The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

 PC
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 23035 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20,928 out of 23035
  2. Mixed: 473 out of 23035
  3. Negative: 1,634 out of 23035
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  1. Neian
    May 19, 2015
    9
    Game is better than I thought it would be after all the hype the last few weeks. Graphics are what I would expect from a game in 2015, I don't have the settings on Ultra I assume they would be over the top good but not sure my rig can handle it. I was engrossed within the story in a few minutes of starting the game which adds to the overall sense of the atmosphere. Superb voice actingGame is better than I thought it would be after all the hype the last few weeks. Graphics are what I would expect from a game in 2015, I don't have the settings on Ultra I assume they would be over the top good but not sure my rig can handle it. I was engrossed within the story in a few minutes of starting the game which adds to the overall sense of the atmosphere. Superb voice acting which is something I always appreciate. The combat system is what is always is in the Witcher, some love it some could do without it. Have found a few minor bugs, one quest would not finish because of how I entered the area I found a clue out of sequence, but reloaded and finished no problem. Have not had that problem on other quest. Overall very happy with the game!… Expand
  2. smag
    Jun 21, 2015
    9
    I gave a low-rated review earlier which was unfair, I had only played a couple hours. Since then I've found that if I turn off the sharpness setting in the graphics menu, the visuals are much better and less aliased. Anti-aliasing can't be fine-tuned much so keep that in mind. More importantly perhaps, is that I connected my xbox 360 controller for the game, which it clearly was designedI gave a low-rated review earlier which was unfair, I had only played a couple hours. Since then I've found that if I turn off the sharpness setting in the graphics menu, the visuals are much better and less aliased. Anti-aliasing can't be fine-tuned much so keep that in mind. More importantly perhaps, is that I connected my xbox 360 controller for the game, which it clearly was designed for because it makes everything more enjoyable for me. Changed score.. I'm not big into RPG games but this does it very well.

    For reference I'm playing with Nvidia 970 GTX, and I have all settings on ultra except hairworks and foliage distance (high).. with these settings I get 75 FPS (max for my monitor w/ v-sync) at 1080p, with dips to 70fps occasionally.    … Expand
  3. meediocre
    Jul 25, 2015
    9
    50 hours in, and there's no end in sight. The game is beautiful, enormous and full of content. The best game world for exploring I've seen in the last few years. In fact it's almost too much - too many side-quests, too much land to cover, and characters to meet. The only area I find it slightly lacking is with the combat. In comparison with the likes of Shadow or Mordor or the Arkham50 hours in, and there's no end in sight. The game is beautiful, enormous and full of content. The best game world for exploring I've seen in the last few years. In fact it's almost too much - too many side-quests, too much land to cover, and characters to meet. The only area I find it slightly lacking is with the combat. In comparison with the likes of Shadow or Mordor or the Arkham series, Geralt's sword-play (and especially boxing skills) is somewhat slightly unsatisfying. The music is perfect, but there's not enough diversity. You end up hearing the same tracks repeated endlessly for hours, until you get to Skellige. Anyway .. what a treat this is/has been, and I'll definitely play through to the end, and most likely check out the expansions. A vast improvement on the Witcher 2, I guess there'll be incredibly high expectations on the developers for their next game.… Expand
  4. Jingo
    May 21, 2015
    9
    Early review - only a few hours in. But finally we PC gamers have a game like Red Dead Redemption, only with Witcher setting and story! That's all for now, but that should be enough...
  5. crnppscls
    Jun 15, 2015
    9
    So i got this game free with my gtx970, so i feel a little cheeky writing a review. I probably wouldn't have bought this title, i am a big eve player and gta v is keeping me occupied also.

    I digress though, this title is excellent. The story is engrossing and there's a damned sense of philanthropy with geralt that you can't get away from, it eats at you. Questing never seems    So i got this game free with my gtx970, so i feel a little cheeky writing a review. I probably wouldn't have bought this title, i am a big eve player and gta v is keeping me occupied also.

    I digress though, this title is excellent. The story is engrossing and there's a damned sense of philanthropy with geralt that you can't get away from, it eats at you.

    Questing never seems laborious and is well placed.

    Honestly, finding adjectives for this game just seems a waste. It's just totally on the money for an open world RPG    … Expand
  6. W3XC
    May 29, 2015
    9
    Not much to say really, i don't want to write a review but i feel like it's necessary to rate this game and tell you that this game is amazing. It's not perfect, but still an incredibly solid RPG.

    Don't rush through the story, take your time, explore, do side quests. Eventually play the first two Witcher games before jumping into this one.

    Only one thing to say to CDproject, bravo!
  7. Frisbiek
    May 22, 2015
    9
    Very few games grab my attention like the witcher 3, and that's saying something. I never fully got in to the first two witcher games, but now that I am sucked in to this one, I am going to give them a try when Im done.

