bonesmccoy
Banned
Also love the brief epilogue, returning to White Orchard in the winter, reminiscing with Ciri. Such a nice touch.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
LTTP: The Witcher 3
- Thread starter Look! The Pie!
- Start date
Peroroncino
Member
That epilogue heavily
depends on the ending, if you let Radovid win the war, it's not during the winter, and you witness pretty vile shit there, you can also run into some of the npcs from the game e.g. dwarves from isle of the mist that stole your boat etc.
OverturePT
Member
Enjoy the incredible expansions.
One of the best games I've ever played. Truly exceptional.
One of the best games I've ever played. Truly exceptional.
Art Vandilay
Member
I love this game. Put hundreds of hours into it and still get an itch to go back every now and then. There's a few random achievements I need before I can 100% it, but even then I don't think I'll ever sell or trade this game. It's truly a masterpiece.
SomewhatGroovy
Banned
It's crazy to me that others had the patience for a second or even a third playthrough. This game is so overwhelmingly huge.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
On my first playthrough I think I clocked 120 hours. I got the bad ending.
I decided to do a second playthrough after the expansions came out, and was closer to 200 hours, tried to do everything. It was so much more amazing the second time. The choices where a lot better, the ending was a lot better, the patch improvements they made to camera, UI, dye an most of all- the legendary witcher gear was the the best gameplay in the entire damn game. I also mastered Gwent. GOT EVERY CARD. I WON EVERYTHING. HAHA.
And Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine.. It's just...
It's been a year since I played, and I am still not over the game. It's still in my system. Fuck man, do I miss it. I read all these LTTP Witcher 3 threads because it makes me happy just re-imagining that feeling of being completely lost in the world.
The game was so much better the second time for me.
I was finishing the main game and thinking: "man, this can be one of my top 10 fav games ever! but let's wait to finish the expansions..."
Now after ending Blood and Wine this is one of my top 3 GOAT easily. Damn, when I finished that last part I felt a mix of joy and sadness: it was all over.
After some days passed, I decided to start a new game and try things that I didn't try in my first playthrough, and now I'm feeling complete again.
Now after ending Blood and Wine this is one of my top 3 GOAT easily. Damn, when I finished that last part I felt a mix of joy and sadness: it was all over.
After some days passed, I decided to start a new game and try things that I didn't try in my first playthrough, and now I'm feeling complete again.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
I love how beautifully crafted the world is. This game has some of the most amazing towns in any game I've ever played. Toussaint and Novigrad are just amazing to explore. The best towns I've ever had the pleasure of exploring and playing in.
Look! The Pie!
Member
Thanks for all the responses; I've put around 5 hours into Hearts of Stone and am loving it so far.
Are you talking about
? I've only encountered him a couple of times up to now, but yeah, he's made quite the impression already.
Ah, right. Thought I'd missed out on a quest there!
I've already heard good things about Beauclair, so this fuels my excitement even more. I'm also hearing about something I was hoping for the entire base game...armour dye. Fuck yes.
Good to know! And yeah, I really like Olgierd so far. I'm getting hints of some seriously grey morality in his story, which I'm looking forward to.
I feel you; I started to get that feeling towards the end of the base game, despite having the expansions to look forward to. That's when I know a game is truly special. I'm playing Persona 5 concurrently with TW3 (which makes for an interesting contrast...) and think it's going to give me the same feeling, too. God help me if I somehow finish them both around the same time, lol.
Thanks for your thoughts, and I definitely plan to update this thread once I've fully experienced all the DLC!
Nah man, if I wanted to play a second-rate card game I'd have fired up FFIX and played some Tetra Master.
Thanks! I think I was probably predisposed to hating Dandelion after going through those tedious quests to track him down. I mean, he totally works for me as a character on paper, so I should give him another chance.
I like Shani from what I've seen of her so far, but I disliked how the game seemed to be forcing her and Geralt together. I'm trying to play him as being faithful to Yen, dammit!
