The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Developer(s)	CD Projekt RED
Publisher(s)	CD Projekt
Distributor(s)
Director(s)	Konrad Tomaszkiewicz Mateusz Kanik Sebastian Stępień
Producer(s)	Piotr Krzywonosiuk Jędrzej Mróz
Designer(s)	Grzegorz Mocarski
Artist(s)	Marian Chomiak
Writer(s)	Marcin Blacha Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz
Composer(s)	Marcin Przybyłowicz Mikolai Stroinski Percival
Series	The Witcher
Engine	REDengine 3
Platforms	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a open world action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt RED. Announced in February 2013, it was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 19 May 2015. The game is the third in the series, preceded by The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which are based on the series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.

Played in a third-person perspective, players control protagonist Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a witcher, who sets out on a long journey through the Northern Kingdoms. In the game, players battle against the world's many dangers using swords and magic, while interacting with non-player characters and completing side quests and main missions to progress through the story. The game was met with critical acclaim and was a financial success, selling over 6 million copies in six weeks. The game won multiple Game of the Year awards from various gaming publications, critics, and game award shows, including the Golden Joystick Awards, The Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, and SXSW Gaming Awards.

Gameplay

Video of gameplay

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is more than 30 times larger than previous Witcher games, requiring players to sail by boat to some locations and ride on horseback to others. However, fast traveling to already visited locations is also possible. The open world in The Witcher 3 was described as "20% bigger than Skyrim". Many actions the player performs affect the world, with many of the quests having a number of options on how to complete them, and differing outcomes. CD Projekt RED anticipated approximately 100 hours for the completion of the game, 50 of them belonging to side quests, and 50 belonging to the main story.

While similar to the previous Witcher games, Wild Hunt improved on several aspects from past games. Combat revolves around an action role-playing game system alongside the use of magic. The fighting system from previous games was significantly revamped. Wild Hunt introduces some new mechanics, such as the ability to sense nearby objectives, people and resources ("witcher sense"), combat on horseback and at sea, swimming underwater and the use of a crossbow. Additionally, Geralt can jump, climb, and vault over smaller obstacles. The climbing mechanics were described as "not exactly" like Assassin's Creed, but "similar to what we have in Uncharted". Item creation and potion brewing still remain as in previous games, but were modified from The Witcher 2 to be more forgiving. Traps from The Witcher 2 were entirely omitted. The same five Witcher signs returned but slightly modified, with each one having an alternative form that can be used.

The game features responsive, advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and dynamic environments. The day and night cycle influences some monsters and their powers, similar to the common mythological motif of a werewolf gaining powers during the night of a full moon. The game also features a dynamic beard growth system, in which the beard of the playable character Geralt grows as he spends time in the world. Ciri, an exceptional sword fighter with mythical powers from the Witcher novels, is a playable character in the game. Gwent is an in-game collectible card game, which replaces the dice games from the previous two Witcher titles.

Plot

Setting

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt concludes the story of the witcher Geralt of Rivia, whose story to date has been covered in the previous titles. Continuing from The Witcher 2, Geralt seeks to move on with his own life, embarking on a new and personal mission while the world order itself is coming to a change.

The game features several locations such as the free city of Novigrad, the swamps and battlefields of Velen, the Skellige Isles, and two of the Nilfgaardian Empire's recently conquered territories: the village of White Orchard, and the Royal Palace in Vizima. The witcher school Kaer Morhen, known in the novels and first The Witcher game, also appears.

Story

The game begins with Geralt of Rivia searching for his lover, the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg, with Vesemir, a senior witcher. Yennefer had previously tried to get in contact with Geralt, but was forced to flee in order to avoid the fighting between the warring powers of Nilfgaard and Redania.

However, it is Yennefer who ultimately finds Geralt. Accompanied by a Nilfgaardian guard, Yennefer informs Geralt that Emhyr var Emreis, the emperor of Nilfgaard, has summoned Geralt for an audience in Vizima, the former capital of the recently conquered nation of Temeria. In Vizima, Emhyr tasks Geralt with finding Ciri, the emperor's biological daughter and Geralt's adoptive ward. Ciri is a Child of the Elder Blood, the last heir to an ancient Elven bloodline that bestows her with the power to manipulate space and time. She is on the run from the Wild Hunt, a retinue of spectral elves determined to capture Ciri and use her abilities for their own malicious purposes. Geralt agrees to search for her, but only for her benefit. Geralt begins his search by attempting to contact a Nilfgaardian spy in Velen.

The Wild Hunt reaches the spy before Geralt, torturing him to death. Geralt manages to recover the spy's notes, which indicate that Ciri sought refuge in Crow's Perch, the fort of Velen's self-appointed ruler known as the Bloody Baron. The Baron refuses to help Geralt find Ciri until the witcher locates and returns the Baron's missing wife and daughter. Geralt quickly discovers that the Baron's wife and daughter are missing of their own volition, driven away by the Baron's abuse and alcoholism. Geralt learns that the Baron's daughter fled to the city of Oxenfurt, but her mother's trail goes cold.

