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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. xTobyMc
    Jun 3, 2015
    10
    It's almost a wonder why you're reading this review, because put simply, you must play this game if you have not already, the ratings speak for themselves. After 52 hours of gameplay I've just completed the main story as well as at least 15 side quests, and I'm absolutely blown away and even saddened that the main story came to an end.

    I personally had played the Witcher 1 and 2 so my    It's almost a wonder why you're reading this review, because put simply, you must play this game if you have not already, the ratings speak for themselves. After 52 hours of gameplay I've just completed the main story as well as at least 15 side quests, and I'm absolutely blown away and even saddened that the main story came to an end.

    I personally had played the Witcher 1 and 2 so my view of the game may differ slightly to those who have not, for me there was a great deal of attachment to the characters having spent so many hours with them before, so this only increased my enjoyment of the game.

    To begin with, the world is simply gorgeous. Whilst everyone else cried out about downgrades prior to release I still felt the game would look amazing, and it really does. On PC I have to admit the requirements are a bit steep and to truly experience the world you do have to spend a bit of money on your PC, but it's well worth it in the end. For spoilers sake I won't say anything about the main story other than the fact that it was epic, and takes you to all corners of the world (which is incredibly enormous). The balance of quests is perfect, and your experience with each main character is a pleasure. There's humor, darkness, surprise, and even sad moments in the game, it has it all.

    In terms of the combat system I felt it's definitely the most polished to date in the series, which would make sense considering it's a new game. Witcher 2 had combat which in my eyes was too easy at times and you could spam the attack key endlessly to kill enemies. Witcher 3 has a really good balance with enemies. You can't just spam the attack key without eventually being knocked back, and blocked hits result in loss of durability, so you're forced to take strikes carefully. The leveling system also works extremely well and gives you a chance to shape the way you play as Geralt. Want to use potions a lot? Invest in alchemy. Want to be a sword master? Invest in sword skills, etc. I also felt a great sense of pride when killing boss enemies, especially through Witcher contracts. Bosses are challenging and often quite scary to confront. You spend time hunting them and it's good fun to prepare yourself for such a fight, and of course the rewards are awesome.

    For me the one aspect of the game which amazed me most was the attention to detail. The game was just so polished, beyond anything I've ever played. An example would be a dungeon I entered mid way through the game where I killed a few bandits. I had to return there later in the game and found the very same bandit bodies on the floor, in the same positions, and with rotting flesh. It's a small thing, but it just makes you appreciate the impact you have in the world and how non-linear it is. The side quests are just as amazing too. For the first time in a game I feel like the side quests are just as good (if not sometimes better) than main quests. Thanks to the great voice acting you can become attached even to measly peasants asking for help, and every side quest has an interesting and unique little story to uncover with worthy rewards.

    I hate to blab on too much else you'll get bored. All I can say is, play the game. Just do it. It's a wonderful achievement in modern RPG games and it'd take one heck of a game to reach the same scale as this one.    … Expand
  2. Syjjmatic
    Jun 3, 2015
    10
    For those of you who haven't spent more than 15 minutes in a game from "The Witcher" franchise, this review is for you. I was just like you, until now.

    The first question I want to ask is: Have you ever played a game that gave you such a unique feeling – no, such a wonderful feeling – the first time you played it, that you will never, EVER forget that feeling. And have you searched for    For those of you who haven't spent more than 15 minutes in a game from "The Witcher" franchise, this review is for you. I was just like you, until now.

    The first question I want to ask is: Have you ever played a game that gave you such a unique feeling – no, such a wonderful feeling – the first time you played it, that you will never, EVER forget that feeling. And have you searched for that feeling ever since?

    That is the exact feeling you get the first time you play The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Within the first few minutes of the game, you know you're in for something great. I can honestly say that I had no idea who I was, or what was going on in the beginning, but you don't really need to. Gameplay mechanics and beauty are all you need in those first few minutes.

    Which brings me to my first real topic: Graphics.
    The graphics are astounding. When you hear people talk about, "defining next-gen," this is what they're saying. The first time I played the game, I said, "Yeah, the graphics are pretty good." I can say this: The longer the play, the more you start to appreciate the sheer beauty and detail of everything around you. You can literally feel the hours of work put into each and every detail on the screen.

    My next point is gameplay.
    So you know when you play a game, and you come across a really cool mechanic, move, etc.., that you absolutely adore, but it's overpowered – so using it for long periods of time is almost always just too good to be true? Like, "Wow, this is really awesome, but I can only use it once every 10 minutes!" I know we've all had that experience. Well, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt presents you with AWESOME elements of gameplay that just never disappear. Specifically? The Witcher senses to identify things in the world. Something so simple and wonderful, that in most games the developers would punish you for using it too often. But in The Witcher? Nah, dude. You can use that **** as often and for as long as you like, and it's GREAT.