Fixed those for you guys
Yeah, as much as I'm loving it, I can't see myself doing another playthrough anytime soon, if ever. It's just such a huge undertaking, and I can't imagine enjoying it as much the second time around. That sense of wonder just wouldn't be the same.
Are you talking about
Gaunter O'Dimm
Ah, right. Thought I'd missed out on a quest there!
I've already heard good things about Beauclair, so this fuels my excitement even more. I'm also hearing about something I was hoping for the entire base game...armour dye. Fuck yes.
Good to know! And yeah, I really like Olgierd so far. I'm getting hints of some seriously grey morality in his story, which I'm looking forward to.
I feel you; I started to get that feeling towards the end of the base game, despite having the expansions to look forward to. That's when I know a game is truly special. I'm playing Persona 5 concurrently with TW3 (which makes for an interesting contrast...) and think it's going to give me the same feeling, too. God help me if I somehow finish them both around the same time, lol.
Thanks for your thoughts, and I definitely plan to update this thread once I've fully experienced all the DLC!
Nah man, if I wanted to play a second-rate card game I'd have fired up FFIX and played some Tetra Master.
I'm still totally salty over losing my first game of Gwent and never really learning how to play properly. I'm sure it's actually really good.
Thanks! I think I was probably predisposed to hating Dandelion after going through those tedious quests to track him down. I mean, he totally works for me as a character on paper, so I should give him another chance.
I like Shani from what I've seen of her so far, but I disliked how the game seemed to be forcing her and Geralt together. I'm trying to play him as being faithful to Yen, dammit!
Fixed those for you guys
Yeah, as much as I'm loving it, I can't see myself doing another playthrough anytime soon, if ever. It's just such a huge undertaking, and I can't imagine enjoying it as much the second time around. That sense of wonder just wouldn't be the same.
Fun fact, you meet Gaunter O'Dimm for the first time in the base game in the beginning when you are looking for Yen in white orchard. He's the guy in the inn who helps you.
Also this is something you might not know as you haven't played witcher 1. But in witcher 1 you had to choose between two romances just like in 3, but there it was between Shani and Triss.
Don't forget Hearts of Stone, which has a better story than B&W and the main game. Gaunter O'Dimm, Olgierd, Shani. The
wedding
heist
BravesCountry
Banned
I'm playing horizon right now and then P5, so excited to get into that one as well.
Evil Monkey DTT
Banned
It's also a massive love letter to the books, and with the tv series coming out it's worth watching just to see how good the lore of witcher is. Fantastic game, while nier automata is my favorite game of the generation witcher is the best game of this generation.
Well, she's lesbian, so...
DarkArterialGore
Member
I'm still feeling like that, more so because I'm currently trying to slog my way through the nonsense that is Mass Effect Andromeda which feels like it was written by an idiotic child in comparison. I can't wait for CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077 now as I don't believe any of the the other big RPG developers have the skill or respect for the fans of their game franchises to put the effort in that's required to make a truly great game like Witcher 3.
Bioware are terrible now(thanks EA) and Bethesda are to cheap to reinvest some of the billions they've made from the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games back into creating a great open-world game engine because the morons in charge are to shortsighted to understand that they need a better engine than an updated Gamebryo. I enjoyed previous Bethesda games but I paid no attention to Fallout 4's DLC because I just couldn't stand looking at the crap graphics, voice work, character models and animations any longer, it literally started to depress me playing it whereas the Witcher 3 was a joy to play from start to finish.
CD Projekt's games feel like love and care went into them but the other developers always feel like they are constantly cutting corners to shit the game out for their publishers so hopefully CD Projekt never get bought out by the usual suspects.
I think her and Dijkstra were a thing at some point (maybe only in the books). I don't know if that was just her manipulating him though.
CecilRousso
Member
It has some nice looking enviroments, that are a bit easier on the eye then a lot of the swamps from the base game. But other then that, what was better with the expansion?
It was a great expansion, no doubt, lengthy and lots of fun. But I'm not sure that I actually saw that much that was noticeably better.
The
mutagen
toastyToast
Member
It's pretty amazing what CDPR accomplished. I knew they had potential even with the janky as The Witcher 1 which is still a pretty great experience if you can temper your expectations.
