cyrusreij
Trakanon Raider
- 1,724
- 689
I went and read online about all the variations, so yeah, its bad, but the pony had to save the children!
Witcher 3
- Thread starter AlekseiFL_sl
- Start date
Zaphid
Trakanon Raider
- 5,862
- 294
That's pretty much it, there's a lot of talk about "adult topics" in videogames, but Witcher games pull it off without breaking a sweat. Most games shoehorn a good and bad choice, maybe with one inbetween that is usually hopelessly boring and trained eye of the gamer can see the strings that make the puppets dance at first sight. We have trained this particular skill for decades, so to run into a game that can fuck with you so skillfully you sit with your jaw open instead of yelling "Bullshit!" and reloading for different choice is a miracle. I'd kill to see all the choices in the game mapped out ala subway map. The other part of this is that they have consistently high production values throughout the whole game, usually you can spot side quests easily by their lack of voice acting or lazy design (collect 10 bear asses...) but here every contract is firmly grounded in the world and usually features some degree of choice if you cross paths with a talking monster. Most characters have more layers than onion, Bloody Baron seems to be the best example and there are also a few characters just before the end that make for some delightful conversations in their effort of trying to fuck over everyone else.
The world design reminds me very much of Gothic/Risen, first act is literally the whole world and all the sidequests with the game slimming down towards the end, which is a design decision that fits the narrative. The main goal becomes more pressing and Geralt is never supposed to save the world, merely find and protect Ciri. No reason to murder Nekkers when Wild Hunt is knocking on your door. It also keeps the difficulty and experience somewhat coherent. Bethesda RPGs solve this by scaling everything, Witcher more or less gates your max level by the main storyline and Geralt has only so many slots for skills. While this dampens your power fantasy a bit, it also makes sure the game isn't completely trivialized and you can't ignore most systems. That said, I was hoping potions and oils would play a bigger role, but with the UI being what it is, I guess it's for the better that you don't have to spam 3 every fight.
And now, endgame spoilers:
The whole last act had me nailed to the chair, from trying to figure out what Avallac'h is planning, to Philippa being awesome manipulator. Radovid's murder was a bit underwhelming, but Djikstra turning on you on the spot after he saw firsthand what you can do AND trying to murder 3 of your friends, with Roche saving your life at the start of W2 ? I expected him to beg for mercy or something, but no, he gets sliced like bacon and nothing really changes in the world, only the ending cinematic. The other surprisingly shallow choice was killing everybody in the Witch Hunter HQ with Menge on top. I get that Dudu takes his place afterwards, before shifting into Whoreson, but still, 20+ people dead, major fire and nobody bats an eye ? Same goes for the Oxenfurt prison.
I loved how nonchalantly the game throws breathtaking vistas at you during your trip to the elven world. Most games would do with some reskins if not just a cinematic, but Witcher goes: "Hmm, yes, look at this absolutely stunning world, you spend here a grand total of one minute, but the image will stay with you for the rest of the game and you get to witness The White Frost."
Immlerith was probably the best boss fight imo and definitely had the best fatality, roasting his face before finishing him off with the mace was great climax of the whole quest, especially after killing Vesemir. Witches were boring, I fought them with Ciri and she can't do much besides dodging and charging. Eredin and the Navigator were a bit on the easy side in my opinion, might be because I got mastercrafted gear. On the other hand, I liked that I never felt like any of the bosses had retarded amount of HP. Then the mad dash to the tower for Ciri... I cried a little when Geralt was telling the emperor that Ciri has died, then getting Zirael in her memory ... Game got me fooled pretty well.
Best moments ? It's a tie between meeting Ciri on the Isle of Mists, which is up there with Mordin's sacrifice in ME3 and drinking before the defense of Kaer Morhen.
I loved how nonchalantly the game throws breathtaking vistas at you during your trip to the elven world. Most games would do with some reskins if not just a cinematic, but Witcher goes: "Hmm, yes, look at this absolutely stunning world, you spend here a grand total of one minute, but the image will stay with you for the rest of the game and you get to witness The White Frost."
Immlerith was probably the best boss fight imo and definitely had the best fatality, roasting his face before finishing him off with the mace was great climax of the whole quest, especially after killing Vesemir. Witches were boring, I fought them with Ciri and she can't do much besides dodging and charging. Eredin and the Navigator were a bit on the easy side in my opinion, might be because I got mastercrafted gear. On the other hand, I liked that I never felt like any of the bosses had retarded amount of HP. Then the mad dash to the tower for Ciri... I cried a little when Geralt was telling the emperor that Ciri has died, then getting Zirael in her memory ... Game got me fooled pretty well.
Best moments ? It's a tie between meeting Ciri on the Isle of Mists, which is up there with Mordin's sacrifice in ME3 and drinking before the defense of Kaer Morhen.
It is the best game I have ever played.
Dandai
<WoW Guild Officer>
- 5,918
- 4,504
You can't ignore how well facial expressions, gestures, and emotions are conveyed via the character models when discussing the difference between this game and other games that try to deliver on a rich RPG experience. There are, of course, canned animations and movements, but I don't recognize them as artificial and canned when I'm going through the dialogue. This is so key for immersion and really buying into the characters as being "real" and impactful.