    My next point is the music.
    Are you a fan of good music in a game? I know I definitely am. It means so much to me that it can, honestly, make or break a game for me. The music draws you in, gives you a sense of depth, or can you a literal part of the realm. Music that is just... off (for a lack of a better term), can straight up just drive your mood away. Nobody likes to play Skyrim with the Teletubbies theme song going on in the background. Nobody. The Witcher 3's music is beautiful composed and gives you the right sense for what's going in the story. It even helps me follow Geralt's personality, of which, I love.

    My next point is story and "open-worldness."
    Since 2011, when I talked about RPGs and open-world/sandboxy-type games, I spoke on Skyrim and pretty much Skyrim alone. The game was wonderful, can't argue that. But it did have some serious downfalls. Now, if you want to feel as amazing as you did in Skyrim, while fixing all the downfalls (most specifically, the stale-as-**** combat), buy The Witcher 3. The story is 100x deeper, to include the side quests (they definitely did not skimp out on these – they're wonderful), and the combat is intuitive, fast-paced and fun. Need I say more?

    The last thing I'm going to touch on here are a little negative.
    I originally bought the game for PS4. I got about 4 hours in, and couldn't shake the natural feeling of, "This should be played on PC." I've read the reviews for PS4/XBone, and yeah, the game is wonderful there as well. But I couldn't help to feel that they were just clunky. I had a difficult time navigating my character as fluidly as I liked, and some actions, such as getting on the horse, weren't as painless as I expected them to be. If you want to get the full effect of this game – gameplay, graphics, and all – buy it for PC. You will absolutely not be disappointed.

    Lastly, this game was so good that it is literally the only game I have ever, or probably will ever, review.    … Expand
  3. Xaardas
    Jun 3, 2015
    10
    CDPR made is happen. The Witcher 3 is raising the bar for the RPG Genre. The Storytelling is quite immersive and the Graphics (witch are extremely important to some folks) are so far the best i have ever seen in a RPG. I, for myself loved TW1 and TW2 as much as i liked the Books, so i think TW3 will give a nice ending to the Geralt-Saga.
  4. kemald
    Jun 3, 2015
    10
    The combat is realistic, you can dodge, roll and parry. The graphics are technically top notch. Beautiful painted world. Seamless loading times. Superb enemies. Fantastic gripping story. A flawless game, buy it. This game is truly a masterpiece. In terms of roleplaying. It is up there with timeless classics like Baldur's gate 2, Fallout 1 and 2, Planescape torment.
  5. Nerghal
    Jun 3, 2015
    10
    I'd post a lengthy review about all that is awesome about this game and how I love every bit of story and atmoshere, but I won't, as that would take away from my time to play this game...
  6. 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
  7. ICKE
    Jun 2, 2015
    10
    This is probably the best game I have played in 14 years since Shadows of Amn. Incredible product from CD P. I have not been so immersed and emotionally invested in any RPG since the golden days of early 2000s. It was an unique experience and one of the main reasons was Geralt's relationship with his ward Cirilla.

    This is a game meant for mature audiences. We need more stories with    This is probably the best game I have played in 14 years since Shadows of Amn. Incredible product from CD P. I have not been so immersed and emotionally invested in any RPG since the golden days of early 2000s. It was an unique experience and one of the main reasons was Geralt's relationship with his ward Cirilla.

    This is a game meant for mature audiences. We need more stories with substantive family dynamics. Be it mother and her son, a father and his daughter. This is how you create emotional impact. Similarly the evil characters such as Crones were truly chilling. I have not seen anything quite like them

    Visually the game is top notch, voice acting is brilliant and every side quest has unique elements. There are no fedex quests to speak of unless you count the treasure objectives but they are completely optional. I can not recommend this game enough for any person who loves a good story but you should definitely purchase the earlier Witcher games in order to enjoy it fully. Catching up will be difficult otherwise.

    10/10 I am truly in awe my Polish friends. The sad thing is that there is only one way from here and that is downwards hah!    … Expand
  8. amuro
    Jun 2, 2015
    10
    One of my games! witcher3 Amazing character creation. Nicely designed quests
    Very rich bestiary. World map is very big and full of content. Almost no loading screens!
  9. remore
    Jun 2, 2015
    10
    The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is a Masterpiece.
    A amazing Storyline and character creation.
    Probably one of the best games i've ever played. Perfect!
    Graphically beautiful, music amazing, gameplay smooth. Can't fault it.
  10. mjkelly93
    Jun 2, 2015
    10
    EASY 10/10. One of the best RPGs ever made. Its the complete package.

