Video Game Review: The Witcher 3 – Wild Hunt

I am so glad I found The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. What an amazing game!

I played the Witcher after playing Xenoblade Chronicles on the Switch early in 2019. I wasn’t sure what else to play on that console, and so my husband bought a PS4 Pro and gave me his old PlayStation 4. My husband plays a lot of games, and all of them (or most of them because he also has an X-Box) are on the PS4 he gave me.

The first game I officially played on the PS4 was The Witcher. I loved, loved, loved it. I will play it again, for sure. Perhaps the only game I like more is Breath of the Wild. But, it’s a close call.

STORY:
The Witcher 3 has a great story. It is based on the books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which is now, of course, a Netflix show starring Henry Cavill.

The game is about Geralt of Rivia, a witcher, who is at first searching for a sorceress, Yennefer. This is how the game begins. You start in a small town (The White Orchard), which really serves as a tutorial for the rest of the game. Once you are done with the tutorial and you find Yennefer, you understand that your goal is really to find Ciri, your adoptive daughter of sorts.

The game is filled with interesting characters and dialogue, and a whole bunch of sex and violence. It is a great world, and I enjoyed each of the quests because of the stories within each one. The stories are so good I have begun to read the books. I plan to read a book each year, and so far, I haven’t been disappointed.

QUESTS:

There are main and side quests in The Witcher 3. In this game, each quest is assigned a number, which is the recommended level to play the quest. This is really helpful. If you play a quest that has a big number, then you probably won’t be able to survive. But, if you let your level go way up, then the experience you’ll earn from a lower level quest will be much lower, too. I decided to always take care of the lowest required leveled quests, but since there are so many, I did end up having to finish quests for almost no experience or money.

You can find the quests in the towns and cities. They are marked with an exclamation point on the map, but the map itself has MANY quests, some longer than others. They are marked with question marks. At first, you don’t know the level of these quests, so you have to walk over there to find out. Also, some questions marks are treasures, which means all you do is kill some enemies and loot, while others may turn into longer quests that are named and that get to be listed in your quest menu.

Quests are also divided by kind. There are, of course, the main quests, and then there are the secondary quests. There are also your witcher contracts and your treasure hunts—some treasures include new diagrams for armor and weapons, too. They are all fun.

GAMEPLAY:

The witcher mainly fights with a sword (you have two, a silver and a steel sword, but you can use one at a time). You also own a crossbow, but it’s mainly useless. It works to bring birds down and to kill underwater things. Otherwise, its hits are very weak. You are better off with your swords.

The witcher can also use a bit of magic. You can cast signs which help you on your quests by protecting you, summoning fire, blasting things telekinetically, persuading people or animals, or creating a magical circle to trap some monsters.

Finally, the witcher can create potions and oils to drink yourself or to put on your weapons. Specific potions help with different monsters.

You also have a great dodge ability that is very useful, and you can walk or run. Running with spend your stamina, but that’s all right. Also, you do have a pouch capacity and if you go over your limit, then you won’t be able to run. Your horse, Roach, is responsible for your capacity, so make sure to find good equipment (saddlebag) for your horse.

MAPS:

The Witcher 3 has one of the best maps I’ve seen. Not only does it tell you where you need to go, depending on the quest, but it tells you HOW to get there. Yes. Love it! It also has a small map on the screen as you walk/run to show you not only if you’re going the right way, but also if there are enemies nearby. Enemies populate the little map with red dots, so you can be prepared to fight them or go another way.

Seriously, best map ever.

OTHER:

Just like a lot of other open-world games, The Witcher 3 gets armor and weapons from shops or by looting enemies. Some are better than others and they wear as you use them, so you either repair them or exchange them for others.

Even your horse can get some equipment.

You get money by completing quests because— 🎶Toss a Coin to Your Witcher🎶, right? Or by selling stuff in different towns or cities. There is a lot of junk you collect, too, and you can either turn it into forging material or you can just sell it. Whatever you do, you don’t want it in your inventory because it’s heavy and then you won’t be able to run.

With experience, you also gain points, and then you can improve your skills. The most important one, in my opinion, is your shield. The Quen sign saved my life so many times! You can also improve your persuading sign to get people to do your bidding.

It is a big world with GREAT DLC’s. I especially loved the Blood and Wine one because it had a brand new map that was big enough and hard enough and the storyline was great, too. I enjoyed it a lot.

OVERALL, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an extraordinary game. I wish Witcher 4 would come out tomorrow. Don’t miss the game, don’t miss the books, and don’t miss the Netflix series (can’t wait for season 2!)

Cheers!

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