The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review (PS4)
THE GOOD
+ The game world. The beautiful countryside of White Orchard, the foggy swamps of Velen, the lively city Novigrad and the endless isles of Skellige are all incredibly interesting and beautiful places. The urge to explore is huge, even just to find new breathtaking locations, or find out what's under those question marks. Using Fast Travel later on in the game is a must, but early on, I don't even remember using it.
+ The amount of content. Wild Hunt is a massive game. You'll pass the 100 hour mark easily. In addition to main quests, there are plenty of interesting side quests with their very own stories, dozens of monster hunts to complete and Gwent card game tournaments to play. I never got into Gwent, but apparently it's pretty popular among other gamers.
+ The gameplay. The controls are responsive. The combat system takes time to learn and master (we'll get back to that later), but it's fun once you get it. Exploring different places is very immersive, it's really hard to put this game down.
+ The graphics. The landscapes are absolutely breathtaking, characters have very lively expressions, the monsters look impressive and dynamic weather and time guarantee interesting and changing environments.
+ Gripping story and interesting characters. The main story is addictive and very mature, even quite dark at times. The main character Geralt of Rivia is a charismatic guy, and even the secondary and minor characters all have their own motives and get their screen-time. The amount of different characters you'll meet is astounding.
+ Sound. Superb voice acting and a fitting soundtrack.
+ The monsters. They are just so interesting and varied, that you'll always look forward to confronting new beasts.
THE BAD
- Long loading times after dying. It's really annoying to wait at least 30 seconds every time you die, at least on higher difficulties.
- Clunky swimming. I've seen way better swimming in other games.
- Combat hard at first. It takes a bit of time to get used to, and to grip the concept of parrying and counter-attacking against humans, and dodging against monsters.
THE VERDICT
An amazing open world adventure that once you play it, you'll never forget it. Game of the Year 2015 for me.
Score: 9.5