    Every single aspect of the game is 10/10. If you like RPG's, even a little, pick this one up definitely.
  11. Lightning007
    Jun 2, 2015
    10
    Most Awesome RPG Game i have Ever Played !!
    changed the whole course of RPG gaming
    I loved It from the bottom of my Heart
    Specially #CIRI #GERALT #YENEFER #TRISS !!! ... Lol and #godamm #WILDHUNT
    made me complete this game #TWICE

    Outstanding Grphics Incredible Gameplay Extra Realistic Environment
    Amazing Nvidia Hair Works
    A #Truenextgen #RPG
  12. effataigus
    Jun 2, 2015
    5
    Let me start by saying I love the Witcher series. 1 and 2 remain two of my all-time favorite games.

    I'm not in love with 3. It has three main problems... 1. It's been turned into an mmo (grinding and exponential power curve). 2. Terrible controls. Geralt handles like a geriatric boat. I can't recall being so frustrated by my inability to get my character to do what I want in    Let me start by saying I love the Witcher series. 1 and 2 remain two of my all-time favorite games.

    I'm not in love with 3. It has three main problems...

    1. It's been turned into an mmo (grinding and exponential power curve).
    2. Terrible controls. Geralt handles like a geriatric boat. I can't recall being so frustrated by my inability to get my character to do what I want in any game ever.
    3. Lackluster, or at least slow-to-start, story. I've been playing for maybe 20 hours, and so far I've pretty much just been running around and killing dudes with names that are synonyms for "thug" (Bandits, Renegades, Pirates, and Deserters that I can remember so far... despite having taking a moment to defend a deserter earlier in the game). It's clear there's something else going on, but I haven't been swept up into it like I did in the other two games. I'm chasing someone who, in cut scenes, is much more fun to play as than Geralt.

    Lesser problems include:
    1. a "gameplay" mechanic where Geralt scarfs food in combat, downing pounds and pounds of raw meat to stay in the fight. It's a little horrifying to imagine.
    2. a tedious mechanic were many monsters regenerate at insane rates. Rather than finding smart ways to shut down the regeneration, nope, you're just expected to gain a few levels and hack them apart faster.
    3. a tedious weapon/armor durability mechanic.
    4. I have a hard time saying why, but combat just feels frustrating, and not fun. I generally make a point of playing every game on a hard difficulty... but this time I fought a couple fights and decided that it just wasn't worth it. It's sufficiently annoying that I just want to plow through it and get on to the plot.    … Expand
  13. lazyturtle
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Лучшая РПГ за последние лет пять. Интереснейший мир и история. Множество NPC и красивые здания, историчное оружие и броня, и, в отличие от игры про мужика в плаще, она работает хорошо даже с моей четырехлетней видеокартой.
    Кроме интересного сюжета и отсутствия "подай-принеси" квестов в игре есть ЮМОР и лучшая внутренняя мини-игра со времен пазаака.    Лучшая РПГ за последние лет пять. Интереснейший мир и история. Множество NPC и красивые здания, историчное оружие и броня, и, в отличие от игры про мужика в плаще, она работает хорошо даже с моей четырехлетней видеокартой.
    Кроме интересного сюжета и отсутствия "подай-принеси" квестов в игре есть ЮМОР и лучшая внутренняя мини-игра со времен пазаака.
  14. jwswiss
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    This game is brilliant. The quests are interesting, and the cut scenes are cinematic quality...and there are TONS of them with great dialogue. The combat excellent, and there's a lot of interesting stuff that you find if you jump off the trail and just explore around. Sometimes just riding your horse through the countryside and listening to the gorgeous soundtrack can be a satisfyingThis game is brilliant. The quests are interesting, and the cut scenes are cinematic quality...and there are TONS of them with great dialogue. The combat excellent, and there's a lot of interesting stuff that you find if you jump off the trail and just explore around. Sometimes just riding your horse through the countryside and listening to the gorgeous soundtrack can be a satisfying experience by itself. I'm about 50 hours in, and there's still so much more to go. There are three sets of awesome witcher gear you can craft (light, medium, heavy armor sets) and whichever you like the best you can keep upgrading it for four levels (base, enhanced, superior, master crafted) over the course of the game, so that's cool. Beware, your rig must have a pretty good graphics card and cpu to run this, or you will encounter slowdown, and even worse (such as in my case initially), the animations and the sound in the cut scenes will be way out of sync. This game actually prompted me to purchase a new GTX 960 just so I can see it properly. But wow, does the game look great. Trees blowing in the wind, the glare of the sun and billow of the sail as you sail your boat, the rippling water....people are making way too much of a fuss about the "graphics downgrade". It still looks great, and maybe it will get enhanced even more through mods in the future. There are possibly a few too many "follow the footprints" side quests, but there also a ton of really original quests and well written dialogue exchanges as well. I do wish that there were some "deeper" dungeons or ruins to explore, a bit more like Skyrim had, but the game is still a masterpiece RPG. And the in-game game of Gwent is pretty fun too. I've become obsessed with getting better Gwent cards...… Expand
  15. rodericrinehart
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    SCORE: 99/100

