I fully understand why this game won so many Game of the Year awards, and why even since then, many people have referred to it as one of the greatest role-playing games ever made. Despite its many glitches and often over-convoluted and sometimes wonky controls, this game provides an immensely satisfying story that builds based on the player’s decisions while also providing plenty of incentive to grow Geralt in power while exploring a fascinating world. I don’t plan on ever playing this game again, but it was worth my time to explore every inch of the main game and its two DLCs, completing every quest, and crafting all of the most powerful weapons and armor. There are aspects of the game that I would personally prefer were not there (the nudity and gore), but even those did not stray too far from their source material and still (usually) made meaningful connections to the story.
I played the game over the summer while I was also reading through the book series on which it was based. I did not realize until well into the game (when a major spoiler for the books was revealed) that the three games were intended to take place after the completion of the story in book series. By then, I was entirely wrapped up in the game, so I continued on even after learning that the game had no connection to the author of the books—who considers the ending in the books to be the official ending. I was surprised, then, at the care dedicated by makers of this video game version of fan faction in holding true to the original storyline while still expanding upon it in relevant and meaningful ways.
Interestingly, it seemed that I would come to places in the book series just in time to have elements of the video game brought to greater light. These coincidental double reveals probably led to my liking both the books and the video game even more. Ciri’s story (which is the main focus) had reveals at just the right time in both book and game over and over again. I don’t think that I could replicate such a perfect combination again if I tried.
My only complaint is that the conversation paths, while much better than copy-cat games such as Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, were not always clear where the results would end up, leaving me to often go back to previous saves (I recommend saving often) and to look up the “proper” paths on the Internet. This led to spoilers for the game, but also produced a much more satisfying experience for me. This was especially true for Ciri’s story, my preferred ending for Geralt’s relationships (with Yennifer), and for the ends of both expansions.
Speaking of the expansions, both are well worth playing. However, Blood and Wine is a “must play” for fans of the books as it brings back (in a not wholly convincing way) one of my favorite characters while also providing some of the best quests and stories in the game. In particular, it adds not only a satisfying way to further expand Geralt’s abilities, but also one of my favorite components of any RPG: building and decorating a home.
In all, this not only provided an entertaining continuation of—and ending to—Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri’s story, but it provided me the opportunity to bond more closely with Geralt in a way that improved my feelings towards the character.
I played the game over the summer while I was also reading through the book series on which it was based. I did not realize until well into the game (when a major spoiler for the books was revealed) that the three games were intended to take place after the completion of the story in book series. By then, I was entirely wrapped up in the game, so I continued on even after learning that the game had no connection to the author of the books—who considers the ending in the books to be the official ending. I was surprised, then, at the care dedicated by makers of this video game version of fan faction in holding true to the original storyline while still expanding upon it in relevant and meaningful ways.
Interestingly, it seemed that I would come to places in the book series just in time to have elements of the video game brought to greater light. These coincidental double reveals probably led to my liking both the books and the video game even more. Ciri’s story (which is the main focus) had reveals at just the right time in both book and game over and over again. I don’t think that I could replicate such a perfect combination again if I tried.
My only complaint is that the conversation paths, while much better than copy-cat games such as Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, were not always clear where the results would end up, leaving me to often go back to previous saves (I recommend saving often) and to look up the “proper” paths on the Internet. This led to spoilers for the game, but also produced a much more satisfying experience for me. This was especially true for Ciri’s story, my preferred ending for Geralt’s relationships (with Yennifer), and for the ends of both expansions.
Speaking of the expansions, both are well worth playing. However, Blood and Wine is a “must play” for fans of the books as it brings back (in a not wholly convincing way) one of my favorite characters while also providing some of the best quests and stories in the game. In particular, it adds not only a satisfying way to further expand Geralt’s abilities, but also one of my favorite components of any RPG: building and decorating a home.
In all, this not only provided an entertaining continuation of—and ending to—Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri’s story, but it provided me the opportunity to bond more closely with Geralt in a way that improved my feelings towards the character.
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