Witcher 3 - Witcher 3 vs. Fallout 4

ASidCast's op-ed asks "what makes a good rpg?" by comparing Witcher 3 to Fallout 4.

Thanks, Couch.

With 2015 almost drawing to a close, we decided to look at the best releases this year. We noticed a curious thing in the RPG genre. Although both of the biggest RPG titles of 2015 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Fallout 4 got great critic scores, The Witcher 3 received an overwhelming amount of better reception by the users and was considered a good RPG while Fallout 4 wasn’t. Why is that?

It has been a common complaint against Fallout 4 that it over-simplifies the RPG mechanics which were present in previous games, and which made Fallout a classic long before Bethesda bought the rights. Of course, Bethesda fans might argue that with time, the concept of RPG mechanics change with time. The very existence and popularity of Witcher 3 challenges that outlook. Let’s take a look, shall we?

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I've played and finished both (what a great year !... sadly I don't know how long we'll have to wait before we'll get new RPGs as good as those), and, indeed, for me Fallout 4 is a good game that I've really enjoyed (even with the long and numerous loadings), but The Witcher 3 is simply the best RPG ever made (in my opinion).

Redundant argument forthcoming...

the article should be called Bethesda vs CD Prokject RED game design

At core, what separates RPGs from other games are the choices.

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Hm... so what I thought being strategy, simulation or sandbox games actually are RPGs?

Morrandir said:

Hm… so what I thought being strategy, simulation or sandbox games actually are RPGs?

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Now, now, you are just being facetious

GroNolife said:

I've played and finished both (what a great year !… sadly I don't know how long we'll have to wait before we'll get new RPGs as good as those), and, indeed, for me Fallout 4 is a good game that I've really enjoyed (even with the long and numerous loadings), but The Witcher 3 is simply the best RPG ever made (in my opinion).

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I knew Toff is going to like this.

It's a better question if WH is better than RDR…more clumsy at basics, but a lot more rich and complex in almost everything else, in my opinion. Definitely a great achievement with their first shot at this type of game and I doubt this is the end of their ambition. Rockstar and Betsy will need to put more effort from now on... quests, side characters and main story writing in particular.

As for Fallout IV, I think it gained more than it lost from FO3 and vice versa next to New Vegas.

What's with posting all these inflammatory news posts lately from obscure websites....is this pandering to those here?

Ohhh, they are both good RPGs but different subtypes.

W3 is a strong story based one while F4 is light on meaningful story.

Both have excellent combat and while W3 has better graphics F4s are still good.

Exploration and character development are better in F4.

Lots of people enjoy town building, I do not. Randomly generated quests I'm not a fan of either. I didn't play a single game of Gwent, I'm not much interested in subgames in a single player game.

Its just a matter of which you prefer. For me a strong story to follow almost always wins.

Nothing wrong with liking one over the other or enjoying them both equally.

W3 is better tho.

Rather different games to be comparing but even though I could not get into W3 I would say its the better game overall when looking at graphics, writing, characters, story, atmosphere and the like. I personally prefer FO4 because the one thing that prevented me from enjoying W3 was lack of character freedom. Playing Geralt is even worse than playing Shep in the ME games - at least there you had some wiggle room. Playing Geralt is like any other game where the main character is completely defined for you - and I have never liked any of the games (Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider, etc.). Only games I tend to like are where you can make your own character (with various levels of freedom) and RP them as you like (again more or less depending on the game) with a focus on the fantasy genre.

So I much prefer FO4 to Witcher 3 on a personal level but looking at it in a somewhat objective view point (if that is possible) W3 just seems prettier, more polished, and overall a better game.

The RPG is also tricky as everyone seems to have their own definition of it (and yes some people here have "defined" it but that doesn't mean that definition is right). For me RPG must include the freedom to make my own character and W3 fails 100% in that regard for me. So for me FO4 is the better RPG.

Also W3 does not do what FO4 does and hence have trouble with the concept of even comparing them on any level.

