It was a sunny Saturday morning in the summer of 2017, and I was looking for anything to do in order to escape the sweltering heat outside. I logged onto my Ps4 and went through my games, but there was nothing that seemed to interest me. Out of nowhere, I remembered I had purchased ‘The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Complete Edition’ a few weeks ago.
I had got so caught up that I had not had a chance to play it yet. I had heard and read time and time again it was one the best videogames of all time, and I figured that day was the best time to start it. Little did I know, that day marked the first step I took into a world that would fascinate me to this day: the world of ‘The Witcher.’
When I first started playing ‘The Witcher III: Wild Hunt,’ I was instantly hooked on the story and characters and engrossed in the vast world that they inhabited. I would pour countless hours into the game in the following months, soon finishing the base story and every expansion that had come out.
I would explore every location on the map, fight every enemy, obtain every weapon and armor piece, make sure I finished all side quests that were available. And after roughly a year of playing the game every chance I got, I realized I had nothing left to do. I had conquered every challenge in the game, and I was left with a longing for more.
And soon I would find it. I had read into the background of the world online, viewed many articles and wikis in order to find more insight into everything I could. What I had not done is read the novels upon which the game was based. Soon after that I would systematically purchase and read every book available, my love of this universe growing with each passing page.
This ended up overlapping with the Netflix series that was an adaptation of the Witcher books, which I of course binge-watched in but a couple of days. In summary, I had truly found a pop-culture property I adored. I can’t stress to you enough the depth and beauty that is to be found in this universe.
If I had to describe everything that makes the world found in all its incarnations so great, I would fill up multiple posts. So instead, I will focus on what first introduced me to this universe years ago: ‘The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.’ Even after having read all of the novels, I still believe the game is perhaps the best example of just why this world is so endlessly appealing.
Perhaps the best part about the game and the wider world it inhabits is just how morally complex it is. This is not a world where everything is black and white; this is a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred constantly. Players are constantly forced to make hard decisions that make them question if they are making the right choice.
The atmosphere present within this world combines with the story and soundtrack to create a wholly unique experience. One can’t help but become enamored in this gorgeous world, where any step you take can lead you to a moral dilemma or a stunning landscape unique from the rest of the map.
Beyond this, the game would not be half as captivating if not for the characters that we experience along the way. Through great storytelling, the game creators actually make us connect with and care about the characters in a way that is rare in RPG games.
The quest design is to this day considered the apex of what has been accomplished in the open-world genre. The quality of side quests is nearly unrivaled, as CDPR treated nearly all of them as separate stories adjacent to the main tale.
As one will see in many open-world games, the vast majority of side quests can be summed up as “fetch this” or “kill that”. Some of the best stories and most emotionally captivating tales are hiding within these side quests, and they all help to build upon the established world and make it feel more real.
The Witcher III is perhaps the richest and most rewarding RPG experience in gaming history, with some of the best storytelling, character development, and worldbuilding in any genre or form of storytelling. It is a game that not only stands next to the literary works that inspired it but actively builds upon the foundation they laid and makes the property better.
