Witcher 3 - Review @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

HiddenX · May 30, 2015

Another favorable review for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This time Richard Cobbet of Rock, Paper, Shotgun praises the game. A snippet:

I could talk for hours about all the great bits I found. Geralt’s awful sense of humour, where every joke falls flat until he meets Yennifer and the two end up having a pun-war about werewolves. The many weird and wonderful characters, important and throwaway. The Bloody Baron storyline that takes on some savagely heavy themes with surprising skill, not forgiving the unforgivable, but still finding a degree of sympathy. The way that the combat, while seemingly simple and clumsy at the start, grows with you over the game to become something of a ballet by the end, as well as the options to approach things more tactically by gathering various oils and potions in advance – though to be honest, I came to wish that this was more core to the game, rather than it always offering the out of just earning a few more levels and button-mashing away. You shouldn’t be able to out-level something like a werewolf or an ancient god, and being able to feels like a betrayal.

(...)

Not a single one of those things, nor all of them put together in one great big failblob manages to tarnish what a wonderful time I had with The Witcher 3. None of it stopped it being one of the most exciting, varied, warmest, funniest RPGs that I’ve ever played, where I wanted to do every mission that came along just to see what it wanted. None of them, nor even the fact that by the end I was getting desperate to finish the damn thing, stopped me being sad when it was over and thrilled to know that there are two big expansions coming. I absolutely adored The Witcher 3. I wish I could wipe my memory and play it again from the start with more time, and no memory of what was coming. But maybe a Post-It note to say ‘increase the difficulty a bit, you wuss.’

Rating: (flawed) Masterpiece

More information.

Brumbek · May 30, 2015

I do really love the game. Although, I'm forcing myself to wait for mods to fix my biggest two issues.

1) I want a very simple compass like Skyrim instead of the annoying minimap. I want to be able to use Witcher Sense to quickly show me the direction of my selected map marker. This way I can disable all the GUI stuff for immersion but still be able to find my way using a basic compass and Witcher Sense.

2) The clunky movement and loot detection. I want to remove all movement acceleration and make Geralt move instantly in any direction like every proper game. And I want to change keys for lighting candles to avoid the idiocy of looting something but lighting a candle 5 times in a row.

3) Bonus one: I want to disable stupid crime detection since it is flaky and doesn't even make sense half the time. Sometimes you can steal with guards right there; other times guards freak out from the next room.

4) Bonus one: fix combat if possible. You can spam attacks like mad and win. Archers can shoot directly through trees and other buildings currently. Lame!

Moriendor · May 30, 2015

The bonus thingies explain why this game runs fine even on older dual core CPUs :biggrin:

.

Ovenall · May 30, 2015

The "Batman" style Witcher vision is annoying. Granted I've only just started. But it's a tired mechanic used too much already. Not only do I have to find the g;lowing footprints, but then scour them to find the "investigate" symbol, then hear Geralt talk to himself. Very gamey.

Embolus · May 30, 2015

Ovenall said:
The "Batman" style Witcher vision is annoying. Granted I've only just started. But it's a tired mechanic used too much already. Not only do I have to find the g;lowing footprints, but then scour them to find the "investigate" symbol, then hear Geralt talk to himself. Very gamey.

Well he can't just snap his fingers and solve a mystery you want immersion there it is

joxer · May 30, 2015

Moriendor said:
The bonus thingies explain why this game runs fine even on older dual core CPUs .

The game runs on my old machine, my sis in law I gave it to just confirmed it. It was some old athlon and GTX 560 inside, most of settings are medium but she says there are no stutters or noticeable FPS drops.
Unlike Square Enix' Thief reboot, Ubi's microsturreting AC4 and horrible AC:Unity, CDpr maximally optimized TW3. Earned more respect from me.