The Witcher 3 has enough great characters to spread out over 10 maybe 20 games. I can name maybe 25 of the top of my head with unique scenes for each in mind.
The Witcher 3 has enough great characters to spread out over 10 maybe 20 games. I can name maybe 25 of the top of my head with unique scenes for each in mind.
killatopak
Gold Member
Do you need to finish Witcher 1 and 2 to fully appreciate Witcher 3?
I have played the first one before but only until the swamp where you need some guy who owns a boat to row you across then I stopped playing.
I have played the first one before but only until the swamp where you need some guy who owns a boat to row you across then I stopped playing.
Hooks
Member
Yep same here. I just started NG+ yesterday on my first play-through I skipped most of Gwent and a fair chunk of side missions which I'm planning to do this time. I still managed to clock 180 hours even though I missed a lot :\
Nah not at all I didn't finish either of them. I'm pretty sure there's a video on youtube you can watch which does a run down of the lore if you were interested but it's not necessary.
toastyToast
Member
You'll manage. A vast majority of people who played TW3 never played the first 2.
I actually preferred Hearts of Stone. While the Blood and Wine expansion is gorgeous, the side-quests are not very interesting, the piranha plants are freaking annoying, and the main quest is almost a parody in its ridiculousness.
Amazing game, i just dont get how some people clock in 300h+. Some say even 500h.
I finished main quest on death march. Finished Blood and Wine. Skipped gwent. Completed over 200 quests ( there re around 260 if im not mistaken). Total playtime around 120h.
Im finding it hard to get new quests, point of interest are not interesting....i should buy HoS though.
Top 3 this gen.
I finished main quest on death march. Finished Blood and Wine. Skipped gwent. Completed over 200 quests ( there re around 260 if im not mistaken). Total playtime around 120h.
Im finding it hard to get new quests, point of interest are not interesting....i should buy HoS though.
Top 3 this gen.
I clocked in at 130 hours but I also skipped Gwent totally. I'll give it a try on my second playthrough too, it seems there are quite a lot Gwent quests too that I skipped in my first playthrough.
And I loved collecting gear for Geralt. They made the gear look real good.
Excellent write up OP, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
About Gwent, yeah it rocks. But at the point when you understand how to kinda break the game, it loses all it's flair since there's no challenge or any real strategy involved. But the fundamentals are good, I think the standalone Gwent currently in beta is a testament to that.
Expansions are both great like people have said, so you will be having a great time.
Personally I rank the games W3>W1>W2. All of them being excellent. I actually preferred W1 combat over W2, which was too much going after AC and Batman at the time I think. W1 combat felt more original and I liked that you could change the styles on the fly. The main story in W1 is probably my favorite too. The collectible pin up cards after sex can feel off-putting to some. But you can avoid sex completely I think. My friend who has been playing Witcher for the first time has been having sex by accident few times and that frustrated him every time =D But yeah, to me both of them are easily worth a play. Could be really hard going back to them after W3 though. As they are nowhere as near polished as W3.
Same here! I actually gave thumbs up to my TV when I saw this topic, didn't even know if it was going to be good or bad impressions. But I had faith in the game of generation.
Edit: My own playtimes with the series W1 51 hours, W2 32 hours (did Iorveth's path, should go for Roche too I guess since they are completely different playthroughs), W3 277 hours! Completed the main game twice, Hearts of stone twice and currently very slowly going through B&W the second time. I don't want to feel the emptiness again too soon that will happen when I finish it the second time.
About Gwent, yeah it rocks. But at the point when you understand how to kinda break the game, it loses all it's flair since there's no challenge or any real strategy involved. But the fundamentals are good, I think the standalone Gwent currently in beta is a testament to that.
Expansions are both great like people have said, so you will be having a great time.
