Take This (But Not That): Where The Witcher 3 Triumphs And Stumbles
Over the past week, I’ve spent the bulk of my gaming time on The Witcher 3. What can I say? I’m hooked. It provides a wonderfully detailed world to explore, and it’s the first Witcher game to truly win me over. I’m still several dozen hours away from finishing the game, but I’ve already grown attached to what it does well. CD Projekt Red certainly wasn’t the first studio to discover these elements, but they’ve done a great job of implementing them. Here are some things I’m hoping that we see more in a post-Witcher 3 world, as well as a few missteps that should be left by the wayside.
Take This:
Meaningful side missions
I’ve gone on a lot of adventures over the past few decades, and oh brother am I ever tired of collecting pelts, herbs, ore, letters, ears, mittens, yo-yos, kites, or whatever it is that NPCs so desperately need. I get it; they’re almost always rooted to one place, so if they want to pad out their yo-yo collection, they need a little help. I’m just tired of being a volunteer deliveryman. Fetch quests are easier to implement in a game than spending time designing fully formed adventures, but that doesn’t make them interesting.
The Witcher 3 has a critical path (duh!), but 15 or so hours in, the ancillary adventures have been as rewarding as pushing the main story ahead. Sure, the vast majority of NPCs I run into merely spit in my direction (there’s a phlegm epidemic, apparently), but the people who are willing to give Geralt the time of day have made it worth my while. I’ve been methodically doing every side mission I come across, and while I’ve helped bust criminals, right a few past wrongs, and solved a few mysteries, I haven’t had to collect a dozen cockatrice feathers to accomplish any of it.
Hard choices and hard consequences
One of the reasons those side missions have been interesting is that many of them require Geralt to make an on-the-fly decision about what comes next. Take one of those criminals, who appears in an early mission. After confronting an arsonist with evidence of his crime, he offers to pay me off if I let it go. I don’t, and the outcome is surprisingly brutal. I don’t want to harp on the specifics because I’m trying to stay as light on spoilers as possible, but the task didn’t resolve itself the way I’d expected.
Another mission ended with the realization that I’d sided with a world-class racist. That wasn’t my intention (honest!), but looking back on the path that led to that outcome, it made sense in its own twisted way. I’m so used to the “pet the puppy or kick the puppy” style of morality that’s so overused in games that seeing tragic and unsettling outcomes – even when you do your best to avoid them – is refreshing in a way.
A reason to explore
If you make a priority of swinging by the public-notice boards in the towns you visit, your map will quickly fill up with a variety of waypoints, symbols, and other points of interest. They’re great to use as beacons for when you’re looking for a bit of purpose for your wanderings, but I’ve had the best time just aiming in a direction and walking. It’s an experience that Bethesda has incorporated in its Elder Scrolls series for decades, and it works extremely well in The Witcher 3. The gorgeous visuals – including the most spectacular sunrises I’ve seen in games – don’t hurt, either.
One of the reasons I enjoy traveling on foot so much is that it’s a great way to keep your alchemic supplies topped off. Like John Marston in Red Dead Redemption, Geralt can’t resist picking the flowers that he spies along his travels (okay, it could just be me). Geralt’s special witcher vision makes wandering even more lucrative. In addition to highlighting nearby plants, enemies, and the loot they drop, it covers treasure chests with a hard-to-miss glow. It’s invaluable when strolling along waterways. Sure, you could dive down and hope there’s something underwater, but I like being able to get a sense of if I’m wasting my time before I get wet.
Nicely balanced fast travel
What starts off as a nice walk between two small outposts can grow tiresome after the 12th trip. That’s why I’m a fan of The Witcher 3’s fast-travel system. As you roam the world, you encounter signposts. You can interact with them to warp to any other signposts. It’s not an Amazing Innovation by any means, but CD Projekt Red has done a great balancing act here. They’re spaced far enough to where you save considerable time, so you don’t just warp around like a maniac. You still have to do a fair bit of traveling, which is fine by me (see my previous entry, if you forgot already), but it’s not a complete slog. It’s a game-y way to move around, but not so much as being able to teleport anywhere you want by plopping a pin down on a map.
If you want to stay pure, your horse (named Roach) does a nice job of staying on the road. That makes long-distance travel more palatable, since all you have to do is hold down a button or key to have him stick to the path.
Gwent: A game-within-a-game that’s actually pretty fun
People dig Gwent. The card game is a popular pastime for the folks in The Witcher 3 (second only to hocking loogies), and for good reason: It’s simple and fun. Dan Tack did a nice job of detailing the game itself here, so I won’t get into the specifics. I like how there’s almost always a Gwent player in every town or settlement, and that you add onto your deck as you challenge any that you meet. Sure, there’s a financial incentive to play thanks to wagers, but I’m in it for the new cards. I haven’t gotten to it quite yet, but I’m especially looking forward to a quest that focuses on the Gwent championships. Yeah yeah, nerd alert. I know.
Plus it’s a million times less creepy than those cards you earned in the first game for “romancing” women.
That’s not to say that everything’s great in the world of The Witcher 3. Here are a few things that I could do without:
Not That:
Tiny text
Don’t worry, your eyes haven’t suddenly gotten worse. The Witcher 3 features incredibly small text, which is fine when you’re staring at a PC monitor that's within a few feet of your face. I’m not, which means I’ve had to pull up a chair closer to my TV. It’s awful. The development team is aware of the problem, and a console patch will supposedly address the issue – eventually. Right now, it’s still a problem.
Inventory management
There’s a lot of stuff to collect in the world, and my inventory is out of control. Unfortunately, the game’s UI doesn’t seem to be of much help. People love to give Geralt books, notes, and scraps of paper, for example, and they’re all lumped into the same tabbed inventory space as his potions and consumable items. To make matters worse, books float to near the top of that inventory folder, so you have to scroll waaaaaay down to get your potions or change out your food slots. Put ‘em at the bottom or, better still, in their own spot. It’s a relatively minor complaint, but it’s still quite annoying.
Ponytail
I understand that Geralt isn’t a player-created character, but couldn’t they let me choose a haircut in the beginning? Or even a hat? Yes, I know there’s free DLC that adds new hairstyles, but I haven’t encountered a barber yet. Meanwhile, when I’m riding Roach I’m stuck looking at what appears to be a double-stacked horse butt. Nope.
Get me outta the drink!
Did I mention that I love to explore? It’s true! Geralt is great in the water – he’s a strong swimmer who can hold his breath for long periods of time. The problem is, he’s not super great at getting out. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to swim hundreds of yards up and down a shoreline looking for a way to get back on dry land. Unless there’s a nicely contoured stone ramp close by, Geralt can have a tough time getting out. Apparently his memory of how to climb isn’t waterproof.
This haircut
OK, it could be worse. Much, much worse. Carry on.