Although both RPGs and both openworlds, they're so different I really don't see how to properly compare them.

Can't go comparing graphics as they'd both lose against Order:1886 which is an eyecandy but also probably the most stupid game of the decade that can run such graphics because it's - QTEfest.
Can't go comparing skills/stats/traits/perks as both game use mechanics of their own and still not nearly as rich as we saw in gems like D:OS.
Comparing main stories would also be rediculous as one presents dark fantasy with character evolution and another is sci fi on the edge of absurd.
etc.

Which one is better RPG?
You want my answer? Neither. I want to micromanage 872536873263856234365734 points and stats and waste hours on my character sheetlist till I'm satisfied (riiiight, like it'd ever happen) what I've put points in. Not possible in any of the two.

Sure, I can say which of those two I liked more, but that's a matter of taste IMO.
We got two fantastic RPGs in 2015. There is no way, if one gets GOTY award somewhere, the other one won't be at the second spot. Unless rigged, okay.
Thus instead of comparing them in between, how about comparing them as a pair of great games with the rest of products that were released this year? How about searching what lacked in other (usually pathetic excuses of) games compared with these two giants?

Hi friends! Your lovable Brumbek here! I haven't finished either because I'm SO SLOW. But my thoughts will silence all opposition I'm sure.

So despite people thinking I love Bethesda, Witcher 3 is quite clearly, beyond a doubt the better RPG. Witcher 3 gives you a believable world, amazing characters, very good quests, fantastic writing with fully developed unique dialects, small and big choices, and GWENT.

Fallout 4 isn't even a proper RPG...yeah I said it. It's an open-world exploration game with a few choices here and there. And it's still super-fun for fans of first-person exploration games. But Witcher 3 is just on another level. Witcher 3 is the most realized, best presented RPG ever made. BOOM.

And graphically...Fallout 4's world detail is so terrible so often. So much ugly models, ugly textures, just ugly. In contrast Witcher 3 is so richly detailed, absolutely everywhere. When making a big world, the devil is in the details and Fallout 4 is just totally lame in that regard.

Now I will scurry back to playing and enjoying both!

PS: Happy holidays to all, even those of you I constantly have to put back in line!

I've put many hours into both and I'm sure I'm echoing a resounding sentiment but Witcher 3 was the better game. Fallout 4 had the better exploration experience, I will give it that.

Eh, I wouldn't give honestly EITHER of them credit for the best rpg...character progression is consistently weakest aspect through all three Witchers, even with the restrictions of the context behind the series.
And Betsy is focusing more on sims aspects than anything else.
Both studios could use more J. Sawyer grognards in their staff.

I haven't played the Witcher 3 either, only the first two, but it's hard for me to call either of the first two great rpgs, for the same reasons others have mentioned. There is very little you can do to really customize Geralt. He is either slightly better in melee, which consists of using his two swords, or slightly better with his limited array of magic or slightly better with crafting, but really he can always do all three. I also have seen games with a lot better cast of supporting characters, but that's just my opinion. Still there is no doubt that they are good games, and have their own unique concept which set them apart from other action and RPG games.

To me Fallout 4 looks and feels like a joke compared to The Witcher 3. You can compare Dragon Age: Inquisition with The Witcher 3, but Fallout 4?! Give me a break.

srabuseen said:

To me Fallout 4 looks and feels like a joke compared to The Witcher 3. You can compare Dragon Age: Inquisition with The Witcher 3, but Fallout 4?! Give me a break.

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I know I shouldn't do this....but why do you say that?

rune_74 said:

I know I shouldn't do this….but why do you say that?

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Because he knows you didn't like TW3 and you think Bethesda can do no wrong. So when he posted it, he wanted to get you all fired up.

CelticFrost said:

Because he knows you didn't like TW3 and you think Bethesda can do no wrong. So when he posted it, he wanted to get you all fired up.

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Weird I own both and like both....I guess that's a bad thing here.

rune_74 said:

Weird I own both and like both….I guess that's a bad thing here.

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I was just playing with you.