Without further clues, Geralt turns to the second lead from the spy's notes, which leads him to an old acquaintance, the sorceress Keira Metz. Keira informs Geralt that a mysterious Elven mage had been searching for Ciri and after investigating the mage's laboratory with Geralt, Keira directs him to the Crones of Crookback Bog, ancient spirits that assert dominion over Velen. The Crones order Geralt to destroy the Whispering Hillock, a rival spirit in the area, in exchange for information about Ciri. After dealing with the Hillock, the Crones reveal that they had captured Ciri to deliver her to the Wild Hunt. Geralt vows to kill the Crones, but not before realizing that they have enslaved Anna Strenger, the Baron's missing wife. Returning to Crow's Perch, the Baron reveals that following Ciri's stay with him, she made for Novigrad. The Baron then sets off to rescue Anna. If Geralt killed the Whispering Hillock, as the Crones commanded, the Baron manages to save Anna and vows to find a healer to restore her devastated mind. If Geralt released the Whispering Hillock, the Crones curse Anna, eventually killing her. The Baron subsequently hangs himself.

Arriving in Novigrad, Geralt discovers that the Church of the Eternal Fire, a militant religious organization patronized by Redanian King Radovid, is carrying out a pogrom against mages in the city. Rendezvousing with Triss Merigold, his former love interest, Geralt learns that finding Ciri hinges on finding Dandelion, an old friend with whom she had made contact. This leads Geralt to navigate a web of complicated entangling alliances within Novigrad's criminal underworld, chiefly between Sigismund Dijkstra, former head of Redania's spy network, and Whoreson Junior, a sadistic crime lord. After a complicated series of events, Geralt finally finds and rescues Dandelion, only to discover that Ciri teleported to the archipelago of Skellige. While in Novigrad, Geralt may assist Triss in spiriting away fugitive mages (which can lead to a romance with her), and may begin plotting the assassination of King Radovid with Dijkstra, along with former associates and Temerian loyalists Vernon Roche, Ves, and Thaler.

After sailing to Skellige, Geralt meets with Yennefer, who has been investigating a magical explosion in an area which she believes is linked to Ciri. The two attend the funeral of King Bran, Skellige's ruler, to discover that the island nation is caught in a conflict of succession as Bran's son Svanrige is in conflict with Cerys and Hjalmar, the children of a powerful nobleman, for the throne. At the wake, Geralt and Yennefer steal The Mask of Uroboros from the druid Ermion, which can be used to see visions of the past. Yennefer has Geralt use the mask in the area of the explosion, leading them to discover Ciri traveled to the island of Lofoten. The pair travel to Lofoten only to discover that the Wild Hunt attacked the village; Ciri was able to escape with the aid of a man named Skjall, who was subsequently renamed "Craven", banished from the village for cowardice, and later died trying to redeem himself. Finding his body, Yennefer uses necromancy to get information from him about Ciri. After saving her from the Hunt, Skjall witnessed a deformed, baby-like creature wandering Skellige's shores. Summing up the clues, Geralt determines that the creature Skjall witnessed was Uma, a cursed being he had previously seen wandering the halls of Crow's Perch. Returning from Lofoten, Yennefer tests her love with Geralt by severing a magical bond (granted by a djinn) that she shares with him. Geralt can then affirm his love for her, or end their relationship. Before leaving Skellige, Geralt also intercedes in the crisis of succession, determining whether Hjalmar, Cerys, or Svanrige ascend to Skellige's throne.

The pair retrieve Uma from Crow's Perch, and present him to Emhyr in Vizima. Discovering that lifting the curse on Uma may hold the key to finding Ciri, the trio decide to take him to Kaer Morhen, an abandoned witcher school. There Yennefer and fellow witchers lift the curse on Uma, who reveals himself to be Avallac'h, Ciri's Elven companion. Avallac'h reveals that following the attack on Lofoten, he teleported Ciri to the abandoned Isle of Mists for her own safety. Geralt resolves to rescue Ciri and return her to Kaer Morhen, but realizes doing this would attract the Wild Hunt. After assembling a small group of companions at Kaer Morhen in preparation for the coming battle, he travels to the Isle of Mists. Although he finds Ciri in a deathlike state, a magical firefly (provided to Geralt by Avallac'h) awakens her. Ciri reveals why the Wild Hunt wants her power: Eredin, the King of the Wild Hunt, has his own world being destroyed by a plight known as the White Frost, and is determined to use Ciri's power to conquer a new world. Ciri teleports Geralt to Kaer Morhen while the Hunt trail them. After a brief reunion with Yennefer, Triss, and Vesemir, the Hunt attacks. During the battle, Vesemir is killed by Imlerith, a Wild Hunt general, trying to protect Ciri. Distraught, she releases an uncontrollable power, causing Eredin and the Hunt to retreat; Avallac'h then casts a spell rendering Ciri docile. Geralt, Yennefer, Triss, Ciri, and the other allies, then hold a funeral for Vesemir.

