The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the all-time best Action Roleplay Games ever made. Don’t believe us? We’re not the only people who think so, and for good reason. A thrilling mix of story and gameplay, if you’re into ARPGs this is a game you don’t want to miss out on. 

There are only a select few games I would put into my S-tier list of games played, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of them. CD Projekt Red, the developers of the game, knocked this one out of the park. I can hardly believe it’s been nearly seven years since the game first hit shelves in early 2015. With over 260 game of the year awards and ranking as the most awarded game of all time until 2021, it’s easy to see why I feel so strongly about the game.  

You play a legendary Witcher named Geralt of Rivia. If you know nothing at all about the games or books, a Witcher is someone that was once human but has been altered by years of magical and physical training coupled with some pretty aggressive genetic mutations. These mutations are possible thanks to a mix of alchemy and magic, but are dangerous and have a low success rate in most subjects. 

Witchers are created with a singular purpose, to slay monsters…for coin. Yep, that’s right. They’re monster-killing mercenaries, and damn good at their jobs with Geralt, in particular, being in a class of his own. 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open-world Action Roleplay Game, where you get to roam freely, complete quests, and progress at your own pace. You join your trusty steed, Roach, in a huge world where you get to choose your own path and make your own destiny. If you ever get bored of the main story or side quests, you can even play an addictively good card game, Gwent,  but that’s another review altogether. 

One piece of advice before Jumping into the Witcher 3 is to not  skip the cut scenes if you can help it. The story plays a huge part in the enjoyment of the game and when you first jump in you might be tempted to get right into the action instead of letting them play out. Resist this temptation and you’ll be surprised by a rich and enjoyable story that plays alongside the deep and enjoyable game. 

My experience with the game

The good

There’s so much to love about this game, it’s quite hard to single out just a few to talk about here. The combat is smooth. You get to learn the basics easily, but there is a complexity to it that takes time to master. The story is deep. Even if you stick to the linear main story, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much enjoyment you get from progressing, gearing up, making impactful choices, and meeting new characters. Speaking of characters, they are deep and complex enough to give you that immersion you’re craving. There’s really just so much to love about this game and my experience is that everyone who likes this genre and picks up the game will find a load of great things to share, and they might not be the same as your own. 

The bad

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. There are small things that do frustrate you the more you get into the game. As much as I love roach, the poor guy sometimes just makes me want to walk him off a cliff. The controls on horseback feel a little clunky, and you find yourself on horseback quite a bit while playing the game. For a loot-lover such as myself, sometimes the looting system does feel a little underwhelming with the rewards you get. I often find myself wishing I had better gear, and getting there is a little grindy. 

The ugly

A game like this has very few major flaws. Some of the flaws are simply subjective in nature even. I, for instance, don’t enjoy vulgar language or overly sexualised female characters and content in games. This being a personal preference, I can subjectively put it into this category for myself, but the same might not be true for you. Other than the subjective issues, there is some debate in the community about leveling progression being a little unbalanced and I tend to agree. You get a disproportionate amount of xp from main quests vs. side quests and this leads to you being pigeon-holed into following the main story if you want to make any real progression. 

Closing

All in all, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one hell of a good game and I have personally gotten hundreds of hours of solid playtime from it. And as I said,  if you’re ever bored with the game, you can always play some Gwent. 

If you feel like this article covered the game well enough, or you’d just like to share some of your thoughts or questions, leave a comment and get engaged. We’d love to hear what you think and we’re sure others would love to too.