Ovenall said:
The "Batman" style Witcher vision is annoying. Granted I've only just started. But it's a tired mechanic used too much already. Not only do I have to find the g;lowing footprints, but then scour them to find the "investigate" symbol, then hear Geralt talk to himself. Very gamey.

IMO you should buy and play ME2 Arrival DLC for nonsense selftalking Shepard before proceeding with TW3.

Batman style… Sorry, didn't play that one. IMO they used AC style in TW3, the first difference is that in AC plot points are gold color while in TW3 are red. Second difference is that assassins have some sort of 6th sense to pinpoint a target among a bunch of people from a distance, while Geralt just notices tracks. Anyway, I believe AC series are older than Batman and I find the system far superior to ME2 sonar crap that was revived in Dragon Age: Bears.
The only thing I find not good there is inability to set different color in options because of colorblind gamers which makes following a red scent on green background very hard for them if not impossible.

Paul · May 30, 2015

Brumbek said:
I do really love the game. Although, I'm forcing myself to wait for mods to fix my biggest two issues.

1) I want a very simple compass like Skyrim instead of the annoying minimap. I want to be able to use Witcher Sense to quickly show me the direction of my selected map marker. This way I can disable all the GUI stuff for immersion but still be able to find my way using a basic compass and Witcher Sense.

2) The clunky movement and loot detection. I want to remove all movement acceleration and make Geralt move instantly in any direction like every proper game. And I want to change keys for lighting candles to avoid the idiocy of looting something but lighting a candle 5 times in a row.

3) Bonus one: I want to disable stupid crime detection since it is flaky and doesn't even make sense half the time. Sometimes you can steal with guards right there; other times guards freak out from the next room.

4) Bonus one: fix combat if possible. You can spam attacks like mad and win. Archers can shoot directly through trees and other buildings currently. Lame!

The first point completely agree. I would love a simple compass.

Second point...I like the weighty movement. It forces me to walk instead of running all the time. I don't mind. Didn't have any problem with igniting candles too often.

Third point..I don't steal from people, so no issue there for me.

Fourth, yeah archers shooting through trees is lame. Would be nice to see it fixed, but I think it will be more complicated.

It has some issues, like every game ever made, but it is still brilliant and possibly my favourite game of all time, unseating Fallout and Deus Ex.

Moriendor · May 30, 2015

joxer said:
The game runs on my old machine, my sis in law I gave it to just confirmed it. It was some old athlon and GTX 560 inside, most of settings are medium but she says there are no stutters or noticeable FPS drops.
Unlike Square Enix' Thief reboot, Ubi's microsturreting AC4 and horrible AC:Unity, CDpr maximally optimized TW3. Earned more respect from me.

Given Brumbek's examples I would not call it "optimized" when they are not using CPU cycles that should be used for better AI, hit detection, pathing etc.
A game that under-utilizes the CPU is just as poorly optimized as a game that over-utilizes the CPU for no reason

.

IMO you should buy and play ME2 Arrival DLC for nonsense selftalking Shepard before proceeding with TW3.

Batman style… Sorry, didn't play that one. IMO they used AC style in TW3, the first difference is that in AC plot points are gold color while in TW3 are red. Second difference is that assassins have some sort of 6th sense to pinpoint a target among a bunch of people from a distance, while Geralt just notices tracks. Anyway, I believe AC series are older than Batman and I find the system far superior to ME2 sonar crap that was revived in Dragon Age: Bears.
The only thing I find not good there is inability to set different color in options because of colorblind gamers which makes following a red scent on green background very hard for them if not impossible.

Yeah, many games have self-talking characters nowadays to give the player hints about what to do. It may not be to everyone's taste but I'd say it's way better than flashy arrows or stuff like that.
Also, that alternate vision is used in many games these days. Except for the games you mentioned, Risen 3, Dishonored, Thief, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or Tomb Raider come to mind instantly. Seems to be one of those modern game features that everyone seems to think they have to do to be hip.
That's where CDPR are kind of like Blizzard IMO. They may not be the most innovative bunch but they look at what works well in other games, what is popular and then refine it for their own games.