Personally I rank the games W3>W1>W2. All of them being excellent. I actually preferred W1 combat over W2, which was too much going after AC and Batman at the time I think. W1 combat felt more original and I liked that you could change the styles on the fly. The main story in W1 is probably my favorite too. The collectible pin up cards after sex can feel off-putting to some. But you can avoid sex completely I think. My friend who has been playing Witcher for the first time has been having sex by accident few times and that frustrated him every time =D But yeah, to me both of them are easily worth a play. Could be really hard going back to them after W3 though. As they are nowhere as near polished as W3.
Same here! I actually gave thumbs up to my TV when I saw this topic, didn't even know if it was going to be good or bad impressions. But I had faith in the game of generation.
Edit: My own playtimes with the series W1 51 hours, W2 32 hours (did Iorveth's path, should go for Roche too I guess since they are completely different playthroughs), W3 277 hours! Completed the main game twice, Hearts of stone twice and currently very slowly going through B&W the second time. I don't want to feel the emptiness again too soon that will happen when I finish it the second time.
Sword Of Doom
Member
I beat the game and started the first expansion but couldn't get into it. I enjoyed the story of the base game a lot and I guess that was the hook for me cause once it was finished, I was done with the game
Rellik
Member
It gets better on each playthrough for me.
I pretty much never return to sandbox game because of the amount of time it takes to get get back in and make good progress. But somewhere down the line, I'll definitely make an exception for The Witcher 3. For there is nothing out there that compares to it, and there's nothing quite like walking through the windblown woods of Velen and stumbling upon some supernatural mysteries. That world is so well-crafted, it can let you escape from reality the way a great book can.
I'm currently on my 7th. GOG Galaxy shows I have 400 hours played across both the regular and GOTY editions (I switched to GOTY since it was less of a hassle to install on a PC than base + expansions), so I probably have over 700 clocked since I mostly played with Galaxy disabled.
This game just does not get boring. I'll try to get into any other open world game I've previously enjoyed, realise how inferior it is to TW3 and then go back to TW3 again.
I really hope the rumours about the next AC being heavily inspired by TW3 are true. One day I'll memorise the whole game by heart and I'll need something new.
Also, OP, please don't listen to people who try to convince you to play Gwent. If you're not into this sort of thing, just ignore it completely, it's 99% irrelevant through the whole game and at most you'll miss a couple of tournament quests, which I doubt are particularly great, otherwise there'd be more buzz about it.
The expansions are so damn good too, you're in for a treat there. One of the best games of all time and easily my favorite of all time. Combat not being as good as Bloodborne has always been a really dumb complaint, as if that game had even half of what makes The Witcher so great and it's #1 purpose was combat.
I recommend trying Witcher 2 as well if you have a way to do that. I think 3 is a better game overall but the open world does make the story more unfocused than in 2. They still did it better than any other open world game so props to them.
I recommend trying Witcher 2 as well if you have a way to do that. I think 3 is a better game overall but the open world does make the story more unfocused than in 2. They still did it better than any other open world game so props to them.
GillianSeed79
Member
Spent a little over a year 100 percenting the base game and both expansions. I think the stories in the expansions are actually better than the base game save for the Bloody Baron quest line. I like the expansions because they are kind of like self contained chapters ala Witcher 2, which I kind of prefer to 3 tbqh just because its more linear
I also get frustrated when I accidentally have sex.
This is an amazing sentence out of context.
Haha yeah, now that you mention it.
Yeah, but apparently Philippa "changed her mind" for good.
I've played 500 hrs because I'm on something like my 5th or 6th playthrough.
Peroroncino
Member
3.5 as in significantly more of the same, the game could've easily been released as a standalone and cost ~40$ because it would have the content to back that price tag up.
Though there were some few nice additions, like enhanced skill tree with the new mutagen system etc.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Skellige was a better Skyrim than Skyrim.
Yeahhh... I dunno.
The main game is one of my favorite games of all time. I couldn't finish Blood and Wine.
It's really well done and all, but I couldn't connect with anything in the main quest. I think it's the lack of an emotional, urgent and weighty story. I also didn't love Toussaint. I prefer the heavier atmosphere of the main game.
I know I'm in the minority though. Most people really loved the expansions.
After casually stumbling upon it on YouTube, just wanted to post the GOAT scene.