I'd turn on subtitles in Mass Effect and Dragon Age games and skip the acting because I just didn't care to be reminded that the NPCs were animated by stiff AI's. The only reason I've skipped any spoken dialogue in Witcher 3 is because I'm so eager to see what happens next, and even then I don't skip scenes with any notable frequency.
I'd turn on subtitles in Mass Effect and Dragon Age games and skip the acting because I just didn't care to be reminded that the NPCs were animated by stiff AI's. The only reason I've skipped any spoken dialogue in Witcher 3 is because I'm so eager to see what happens next, and even then I don't skip scenes with any notable frequency.
Witcher 3 has, by far, the least of the shades of grey options of any of their games. Just about every single decision, especially major ones, has an undesirable and what most would call a "good" ending option.
As usual, they do a great job of bringing up some of the darker sides of humanity. IMO, this is probably one of the best things they do in their story telling while keeping it compelling and dark without it becoming overbearing on the story or feeling overly gratuitous.
I'd agree, the facial expressions in the cut scenes are amazing and the characters convey their emotion well. The characters are very believable, even likable, despite their major flaws. The only character I feel they didn't portray right or perhaps even ruined was Yennefer.
No doubt, this is an excellent game. I feel they learned a lot from the flaws in 1 & 2 and did a great job with 3. Witcher 3 certainly stands on its own as an excellent game and certainly GOTY contender thus far. I'd say as a series, Mass Effect (despite its ending), is still the better series and games like TLOU is a better individual title. Regardless, Witcher is still an amazing series and right up there with the best games of our generation.
As usual, they do a great job of bringing up some of the darker sides of humanity. IMO, this is probably one of the best things they do in their story telling while keeping it compelling and dark without it becoming overbearing on the story or feeling overly gratuitous.
I'd agree, the facial expressions in the cut scenes are amazing and the characters convey their emotion well. The characters are very believable, even likable, despite their major flaws. The only character I feel they didn't portray right or perhaps even ruined was Yennefer.
No doubt, this is an excellent game. I feel they learned a lot from the flaws in 1 & 2 and did a great job with 3. Witcher 3 certainly stands on its own as an excellent game and certainly GOTY contender thus far. I'd say as a series, Mass Effect (despite its ending), is still the better series and games like TLOU is a better individual title. Regardless, Witcher is still an amazing series and right up there with the best games of our generation.
I'd be shocked if the next games didn't do that. They have a gold mine with her and I expect they'll use it.
They have already stated that Geralt's story is over. Which means when we do get a Witcher 4 in 4-6 years (Cyberpunk 2077 is taking up their full attention next), it will more than likely be Ciri as the main character if her becoming a Witcher instead of Empress is canon.
Tearofsoul
Ancient MMO noob
- 1,791
- 1,257
Yeah we could really use another good cyberpunk genre game that puts forth some new ideas (Cyberpunk genre hasn't advanced much past the themes put forth by Pondsmith in the 80s...) - Deux Ex: HR was good but CDPR can definitely do something better.
Dandai
<WoW Guild Officer>
- 5,918
- 4,504
It definitely seems like they could write a stronger story than Human Revolution had, but I'm not convinced that CDPR has the level design chops it takes to make a solid Deus Ex-like experience. Feel free to curb my nostalgia, but I remember almost every meaningful event in DX having multiple paths to completion (a necessity since they were attempting to design systems that allowed for both stealth and action). Witcher 3 has a lot of "Kill or let them live" choices at the end of quest lines, but there are only a handful of other quests that I've encountered that truly offered alternate paths to completion.
Well I'm not saying they have to do something like Deus Ex. I'd rather have Cyberpunk 2077 be closer to Witcher 3 (ie strong linear story and characters with other shit to do) than Mass Effect (which I kind of feel like Deux Ex HR was closer to).
Shoehorning in fighting + stealth options for every mission also became kind of a gimmick later on in Human Revolution.
Shoehorning in fighting + stealth options for every mission also became kind of a gimmick later on in Human Revolution.
Zindan
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
- 7,367
- 5,195
I hope this guy doesn't get too bombed by the blue hair army after writing this:
Why Feminist Frequency Is Dead Wrong About 'The Witcher 3' - Forbes
Why Feminist Frequency Is Dead Wrong About 'The Witcher 3' - Forbes
Vorph
Silver Baronet of the Realm
- 11,702
- 5,527
Vorph
Silver Baronet of the Realm
- 11,702
- 5,527
The FOV is much better in TW3 than it was in TW2. TW2 cut Geralt off at the knees, TW3 is pulled back far enough that you can see his feet and a bit of ground behind him. The only thing I don't like is that the FOV gets zoomed in when you get on your horse.
I've seen people try to mess with it using Cheat Engine and the fish-eye effect kicks in almost immediately. Plus there's issues with things like Witcher senses which change the FOV and camera position on the fly. Camera also pulls back when you enter combat. Those kind of things make modding complicated.
I've seen people try to mess with it using Cheat Engine and the fish-eye effect kicks in almost immediately. Plus there's issues with things like Witcher senses which change the FOV and camera position on the fly. Camera also pulls back when you enter combat. Those kind of things make modding complicated.