CD Projekt Red's Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a single-player story campaign for Gwent, a card game from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that rose in popularity after the critically acclaimed RPG released. From what we've seen, we're a fan.
In the video above, Jake sits down with CD Projekt Red’s Jakub Szamałek to play through Thronebreaker and discover what the latest Witcher game has in store. Turns out to be a lot, like way more than we thought would be there. For a card game, Thronebreaker is huge. You'll primarily be working towards preparation for an incoming invasion, but much like other Witcher titles, Thronebreaker is a fully realized world with people to meet and things to do. Gwent is already a pretty fun game, but when it's allowed to stretch its legs and get into Witcher's world and narrative, it takes on whole new levels of depth and fun.
A large part of why Thronebreaker works so well is the game's main character, Queen Meve. For the first time in Witcher, you don't play as a witcher. Instead of existing on the fringes of society, you're at the forefront of political power. Queen Meve is quick to anger and loyal to her people--even joining them in battle--but you get some control over how she behaves throughout Thronebreaker. Jake played her as a ruthless conqueror who would do whatever it took to strengthen her own forces and tear down her opponent.
Queen Meve actually shares ties with Geralt. She is the one who knights him with his official title after witnessing his valor in the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga. Yet, despite this connection, Thronebreaker leans into the lore that doesn't directly relate to Geralt. This allows Thronebreaker to tell its own story--brought to life through phenomenal voice acting--without the pressures of fulfilling a fan service quota.
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales releases on October 23 for PC, and will also come to Xbox One and PS4 on December 4.