I want to know precisely what sort of raw meat the developers at CD Projekt RED are being fed on a daily basis, because whatever it is, it's giving them some absolutely fantastic powers which are being used to create what looks to be the must-have action RPG for next year. I didn't think it was possible, but this thing looks better now that it did a year ago on what was disclaimed as an alpha stage project. For the press demo at E3 2014, CD Projekt RED took us through a new adventure, likely part of the main quest line.
Geralt of Rivia, one of the last witchers of Kaer Morhen, is trying to hunt down a girl with “ashen hair” and get to her before the Wild Hunt does. (Note to fans of the books: this girl might be Cirilla, but CD Projekt RED took pains not to name any names, and the games have diverged pretty heavily from the books.) His efforts, as usual, require trading his services for information. A slain griffon gets him a rumor that placed the girl in a small village in a swamp. A demonstration of Geralt's sharpshooting skill with the brand new crossbow weapon against a flock of harpies nets him a meeting with a woman who speaks for a trio of beings known as the Ladies of The Wood or alternately the Crones. And ridding a cave of a malevolent looking abomination leads to a face-to-face with the Ladies themselves.
Of course, this being a Witcher game, nothing is ever simple and straightforward.For the press demo, we got to see the immediate effects of Geralt's choices. At first, it seemed pretty unassuming. Geralt had to talk to the village elder, find out what was making people sleepwalk themselves to their deaths, and he would receive payment which would then be turned over to the Ladies. When facing off against the creature in the cave, it pleaded for Geralt to spare it, warning him that the children living in the Crones' orphanage were in terrible danger. Geralt opted to kill the creature in the cave, thus breaking the spell that was causing the sleepwalkers. His payment was the elder's left ear, which he then presented to the Ladies, now looking nothing at all like their images in a tapestry used as the medium for communication earlier in the quest. It wasn't until it was pointed out to us that all of the children in the orphanage were now gone that we realized helping the Ladies might not be worth the information we'd gained.
The environments in Witcher 3 are not just gorgeously rendered eye candy, they're living spaces with all manner of attendant hazards for the careless player. Monsters like Drowners who live in the waters of swamps, bandits who try to ambush from the side of the roads, and wolves hiding in the deep forests of the Continent all want to put an end to Geralt for one reason or another. Naturally, Geralt isn't going to go quietly, and environmental hazards like swamp gas or stashes of gunpowder can be used to even the odds quickly, or if nothing's handy, a quick use of a Sign can daze enemies long enough for Geralt to get in the first sword stroke.
As far as the size of the world and the ability to traverse it, one gets the impression that it puts Skyrim to shame. Mountains are far more easily climbed, seas and lakes crossed with boats, all manner of flowers to collect, and a map that looks incredibly large in terms of locations. For an open world RPG junkie, this might be too much good stuff.
It's really hard not to make it sound like The Witcher 3 is overhyped. But there's just too much in front of us already not to believe that it will be anything less than an absolutely spectacular title. It's going to be a long wait till February 2015, but it's going to be so worth it.
- Axel Cushing
