The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Xbox One

---

Fantasy is a genre where you feel like you know it all. There’s magic? Sure. Werewolves? Fine. Griffins? Great. It takes something special for a world to really make a distinct first impression when some of the ground has been so well trodden in the past.

---

by James Michael Parry

---

​@james_parry

---

Developer: CD Projekt RED
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Players: 1

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt undoubtedly ticks that box, and not because the graphics are shiny - though they are very impressive - it’s because the world takes itself just seriously enough for you to suspend your disbelief and step into the Northern Kingdoms.
​
Newcomers to the franchise won’t feel too intimidated to take up the mantle of Geralt of Rivia, who starred in the previous two Witcher titles, as he comes across as a likeable character rather than an overpowered superman.

A lot of his powers as a witcher, a sort of elemental mage, are available from the word go, and the game does a good job of introducing you to the move set through contrived but nonetheless effective tutorials (which can always be skipped if you don’t fancy it).

One thing which takes some getting used to is the specific weapons needed to fend off foes, a silver blade for monsters and a standard one for humans. The monsters in question include many known fantasy creatures such as trolls, vampires and harpies, but the variety is extensive, with each family of monsters having different types to take down, and sometimes Geralt won’t have all the answers.

The gameplay takes an open world approach, throwing detailed and substantial side quests at you while you, initially, try to track down sorceress and love interest Yennefer. In combat there’s a familiarity to the way Geralt brawls, without the flourish of Arkham City’s Batman but with all the brutality. The witcher signs, such as Igni which causes flames to spring up spontaneously, add another dimension to combat as they can be quickly thrown in to catch enemies off guard, and for some enemies using these skills to exploit their weaknesses is crucial.

Like many RPGs the game’s journey is more significant than the destination, but the experience is slightly tailored by both your Witcher 2 save (if you have one) and offering three endings depending on how you progress through the game. In reality this amounts to a slightly different fate for both the world and some of the characters and some different coda-type ending missions.

The story itself lives and dies on the strength of Geralt as a character and his dry wit and gravelly voice, oddly similar to Jim Caveizel in Person of Interest, remains endearing the more time you spend with the characters. The Wild Hunt itself is an undead horde of specters which acts more of a symbol of death and destruction with hangs over Geralt through the game.

The game is well thought through and put together, deserving hours and hours of your time.

On the flipside, and something which is fairly well known about the game, is the adult content, which amounts to Geralt getting his rocks off on potentially multiple occasions. Stylistically it’s perhaps a bit more risque than the endless fade to blacks you may have come across in Mass Effect, but really in terms of the experience of the game you can take it or leave it.

Like most games there are niggles that never quite feel right, and the one thing which stuck out is that Geralt doesn’t seem to have a fast walking pace, he goes from a slow walk to a run with only a small movement of the analogue stick, which reflects the fact that this game was truly made for PC. This also explains why the graphics are another level above on the platform, though the detail offered up on Xbox One definitely sets the standard for what the console can reliably produce.

With hundreds of quests and side quests to explore in the game it’s likely that your experience of the Witcher will differ a fair amount from ours, but what’s clear is that the game is well thought through and put together to deliver the first experience to deserve hours and hours of your time since Skyrim but in a way which makes the genre much less daunting for new players.
​
If you haven’t picked the game up already, then it’s definitely an adventure worth taking.

Pros

• Tons of well thought through content
• Familiar combat in gameplay still feels fresh
• Wide variety of enemies
  
  

Cons

• A few control niggles now and again
• Women don’t get a great representation…
• The vast map could still be daunting for some
  
  

10/10