Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 141 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 99 out of 141
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 141
  3. Negative: 29 out of 141

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  1. Berik
    Aug 1, 2019
    7
    Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a single player game to accommodate Gwent: The Witcher Cardgame. The game follows the story of Meve, Queen of Lyria and Rivia, who is betrayed by her own people when Nilfgaard invades the Northern Realms and crosses the Yaruga. In terms of timeline this takes place before the first Witcher game from 2007.

    The game plays out in two ways: RPG and Gwent.    Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a single player game to accommodate Gwent: The Witcher Cardgame. The game follows the story of Meve, Queen of Lyria and Rivia, who is betrayed by her own people when Nilfgaard invades the Northern Realms and crosses the Yaruga. In terms of timeline this takes place before the first Witcher game from 2007.

    The game plays out in two ways: RPG and Gwent. On the map you walk around as Meve, while you pick up resources, interact with NPC's and walk into events. Events are mostly executed through playing puzzles, games of traditional Gwent and shortened battles. Apart from that, the player has to make decisions that will affect the story and characters in your party. I say somewhat, because it's mostly the illusion of affecting choice.

    Having played Gwent: The Witcher Cardgame, playing with cards is immediately familiar in terms of functions, art on cards and how to play. The cards however, have wildly different abilities than in Gwent: The Witcher Cardgame to suit the story. The player can upgrade his/her camp to train new units (cards) to improve its deck or change the effects. This is quite enjoyable to do.

    The story is told in a good way, having voice-overs combined with text and art. The characters are flashed out well and feel unique. Apart from them having usefull effects you can even get attached to some of them for being funny or admirable. The choices you have to make however can completely screw you and your most important units over.

    On multiple occaisions, the game will let you choose how to solve problems. This comes down to choosing something selfish or selfless, but by extend just to choosing between lots of resources or staying pour. And these choices will affect how the units in your army judge you. Some will stay, others will suddenly leave or completely screw you over out of nowhere. The way that this happens is usually only on short term events, as long turn events are completely rigged. The game might try to talk some guilt into you for making certain choices, but they will have absolutely no effect on the ending of chapters. Mahakam is a perfect example of this. Tip: Screw over everyone you come across, because it will not matter at all except for yourself.

    I had a good time with Thronebreaker, but also some frustration. The game's technical state is in true CD Project Red fashion unstable. Frame drops, game stuttering and even crashes are quite common, which is appalling considering the game has been out since December 2018. It is inexcusable.

    In summary, it is a good game. But don't expect The Witcher 3 level of quality. This game clearly rides on the succes of older CD Project Red titles, and even rewards you by giving you cards and trinkets in Gwent: The Witcher Cardgame where you can buy their lootboxes. Real subtle.
    I give this game a 7/10. It is a good game.    … Expand
  2. Sanstad
    Dec 5, 2018
    6
    The game crashed a couple of times. Could not move my pointer when Im in the camp, had to restart the game to be able to access my deck-builder. Combat has some issues where frames were dropped and the AI does not do anything after your turn ends, also had to restart the combat several times to finish the encounter..
  3. fadingtrails
    Jan 19, 2020
    7
    Playing this in 2020, the game doesn't have any significant technical issues. Although during battles the framerate does drop when the AI is deciding which card to play, it's something I can live with.

    If you've played Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, you'll find the game to be pretty easy even on the hardest difficulty. The gameplay is unbalanced, with character cards especially (like    Playing this in 2020, the game doesn't have any significant technical issues. Although during battles the framerate does drop when the AI is deciding which card to play, it's something I can live with.

    If you've played Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, you'll find the game to be pretty easy even on the hardest difficulty. The gameplay is unbalanced, with character cards especially (like Eyck, Isbel etc.) being ridiculously overpowered.

    For those who haven't played Gwent, or any card game, the experience will be quite different, though.

    The writing is good, the choices you make matter, and overall, the game kept me entertained throughout. There's nothing in Thronebreaker that's quite as gripping as what you'd find in The Witcher 3, though, nor does it have anything particularly interesting to say.

    Thronebreaker runs for some 35 hours if you explore all the maps and don't skip any battles. I didn't have any issues obtaining the game's trophies.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

61
#61 Best PS4 Game of 2018
92
#92 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. PSX Extreme
    Mar 23, 2020
    86
    Gamers everywhere should give the royal treatment to Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. It is a stunning display of storytelling that rarely stumbles throughout a 25-hour runtime. While bogged down by the stiff card-playing, the easy mode can turn Thronebreaker into one of the best visual novels around. With 30 endings and an arresting art style, this is one utterly unmissable tale.
    Read full review
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jan 27, 2019
    80
    As the backbone of a larger game, though, it's solid, and an interesting alternative to the combat system of most RPGs. [Issue#158, p.91]
  3. Screen Rant
    Dec 20, 2018
    90
    Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is by far the best representation of Gwent that CD Projekt Red has developed so far, and a worthy adventure RPG that deserves your time even if you aren't the biggest fan of card games.
    Read full review
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