden age) because of tiny details, like the scene with a redanian soldier singing the redanian anthem (which is a copy of the gaude mater Polonia), the crest of redania and the imperial ambitions are also reminiscent of polish imperial ambitions. Before 1795 Poland was an important player in European politics, and I think that the game is probably based on that.
Exactly, this is what I have understood also. And Nilfgaardian Empire should be the Russian Empire where the Emperor is "God like" -figure. Not Prussia.
@@GeneralMiller92FIN I mean, there are many influences in Nilfgaard lore. Like the previous Nilfgaardian War had army groups names straight from September Campaign German Army, for example. So it is similar to many states at once, Prussia, Russia, Nazi Germany, even the Holy Roman Empire.
@@GeneralMiller92FIN I never equated Nilfgaard with Russia, because of one very important obstacle: the language. All northern kingdoms speak the "common language", but Nilfgaard speaks their own language which is similar to elvish. I think it's supposed to be the German empire / Nazi germany because they also spoke a completely different language from Poles (unlike Russians whose language is also Slavic), and also they enslaved people they conquered for a long time. It's hard to pin point Nilfgaard, because as you rightly mentioned, their authoritarianism is very reminiscent of Russian imperial customs... But in the end, since the witcher is sort of a medieval setting, and Russia was not a threat to Medieval Poland (it was a threat after 1650) I think Nilfgaard is a sort of a hybrid of German and Russian empires but more towards Germany.
As a Pole I always thought of Nilfgaard as Germany when reading the books (;
Nilfgard is obviously allegory of German colonization , drang nach Osten and Kultur Kampf. With its pompous officials, population expultion and ruthless discipline and organisation it is hard to mistake it. Also the linguistic factor.
Redania is more complex as this particular interpretation belongs to the game only. In the books Northern Kingdoms AS A WHOLE were "Poland" as they spoke a common language but were disunited and bickering amongst each other - while somehow wholesome at the same time, valuing personal freedoms. My interpretation of game's Redania is an image of what it would have taken hypotheticaly from historic Poland to oppose the invaders.
@@tedbed1389 agreed 100%
even without exploring Novigrad and Oxenfurt, it has been so fun exploring Velen and just experiencing all the quests both marked and unmarked
I envy you.
Because Velen is land of a Slavic myths. I'm Polish that grew up in nineties and Velen brings back memories of my upbringing in the country side. With many of these stories being a part of our folklore, legends and beliefs about these creatures and spirits haunting the forests, fields of rye and wheat, the equinox celebrations... The ritual of talking to the dead so on and so on.. this is all part of our history of common folk. That history is dark, full of terrifying tales and fight for survival. Velen is our Legend.
I think that you're lucky to have grown up in a land so rich with culture. The prairies of western Canada are desolate in that respect.
A true masterpiece of a video my friend. Thank you for teleporting back in time to the time I first discovered velen. It was an incredibly transformative time in my life, and it felt good to revisit it. Keep doing what you do
I’m still playing this masterpiece and discovering new things
I have about 700h played in Witcher 3 and sometimes there's still things happening i've never seen. One of the best games ever.
@@Zwidawurznbro what the hell are you doing in this game for 700hrs 😂
@@udayshankaruday7163 Enjoying it with all these different story twists and easter eggs, takes some time.
@@Zwidawurzn don't know man I'm not fan of RPG games I love games like gta 5 but i bought witcher 3 on this sammer sale, don't know I'm gonna enjoy or not
@@udayshankaruday7163 The games been out for many years, thats less than a playthrough a year if you're doing most of the content
Velen was easily my favourite part of the game. It is such a rich tapestry of ambience, lore and game play that you can interpret much more about the world than any other part. I like to think that the area of Velen comes close to representing the fear and evil that real medieval people saw the world. Minis the monsters, it reflects the dark superstitions, war and famine of the times.
Yet it is humble White Orchard that I find most charming, especially in winter. My next favorite is Kaer Morhen, _home._ Velen, of course, is special. I love sailing down the eastern side with its large empty spaces, an area the game rarely takes you to.
