The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Bottom line: this is the best RPG experience I've had since Dungeon Master and Ultima V on 16-bit computers.

It's as if after proving themselves with Witcher 1 and Witcher 2 the creatives were let loose and given as much time and resources as they needed in order to fully realize their visions. Writers, graphic artists, world architects, and gameplay designers went all out. There are a few problematic excesses (see below), but as a whole their collective achievement sets a new bar for RPGs, not just in quality but also in quantity. I spent 50 hours each on Witcher 1 and Witcher 2, for fairly comprehensive single playthroughs. Compare with 250 hours I spent on Witcher 3. And it didn't feel like there was much filler or repetition.

So, what did I actually do for 250 hours? Mostly I explored the big, open world and had adventures! Some were handed to me, posted as a note near a town inn. But the most fun were those I stumbled upon. Some of these were short, exciting jaunts, such as defeating a griffin who took over castle ruins and was terrorizing the neighboring town (and guarding some useful treasure). Others became rabbit holes leading into intricate, long storylines with memorable characters and delightful locales. Others had stakes affecting the course of history, as indeed they did. What's astounding is the sheer diversity of these "quests": from small to epic, charming to horrifying, gut-wrenchingly tragic to humorous. And some were just deliciously weird.

And then there are the many, many game systems, which have evolved and improved since previous Witcher games. So, so many: skill trees, spells, swords, crossbows, armor, upgrades to these, loot, crafting, crafting diagrams, horse racing, boxing, alchemy—for bombs, potions, decoctions, and blade oils—and even equipment for your horse. And let's not forget the comprehensive and very fun collectible card game-within-a-game! All of these come with considerable quality-of-life improvements over the previous Witcher games, making them easy enough to use, learn, and master. Also, as with previous Witcher games, at least on normal difficulty you just don't have to master all of them. In a sense they are all optional, there for those who enjoy the tinkering. Find alchemy overwhelming? Just keep finding/buying/crafting better swords.

On that note, the most important stat for defining how easily you can defeat your enemies is your level. Tinkering with the game systems can definitely help you "punch above your weight" to defeat enemies of much higher levels, but you don't have to. Just go away and do the easier quests first until your level increases, and you'll be fine. Qualify-of-life improvement: each quest has a number next to it showing you the recommended level. No trial-and-error required.

This ability to essentially create your own difficulty curve is one of my favorite aspects of this game, because it's organically part of the open-world storytelling experience. For example, early on in the game I got addicted to the thrill of defeating monsters far more powerful than me, and so decided to pursue those quests. I would win swords and armor which I couldn't yet wear, because I didn't have the minimum level. So I stashed them or sold them and became rich! This ended up with me finishing all the DLC content, with considerable difficulty, before the main storyline, and leveling up considerably. Then getting back to the main quest I felt like a god, but I felt I earned that easy ride. I carved my own path and told my own story.

Combat in Witcher 1 was quirky and not very exciting. In Witcher 2 it was hot garbage, a frustrating implementation of what seemed to be good intentions. Witcher 3 finally realizes what Witcher 2 intended, and for the most part fixes its problems. Finally, combat is fun in a Witcher game! It's still imperfect because you can still, as in Witcher 2, find it impossible to "steer the ship" that is your series of swings and chops. It can still get frustrating when fighting many enemies. And controls are still not great: your horse can leap fences but gets stuck on a branch, you'll slip and fall while descending stairs, etc.

Similarly, this game also improves upon what was good—but also keeps some of what was bad—about Witcher 2's "choices matter" paradigm. As before your choices can impact so many aspects of the storyline and relationships, both big and small. No playthrough will be the same and the different possible endings vary considerably in both historic and personal consequences. Moreover, you can load your save file from the previous game and see the consequences play out. The writers did a great job at making sure all possible storylines are fulfilling, and indeed gamers are still arguing over which game endings are "good" and which "bad". So, there are no bad choices, right?

Well. The problem, as it was in Witcher 2, is that consequences aren't properly indicated. For example, you might not know that saying something seemingly innocuous to one person would lead to another quest failing, or that you wouldn't have another opportunity to ask a character a question because they are about to disappear. The game devs say this is a deliberate design in order to make choices feel more "organic", but it ends up feeling the opposite of natural. In real life I can say whatever I want to people, but here we only have 2-4 precooked responses, none of which may feel right. We don't always get what we want in real life, either, but here the whole setup seems unfairly constrained. I ended up looking up quests online just to make sure I wouldn't screw things up unintentionally. Which could happen.

And there's still sex. It's treated with the same level of maturity (or immaturity) as in Witcher 2, but I do appreciate some hints and nods to non-heterosexuality.

Beyond what you do, just being in the game world is wonderful. Gorgeously crafted, richly detailed, alive. Depressing, too: the underlying theme is the costs of war. Everywhere you see people suffering, mourning, twisted, afraid. Without spoiling anything, I'll mention that at the epic end of the game there is a simple conversation with a soldier coming home. You ask him "Which side you fight for?" And he says: "Like most - my own. Fought to stay alive. Dyin's all the same - dirt and shite... no glory in it." But then there are also corners and moments of beauty. One sun-kissed region (in the DLC) was entirely untouched by war. Villagers rebuild towns after you liberate them from monsters. And you might even find love...

P.S. Team Triss all the way!!!