“Here's to you!”

September 5, 2017 5:44 PM

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Witcher [YouTube] Time flies when you’re in great company. Join Geralt of Rivia as he reminisces about the 10 years it’s been since you’ve first joined him on his adventures in The Witcher series of games.
posted by Fizz (27 comments total)

I'm going to admit that I didn't care for the first Witcher. I never finished it, and never even bought the second. I got Witcher 3 on a steam sale after a friend told me it was really good - so, what the hell, right ?

And it was amazzzzzzing. Easily one of the best games I have ever played. Just astounding. The gameplay was simple enough, and frankly the mechanics were not well balanced. Certain choices make the game laughably easy, even at the hardest levels. But, that flaw was just fine, because the game was more an interactive movie than hardcore twitchfest anyway. It featured some of the best writing I've seen in a long time, and characters with actual pathos and complex motivations - situations with least bad outcomes and quest decisions with long running repercussions.

It's a shame what happened to Bioware. Baldurs Gate and so on were amazing. CD Projekt Red have picked up that mantle and done well with it. I hope they can continue. W3 wasn't perfect. It has it's flaws. It's just that when it was good, it was astounding, and really demonstrated what video games could be.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:20 PM on September 5, 2017 [4 favorites]

I haven't finished Witcher 1 either, but I played it in the wrong order, so of course the combat feels clunky and not as much fun as the glorious Witcher 2 and 3. But the story is still pretty rich thus far, and I appreciate the nuances.
posted by corb at 10:33 PM on September 5, 2017

Part of my heart is still on Spikeroog.
posted by selfnoise at 2:57 AM on September 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Never played the first, bought the second but it was too much on rails. But the third. Oh the third.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:02 AM on September 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

The second was in games for gold on the 360 back in the day, so I picked it up and thoroughly enjoyed it; great game... 3 made 2 look like i had been peeking through a hole in a piece of paper, it was that much better. It's a game for the ages.

I think the thing about them that i found so refreshing was that they treat everyone like adults, in all the good and the bad ways. Everyone has their own motivations, and you can see why they make the decisions they do.
posted by trif at 3:24 AM on September 6, 2017

I was 100 + hours into the Witcher 3 when my hard drive got corrupted. Now I have to start over, which makes me sad and happy at the same time.
posted by Pendragon at 3:33 AM on September 6, 2017 [7 favorites]

For some reason I didn't get into the gwent card game until halfway in, which meant i missed one of the collectable cards. I'm tempted to start over just for that...
posted by trif at 3:44 AM on September 6, 2017

I never got beyond the first boss in The Witcher 2. I probably should have adjusted the difficulty settings and just moved beyond that first boss but I never got around to it. Maybe some day I'll go back.

I'm only about 20ish hours into The Witcher 3 and I bought it back when it was first released and like so many other things these days, forgot about it and then moved on to some other game of the week obsession. But I went back this last week and now I'm hooked again. This is a gorgeous game. So much to do and just a blast to walk around and just live in that reality.
posted by Fizz at 4:52 AM on September 6, 2017

Certain choices make the game laughably easy

Witness my current late-game Geralt, who is tooled up to the point that a single cast of Aard will--in a ten-foot radius, mind you--freeze everyone around him solid, kill them outright, or freeze them then kill them.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:57 AM on September 6, 2017 [3 favorites]

For some reason I didn't get into the gwent card game until halfway in, which meant i missed one of the collectable cards. I'm tempted to start over just for that...

A valid and understandable choice. This game is good for multiple playthroughs , as long as one is a potions-heavy build, which is way more fun than it has any right to be.
posted by bibliowench at 7:05 AM on September 6, 2017

I loved The Witcher and bounced hard off the combat in Witcher 2. But I still think about what a great time I had in the first one (even with the Act II slog) and occasionally try 2 again...and then bounce off. Maybe this time it'll work. I feel like I must at least complete 2 before moving on to Witcher 3.
posted by snwod at 7:41 AM on September 6, 2017

The key with the combat in Witcher 2, I think, is not rushing it - take the time to explore the world and level up, and be ready to run from things when it's too hard.
posted by corb at 7:48 AM on September 6, 2017

Maybe this time it'll work. I feel like I must at least complete 2 before moving on to Witcher 3.

Eh, if its not working for you, it isn't working. Just jump into the 3rd. It's what I did. I'm in the same boat, should probably go back and finish it off but life is too short. The story is straightforward and easy to catch up to and characters from past games become friends very quick, even if you don't know their backstory. Just jump in and have fun.
posted by Fizz at 7:56 AM on September 6, 2017

Help me out.

