Possibly my favourite ever RPG, especially in dark mode.

User Rating: 9.5 | The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings PC
By buckwild73 | Review Date:
I have just completed The Witcher 2 for the fifth time, but this time in dark mode & I'm very proud of myself & felt like ranting about it. This is almost up there with completing Dark Souls or Ninja Gaiden, though I'll admit, it wasn't as tough as I expected. Damage that Geralt gives out is still high, yet single hit deaths are also common for the witcher to deal with. So there's a lot of rolling around & dodging to be done. In dark mode every battle feels unfair which makes it feel more balanced overall. No enemy can be taken lightly & boss hits kill instantly.

Dark mode allows Geralt to level up to 35 instead of 30 & the mode specific items you get are much better than the usual ones. Cursed armour is essential & must be equipped with the correct silver & steel sword or Geralt dies quickly from the cursed items. I was disappointed with the lack of rune slots for the blades but they do the job. Shame though. Now if anyone reads this & fancies dark mode I have critical advise.

Firstly you must spend talents on the following: Quen sign must be maxed, preferably before meeting Vandergrift. You must also spend at least one talent on riposte regardless of which path you're following. If you do not the game will come to a shuddering end in chapter 2's eternal battle mission. Luckily I had despite following mage path. Alleviating backstab damage with at least one talent is recommended & max out daggers, traps & bomb damage. Essential for the penultimate boss fight imo. Follow those guidelines as well as scouring every little area for items & orens & dark mode can be done.

I found lots of areas I'd not discovered this time around which just adds to my love of this game. I don't think they were dark mode specific but I can't believe I missed them in 4 plays. Like a different cut scene in the Lavalette dungeons early on & a few new areas in the forest near Flotsam. I'm also enjoying the PC version of the game instead of the 360 version I bought when my PC was out of order. Both versions are equally great though the PC version sh*ts on the console version graphically but I loved the console controls more(PC version can be played with 360 pad but controls are simply not as tight & mapped slightly different). Masterpiece of a game either way. I mean what game has dialogue like this one. Hilarious & coarse with all kinds of accents. Every character feels fleshed out. Ocean deep story rich in lore & an overall bleak tone. Reminds me so much of Game of Thrones yet with more monsters. One of the best games ever made for me & most looking forward to Witcher 3.

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