    The hype was worth it, and more. A morally grey world with the best quests ever made in a game. It is officially the best video game I have ever played in my life. It will stick with me forever. The best story I've ever seen in a game and it rivals even Lord of the Rings for books and movies. It has amazing graphics, and continues to impress as you crank it to 1600p and    SCORE: 99/100

    The hype was worth it, and more. A morally grey world with the best quests ever made in a game. It is officially the best video game I have ever played in my life. It will stick with me forever.

    The best story I've ever seen in a game and it rivals even Lord of the Rings for books and movies. It has amazing graphics, and continues to impress as you crank it to 1600p and ultra everything.

    The most innovative and intriguing thing about the game is that decisions you make matter (without a simple good/evil bar), and often you will not know the extent of your decisions for hours or even tens of hours (none of this "so and so will remember that" from Telltale games and none of the simple and obvious good/bad choices of almost every other game ever.

    It also has fantastic setting and lore, which pays lots of fan service to Witcher 2 fans (like me) but is absolutely accessible to people who never played either other game (like my wife). Finally, it is just plain ridiculously fun and never got old even after 135 hours.

    Yes, it is a bit clunky to control (but only out of combat), the swimming is atrociously bad, the inventory cannot be sorted, and some other minor issues as well. But when you absolutely nail every other part of your game, it just doesn't matter.    … Expand
  16. FairReview
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Amazing, the game graphics will surprise you even on low, cities are so well detailed, their structure are so beautifull, even poor houses. The game is fun, i played almost 30 hours, and i feel it is far from ending.

    The only bad thing is the figthing animation, they look so fake
  17. tivec
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    I'm after main story and I feel empty, coz I know that in next few years I will not play anything that comes near to this masterpiece.

    This world is absolutely massive. I can't count how many time I was drag off the main story to sightsee this beautiful world. There are so many things to do: play cards, horse races, sailing, finding weapons and armors, killing monsters and it never    I'm after main story and I feel empty, coz I know that in next few years I will not play anything that comes near to this masterpiece.

    This world is absolutely massive. I can't count how many time I was drag off the main story to sightsee this beautiful world. There are so many things to do: play cards, horse races, sailing, finding weapons and armors, killing monsters and it never bores you.

    Main story can be a bit overwhelming for those, who did not read books (which I really recommend, they are fantastic), but every sidequest is so well written It is new quality in RPG's.

    Downgrade and some minor bugs didn't bother me even once in this all time greatest RPG.
    Pure masterpiece    … Expand
  18. idohaker
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    the witcher 3 is one of the best games i have ever played and a great sequel to the witcher 2. the story begins half a year after the witcher 2 has ended, with geralt looking for his loved one yennefer, after they reunite he is tasked to find the nilfgaardian emperor daughter ciry (which lived with geralt until his death in the first game) and is hooked to a epic adventure. what i reallythe witcher 3 is one of the best games i have ever played and a great sequel to the witcher 2. the story begins half a year after the witcher 2 has ended, with geralt looking for his loved one yennefer, after they reunite he is tasked to find the nilfgaardian emperor daughter ciry (which lived with geralt until his death in the first game) and is hooked to a epic adventure. what i really like about the witcher 3 is that it shows the consequences of the choises you have made in the first and second game. and except that, it also finally reveal the things it has heavily teased in the second game, the war in the north and the wild hunt, i am not going to talk about this matters for spoiler reasons. the reasons i talked about until now are sequel reasons but what really makes the witcher 3 great is the improvement in almost everything from the second game. the game world is fricking huge, the combat system is much better and simpler right now, actually most of the game systems have been simplified in a good way from the witcher 2 which is a good thing because the witcher 2 systems may have been to complicated. the story is greatly written and very long compared to the last game, the side missions are expensive and have depth. and the game graphics are just amazing, the game works about ~55 fps on ultra on my amd r9 290. to conclude the witcher 3 definitely deserves a game of the year award because it is one of the best games i have ever played and a must own.… Expand
  19. Maeglin
    Jun 1, 2015
    9
    Beautiful, engrossing game. So many quests and many of them have a unique feel to it. The crafting system is enjoyable and very well done ( no need anymore to constantly make the same potion).
    Even on a mediocre video card the game runs smoothly and looks stunning, what an atmosphere!.
    The card game is a game on it's own and can compete with games like hearthstone. Definitely one of    Beautiful, engrossing game. So many quests and many of them have a unique feel to it. The crafting system is enjoyable and very well done ( no need anymore to constantly make the same potion).
    Even on a mediocre video card the game runs smoothly and looks stunning, what an atmosphere!.
    The card game is a game on it's own and can compete with games like hearthstone.

