slay monsters and save your daughter in CD Projekt Red's latest game, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is the last game in The Witcher Trilogy and CD Projekt Red did their best to wrap the story of our favorite Witcher, Geralt of Rivia. With heartbreaking great story, amazing graphics, and engaging gameplay, it's pretty easy to say that CD Projekt Red have outdone themselves and set a new standar on open world action RPG genre.
The Story (10/10)
+ unlike most rpg games, the story of The Witcher 3 is more grounded and personal most of the time. Geralt's motivation is always to find and save his daughter, nothing more.
+ mature, dark, and gritty story with tons of sarcastic humor
+ great script
+ it's easy for new player to keep up with the story thanks to tons of detailed characters entry, for veteran player, you can simulate The Witcher 2's story to keep your story progress
+ amazingly vast and entertaining characters, not just Geralt, but also the supporting characters
+ your choices will determine not only the main story ending, but also another characters you encounter during your gameplay. It can even determine the fate of some communities of The North
+ the main story will last for more than 20 hrs
The Gameplay (9.5/10)
+ fast, simple, skill based hack and slash gameplay.
+ deep crafting system, not only you can craft various potions that could enhanced your vitality, stamina, or attack power, you can also craft weapons and armor. Some of 'em can be enhanced too, but you need to find the diagram first. You can gather the ingredients from the world or you can disassemble items you no longer need.
+ massive open world that separated into 6 locales with tons of interesting and meaningful side quests, monster contracts, treasure hunt, and various random encounters.
+ hunting monster feels organic and realistic. Each contract have different approach to it so you won't get bored doing the same thing with different monster.
+ large collection of monsters, each with awesome and sometimes terrifying design.
+ your choices can affect how you finish your quest, some can lead you to a convoluted yet peaceful way, other can lead you to a fierce and bloody way. The replayability of this game is just amazing.
+ you can't lose your horse, Roach. You can always summon her anytime, anywhere. She also can be upgraded so she can bring more items, have bigger stamina, and less afraid to threat.
+ Sign, which is Witcher's magic ability is an interesting and simple way to use magic in battle, you have 5 signs, Quen (shield), Igni (Fire), Aard (force blast), Yrden (magical trap), and Axii (mind control). Each sign can be upgraded.
+ free 16 dlc support from CD Projekt Red
- Geralt's upgrade is limited to 12 slots of upgradable skills and perks. Geralt can be upgraded with mutagen too that will increase his vitality, sign, and attack power but only 4 slots available
- Ciri's story mission is too short and most of 'em feel a bit unsatisfying.
- Roach's control is frustrating. Roach will stop moving while running for no reason and maneuvering around tight space is maddening.
- no notification to tell you what item can be crafted, so you need to constantly check your alchemy menu to find what potions you can craft.
- there are still some bug and glitches even on 1.04 version. The game crashed 3 times, the camera get stuck on Geralt's head (it's not first person view because that would be awesome), and Geralt's upper body get stuck in freakish position.
The Graphics (9.5/10)
+ The world of The Witcher is amazingly gorgeous and vibrant with tons of details
+ foliage movement is just crazy, probably the best and most realistic foliage ever in video game history
+ beautiful lightning and particle effects
+ realistic looking dynamic weather
+ beautiful day and night cycle
+ superbly detailed character models, including the monsters
+ realistic hair animation on Geralt
+ real time beard growth
+ real time rendered cutscene with Hollywood level of cinematography and directing
+ small 24+ GB file size
- unstable framerate, especially during heavy rain and when there is fire on screen
- some pop up textures and foliage
- annoying long loading time
- Geralt doesn't have too many animation when interacting with the world
- too many people in The North have the same face and clothing
The Sound (10/10)
+ amazingly awesome scores.
+ superb voice acting, especially Geralt
+ each locale have their own set of soundtracks that fit perfectly with the atmosphere and condition of that area.
+ The Wolven Storm by Priscilla is so iconic and beautiful, it's easily the best original music for video game
+ no matter what version of The Witcher 3 you buy, you will get the OST cd
- The Wolven Storm is not available on the OST cd
Verdict (9.75/10)
It's not easy to make a closure to a series, many have tried and many have failed. CD Projekt Red proved that with enough care and respect to the lore and source material plus a big love to the community, they can make -not just an ending- but what arguably, the best game ever made.