    There's a lot of comparisons floating around out there insisting this is better than this game or that. I will say I was extremely disappointed with dragon age:    Very few games grab my attention like the witcher 3, and that's saying something. I never fully got in to the first two witcher games, but now that I am sucked in to this one, I am going to give them a try when Im done.

    There's a lot of comparisons floating around out there insisting this is better than this game or that. I will say I was extremely disappointed with dragon age: inquisition. Where that game is dumbed down and very simplistic, the wild hunt is completely opposite. It requires skill, not just button mashing.

    Most impressive, however, is the story. The atmosphere of the game is that of a dark world, nations pitted against each other in war. You are on a mission to find your adopted daughter. I have stopped to do so many missions and have been blown away with the attention to detail; you end up caring about what happens and I find myself always wanting to know more. I cannot give the developers enough credit on their story telling. One side story ends up intertwining with your main mission, involving a Baron. The acting and story were so incredible, and I was even sad/intrigued at what had happened by the end. And then I realized I had a dozen more contracts I hadn't even touched yet.

    Combat is a little off, but not terrible. I keep wanting to sneak attack and perform moves similar to Shadows of Mordor combat, which to me is a masterpiece in gameplay and combat mechanics. The Wild Hunt is soooo close to mirroring this in terms of controls, but it falls just slightly short. Sometimes it just feels like sword swings don't connect the way they should. With that said, nothing is more satisfying than seeing heads and limbs fly off.

    I've had no problems what so ever performance or graphics wise, playing on an ASUS G751JY with a 980M nvidia card. FPS remains steady between 50 to 60 with all settings turned up. The game looks gorgeous. I will say the nvidia hair works is over rated and not worth the fps drop.

    The only complaints I have are minor; aside from the combat mentioned above, what is with games wanting me to collect flowers and herbs across the whole map? This is not fun to me. Unfortunately, that is the way of things in games now; stop and collect a dozen herbs for this and that. Thankfully, this is much better done than in DA:Inquisition, where it takes a moment to bend down, pick it up, and stow it away. In wild Hunt, it's quick. Lastly, all the guys in the game are either overweight oafs, or look like complete dunces. While all the females are super models. Kinda looks funny.

    P.S. Ciri is HOT.    … Expand
  8. 21-5-73
    May 19, 2015
    9
    A defined step-up from the second chapter, especially combat mechanics-wise, and in the story ending quality. The mature dark aspects of the saga return here at their best. Graphics aren't exactly what CDProject promised to deliver, and there are some visual fx downgrades, but it's still vastly superior than any other RPG in recent times.
    Maybe it's not one of the best games ever made, as    A defined step-up from the second chapter, especially combat mechanics-wise, and in the story ending quality. The mature dark aspects of the saga return here at their best. Graphics aren't exactly what CDProject promised to deliver, and there are some visual fx downgrades, but it's still vastly superior than any other RPG in recent times.
    Maybe it's not one of the best games ever made, as someone dramatically declared, but it's easily the best of the Witcher trio graphically, technically and storytelling. Critics of Assassin of Kings have been listened carefully, and I finally can say we have a high quality Witcher game.
    And I like Geralt with a beard!    … Expand
  9. Deadalon
    Jun 3, 2015
    9
    Overall a good game but few things could definitely be done better. Geralt feels a bit floaty and hard to control at times. Combat could be so much more and more to the standards of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I love the vastness of it but it becomes a lot of the same over and over again. The crafting system and gathering could have been better explained and more clear what itemsOverall a good game but few things could definitely be done better. Geralt feels a bit floaty and hard to control at times. Combat could be so much more and more to the standards of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I love the vastness of it but it becomes a lot of the same over and over again. The crafting system and gathering could have been better explained and more clear what items you need to hold onto and wich you can sell. Basic stuff that most games now have. But story is good. Side quests are interesting enough to bother with. Overall very good but far from perfect.… Expand
  10. nomemory
    May 27, 2015
    9
    One of the best games of our current times. Everything is stunning about it, from the simplest graphical details to level design, cutscenes, secondary quests, main story, everything.

    It's 9/10 and not 10/10 because to this moment the controls on PC suffer a bit.
  11. ZaPaAl
    Aug 20, 2015
    9
    A very good game, with a deep story background, very interesting characters, quests and decisions, excessive details. Fun game play overall. It looks good and runs very smooth even on older hardware.

    High level complaints I have: it has far too big maps, too many side quests, too many ? points to discover (which you don't need, except to get them of your map) and too much loot. The    A very good game, with a deep story background, very interesting characters, quests and decisions, excessive details. Fun game play overall. It looks good and runs very smooth even on older hardware.