    Definitely one of the best RPG's out there and maybe that has come out so far.

    The only minus is the inventory and crafting inventory. It looks like a mess and "sort" does not really sort anything.    … Expand
  20. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 1, 2015
    9
    The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
    Beautiful, but broken.
    The Witcher 3 starts out perfect You’re introduced to a massive would where massive creatures roam and make their claims on territories. There’s a sense of fear and challenge in this aspect alone. As you travel the land of white orchard you hear people call out for help and you stop to speak with them and help them with their problems for    The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
    Beautiful, but broken.
    The Witcher 3 starts out perfect
    You’re introduced to a massive would where massive creatures roam and make their claims on territories.
    There’s a sense of fear and challenge in this aspect alone.
    As you travel the land of white orchard you hear people call out for help and you stop to speak with them and help them with their problems for some coin.
    Even the tiniest thing such as helping an old woman get her frying pan back feels immersive and draws you into the world.
    This is where you’re introduced to the idea of oils and potions, finding enemies weaknesses, using your witcher senses to find clue about what youre about to face, and preparing for fights, something that comes in handy for harder difficulties.
    I feel like this was the vision.
    White Orchard would be what the witcher 3 was all about, and then the game kinda just falls apart and its vision fades.
    The witcher tells a beautiful story of urgency, and for that reason alone, the side quests and question marks that clutter the map in velen and other locations make no sense to exist in the context of the games story.
    Geralt needs to get to the bottom of what happened, why would he waste his time with the problems of randoms and destroying monster nests.
    There are some great side quests that actually tie in to the story, and they are beautiful and fun quests but the ones there just to attempt and make the world feel alive ultimately feel like pointless grinding.
    Many times I found myself just skipping through the cut scenes of these quests.
    This could have been fixed with incentive more than coin, such as weapons and armors like treasure hunts offer.
    The witcher contracts should have been mandatory obstacles in your way of story progression.
    These type of things make sense in a Skyrim type game where you write your own story, but in the witcher 3, the story is already established... you aren’t an adventurer.
    You’re a rescuer.
    But as a rescuer there is tons to do to level up so you can take on the challenges that await you.
    Again contracts and sidequests could have used this idea for benefit, making them feel like training instead of just a job.
    You can set out in the world to clear up abandoned sites to repopulate them, you can go out to take down beasts terrorizing territories or just go out and fight random creatures blocking your way to a new undiscovered location.
    And the combat is satisfying, so fighting enemies never feels like a drag.
    You can block, parry, roll, dodge, heavy attack, fast attack, shoot at them with arrows, use any of the magic signs to shoot fire from your fingers, use a protective spell, magic traps, knock enemies back, control their minds, so much opportunity and combos that can be played with.
    And while defeating creatures doesn’t grant much xp, they are still worth the fight as enemies drop items for upgrades, crafting, and alchemy.
    The crafting in this game really is some of the best I’ve seen.
    You can dismantle objects for items you need to craft base items for main items, it may feel overwhelming at first, but once you really dive in, it’s clever and worthwhile to figure out.
    You can purchase items from shops and alchemists or you can explore the beautiful world that The Witcher 3 offers.
    When you do level up, you can use the skill points in a vast skill tree and choose the perks you want to use, with up to 12 free slots for these perks. This skill tree can be wrapped around your personal play style or the style you need to take down a specific enemy as there are potions to reset your perks so you can respend them.
    I’m a very aggressive player so I for the most part focused on combat skills rather than alchemy or magic.
    There are also races you can do, but your horse annoyingly gets caught up on nothing and will randomly just stop which can lead to frustration.
    And now my favorite part of the game. Gwent.
    Gwent is a mini game within the game and im not ashamed to say that I liked gwent more than witcher 3 itself.
    Gwent is a very addictive game with massive marketing potential, so get to making the app CD Projekt red.
    Now for the bad,
    for starters leveling up in the witcher 3 is a complete drag, not only does it feel unsatisfying to slay hordes of creatures, the games design actually discourages it.
    If you dare level grind like you’re supposed to in an rpg rather than stick to the main story, you’re punished for it by earning 0xp if you’re 6 levels or more above the suggested level for that mission.
    Not only does it discourage you from going on your own wild hunt, but it makes you look at side quests and blow them off, why waste your time and effort?
    The game also has many stability issues
    I lost count of the game crashes at 10, this was only in my first few days of playing the game, with and without game patches.
    The Witcher 3 makes the mistake of not constantly saving when you stumble on new locations or accomplish something tiny like a gwent win, causing you to have to re-do 10-30 minutes if the game crashes, gwent cards being random for wins adds salt to the wounds, as if the game crashes after a win, you’ll more than likely not get that card again that you were so excited to win.
    I also ran into head floating glitches that really just destroyed the world and its immersion, and there was absolutely no polish or attention to detail put into cut scenes where it should be most.
    Sure I expect items to ghost through objects in game, but in cut scene, it’s unacceptable.
    Not only are there game crashing bugs in this massive open world, but there are missables which is complete bs.
    Making a 200 hour long game and putting content in there such as side quests and collectibles and making them missable if you don’t drop the world to do them now is massively disrespectful to players and their time.
    At the very least put asterisk around missable quests so we know to prioritize them, so we don’t get lost in your story, heaven forbid…and have to replay a 200 hour game again to see content we feel robbed of, or better yet don’t make them missable at all, which leads me to achievements and more bs.
    The witcher 3 is all about choices, that being said it’s shady as heck to put in achievements that force you to make certain decisions, really lessoning the games experience having to try to spin a web around a mid-game ding.
    I know you don’t have to trophy hunt, , but that isn’t an excuse to disrespect a players experience by forcing those that do trophy hunt to play by your rules… that contradicts the entire premise of the witcher 3 as a game.
    While I was massively impressed by my first 10 hours of the witcher 3, there are too many flaws in game design for me to overlook.
    But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a gorgeous and intensely immerse game with thought provoking story telling, over 30 different endings you can get and hundreds of hours of content.
    For what it is.
    Action RPG – 9/10 Overall 9/10    … Expand
  21. matt79
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Besides memories of Witcher 3, I barely remember past week. And now I feel exhausted and somewhat hollow, knowing that it will take years until I play an RPG of that magnitude.
  22. Korgarath
    Jun 1, 2015
    7
    As someone who is a fan of the previous games and also a graphics connoisseur with a powerful computer, I will attempt to give my true honest opinion on the good and bad points of this game for the PC platform.