Man, this game is an absolute masterpiece. Over hundreds of hours of pure fun. You start and are immediately pushed into the story so hard, it's impossible to stop. You finish one quest and you're curious what happens next. On the way to the new location to find out, there's something new happening, some random event turns out to be a complete side quest that you end up spending another few hours on, while you could just ignore at the time. But you try once instead and know the more you explore, the more the game rewards you with pure dark slavic magic and traditions where often instead of happy ending you end up with a regret and a feeling "damn... I could have chosen the other story line". And it's just a side quest. Then you also have add-ons that feel like complete new games. Amazing experience. Wish I could erase my memory and start the game over and over again. Once beaten it's not as much fun because you know what to expect and the curiosity goes away. The fighting system, skill tree, pottery, magic and pure dark slavic theme in the landscape and music. It's easily one of the best rpg games ever created.
The Witcher 3 is genuinely so good and so layered that you can actually apply post-colonial theory to it 😂 Cd project ted really hit a different level with this game
Absolutely agreed. The game is a geniusly made masterpiece.
The feeling of unease when I'd stray from the road and into the forest was amazing. Such a great atmosphere.
Incredible video man. You should do more like these!
Such a well realised world. It’s a work of art really. When I read the books it’s this game I see in my mind.
Exactly what I thought. Velen sums up most of the world of The Witcher as described in the books.
@@CHAOSDixieMan did you read the books first?
Awesome video! I‘m always happy when someone makes a lovely video essay about my favorite game 🤝
I was stuck exploring Velen for so long on my first playthrough I didn't get to Skellige until my level was way over the intended for the main quest and I was sorry I didn't go sooner because I was SPEECHLESS after the area and soundtrack changed so drastically. I didn't expect it, and being a huge fan of Northern Europe and esp. Scotland, it made Skellige easily my favourite. Maybe because I got so used to Velen and the change was a surprise, but still I will never forget Velen's music, the ever looming danger, the whispers the creeking and crackling of branches. Being from Hungary very close in culture and scenery to Poland, no other game has brought feeings of my home country the way W3 did. Velen is just like what the fields and marshes look like I can almost smell the breeze the ponds the grasses. Makes me believe it's not fantasy but actual history, or what it might have been when people believed in folklore.
This is one of the best Witcher video essays I’ve ever watched. Well done.
I really hope the next gen Witcher game CDPR just announced has the same depth and phenomenal writing that this game has. I’m excited for it.
I’m going to go start a new playthrough now.
I come from Mazury region and it is uncanny how similar it looks to my home. I was brought to tears like many of Poles when playing this game for the first time. Especially when I am homesick in another country I start new playthroughs. Also Forefather's eve is an actual polish custom, we call it Dziady.
At first i thought he said Missouri, the US state that I'm from. I always got so immersed in Velen because it weirdly reminded me of rural Missouri lmao, a feeling I've never gotten from any other game lmao
Would love videos like this on all the regions in the game!
I played all three games first time at the start of this year and damn this game blew my mind. The contrast between even just the two previous games was huge.
Though, if I hadn't played Red Dead Redemption 2 first a year ago and played this when it arrived in 2015, Witcher 3 probably would be my all time favourite.
Would you kindly elaborate the contrast between the games, please? Currently I can only play the third one, but I will play the first two at the first opportunity
@@Geral454 Well, for one, the fact that the game is open world and lets you do anything even in the beginning White Orchid tutorial map.
The first two games are pretty tight, even if they have some freedom. They just consist of a bit larger hub areas with a ton of walking between points of interest and you end up doing a TON of walking back and forth. Turning on the speedhack of the Cheat Engine on PC helped a lot. Witcher 3 however has a huge map with a ton of side content in addition to the main plot and to top all that, two excellent DLCs with Blood and Wine probably being as long as Witcher 2.
Second, a lot of people have said the combat is bad in Witcher 3, but personally it felt much smoother than in the previous games. I wasn't artificially locked in an animation when I got hit and could do moves however and whenever I wanted. I've yet to play much of these types of games so I can't say if it's better in 3 compared to others, but at least compared to 1 and 2, it's miles better.