    High level complaints I have: it has far too big maps, too many side quests, too many ? points to discover (which you don't need, except to get them of your map) and too much loot.

    The crafting and alchemy system (and inventory) is tedisome and largely pointless. Potions can be very useful, but you only have to make each one once, after that, you no longer need hundreds of gathered ingredients. Same in crafting: The only thing you want to craft is the one set of witcher gear you like.

    And finally, the ending ... do yourself a favor and read a guide, when handling Ciri, otherwise you are likely in for a disappointment after ~200 hours of playtime. This they badly screwed up, giving very minor decisions an incomprehensible nasty impact. Maybe to force you into a new game+?

    Baseline, if you can relate to the universe in any way, play this! It has a lot more quantity, and a little less quality then the previous installations. Maybe wait a bit for the final bug fixing, and some good game play altering mods, which are already popping up.    … Expand
  12. light487
    Jun 27, 2015
    9
    Wonderful game. It's the first game I've finished for a very long time. Finished it tonight after around 70 or more hours. Very deep, engaging storyline that makes sense. Enjoyable voice acting throughout and every detail accounted for. The world is rich with detail and even minor side quests are made enjoyable through voice acting and good writing. There were a few bugs that bothered meWonderful game. It's the first game I've finished for a very long time. Finished it tonight after around 70 or more hours. Very deep, engaging storyline that makes sense. Enjoyable voice acting throughout and every detail accounted for. The world is rich with detail and even minor side quests are made enjoyable through voice acting and good writing. There were a few bugs that bothered me and trying to find all the basic recipes as well as the 2nd level recipes held me back from a full 10/10. I should get to the end of the game, with most of the secondary quests completed and still have the basic oils for half the monster types.. something wrong there in the design. Graphically I found it to be a very solid experience without any issues that I would care to highlight. Definitely worth picking up.… Expand
  13. beladrim
    May 23, 2015
    9
    + Good Story
    + Voice Acting is amazing as always
    + Beautiful living open world with many creatures, day/night cycles, weather conditions + Amazing music score + Beautiful grafics + Gerrald is badass as ever - Movement is a bit clunky at times. Like I would get stuck between two small rocks and stuff like that. Nothing game breaking but it's a bit frustrating at times. In my    + Good Story
    + Voice Acting is amazing as always
    + Beautiful living open world with many creatures, day/night cycles, weather conditions
    + Amazing music score
    + Beautiful grafics
    + Gerrald is badass as ever

    - Movement is a bit clunky at times. Like I would get stuck between two small rocks and stuff like that. Nothing game breaking but it's a bit frustrating at times.

    In my opinion, this game is FAR better than Dragon age III. Better story, better Characters, and better graphics.    … Expand
  14. alanbessa
    Jan 2, 2018
    9
    Recommended.

    This is a game that will last many years, the depth, a rich story with a solid gameplay, so many titles can sustain a story between 3 games, choices in so many quests, many subquests with more depth than the main quest.

    The flaws in the Witcher: lack of variety in builds, the protagonist voice actor can't say he's an actor, the outcomes from the main quest are lackluster.
  15. Armotekma
    Jun 22, 2015
    9
    The new bar for all other RPGs. Step over overrated Elder Scrolls games, nobody will let you get away with being half broken at launch with lacklustre writing anymore. Probably.

    The Witcher is a series you might remember by book or game, but you need not play or read them to get the "full" experience of three. You'd be more knowledgeable about things, characters, factions and etcetera,    The new bar for all other RPGs. Step over overrated Elder Scrolls games, nobody will let you get away with being half broken at launch with lacklustre writing anymore. Probably.

    The Witcher is a series you might remember by book or game, but you need not play or read them to get the "full" experience of three. You'd be more knowledgeable about things, characters, factions and etcetera, as would be my recommendation since they're very good, but not necessary.

    The graphics are fantastic as you've might have heard.. the amount of hype and all. The combat is generally well balanced, favouring those well prepared: it can be frustrating if you're not - especially on higher difficulties where the wrong step leaves you dead. You can always die if you make a mistake. It comes packed with an incredible amount of things to do, from simple two step fetch quests to much longer multi-quest, well, err, quests.

    Gameplay can be deep as you want it to be. You can prepare as much as you want for your fights, making potions for healing, damage, or other effects, bombs which have different uses against monsters, as well as blade oil to buff damage towards said specific types of monsters. Or you can run in and get dead. Your choice.

    Story? I'll leave that up to you. It's best to be in the dark about this game; all I'll say is the game deals in grey, don't expect happy rainbows and kittens: the choices you will make may not be favorable, and that is what makes it so good.

    Lastly, gwent. Personally, this is a fantastic part of the game I never thought I'd enjoy. It's a turn-based strategy card game. It's awesome.

