Witcher 3 Review :: NoobReview (PC)

Everybody is talking Geralt, Yennefer, Tris and Ciri these days. So we thought it was about time we covered Witcher 3 at IndianNoob.

(-) Wild Witching

Players start the game on a rather slow note compared to Witcher 2 in which we were thrown straight away into the story. The story starts with a flashback. As you go ahead in the flashback you meet your ward Ciri, who is another playable character in some parts ahead in the game.

When the flashback ends we return to the badass looking Geralt of the present who is searching for Yeneffer, his long lost love. After some talking to a N.P.C. we go on our first monster hunt. Here I, was very amazed at the detailing of core gameplay. The Witcher series is known for the detailing in RPG elements but Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes it to a whole new level. Every action of yours has a consequence later in the game somewhere. Even the in-game hints say that “Your decision can decide the fate of a person or a community”.In The Witcher’s expansive world you can either get lost or conquer it with your intelligence.

(+) The Conjunction Of The Spheres

The conclusion of Geralt’s story is pretty much more than what I was expecting. A pure thriller. It is dense and deep where you require it to be. The main story is very strong and keeps you captivated through the game. It’s been 50 hours since I’ve started the game and have experienced only a few moments of dullness till now. The main story is a bit dissolved by side quests and makes us want to move ahead more quickly. But even this does not stop you from enjoying the game. Most of the times you have to help multiple people in order to move ahead in the main quest. Sometimes you may lose track of your main objective, but there is an upside. The side quests are enjoyable and the characters generally involved are quite different and have their own original personality. Sometimes you may want the characters of the side quests to take part more frequently in the main story line.

The side quests are generally interesting and usually reward you well. Doing side quests is quite fun because you have to do some considerable sleuthing to reach the final point. The side quests do include various assassination contracts, unexpected alliances and much more. I wish more of such quests could have been put in the main storyline. You may find some side quests as really frustrating because of the things we have to do gain a single incomplete piece of information. Retrieving a goat is not the kind of work Geralt would love to do if he has a time constraint (Even if he doesn’t have one). The frustration can also be seen occasionally on Geralt’s face, thanks to the immense detailing of the characters.

Character development has to be done wisely from the start. There is no level cap, but that doesn’t mean you can just upgrade anything you want and wait to unlock everything, since leveling up takes its own sweet time. The upgrading system has been simplified and made vast as well which results in a flexible development seen in no other previous games. The crafting and alchemy system has not changed much and similar to character development you get a lot of things to craft in the open world. As I said earlier, the decision you make in a particular situation can change the course of the game considerably. And it’s no hype.

(+) Mutagen, Oils, Potions and Swords

Those new to the Witcher series may find the combat a little challenging in comparison to the usually played Assassin’s Creed and Batman series. The character development (Character upgrades, crafting, alchemy etc.) is a bit complex to fathom in a single day but gets very interesting and crucial when you start understanding them.

The game has been improved a lot from the time of its second installment. The combat is fluidic and gives you the encouragement to keep on slaying guards, monsters etc. The blocking and dodging system is fantastic as is the ability to maneuver from place to place while in combat. This is not the regular hack and slash game which can be won by just mashing the attack button. You have to strategize your battle/fight and take advantage of the environment as well as the situation. Now there are two type of attacks- fast and heavy, then there are the signs, and then there are potions, to top it all off, each monster has its own weakness (Though monsters falling in the same category may share a similar weaknesses). The signs have been improved as well. The upgrades bring about new ways of using the sign by changing the way they behave.  Taking all this into consideration, monster hunting becomes much more fun than just going head on to the monster and challenging it to a fight (in Witcher that is the last thing you would want to do). There are various monster nests, bandit camps and pirate holdouts spread in the open world. These provide the much needed extra experience used for upgrading your character. Killing off small monsters or humans can be fun with the occasional gory cut off of the head or the body being sliced into two. The satisfaction of getting the monster taste the dirt at your feet is as if you have yourself won the fight in real. You have to put effort in defeating these creatures by finding their weaknesses which is in itself quite fantastic and purely original.

(+) Of Growing Beards and Leathers

Graphically Witcher 3 excels like no other game. I was left in awe at the beauty the open world. It is breathtaking. The new open world was obviously made according and for the story. But it just has that depth which makes you want feel what is happening inside its world. The environment is rich but sometimes may feel non-responsive.

Even the characters are no less. The expression of each character is distinct and each emotion has been shown with the highest degree of precision possible. You’ve got the NVidia hair works, a new technology which makes the detailing of hair even more realistic. The voice acting and lip-sync are fantastic and will not give you chance to complain. A full day/night cycle and dynamic weather make the game even more realistic and lively. There are a few bugs which do not affect the game in a meaningful way and will not hamper your fun. Detailing of everything from the grass to the character is excellent. With this game out I would say that we have entered the next generation of gaming.

VERDICT