I've gushed about the Witcher 3 basically every time I can. The game is phenomenal from start to end thanks in many parts to smart writing that knows when to use some humor and when to let a scene linger, great facial animations that feel about as real as this world is going to get, and a world that is as fully realized as any open world game we've seen so far.
The expansions are the cream of the crop, though. Hearts of Stone is one of the best pieces of content for video games EVER, let alone as a piece of DLC. The story told here is deep, morally gray, and only grows better with age.
Blood and Wine isn't as polished or as nuanced as Hearts of Stone, but Toussaint is a blast to romp through and it takes what fans loved from the base game and just amplified everything up a notch or 3. The terrain is gorgeous and full of vibrant colors, the characters are over the top, and there's some loveable nods to the mainline book series that were neat as all hell. I especially love the note it leaves you on. It's not quite as dour as any of the base game endings and gives the community
The expansions are the cream of the crop, though. Hearts of Stone is one of the best pieces of content for video games EVER, let alone as a piece of DLC. The story told here is deep, morally gray, and only grows better with age.
Blood and Wine isn't as polished or as nuanced as Hearts of Stone, but Toussaint is a blast to romp through and it takes what fans loved from the base game and just amplified everything up a notch or 3. The terrain is gorgeous and full of vibrant colors, the characters are over the top, and there's some loveable nods to the mainline book series that were neat as all hell. I especially love the note it leaves you on. It's not quite as dour as any of the base game endings and gives the community
a very literal nod.
Textured Monk
Member
I had pretty much the same experience during my first run through the game. Too much going on to worry about Gwent, especially when I didn't get it straight away. I'm doing a second playthrough now and enjoying it, I think it just takes a couple of games to click. And it helps that on a second run the experience can be a bit more relaxed. Travelling around the countryside, playing Gwent with random dudes and collecting cards, is actually really fun, but I wouldn't force it. Play a couple of the early-game opponents when you're in the mood and see if it grabs you.
Blood and Wine spoilers don't click OP
it was a great moment to end on. Chilling with Regis, having a drink and reminiscing with an old friend, knowing you both have to leave but not being ready to go.
TW3 remains the biggest example of a game where a huge element of the actual gameplay is so dull to me, but I'm still compelled to play because the world they crafted and sense of place and atmosphere is so good.
To me, combat is just insanely boring in comparison to the rest of the game. It feels like they designed an alpha build and just left it to concentrate elsewhere.
The entire Bloody Baron quest line and its branches remain my favourite storyline in an RPG of all time. Especially the part where you have to investigate the haunted tree, the atmosphere when you discover the reason is simply incredible.
To me, combat is just insanely boring in comparison to the rest of the game. It feels like they designed an alpha build and just left it to concentrate elsewhere.
The entire Bloody Baron quest line and its branches remain my favourite storyline in an RPG of all time. Especially the part where you have to investigate the haunted tree, the atmosphere when you discover the reason is simply incredible.
endlessflood
Member
Such an amazing game. That final scene with
at the end of Blood and Wine was so damn bittersweet, but despite being such a perfect ending (they nailed the tone, as always), knowing that Geralt's story was complete and I wouldn't get to spend time with these characters again was such a melancholic thought.
Also, just to put this out there, I really enjoyed the combat. It's no Dragon's Dogma, or Devil May Cry, but I loved the plethora of options and approaches that were available to you. Whirlwind and severance FTW though
Regis
Also, just to put this out there, I really enjoyed the combat. It's no Dragon's Dogma, or Devil May Cry, but I loved the plethora of options and approaches that were available to you. Whirlwind and severance FTW though
I'll second this statement. I loved that scene to death.
Huevos de Oro
Member
The romance scene would be me watching her change clothes and that would be it. I would trade all of the unicorns in the world for that.
Madrugador
Member
Since this is a Witcher 3 thread, how is the Xbox One version?
I got it from a sale a while ago. The thing is that last week I got my PS4 back, and I was thinking that maybe I should go for that version instead.
I got it from a sale a while ago. The thing is that last week I got my PS4 back, and I was thinking that maybe I should go for that version instead.