    Will go down in history as the moment Geralt of Rivia came to life and slayed the monsters of over-hyped broken games, leaving those developers get their **** together and make something actually good.

    Heh. Unlikely. I'm hopeful as a dandelion though.

    Recommended.    … Expand
  16. Nataraja
    May 29, 2015
    9
    TL:DNR: In short, CD Projekt Red has crafted one of the finest RPGs ever made. This is a classic and surpasses its predecessors in almost every way. Incredible graphics, fantastic sound, remarkable soundtrack and great story telling. The AI, however, can be easily exploited in sections and some side quests and even main quest have some real issues. Looting is frustrating until you getTL:DNR: In short, CD Projekt Red has crafted one of the finest RPGs ever made. This is a classic and surpasses its predecessors in almost every way. Incredible graphics, fantastic sound, remarkable soundtrack and great story telling. The AI, however, can be easily exploited in sections and some side quests and even main quest have some real issues. Looting is frustrating until you get used to the incredibly narrow loot range and direction - was done to allow for looting in combat but it also makes looting a chore when not in combat. There are some glaring clipping issues and sound overlay problems but that is to be expected in a game that provides well over 100 hours of game play. Combat difficulty is extremely varied and its easy to out level the main quest content if you do a significant number of side quests so be cautious if you enjoy a challenge.

    I recommend this game highly to anyone that enjoys RPGs, despite some of the nagging minor issues. This is a game that will stay with you for a long time and is a fitting closure to Geralt of Rivia's tale.

    GRAPHICS: The graphics are spectacular but demanding on the PC. You do need to have a substantial rig to fully enjoy the graphical fidelity. On console the graphics are well executed and meet the "next gen" standard.

    SOUND: Really well done ambient, combat and location sound effects that create a very compelling atmosphere. However there are some sound bugs where certain effects will linger and over power dialogue which is annoying and immersion breaking.

    SOUNDTRACK: The soundtrack is phenomenal and very fitting to the setting, well implemented and strikes a chord at the right moments with excellent fading and transition some exceptions where, like the ambient sound effects, the music is overly loud and will interfere with dialogue delivery.

    VOICE ACTING: Superb voice acting, with good dialogue and consistently well delivered lines. The NPC dialogues in areas could use a bit more variety perhaps as it can become monotonous and even irritating to hear certain dialogues over and over.

    STORY: Excellent stories and very compelling, rich character development using multiple story telling devices including cut scenes, descriptions, items and game play. One of the best stories in gaming.

    GAME PLAY: The combat is varied, from easy to difficult and is usually dependent on preparation and build but the AI can have issues at times. Otherwise the combat is fun and is adjustable to play style ranging from light armored dodging, fast attacks and signs to heavy armored tanking and the middle path of a little of both. The limitation on healing allows for tension and precision and can be challenging. Crafting is well implemented and can play a vital part in the game. Gwent, the mini card game is really quite fun but can be completely ignored if you don't enjoy it.

    GAME DESIGN: Great level design and a vast open world to explore. Secret passages, caches, and unusual ruins compel the player to explore. The exploration is also well rewarded with great story telling and really well developed characters outside of the main quest. The quest design is some of the best since the Secret World and many developers should take note of the quest design in this game as it sets the bar very high for the genre and for games in general. Even after completing the main story the remaining quests, even the ones that are low level, are enticing just for the stories that they tell.

    RECOMMENDATION: If you enjoy RPGs and well told stories this game is a must purchase.    … Expand
  17. Gamed2long
    May 5, 2016
    9
    I love the Witcher 3. It doesn't condescend like other more adolescent oriented RPGs. Dragon Age Inquisition and all of its teenager "maturity" comes to mind. One big aspect of this is the choice and morality of the game. Lots of games will give you superficial choices. Some games, like the mass effect franchise, take it further painting actions as good or bad. But those choices are blackI love the Witcher 3. It doesn't condescend like other more adolescent oriented RPGs. Dragon Age Inquisition and all of its teenager "maturity" comes to mind. One big aspect of this is the choice and morality of the game. Lots of games will give you superficial choices. Some games, like the mass effect franchise, take it further painting actions as good or bad. But those choices are black and white. Often choice in the Witcher 3 comes to trying to pick the lesser evil. Twice in the game, on insignificant side quests I left someone to die. Once that was a show of mercy, another time an act of cruelty. The same action meaning two different things. Now that is moral complexity. That doesn't condescend. Choice affects who you end up with and how happy, or hearbreaking, the ending is. And its not a few key yes/no moments. A lot more less significant choices build up to the outcome. Its quite well done.
    The game is not quite perfect, though it certainly is the closest to perfect that currently exists. Combat, though better than the previous two games is still a bit rough. Fighting is designed to avoid click to win, and be more tactical but I could still click to win for the first 1/3 of the game, later too until I dialed the difficulty way up. Enemies can gang up on you, instead of taking turns like the movies or Arkham games, forcing you to plan your fights more tactically. Same with your limited use of healing resources in combat. Some skills on the skill tree are clearly underpowered compared to others, and "hybrid" builds are trickier to play despite being truer to the character.
    Also though character development is awesome in this game, it is actually slightly weaker than Witcher 2. Once you run out of things to say to your chosen or your friend character, you run out of dialogue. That is probably a symptom of the much larger world. When you are interacting with a character as part of a quest it is great and well rounded. Characters change in response to you. Outside of quests, not so much.
    The world is huge, stunning and beautiful. The water animations, and wind blowing through the trees are beautiful. It feels like a living, breathing world complete with weather systems and dynamic shadows (depending on the amount of daylight and the sun's position in the sky).
    Overall the game will be off-putting to some people. It is fantasy, but this world is dark, sexist, racist and worse. Some themes will disturb younger viewers. And if you can't get into the combat, I suggest setting it to easy and playing to see the story. Because games this good are few and far between.    … Expand
  18. rupok93
    May 19, 2015
    9
    The game is awesome! From the start there is so much to do. Animations for everything have been improved drastically and the combat feels more fluid than witcher 2. The story is great as always, every little sidequest has a story behind it no fetch quest level stuff.