Ovenall · May 30, 2015

Embolus said:
Well he can't just snap his fingers and solve a mystery you want immersion there it is

"Immersion" in this case is searching for icons to continue a plot line?

Uh, OK.

joxer · May 30, 2015

No, it's stopping searching for virtual reality world in a simple videogame.

Khayyin · May 30, 2015

Still there could be a system where the player could find the clues himself and try to come to a conclusion himself through reading or talking to people or logical thinking. With a system like in Witcher 3 everything is spoonfed, the players has absolutly no thinking to do just following the markers. Its just sad that in modern gamedesign its best to not let the player think to much…..It would be more immersive this way too.
I have to say I miss those kind of games…

Embolus · May 30, 2015

Ovenall said:
Uh, OK.

Oh, ok.

JDR13 · May 30, 2015

Jesus Christ himself could come down from the heavens, and Ovenall would find something stupid to criticize.

"Jesus, why are your sandals so dirty?" "Jesus, I expected your robe to be much nicer" "Jesus, couldn't you get a haircut before visiting?"

Ovenall · May 31, 2015

Khayyin said:
Still there could be a system where the player could find the clues himself and try to come to a conclusion himself through reading or talking to people or logical thinking. With a system like in Witcher 3 everything is spoonfed, the players has absolutly no thinking to do just following the markers. Its just sad that in modern gamedesign its best to not let the player think to much…..It would be more immersive this way too.
I have to say I miss those kind of games…

Agree. In fact, looking at the glowing footprints, there's literally no way to know the footprints are fresh without Geralt telling you by talking to himself. You HAVE to click the icon to advance the quest. Period.

I enjoy the game so far, but this is icon-hunting to trigger an explanation as to what you're looking at. Interactive movie. It's lame.

JDR13 · May 31, 2015

Khayyin said:
Still there could be a system where the player could find the clues himself and try to come to a conclusion himself through reading or talking to people or logical thinking. With a system like in Witcher 3 everything is spoonfed, the players has absolutly no thinking to do just following the markers. Its just sad that in modern gamedesign its best to not let the player think to much…..It would be more immersive this way too.
I have to say I miss those kind of games…

I'm sorry, but that's a somewhat silly complaint. You act as if the entire game revolves around those sections when they're only of small part of the overall experience and basically act as a diversion.

If you want a full-fledged detective game then go buy one.

Ovenall said:
Agree. In fact, looking at the glowing footprints, there's literally no way to know the footprints are fresh without Geralt telling you by talking to himself. You HAVE to click the icon to advance the quest. Period.

Rather than just complain, perhaps you could provide examples of a better way of doing it?

CelticFrost · May 31, 2015

Yawn!!!! now back to the game.

Ovenall · May 31, 2015

jdr13 said:
i'm sorry, but that's a somewhat silly complaint. You act as if the entire game revolves around those sections when they're only of small part of the overall experience and basically act as a diversion.

If you want a full-fledged detective game then go buy one.

Rather than just complain, perhaps you could provide examples of a better way of doing it?

criticizm is apostasy.

zahratustra · May 31, 2015

You are whining not criticizing. Criticism has to include points on how to improve things one is criticizing.

HellRazor · May 31, 2015

Criticism is judging the merits of something. It does not have to include points on how to improve what is being criticized. You can evaluate the merits without offering alternatives.

Said another way - just because I think a game sucks does not incur an obligation for me to tell the developer how to fix its game.

Or, if I go see a movie ,and I think it's boring, I can render a judgment without coming up with a list of ways to make it not boring. Maybe I don't even know what would make it not boring, I just know its boring the way it is now.

zahratustra · May 31, 2015

Broadly speaking it's true but the one with reasons is called positive and the one without negative criticism since it doesn't bring anything constructive into the discussion.

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