    First of all the much contested topic of the graphics. I play in 4K resolution with everything maxed except for Anti-aliasing and NVIDIA Hairworks, which are switched off. The    As someone who is a fan of the previous games and also a graphics connoisseur with a powerful computer, I will attempt to give my true honest opinion on the good and bad points of this game for the PC platform.

    First of all the much contested topic of the graphics. I play in 4K resolution with everything maxed except for Anti-aliasing and NVIDIA Hairworks, which are switched off.

    The good:

    - Character and NPC models along with clothing textures are the best I've ever seen in a PC game hands down, no contest. Even the best Skyrim mods don't come close.

    - Foliage detail/variety/amount and the physics of it is excellent.

    - The visual style generally, the amount of clutter and placement in the world and the way the cities are full of character is top notch.

    The bad:

    - Texture quality seems to vary to the point you actually get quite stark contrasts and it detracts from immersion. It's clear not every texture is to a quality we should expect for a PC game and this is especially apparent at 4K. I'm not saying they're all bad, but they definitely could have a done a better job here.

    - Particle effects are quite limited, with poor smoke effects and fire spells simply looking like sparks shooting out of Geralt's hands.

    - Poor looking "goopy" water with not much going on.

    - Lack of tessellation in some areas resulting in some flat looking textures.

    - No FOV slider! The games camera is irritatingly close to Geralt.

    - Seems poorly optimized in general, given that I hover on around 35-40FPS with an overclocked GTX 980 at 4K and anti-aliasing + hairworks turned off. GTA V has no such problem and is a smooth 60fps throughout, whilst managing to look better for the most part.

    Graphics score: 6/10. It is clear that the downgrade is real and the fact CDPR tried to deny it for so long is also a bad point. It's by no means horrible, and most average people will be wondering WTF I'm on about here. But hardcore PC gamers with an eye for detail who have tried the best titles and modded games will be disappointed. There is much room for improvement in future patches and mods here.

    On to the gameplay...

    The good:

    - It's an open world version of the Witcher series, and it maintains the same gripping story as the first two games had. For non-Witcher fans, you could easily draw comparison to Game of Thrones here - and that's hardly a bad thing.

    - The side quests are worthwhile, varied and have proper stories to them. None of this "collect me 100 spider brains for no good reason" malarkey. And there are absolutely loads of them.

    - The world is seriously massive. I mean seriously, think GTAV and Skyrim put together massive. Not to mention there's plenty of stuff to explore. You will find it very, very difficult to get bored playing this game and even the card game is a time sink in itself.

    - The combat is fluid and easy to control in contrast with the previous games.

    The bad:

    - The game clearly wasn't designed for Keyboard & Mouse input. Movement feels clunky and awkward and will definitely take some getting used to, especially on the horse. Resolve by plugging in an Xbox controller.