    Monster hunting is great, you feel like the witcher, all monsters have specific weaknesses like certain bombs, oils and    The game is awesome! From the start there is so much to do. Animations for everything have been improved drastically and the combat feels more fluid than witcher 2. The story is great as always, every little sidequest has a story behind it no fetch quest level stuff.

    Monster hunting is great, you feel like the witcher, all monsters have specific weaknesses like certain bombs, oils and spells that you can exploit and really help if you are playing on the challenging difficulty levels. Combat is reward, dodge, parry, roll out of the way using spells well,etc. Safe to say that the roll spam from witcher 2 is not as bad and you can use spells out of roll instead of pausing for a few seconds.

    Now the big controversy. How is graphics and performance?
    Its sort of hard to tell if the game has been downgraded or not. It seems like visuals vary based on day time, some areas don't look that good while others look absolutely gorgeous especially during sunsets. The sandy areas seem to look less good for some reason, i think its because of the pastelly type art style.
    Overall the graphics are pretty good and the slight worse looking areas can be forgiven because how great the gameplay is.

    Performance varies. The game is really demanding but its open world with lots of npc density and lots of effects everywhere. I am using a gtx 780 and get around 45-60 fps on high settings. Ultra settings cannot be reached (only 30fps) but I don't notice much difference between high and ultra, besides shadow quality and a bit more npc's.

    Keyboard and mouse controls are ok but I suggest rebinding some to different keys, I for example use dodge and targetting on my two thumb keys on mouse instead of alt and z respectively.

    So overall I will take away a point for the graphics/performance being not as good as everyone hoped.

    TLDR: the gameplay is intact, controls are good, story is good, sidequests are non fetch quests, performance is ok for some, not great for others, graphics are good at times other areas a little disappointing but not enough to deter from gameplay.    … Expand
  19. Annoymous1
    Oct 10, 2015
    9
    With my GTX 980 Ti, I run this game very very well. Considering that, this game is mind-bogglingly expansive, and full of things to do. The story of course, is very mature and well done. 60 hours is enough for a story, and considering what there's to do, there's a lot to be done and played.
  20. Nathonas
    May 19, 2015
    9
    Witcher 3: Wild Hunt holds up to the hype!

    Combat is excellent with lots of depth - between your crossbow, swords, magic signs, bombs, potions, and the specific environment, you can approach combat in many different ways. The game is also legitimately difficult - I'm playing on the 2nd hardest setting and dying quite a bit. Writing is is very high quality, with some of the best    Witcher 3: Wild Hunt holds up to the hype!

    Combat is excellent with lots of depth - between your crossbow, swords, magic signs, bombs, potions, and the specific environment, you can approach combat in many different ways. The game is also legitimately difficult - I'm playing on the 2nd hardest setting and dying quite a bit.

    Writing is is very high quality, with some of the best dialogue I've ever heard in video games, and tons of humor. Characters are interesting and feel realistic.

    Open world exploration is possible and you can swim, dive, jump, and climb most of the environments you see. I haven't explored that much yet, but so far it feels a lot like Skyrim with the ability to find cool loot, monsters, quests, etc. In addition, there's tons of side-quests that are actually interesting and not something stupid like "fetch me 10 goat horns".

    Tons of choices available in terms of dialogue, backstory (helps recreate your choices from previous Witcher games), and so on. You can really play YOUR OWN way - be an **** a "hero", or something in between.

