The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final part of the trilogy of adventures starring Geralt of Rivia. In 2022, all owners received a free next-gen upgrade to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition , the most complete edition of The Witcher 3, which includes all expansions, add-ons The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine and The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone, as well as many graphical improvements.

The events of the third game begin a short time after the ending of the second. Nilfgaard has successfully conquered Temeria and plans to take control of the rest of the Northern lands. Meanwhile, the famous witcher Geralt and his wise mentor Vesemir pick up the trail of the missing sorceress Yennefer, the White Wolf’s longtime love. You can look forward to an adventure-filled game world, a brilliant story, an excellent combat system, stunning graphics, non-linearity, multiple endings, and the cozy atmosphere of the Slavic Middle Ages.

The role-playing game set in the vast fantasy world of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 19, 2015. It is the sequel to The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings , and concludes the trilogy about Geralt of Rivia.

With the release of Witcher 3, CD Projekt set new standards for the genre and earned worldwide recognition and the love of fans. Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher novel series, advised the developers during the game's creation.

The studio's REDengine 3 delivers high-quality graphics across platforms and dynamic weather changes. For the first time in the series, the main characters were created with high-polygon models, alongside detailed monster models and animations. Nvidia technologies were used to create the grass, shadows, hair, fur, and fabric.

Witcher 3 is the first game in the series with a fully open world. It takes place in the Northern Kingdoms during the Nilfgaardian Empire's third invasion. The Witcher 3 game world is 30 times larger than that of Witcher 2. Players can travel on horseback, riding Roach.

The world is divided into regions with different landscapes and levels of development, inhabited by various peoples. There are 15 full-fledged states and more than 20 principalities and free cities, which will unite to fight back or be conquered, depending on the player's actions. The design of the settlements is reminiscent of medieval Eastern Europe, though some buildings are Scandinavian in style.

The rest of the game world offers entire mountains and valleys, fields and forests, rivers and lakes, caves and underground chambers to explore. There are swamps and “places of ill omen,” where monsters usually lurk. The Witcher 3 bestiary is extremely diverse: players will encounter not only bandits and wild animals, but also vampires, ghosts, ogres, earth elementals, griffins, succubi, and other monsters.

The game world is filled with all kinds of events, both random and planned. It is designed to feel as realistic as possible, making it interesting to explore.

The Wild Hunt is more than just the game’s title. It is a band of elite ghostly riders from another dimension: a dying world of elves who are trying to move to the human world. They are led by the elven king Eredin, who is willing to open a portal at any cost. To do so, he kidnaps people who can lead him to Ciri. The antagonist has no idea that Geralt is his equal in strength and cunning.

At the same time, the Nilfgaardian Empire is swallowing up the Northern Kingdoms one by one. Players can choose a side in the conflict and help shape the game world’s politics by taking part in battles and sieges. Meanwhile, Emperor Emhyr orders Geralt to find and save Ciri.

Unlike in other role-playing games, Witcher 3 lets players turn down side quests. Events will unfold whether or not Geralt takes part in them. Each story quest offers several possible paths, which affect the game’s ending. The writers put great care into the story and dialogue and added many cutscenes.

The side quests set a high standard, as most are well developed and very different from standard open-world “kill” and “fetch” quests. The main story can be completed quickly in 40 hours, or as expected in 50. Exploring the game world and completing side quests will take just as long.

The combat system has been completely redesigned so Geralt can fight many enemies at once. There is no system of linked attacks or combos. Players simply need to time their attacks, block and counterattack, dodge, and take cover. The mechanics of the silver and steel swords remain unchanged, but there are new alternatives: bombs and a crossbow.

The system of five magical signs has been improved, and they can now be used both in combat and in everyday life. Quests often require you to use Witcher Senses and interact with the game world. Beasts and monsters have strengths and weaknesses; you need to know their weaknesses to defeat them quickly.

Alchemy is more complex, but drinking potions gives Geralt special abilities, boosts his stats, or increases his damage against certain enemies. The character’s maximum level is 70, but this varies depending on the game’s difficulty. As before, Geralt can improve his talents by choosing a specialization and the skills that go with it.