Review: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (PC)

Everything you've read or heard about The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is true.

Those weird bugs, game-crashing or otherwise, you heard about from your second cousin; the glowing reviews by the vast majority of players and the enthusiast press (groups often on opposing fronts); the nudity from that weird guys you shared a bus ride with through a questionable part of town; the gritty violence of careful rolling and parrying; storytelling that actually weaves the world and it's inhabitants into an interesting whole; alchemy and magic; and the sweeping vistas of a game that packs a "Wow!" Factor of at least 70 when it comes to detail and texture.

While some of the understanding of the world and the events that have brought Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher of some renown, to his current involvement with the spectral Wild Hunt comes in handy -- play through the first two Witcher games if you must -- The Witcher III feels somewhat self-contained in that enough is explained through dialogue and layers of character information in the sub-menus that players new to the series shouldn't be left out in the cold when it comes to the story and the characters involved.

Maybe The Witcher III's most important achievement is its stories. While most "sandbox" open world games pay lip service to side missions, the developers of Wild Hunt put some tangible thought and effort into making seemingly minor side quests and characters into important plot points and events you want to explore rather than grudgingly pursue to grind for XP and the possibility of acquiring inventory for crafting purposes. Question marks on the map aren't to be avoided; they're beacons. Beacons of fun! Gone are the days of Spider-Man retrieving wayward balloons for kids with wet spaghetti noodles for fingers! The Witcher III also embarrasses the likes of Grand Theft Auto V when it comes to populating the world with story rather than one-off things to do (though there one-off events in The Witcher III).

Full credit to developer CD Projekt RED for the continual patching and supporting of the game. (The latest on June 15th). With any game this massive, there were bound to be some issues upon launch, and since then the company has been active in responding to issues and bugs that have been reported. Mouse and keyboard controls have been improved and some scary bugs, like one that messed with XP (i.e. none was earned), seem to have been ironed out. Was the game a "rushed port job" with no slider for field of view? Does it spell the end of CD Projekt RED? According to a small handful of users on Metacritic. The Witcher III was a rushed port job that is worse than previous Witcher titles and marks the beginning of the developer's downfall, it is.

I would categorically disagree with opinions like that and possibly take to Twitter to fling derogatory hashtags like handfuls of sand into the faces of unsuspecting 2nd Graders. As the saying goes for just about every game, "Your mileage may vary" and if an open world role-playing game starring a defined protagonist and showcases the wages of war, gore, and nudity isn't your thing, then maybe just dodge roll outta the way and find some other pursuit such as macramé or going on a spiritual walkabout. Everyone else, dive in! Clothing is optional!

Just be ready to have a great time for hours at a stretch!

- Aaron Simmer
Follow @EmpireArmchair

The Good:
- Story, story everywhere so let's all have a drink!
- Do not miss having to wade through a character creation stage
- Looks great...

The Bad:
- ...but that beauty comes at a high GPU price
- Not a fan of the in-game card game Gwent