    Lots of attention to detail - things like timed dialogue, smooth controls, meaningful dilaogue choices, easy to follow markers / explanations for quests and new concepts (like creating potions for the first time), small improvements like being able to automatically follow the road when mounted.

    The game also looks amazing and runs really well - I'm getting 35-50 FPS with a gtx 660 TI GPU and a i5-4670 CPU with medium/high settings.

    Only reason I won't give it a 10/10 is because the game is crashing frequently for a lot of people right now, and because I haven't had the time to try everything out yet. Overall though, CDPR definitely delivered on their promises. The PC crowd has been waiting patiently for another high quality RPG, and Witcher 3 is that game!    … Expand
  21. Riskyreview
    May 24, 2015
    9
    Performance on kepler gpu's is awful at the moment of writing this review which is why I removed one point but otherwise this is the best RPG made in years!
  22. ANTI-
    Jun 9, 2015
    9
    A pinnacle of creative expression. Easily one of the best single player games ever made, and undeniably one of the most beautiful. Tons of content, took me 224 hours to complete and there were still a few minor things I didn't bother to finish. Fantastic audio, excellent voice acting, and the soundtrack is gorgeous, fitting the game incredibly well. Well written story and memorableA pinnacle of creative expression. Easily one of the best single player games ever made, and undeniably one of the most beautiful. Tons of content, took me 224 hours to complete and there were still a few minor things I didn't bother to finish. Fantastic audio, excellent voice acting, and the soundtrack is gorgeous, fitting the game incredibly well. Well written story and memorable characters. One of the few story-heavy games where I didn't end up skipping most of the dialogue. The combat is fun and at times viscerally satisfying, but is an area of the game that needs a bit more polish. The targeting has issues, and a few of the fistfights were painfully frustrating. Also I felt the difficulty was far too easy as I played my first run thru on the hardest setting with only moderate challenge. Minor bugs, but nothing game breaking or overly frustrating. Inventory management could use a little help. Overall an absolute masterpiece and an experience I'd recommend to anyone.… Expand
  23. TenchuuKhan
    May 27, 2015
    9
    Appendix:
    After getting used to the controls and the combat system the game is just brilliant. Being some 40h into it now I must conclude that it's the richest RPG I've ever come across.
    Every little side quest has a story to tell. Sometimes they are predictable of course, but they always come along with a unique charm and often brilliant humor. It sets a whole new standard in terms    Appendix:
    After getting used to the controls and the combat system the game is just brilliant. Being some 40h into it now I must conclude that it's the richest RPG I've ever come across.
    Every little side quest has a story to tell. Sometimes they are predictable of course, but they always come along with a unique charm and often brilliant humor.

    It sets a whole new standard in terms of content.
    If it weren't for the controls not being good for kb+mouse it'd get a straight 10/10

    Original:
    Let's get straight to the point: the controls are just outright bad. I don't mean unpolished, I mean bad, as in: wtf?
    Your typical day in the world of Witcher 3 has you maneuver through beautiful landscapes and towns that have lots of obstacles that are hard to evade because the controls are just unresponsive and just not fit for this level design.
    Every movement appears to have some 200ms delay and it just feels butchery.

    For instance, you see a chest inside a broken hut at a lake which is behind a beam. Now approach it several times until you finally get the E to open it just for it to vanish the next second you you can't anymore. Then you spend quite a few attempts running against that beam from different angles to actually get to it.

    Then we come to combat - could be that I'm just bad but it feels a bit like they took the worst from Assassins Creed and Mount and Blade, combined it, and then didn't know what they actually wanted to do.
    Fighting against a single opponent - which never happens - is easy, you can riposte the attack or block it, then strike back. Since you always fight multiple opponents though this just doesn't work because... I'm still not sure, but blocking just doesn't work.
    What works best for me right now is jumping left and right, then bashing LMB to strike. That's no fun to play though.

    Mounted combat is just atrocious but so OP that it's sorta worth it. Now the genius thing they did was adding a horse fear bar so you can't just walk up to something, bash it, and it dies - your horse doesn't like that so you have to charge, and then hitting something is really hard.

    Town life is just really dull, mainly because of the system they use where they spawn X amount of townsfolk based on your settings. At least there could be some funny standard lines like in TES 3-5 that are memorable, making townsfolk more believable.
    In this case they're just zombies.

    Now to the positive part:
    The game feels immersive, the graphics are great, I like the crafting system, the characters, the card mini game, all that is great and I want to play more, run around the map doing sidequests, typical RPG stuff.

    Bottom line
    I like it and I'm willing to try to get better with combat and what not but it just makes no sense to me how they could think that this was a good combat system.

