Damn, Poland. Nice work.
Check...check...check...check. It goes on and on. This game just nailed it. You can tell Witcher 2 was really a labor of love for the developers and their hard work pours through.
I'm more into sci-fi settings than fantasy but it is not fair to knock points off for that (especially with Cyberpunk 2077 coming out. Yay!) If I'm not that into fantasy why'd I pick it up? Because I heard that the decisions that you make really do affect the game, outcomes...environments. That is my kind of RPG.
Often Witcher 2's forking decisions are subtle and force you to be thoughtful. Except one time on the (minor spoiler) Iorveth path I wanted to treat a certain someone as a suspect as I knew they were the last person to see a certain person alive (lucid), but they didn't give me that option. They just had the Witcher continue quests for this person like some sort of idiot.
So why don't I take points off for that? Because there are 10 other examples to where they reward you for paying attention to the story and being thoughtful.
Witcher 2 will some times force you to do things you don't want to do. Fistfights for money. Meditating 'til dusk and fighting monsters. Repeat. Repeat. But in most games where that might feel like a grind, in Witcher 2 it adds to the immersion.
Why am I punching people when I just want to live and let live? Because life is a dystopic hellhole of predators and victims, and I need the money. Why am I hunting monsters every night for money? Because I'm a g*d-damned monster hunter.
I liked the combat. I will admit that by the time the game was over, I was jonesing to pick up a bow and arrow or long-range weapon and snipe the crap outta somebody because all the battles in Witcher 2 are going to be close-up and melee. If you're playing two games at once maybe make the other one a shooter, but the combat was fun. Some times the challenge level has wide diversity but this just trains you to be always trying to get a better armor or sword. You can't get too comfortable basically.
If you drank as much vodka and mind-altering chems as this guy in RL, you'd be the village idiot. But in the Witcher's world, you're like...all messianic and sh*t.
Damn, Poland. Nice work.