Third, I suppose the writing and the general direction of how the characters interact with each other just flows better in 3 than it does in the previous two and what helps is that the animations aren't your 2010 Xbox 360/PS3 era jank. However, I do wish they had some characters brought back from the previous games, but it's obvious they ran out of time.
@@_MaZTeR_can’t agree with your last para - the overall writing, voice acting and dialogues are constantly at an astonishingly high level throughout the series. Considering the woeful lows of RDR2 (chapter 1, chapter 5, epilogue 1), I would pick Witcher 3 over it any day of the week, especially after playing the first 2 games
Could not disagree more with you. Witcher 1 has very poor writing. Not much better voice acting either.
Witcher 2 has the best Dandelion as a bard character. In W3 CDPR adjusted to the cultural change
Great video! Velen is also my favorite region in the game. Thank you for sharing your views on why it is good, some of which are also my thoughts, while also introducing me more reasons why it is so immersive.
I love the melancholic atmosphere that the soundtrack creates in harmony with the landscape unfolding in front of u while exploring.
Honestly the soundtrack props this game up in areas where it is weak and outdated (combat).
This video is fantastic. Most videos I see of the Witcher 3 unfortunately seem to be hours-long rehashes of the story, but you've delved into the themes, atmosphere and political landscape in such a satisfying and coherent way. Brilliant work.
If DLC counts then Toussaint is my favourite, if not then probably Skellige is my favourite.
I agree
Hell yeah the nordic vibe when Gerald wakes up and the woman starts singing in the background, holy shit it felt like I was breathing the cold breeze, seeing all those shipwrecks and the monsters flying, I think Skellige could be much better than Velen if there were gigantic sea monsters, crossing the islands by boat is much more tedious than riding a horse through Velen.
Surprise Griffin and Leshen encounters while riding through the woods in a dark room made me feel things. Soundtrack still makes me feel things
The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring are still the most impressive and vertically impactful fantasy maps I've ever played. They both tell large and small stories in their environments very well.
Return of The King
During my first playthrough I don't really enjoy playing in Velen. The atmosphere is grim and there's always trouble lurking in the corner such as wraith, wolves, ghouls, drowners, etc. However, it was the most memorable area long after I finished the game. I realize that Velen introduced me to the world of The Witcher 3 and its harsh decision you have to make. The entire Baron questline is amazing yet sad, it leaves a strong memory that is hard to forget. I remember the relief when returning to civilization in Crow's Perch to sell my loot after roaming the No Man's Land. You'll never know if the next village you visit is filled with life or abandoned and haunted
That was a great showcase of what makes Velen and why it is appealing in-game, but I'd like to also see now a comparison of Velen and the other regions (including Touissant), and what makes Velen better than any of them!
Velen always made me feel safe no matter where I go. I feel so much for the people who just have to live each day because any day could be their last. The war and monsters accompanied by the sorrowful music just makes me feel hopeless and pitiful towards its denizens.
I really love the stories you tell with your videos. Thanks for making this amazing content!
Skellige is my favourite area, Velen is my second
I agree, the same.
Same bro
Same
Those two areas have the best atmosphere by far. Touissant is fine but it's not that immersive in my opinion, as opposed to Skellige and Velen which really make you feel like you're in a real place
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy
Novigrad is good too it's my third favourite, it's my favourite city in all of gaming
No I don't go the brothels why do you ask
This was an incredible video. Would love to see more videos of yours on The Witcher 3
I got that after my first playthrough. Started my second one, and boom realize i missed this REAL hard
Great video man. You've inspired me to go back and explore Helen more thoroughly.