    I hope they'll pump out a patch making KB+Mouse controls more responsive, rumor has it that with a controller it works well. Still, my colleague reported that he had the same problem with that beam at that hut.    … Expand
  24. Balithras
    Jul 14, 2015
    9
    A very good game. A nice RPG with a well written story line. The fighting system is very well done and makes me think of Dark Souls' system. Fighting a boss can sometimes be a chore in the highest levels of difficulty but in the end this is what makes the fight a real challenge.
    Graphically, this game is a wonder and runs smoothly on average hardware.
    The only negative point is that I    A very good game. A nice RPG with a well written story line. The fighting system is very well done and makes me think of Dark Souls' system. Fighting a boss can sometimes be a chore in the highest levels of difficulty but in the end this is what makes the fight a real challenge.
    Graphically, this game is a wonder and runs smoothly on average hardware.

    The only negative point is that I felt like I was too constrained in my choices. In RPGs I want to be able to start a fight, insult the king, hit a villager that pisses me off... In witcher 3 you don't have this kind of freedom of choice. I want to play a role, either a white night or an assassin, a vilain etc... but I want to choose.    … Expand
  25. lastfox
    Apr 22, 2020
    9
    The Witcher3 is a pretty good open-world game. The graphic and the world-building is gorgeous. The combat system is solid, nothing outstanding but it does it's job. The potion system gives it a little bit of edge.

    But I have to say the main quest is a bit boring with the usual 'chosen one' narrative and it always gets interrupted by the flashbacks of Ciri, which are not fun to play. The    The Witcher3 is a pretty good open-world game. The graphic and the world-building is gorgeous. The combat system is solid, nothing outstanding but it does it's job. The potion system gives it a little bit of edge.

    But I have to say the main quest is a bit boring with the usual 'chosen one' narrative and it always gets interrupted by the flashbacks of Ciri, which are not fun to play. The game could have done better without them, it would also add more to the mystery. The thing that kept me going were the side quests to be honest. They are quite well written and seemed to have more urgency than the main quest.
    It's a bit of a bummer that sometimes the quest schedule can be confusing because there's lack of additional information. Certain quests have to be paused because you didn't level up yet, so at some point you will be juggling with a lot of unfinished quests that you have to jump back and forth. And some you can't even return to, because they have a time limit.

    The game certainly kept me entertained for one and a half months, but after I finished all the side quests it started to lose interest in the main quest completely. But the game is well worth it's money.    … Expand
  26. saito200a
    Feb 2, 2020
    9
    This game might deserve a 10. I am going to give it a 9 though, because the combat system and itemization is a bit annoying at times.

    - In-combat movement feels a bit clunky and uncontrollable. - Using an oil and potions each time is slightly annoying (mods partially fix that, fortunately) - Finding the right monster in the bestiary is annoying. Why isn't there a search field, at    This game might deserve a 10. I am going to give it a 9 though, because the combat system and itemization is a bit annoying at times.

    - In-combat movement feels a bit clunky and uncontrollable.
    - Using an oil and potions each time is slightly annoying (mods partially fix that, fortunately)
    - Finding the right monster in the bestiary is annoying. Why isn't there a search field, at least for PC?
    - The utility of the hundreds of items is hard to tell... there are so many recipes and items, and you don't know what to sell, what to craft... the item system is... a bit too much... this with the fact of being overburdened is annoying. I recommend using a mods that turns your max burden to 9999 so you just pick everything and don't have to worry about inventory management...    … Expand
  27. Negativvv
    Nov 16, 2015
    9
    Simply brilliant.

    I'll cover it's problems first. The combat isn't amazing, however it functions well unlike that of Witcher 2 where you had to roll everywhere. It's difficulty is strange, I played on the second hardest (with hindsight I'd have played on Death March). The first few hours of the game were extremely hard then it got extremely easy. The main "quest" also had bad guys    Simply brilliant.

    I'll cover it's problems first.
    The combat isn't amazing, however it functions well unlike that of Witcher 2 where you had to roll everywhere. It's difficulty is strange, I played on the second hardest (with hindsight I'd have played on Death March).
    The first few hours of the game were extremely hard then it got extremely easy. The main "quest" also had bad guys massively under-levelled so they were like Story Mode without any challenge.
    Finally, because the game is so big and sprawling it was hard to maintain a pace for story purposes, was somewhat silly as you're on a life and death quest (with time limits heavily implied) but yet Geralt has time to play cards, help random peasants and go swimming in the sea...

    Other than the above, its head and shoulders above any other recent RPG. The world is beautiful full of life, there's plenty of weapons and armour to satisfy all play styles and there's little to no evidence of lazy writing; pretty much all the quests were interesting to play and were more than just "Kill A, take items to B" etc It's graphics and soundtrack are also top class, nothing more needs to be said.

    This game captures what it must be like to be Geralt of Rivia. If you've read the books or were at all interested by the first two games then this one is mind blowing.