    - While open-world, people expecting it to be Skyrim 2 will be disappointed. There's no extras such as player housing, interacting with NPC companions to the same level, marriage/adoption, joining a guild etc. This is to fit with the story of Geralt being a lone wolf slayer-for-hire and a nomad though, but as I said don't expect Skyrim - this isn't really a criticism just something to be aware of.

    Gameplay score: 9/10. There is literally hundreds of hours of fun to be had here, and at the end of the day that's what games are about isn't it?

    Music/Voice acting/effects:

    The Good: - Sound effects help to create a truly absorbing and realistic atmosphere. - The music can't be faulted either. - Every character has a voice-over, there must have been thousands of hours going in to the voice acting in this game alone. The main characters all sound great, obviously Geralt's gravelly voice is probably an acquired taste but I like it. Can I just say Charles Dance for Emperor Emhyr var Emreis was the best voice casting decision ever, for those who miss the presence of Tywin from GoT he's basically playing a very similar character here. The Bad: Nothing. Sound score: 10/10. In conclusion, if you love RPG's and love the Witcher series then get this game RIGHT NOW no questions asked. If you're not a fan of the previous games, or are expecting a Skyrim clone then you may be disappointed but I'd say give it a try anyway. If you're a finicky graphics connoisseur like myself then you may want to hold out purchasing until future patches and mods have made it look more like the old screenshots than it does now - that is if you have the patience. I don't. And now - back to playing!    … Expand
  23. Jetpil0t
    Jun 1, 2015
    7
    An impressive game with a probably too many technical issues and design problems to really surpass The Witcher 2 as far as overall quality, especially from a gameplay standpoint. Still worth playing, but probably only if you are coming for the story, the combat and game systems here just aren't up to the task.

    Starting off with the game's strong points: The environment detail both in    An impressive game with a probably too many technical issues and design problems to really surpass The Witcher 2 as far as overall quality, especially from a gameplay standpoint. Still worth playing, but probably only if you are coming for the story, the combat and game systems here just aren't up to the task.

    Starting off with the game's strong points:
    The environment detail both in visual fidelity, effects, size and density is impressive to say the least.
    The voice acting is generally top notch and there is quite a lot of it.
    The side quests tend to be pretty compelling and avoid the usual traps of simplistic "fetch this" and "kill that" design.
    The character skills and build options are a nice new addition, although arguably unnecessary due to the pretty shallow difficulty.
    Enemy design and abilities can be interesting.

    Unfortunately the core mechanics of the gameplay really let down the game overall:
    Combat animations, timing, interrupts, collision detection and hit detection are all really loose and inaccurate, this is not a tightly wound combat system.
    The controls in general aren't great moving around the environment, collision detection and button assignments and universally awful.
    The horse is awful, it gets stuck, glitches, animates poorly and has horrible controls and collision detection. Combat on horse back is a total farce.
    The loot system scales loot, but not enemy levels, so this leaves you with a very unrewarding loot system and gear progression that heavily favors crafting and leaves you with very little, or in fact no found gear that is really very compelling.
    Enemies don't scale levels at all, so doing low level quests later in the game leaves all your foes falling in a single hit, on the other than it really just serves to limit you from taking on higher level quests at your discretion, for no particular reason.
    Enemy AI is generally quite poor, they get stuck on objects, fail to be able to hit you when you stand next to them in certain positions, fail to move at all on occasion, attack and block at random intervals, regardless of difficulty.
    Difficulty scales only enemy health and damage, not skills, timing, attack patters, dodging or aggressiveness.
    It's a level based game, so having difficulty that only scales health and damage just level caps your questing, which actually makes the game less enjoyable.
    Not to mention and inordinately long list of technical issues from crashing, animation issues, visual rendering issues and so on.

    Most of these issues actually were not present in Witcher 2 and likely a bi product of being an open world adventure this time around. Here, you are clearly sacrificing the tight controls, combat and leveling structure for the sake of having an open world experience, albeit a very nice looking one. I feel as though the game would probably have been better served in a more linear format, as that wasn't a particular problem in the previous title, and the trade-offs here really undermine the game overall.

    It's not a bad game, if they balanced some of the underlying leveling and loot systems by scaling enemies and not scaling gear, tighten up the controls, contact animations and collision detection it would really be a 9/10 or better game. In it's current state, you really are just playing this one for the story.

    I would wait for the Enhanced Edition, much as you should have done for The Witcher 2. The hype train is real with this one, although the story is great and the visuals are compelling, there are so many mechanical pitfalls and technical problems here it really is a bummer.