velen is really interesting from a design perspective because all of the things it's doing are fundamentally unpleasant, but it does them so well and gets so much value from them that we mostly don't mind. it's disgusting, brutal, violent and scary, you show up and there's corpses in the trees, you go to an inn and dumb brutes attack you, the local leader is an angry pig, the villagers sacrifice children, and worst/best of all there's the constant presence of the crones. it's the crones that really make velen special, slowly as you progress through the velen quests the mystery, tension and anxiety build up as we get a steadily clearer picture of these incredibly dangerous and powerful beings that rule the land. and cdpr expertly teases us with the knowledge that eventually we'll meet them but we can't know or control when that is, then when we talk to the painting it only makes the mystery more frustrating, then when we see them the sheer disgust we feel from their appearance and behavior (especially their flirting is meant to make you feel super uncomfortable) along with the anxiety from the music creates a powerful sense of danger, which again goes unresolved leaving the mystery of their power intact. the confrontation with the fiend and anna's condition are there to guarantee you don't leave velen unscathed, and when you finally go back with ciri to go to the mountain they beautifully capitalise on all the buildup to make one of the best confrontations in the series, which still refuses to release the tension as weavess(?) surprises ciri to steal the medallion and escape, then if your morbid curiosity is enough to deliberately annoy ciri and get her killed you get rewarded with one of the best written sections in the series as geralt battles his way through the swamps, kills weavess then gets swarmed by monsters to possibly die. witcher 3 was called wild hunt for more than one reason, cdpr really wanted to do a deep dive into the mysteries of the witcher universe, where they could showcase the brutal reality of both rural life and being on the witchers' path, and really dabble in some f*cked up things. velen was a masterpiece that did all of that perfectly and really set the stage for the rest of the game
you've definitely done velen justice in this video! i've played the game more than eight times now and i always hate my time in velen because it's so depressing, and i especially hate the mindset of everyone who lives there. but you're so right about how they are looking out for themselves and trying to survive in circumstances that no other people in the game have to deal with. this was such a great analysis
Velen since my first visit!
The Witcher 3 is the best game ever I have everr played. It combines everything perfectly from the soundtrack to the gameplay, characters, lore etc. And because of the graphics it will not age very soon. Just can’t wait to play the next part !! Avarti you re doing a great work making these videos. The re very interesting and your voice and you
re style of narrating is keeping it up!!
Welcome back
Didn't he just post a couple weeks ago? Lol y'all act like he's been gone for years 😆
when I was reading the books, I pictured Velen and other regions very close to the game depiction. CDPR did an amazing job, a perfect mix of intricacy and horror.
I spent hours in Skelige just standing there for the OST. Truly a masterpiece.
very well presented and you even changed my mind about Velen
4:43 Ah yes, I fondly remember the day we annexed Missouri
Mazury, Poland :)
I’m literally beating myself up cause I had the chance to play this when it came out. Fast forward 2024 I’m literally playing it for the first time and I’m so in love with this masterpiece
A great review from a grateful player who can truly appreciate the developers' love for their world and the amazing work they put into this incredible game 👍
First time arriving at the hanged mans tree was something else man it was mind boggling how such a simple looking area could have such an effekt on people
Kinda wish they would have released a final version of Velen at this point with DOC. It’s clear south of fyke island has bones, but whatever quests were planned for down there got scrapped.
Fine I'll play Witcher 3 again. Btw the quest where you look for Johny had me shivering in my chair playing it at 3 a.m. for the first time. This game truly is masterpiece.
5:53 Up until this day I was convinced the Baron was voiced by Mark Addy (King Baratheon in the first season of Game of Thrones)
Yes I checked this too!
Velen truly makes you feel like a you are in a warzone.
I mean all those hanging bodies corpses where ever you go and beasts like ghouls and necrophages on top of that really works as a charm to this game.❤
Witcher 3 is masterpiece.🎉🎉
Velen is like the Belarus of the Witcher. With its mysterious forests and swamps, its hard and stoic people and position between great powers.
Velen depict a warzone so perfect, first time I moved to Novigrad and Skellige I'm surprised people could actually live happily there. I first thought the whole world gonna have that warzone vibe
As a person living my childhood on the Polish village, I always though Velen looked like a typical Polish village during ww2. Overall Velen has a lot of the atmosphere of the current time polish villages, but much much darker, destroyed by war. I think my grandmother in her teen age felt like I felt while playing Witcher in Velen, only in real life, which is sad.