    Play it!    … Expand
  28. nima1990
    Aug 17, 2015
    9
    The Witcher 3 is one of those RPGs that you actually feel involved with the story and your choices matter. however, it's wrong to compare it to DA: Inquisition since they are both different things. What we have here is a beautiful world filled with life, but also the ugliness of the medieval times. Geralt is a likeable character that actually has a personality due to the novel background.The Witcher 3 is one of those RPGs that you actually feel involved with the story and your choices matter. however, it's wrong to compare it to DA: Inquisition since they are both different things. What we have here is a beautiful world filled with life, but also the ugliness of the medieval times. Geralt is a likeable character that actually has a personality due to the novel background. The story has its highs and lows with some parts being really interesting and some parts really boring. The length was a bit too long. The huge world felt really alive and was really beautiful. It's actually so big, in some parts there is nothing to do but to explore the nature. The gameplay however, was a unsatisfying. The combat is solid and rewarding but controlling Geralt himself was sometimes really painful. The game is not designed to be played with mouse and keyboard, despite the fact that The first game was a PC exclusive. Overall, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is a satisfying experience and should be a role model for the future titles in the genre. It makes you feel acknowledged and involved. Your choices define the story in many ways.… Expand
  29. Xdrumer
    Sep 11, 2015
    9
    Wow...Just Wow, this is one of the best games I have ever played. Everything is beautifully handcrafted, the world is breathtaking and the story and characters and fantastic. I've finished the game in 120h and the end left me sad and empty and thing about it for the next days...
  30. DanielCorfour
    May 25, 2015
    9
    As I was playing the game I ran across some small quest out in the middle of nowhere. I completed it, and then went on my way. Some time later I ran across the village where the two I interacted with in the quest where discussing my choice and the subsequent outcome of the quest. It's these little things that make the Witcher 3 one of the best video game purchases I've ever made, and I'veAs I was playing the game I ran across some small quest out in the middle of nowhere. I completed it, and then went on my way. Some time later I ran across the village where the two I interacted with in the quest where discussing my choice and the subsequent outcome of the quest. It's these little things that make the Witcher 3 one of the best video game purchases I've ever made, and I've made a lot of them.

    Haven't had this great of an experience for a long long time. For a game to be hyped this badly and not only to live up to it, but actually surpass it... gods, it's been ages since that happened. It's basically Game of Thrones just better, and I'm not exaggerating.

    As you start getting into the game, you come across one of the best quest-lines I've seen in a video game ever, the one involving the Bloody Baron. I was a bit afraid that it peaked there, but it didn't. The game keeps that level and goes on with it. The main story line is just purely brilliant. And for a 200 hour long game, it never outstays it's welcome, never becomes stale or boring, and after all that time I was left wanting more.

    All of this is aided by one amazing combat system. It's a bit difficult to master at first, but once you get the hang of it you'll have a great time. Number of different styles you can specialize towards(and change between, provided you buy the potion to rearrange your talents), whether swords(light/heavy), spells, or alchemy, it helps alleviate the stale that can set in during long open-world games.

    Yes, it has a few issues, but they're more like charming character flaws, a really bad case of the popp-in being one, some stuttering issues, few bugs, and crashes(though only in the prologue area for some reason).

    The one bad thing, for which I'll take of a point is that(very light spoiler ahead):

    If you spent weeks trying to get the perfect Witcher 2 save file to import into your game, well... tough luck, CDP Red dropped the ball on that... badly. Some might get a mention, but some very big ones don't even get that honor.

    (/end spoiler).

    But they make up for it by how they handle choices in the game itself. No longer are choices in the good/evil dichotomy, nor are they in the bad/worse dichotomy. Instead they're multifaceted, interesting, and good god will they nag at you: did you make the right one, I wonder what'll happen to them, is doing the right thing, the right thing?.. etc. And their consequences, whether immediate or not are laid out exquisitely, even for the smallest of side-quests. It's just mind-blowing.

    Yeah, buy this game, and if the game's any indication: buy the season pass as well, then a lifetime subscription to whatever CRPRed makes. I know I will.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PC Game of 2015
1
#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
11
#11 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. RPGamer
    Jan 28, 2016
    90
    The Witcher 3 says no to all of this - it's a great game with a fully realized setting, it's a joy to play, the business model behind it treats its customers like human beings, and it delivers a story that finally hits the tone of the books.
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  2. PCWorld
    Jan 20, 2016
    100
    Probably the best open-world RPG ever made, but it still falls prey to some of the genre's worst traps.
    Read full review
  3. PC Invasion
    Nov 4, 2015
    80
    I've made it pretty clear that it's hardly a flawless game, but that doesn't change the fact that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is something pretty bloody special and you should absolutely play it.
    Read full review
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