What Made Witcher 3 So Great?

In the year 2015 of May 18, Witcher 3 was released onto the world and the gaming world was set on fire. Not in a bad way like CD Projekt Red’s next project, Cyberpunk 2077. But more in a good way. Critics went to praise the game left, right, and center as the next big thing in gaming, calling CD Projekt Red the best developers of the decade for releasing such an incredible masterpiece.

Well, I guess not anymore.

Despite Cyberpunk 2077’s disastrous launch, many still believed in CD Projekt Red. Whether it’s because they have blind loyalty to a company because they made three good games, or maybe because Cyberpunk 2077 was just a bad blip in an otherwise impressive track record. We will never know.

But that brings us to the original question: What made Witcher 3 so great?

If you ask the Witcher community, you will get a lot of different answers. They will tell you because they love the characters, the story, the lore, the combat, the dialogue options, the voice acting, the world, the freedom it gives you etc. All of which are all valid, as people all have differing opinions on what makes a game great, and Witcher 3 is no exception to that.

2015’s father and daughter duo.

I personally enjoyed the story and the characters in the game. The Witcher 3 is the ending of a story that started in October 26, 2007 with the release of the first Witcher game. If you have played the franchise from the beginning, then you will share my sentiment. That carries over to Witcher 3 still, which I personally view as the franchise’s strongest suit.

While the game features an incredible story, it also bolsters an equally incredible dialogue mechanic. In RPG’s, you usually have the standardized “good choice, bad choice” indicator that lets you know which path this dialogue option will take you to. Good choice means being a good boy, bad choice means being a bad boy.

As you continue to go one path, you will eventually reach one of the endings you can get, whether it’s the good or evil ending. In the Witcher 3, there are different endings you can get, but depending on how you play the game, there will be multiple variations of the ending you receive.

The way you interact with the open world and its inhabitants affects the future of your game. Side quests are sometimes never just side quests. Sometimes, they affect the main story of the game, which is such a great way to incorporate the usual optional nature of side quests into the ever changing narrative of the game.

Happy family.

Each character is also all incredibly well acted and written. As someone who has done a bit of theater and filming (and wanting to delve into some voice acting), the level of talent that this cast has is astronomical, something that even The Witcher Netflix series can’t seem to capture (aside from Henry Cavill and Joey Batey).

While these characters are all incredibly loved, there are also some that you want to stick a sword in their mouth in order for them to be quiet and never talk again. But again, that also speaks to the level of talent from both the voice actors and the writers. Being able to elicit any emotion out of the player, whether it’s good or bad, speaks to the hard work and effort put into making this game.

While I do have some problems with the game (mainly the movement and combat), it does not take away from my wonderful experience playing The Witcher 3. Is it a bit overhyped? Personally, I think so. But does that mean it isn’t a great game?  Definitely not.

With the free update coming in next week, I definitely am excited to experience the world of The Witcher 3 again with newly enhanced graphics and a much more polished version of the game. I also look forward to the other Witcher games that CD Projekt Red announced, because I for one can’t get enough of The Witcher lore.

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