I've been writing a book for a while now and every time I watch a video like this, it inspired me to work on it work more. Then I start wanting to bounce ideas off of people, but I don't really have anyone to do that with and I end up back here on RUclips watching videos. It's probably the most infuriating thing about writing, getting stuck and not having a pallet cleanser or a fresh mind to vent your ideas too.
edit: anyways, guess I'm just saying thank you for the videos. I don't even play Witcher, but the lore helps, and so does hearing someone else with similar interests speak about such things.
I just finished cyberpunk while it was ok. It was just that. I miss the Witcher world. Great job bringing out the charms of velen
glad someone agrees. honestly kind of underrated
Completely agree!
I find myself watching Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 videos with similar themes. Maybe it's time to replay one of these.
velen is my fave area of the witcher 3. its massive, the world is so detailed and feels alive, plus its terrifying!!
Great video. W3 is such a great model of amazing world building. It feels like a real place that exists.
Brilliant video. Well done.
I literally contemplated playing this game again cause I lost 70 hours of progress , I recently just picked it up and I already dove into the lore of the Witcher universe and how it came to be , truly a fascinating story I’d put it up there with Beserk
I think Velen accomplishes its goal so incredibly well. You feel like you're literally in no man's land where you're all alone and there are monsters and bandits everywhere. It just makes the first time you make it to Novigrad that much more special. This game is a masterpiece.
Bloody Baron questline was amazing
I cry when it end
I’ve had 3 playthroughs of W3 so far. I still get goosebumps if I ever travel south in Velen.
Im from north of Poland and well you just said what I think about it xd I grew up in small village that had forests all around and i dont know how they did it but they captured that "thing" perfect,something about the colors,trees,open fields...👌
I think you've done such an incredbile job at explaining and portraing what Velen is. Its made me want to replay the witcher again, possibly for the 10th or 15th time, I have lost track of how many times I've played this game. Overall, your video pays tribute to this wonderful game in a really fantastic way. One note on the order of the factions. I think Redania and the north are a political statement to reflect the dispersed European countries that come together against this tyrannical empire, Nilfgaard (dont get me wrong the north is also tyranical). In this sense, Nilfgaard is more like Russia, which is prone to annexing and banning flags and languages in areas that it annexes. Nilfgaard is also far more similar to the communist system than the north economically as it centralises everything. Redania on the other hand, is a sort of average between Germany and the Uk, with a city like Oxen(Oxford)-furt(Frankfurt). Even the red coats are similar to those of the British. Whilst mad king Radovid V, is almost similar to Henry the 8th, particularly with his violence against witches. I also remember at one point that the Polish author who wrote the book even said that Nilfgaard is meant to be similar to Russia, while the North is meant to mirror Europe. Poland was meant to be Cintra in his mind I believe, and its fall almost a warning to what would happen to the rest of the continent should Poland fall.
I know, right? It's the one I remember most and where nostalgia hits the hardest.
I won’t lie sometimes I go there and fight monsters just so I can hear that dope soundtrack. The fight soundtrack in Velen and the main soundtrack in skellige just sound so beautiful.
I've just started playing this game again.
Velen is not no-mans-land, except with regards to the current situation with the 3rd Northern War. I think what is difficult for most players to understand about Velen is that not being wealthy is not a curse and that many people live all their lives under such circumstances, and would never trade it for living in a city - full of filth and crime and unsocial, despicable people.
I grew up near Detroit (absolute suburbia), but not even an hours drive and you were in deep woods and rural communities that thought you were nothing but spoiled and without values to live by. One of the starkest things I noted was that people would patch and extend their houses with whatever materials they could readily get their hands on--preferably with little to no cost. Other than in larger towns, hardly a house could be found without corrugated steal or fiberglass roofing and/or partial walls. It was never pretty, but it got the job done--and everyone heated with wooden stoves through the winter--and Michigan always has COLD winters. This is how I see Velen.
Remember, on Fike Isle there was a lord over all the land, who fled only when the war came, which was very recently. That is not to say he was a well loved man or ever present in the minds of the people. On the contrary. Nobody even mentions him being missing--IIRC he fled to Redania.