I don't like Witcher 3. I can see what everyone else digs. But I find it so ungainly and the controls so inelegant compared to Skyrim. Crafting is a PITA. Combat is dull. (One technique will slay someone, die until you discover which technique that is, be it a spell or potion or particular weapon.) You don't have as much agency as everyone says, because most tasks have a route to completion, that will cause a fail if you deviate. The menus are a hot mess and suck out any immersion attempting navigation of them, at least on a XBOX One.

Yeah, the story is okay, but I'm not super obsessed with story, Netflix and my local library are able to satisfy my story needs.

I'd like to love, but seem to be missing something that everyone else sees.
posted by Keith Talent at 8:42 AM on September 6, 2017

Where have you gotten to thus far, Keith? I found Witcher 3 in particular had a kind of railroady lead-in, but expanded pretty well once you were past it.
posted by corb at 9:11 AM on September 6, 2017

I love the first Witcher. I love how janky it is. I love the weird awkward dialogue. I love the combat and how punishing it can be if you're not prepared. The Witcher 3 is a phenomenal game, and it may even be "better", but I have so many more fond memories of playing the first one.
posted by Automocar at 9:30 AM on September 6, 2017

I'll pile on the "Witcher 3 is great" bandwagon.

The colour palette in Toussaint (in the Blood and Wine DLC) is a thing of beauty. It's amazing how it completely changes the visual style of the game.
posted by allegedly at 9:34 AM on September 6, 2017 [3 favorites]

I have so many more fond memories of playing the first one.

The first Witcher had those "awesome" romance cards, though. Yuk...
posted by Pendragon at 9:52 AM on September 6, 2017

Played Witcher 3 and then went directly into Horizon: Zero Dawn and thought H:ZD did most everything W3 did, and better. As a bonus, H:ZD doesn't take place in a 13 year-old boy's version of "dark" fantasy with a juvenile take on sex. I almost quit W3 when it had the obligatory "murdered and mutilated whores on display as decoration" scene.
posted by papercake at 11:15 AM on September 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Where have you gotten to thus far, Keith? I found Witcher 3 in particular had a kind of railroady lead-in, but expanded pretty well once you were past it.
posted by corb

I think maybe a third through? Maybe more?

I've finished the Bloody Baron story, sexed a sexy witch, and am in Novrigard, (I think).

My prime issue is I find the interface unreasonably difficult to use seamlessly.
posted by Keith Talent at 11:18 AM on September 6, 2017

My prime issue is I find the interface unreasonably difficult to use seamlessly.

You're not alone in that. I find it a bit cumbersome too, but I guess I just accepted it for what it is. And the rest of the game sort of makes up for it, the story-telling, the cut-scenes, the voice acting and music, the lush scenery.

It's worth dealing with shit menu mechanics. I haven't bothered to check if The Witcher has any mods, I'm sure there is a community that exists and that it might help correct some of these menu difficulties you're experiencing. May be worth googling to see if that is an option.
posted by Fizz at 11:31 AM on September 6, 2017

Console peasant.
posted by Keith Talent at 11:37 AM on September 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

The Witcher 3, once you get past the Bloody Baron, does open world better than anyone except Horizon Zero Dawn which came significantly later and even that's nearly a tie (honorable mention: Shadow of Mordor). I find the sexism of the first title appalling in retrospect but the Witcher 3 is a top ten or at least top twenty all-time game for the PC.

It actually ruined Breath of the Wild for me because I felt like the open world aspect of that game was built by designers who had never played any of the above games. I appreciate that selling the Japanese market on open world is nearly impossible, but encounter pacing and density from BotW were markedly inferior and weather ALWAYS made it impossible to climb just as I was about to start up a particularly challenging rockface. The whole package nearly had me tossing the Switch across the room - which is a first because controller violence is not generally an impulse I ever have.

At any rate, if you're put off by the first game's sexism you should pick up the third anyway. There's a few residual notes of that but in general the series has moved past that and focuses on worldbuilding, solid character arcs, and amazingly well-constructed/inventive quests. All the DLC is top-notch fare, as well. My wife and I have both sunk 100+ hours into it and rate it 10/10.
posted by Ryvar at 11:44 AM on September 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oh and FWIW, Keith you're just now hitting the "opening up" phase of the game.
posted by Ryvar at 11:51 AM on September 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

Yeah, echoing that I would give it a little more time, Keith - at least until you get to Skellige, maybe.
posted by corb at 11:57 AM on September 6, 2017

For some reason I didn't get into the gwent card game until halfway in, which meant i missed one of the collectable cards. I'm tempted to start over just for that...

Fun as that may be, a lot of them can be found elsewhere after their initial windows close - eg, the one from the scholar at the very start in White Orchard, that is apparently available near the Hangman's Tree on the ground near where you start part II.
posted by Sparx at 3:53 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

But the Baron's card can be permanently lost depending on the outcome of the quest. Can probably get it through the console, but I can see the appeal of a replay.
posted by ersatz at 11:30 PM on September 7, 2017