    7/10, Enchanced Edition, probably an easy 9/10.    … Expand
  24. CaptainThom
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Finally a long and engaging RPG that isn't full of boring filler missions like Dragon Age Inquisition or lacks an interesting main campaign and consequences like Skyrim. I've not finished Witcher yet but im currently about 85 hours in and still have so many missions to do and new places to explore. Frankly the quality of the side missions in Witcher 3 is amazing, I can't think of anotherFinally a long and engaging RPG that isn't full of boring filler missions like Dragon Age Inquisition or lacks an interesting main campaign and consequences like Skyrim. I've not finished Witcher yet but im currently about 85 hours in and still have so many missions to do and new places to explore. Frankly the quality of the side missions in Witcher 3 is amazing, I can't think of another game which even comes close.… Expand
  25. harviolo
    Jun 1, 2015
    3
    About a year ago I bought the much lauded Witcher 2 on Steam in a sale. I installed it, launched it and tried to control the bloody character while the scene camera seemed to do its own thing. I quickly realised why I hate button-mashing-over-the-shoulder-lack-of-control style games. Unfortunately I had hoped that at least this aspect of the control/combat would be improved for Witcher 3,About a year ago I bought the much lauded Witcher 2 on Steam in a sale. I installed it, launched it and tried to control the bloody character while the scene camera seemed to do its own thing. I quickly realised why I hate button-mashing-over-the-shoulder-lack-of-control style games. Unfortunately I had hoped that at least this aspect of the control/combat would be improved for Witcher 3, sadly that's a big hairy 'NO'. In my opinion the controls in Witcher 3 are actually worse. Sadly this ruins the game for me.

    The other thing that bothers me are the graphics. In my opinion Skyrim looks better, trees in particular look **** in W3, sort of reminds me of Arma 2 on medium settings.

    Anyway I don't like being overly negative on a title like this which undoubtedly has had a lot of work put into it so perhaps if there is a1st person mod and a high res texture pack then I will re-install.    … Expand
  26. Moppy
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Never felt the need to write a review before in my 20 years plus of gaming but this game is fantastic. Brilliant story and once you are use to the controls they are fine (not brilliant but fine). Side quests aren't forced at all, and this is the only open world game I've encountered to date where that has been true. Graphics are brilliant, if you are a techno fanatic and are buying theNever felt the need to write a review before in my 20 years plus of gaming but this game is fantastic. Brilliant story and once you are use to the controls they are fine (not brilliant but fine). Side quests aren't forced at all, and this is the only open world game I've encountered to date where that has been true. Graphics are brilliant, if you are a techno fanatic and are buying the game just for the graphics you should by some photos instead - I do find myself looking at the views in this game and I've never done that before..… Expand
  27. GoorkA
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Few days ago I saw a post on 9gag showing some screen shot from the game presenting landscapes, NPCs and duels, captioned "The reason you wouldn't fast travel". And its truth! Great story and rpg atmosphere, varied quests, good game mechanics, amazing music and graphics. It's not just do this quest, then do another. This is the game you want to play, not just finish it.
    I quit Witcher 2    Few days ago I saw a post on 9gag showing some screen shot from the game presenting landscapes, NPCs and duels, captioned "The reason you wouldn't fast travel". And its truth! Great story and rpg atmosphere, varied quests, good game mechanics, amazing music and graphics. It's not just do this quest, then do another. This is the game you want to play, not just finish it.
    I quit Witcher 2 after 2 hours of playing, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't something I was looking for. The third part of this franchise is absorbing me totally!    … Expand
  28. hjaymond
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Simply amazing game, well-written emotional interesting story backed with just amazing characters. Couldn't have asked for a better ending. Thanks CD Red. Now hopefully the DLC adds to this already wonderful game. Loved Ciri by the way awesome character!
  29. ifor
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Hands down the best game i've played so far. It needs a little improvement here and there, but seriously, best gameworld ever, it feel alive, i've encountered like 2 miner bugs in my entire playthrough, didn't crash once in like 70 hours, the only thing thats missing is modding support so some serious epicness can happen. :3
  30. Uback
    Jun 1, 2015
    10
    Had I been able to, I would have given the game 9.8, since some of the controls are very "wonky" and shaky, but the rest of the game is perfect!
    Everything in this game i soooo damn goood. Characters are intriguing, the story line is compelling, the fighting is good and varied and the world feels alive.
    Finally, it's nice to see that a game of this size is so well optimized from the    Had I been able to, I would have given the game 9.8, since some of the controls are very "wonky" and shaky, but the rest of the game is perfect!
    Everything in this game i soooo damn goood. Characters are intriguing, the story line is compelling, the fighting is good and varied and the world feels alive.
    Finally, it's nice to see that a game of this size is so well optimized from the start. Ubisoft, EA and other AAA developers could learn a thing or two from CDProjectRed.    … Expand
Page:

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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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
See all critic reviews »