What the game fails to ever express--which is left to the player to recognize--is that the further away from Crookback Bog you are, the more normal it appears life must have been before the war. The most stark contrast is right across the Pontar in Redania, which is practically no different than Velen with regard to geography, only Velen is less developed.
The idea that people in Velen could have no idea of how things worked elsewhere seems to me to be far fetched. The Ealderman of Downwarren and the man with whom Ciri speaks on Bald Mountain seem to want to fight that their "plight" is impossible to escape without the Crones, while obviously everywhere else they live without the Crones just fine; in fact, far better, for there are no constant threats of starvations and plague. They have turned themselves into a cult so heinous, they give their own children to cannibals', whom they warship.
!!- Spoiler -!!
I have heard over the years so many pleadings, oh, the poor people of Downwarren, when the freed Spirit causes them to kill each other, without a thought to how they are the power-base for the Crones. They provide the ears with which the Crones hear what is happening in Velen, and the children--their own children--to be cannabalize by the Crones, which gives them power and pleasure. No, there is no reason to feel the tiniest bit of pity for the Downwarren villagers. They kept the Crones in power and never lifted a finger to change anything. There is not a single report of them seeking help from the lord on File Isle nor elsewhere. They accepted their situation and liften not a finger to change it. Crying for them is like crying for Nifgaardian soldiers who fought and died in the Nifgaardian wars of agressoin. Nee, not a bit.
I love Velen because of how closely the environments and nature resembles to where I grew up with. The area was largely flat, with sandy soil and ponds here and there. Pines, spruce, birch. There were swamps too. It was instantly nostalgic to me.
I was wondering if this is how people living in NYC feel like when they place Spider-man or something.
And yes: The soundtrack is what makes it iconic. It's like Skyrim's soundtrack
The difficulty does so much for Velen atmosphere, resources in the area are scarce, my playthrough was on hard so meditating to heal was not a choice and while I had some money there was nobody who sold food or alcohol to restore my potions and if there were they were incredibly expensive, so with no food or potions I was taking contracts and quests with half of my health. It just added so much to the desimated and dead feel of Velen
Yeah Velen is amazing, but for me nothing compares to the first time you reach Skellige and the soundtrack starts playing while looking at the ocean on the shore and the wind howling. Goosebumps bro 🥶
Forefathers Eve is such a good quest. The voice acting is top notch.
One of my favorite details about Velen is during the Whispering Hillock quest, obviously most people remember the Alderman of Downwarren cuts off his ear, but what he says to Geralt is particularly horrifying "You're a stranger to these lands, you don't know our ways." That the offering of ears is considered the best of several bad options is so telling for the environment of Velen.
My God he's back! And with another Witcher video!
Lore and atmosphere wise, Velen is the best. I still get that dreaded feel when traveling though there. It's the music, the lighting, the environment itself, swamps, bandits, monsters everywhere and the wind that never stops. Not to mention that the land is cursed and you feel watched all the time...
Skellige is probably the most beloved, but Velen has layers to it that you come to appreciate over time
@Avarti There's another way to finish the Whispering Hillock quest! If you go to the tree and release the spirit BEFORE starting the quest to meet the Crones the orphan children are set free and the baron and his wife can be reunited at the same time!
Amazing video! Please make a video on other areas of the Witcher 3!
By far the best part of the game’s map, truly gives you that monster hunter feeling
The baron quest line alone makes it the best zone plus there's other great quests and sode quests. But the baron questline is absolutely perfect
My favorite memory from velen is the caves at night. Outside it was stormy and rainy and I went into a random cave to explore. The cave music kicked in and I was forced to pause because the unknown in the cave and the really creepy low stringed instrument kept hitting the really odd warped low notes and I had to rekon again how dark and oppressive the environment of the witcher is.
Just started the witcher 3 for the first time and I'm so happy I waited
when ever I wonder in Velen, I always feel that I am weak, alone, and surrounded by danger. you will value any helping sword or friend.
Velen has always been my favorite. It just feels like the quintessential setting to me.
Velen comes to mind first when you remember the game 'cause it's associated with The Witcher world best to me.