Seeking revenge, Ciri and Geralt travel to Velen and kill both Imlerith and two of the three Crones of Crookback Bog. Emboldened by these victories, Geralt and Ciri travel to Novigrad and help Triss and Yennefer reform the Lodge of Sorceresses to aid in their fight against the Wild Hunt. They also learn about the Sunstone, found on Skellige, that can lure Eredin out and trap him into a location. Geralt may follow through with the assassination of King Radovid; afterwards he must side with Vernon Roche or Djikstra on future political plans, resulting in the death of whoever he does not side with. In Skellige, Geralt finds the Sunstone with the help of Phillipa Eilhart, the sorceress who struck the killing blow on Radovid.

Making their attack on Eredin in the Skelligan isle of Undvik, Avallac'h uses the Sunstone, which draws the Hunt and their fleet out. Geralt and his allies, along with the Nilfgaardian fleet, attempt to defeat them. Geralt defeats Caranthir, the Hunt's navigator, and moves on to face off against Eredin in a fight and emerges victorious. However, the White Frost begins to descend on Skellige. Ciri insists that only her Elder Blood can stop the White Frost before it consumes all life on every world. Ciri goes through a portal and confronts the White Frost, ending the threat.

The epilogue of the game varies according to the choices the player made in the game. Concerning Ciri specifically, there are three possible outcomes: if Geralt presented her to Emperor Emhyr, the assassination of Radovid is carried out, and subsequently sided with Roche, then Ciri will accept the throne of Nilfgaard, reasoning that she could do more good for the world as an empress than as a vagrant monster-hunter; if Geralt did not present her, then Geralt and Ciri fake her death, and Ciri becomes a witcher like Geralt; if Ciri died stopping the White Frost, then Geralt hunts down the last Crone to recover Vesemir's medallion, his only memento of Ciri. This ending ends with monsters swarming the house Geralt finds the medallion in, with his fate left ambiguous.

Hearts of Stone

Geralt takes up a contract sent out by Olgierd von Everec, who tasks him with eliminating a giant toad monster in the sewers of Oxenfurt. While hunting the monster, Geralt runs into Shani, a Redanian medic and an old acquaintance of his, whom he has the option of romancing. Geralt then kills the toad monster, only to find it was actually a cursed Ofieri prince. The prince's guards capture Geralt with the intention of executing him. While awaiting his execution en route to Ofier, Geralt is approached by the mysterious Gaunter O'Dimm. Gaunter helps Geralt escape, but in return Geralt must help Gaunter recover a debt from Olgierd, who had set up Geralt knowing the toad monster was an Ofieri prince. Gaunter tells Geralt that according to terms of his contract with Olgierd, he must fulfill three of Olgierd's wishes. Geralt confronts Olgierd and discovers that Olgierd had obtained immortality at the cost of his emotions, giving him a "Heart of Stone". He admits to cursing the Ofieri prince since he was arranged to marry his true love Iris, and that he wished for immortality in order to be with her. He then tells Geralt his three wishes: to entertain his brother Vlodomir for one night, to get revenge on the Borsodi family by obtaining Maximillian Borsodi's house, and to obtain the violet rose he had given to Iris. Gaunter tells Geralt that the three tasks are meant to be impossible, as Maximillian Borsodi's house is kept in a highly secure vault and both Vlodomir and Iris have been dead for years, but he agrees to assist Geralt.

With Gaunter's help, Geralt allows Vlodimir's spirit to possess his body for one night, allowing him to attend a wedding party and fulfilling the first wish. Geralt then participates in a heist to steal Maximillian Borsodi's house from its vault, and finds that it contains a will that would grant the entire Borsodi fortune to charity, fulfilling Olgierd's revenge and second wish. To obtain Iris' rose, Geralt enlists the help of demonic entities to gain access to a supernatural realm where he witnesses Olgierd and Iris' past. There, he learns that due to his "Heart of Stone", Olgierd could not truly love Iris and she died neglected and unhappy. Geralt, on player's choice can either obtain the rose from Iris' spirit in order to free her from "pinned" into the world or let the rose be with her. Either way, Geralt fulfills Olgierd's last wish and goes to meet with him. Along the way, he learns that Gaunter is in fact an ancient entity of pure evil that thrives off tricking people into trading away their souls in return for wishes. When Geralt meets with Olgierd, the three wishes are fulfilled and Gaunter arrives to collect Olgierd's soul.

At this point, Geralt has the option of allowing Gaunter to take Olgierd's soul or intervening to save Olgierd. If Geralt does nothing, Gaunter kills Olgierd, takes his soul, and rewards Geralt with one wish. If Geralt intervenes, he challenges Gaunter by wagering his own soul to save Olgierd. After Geralt solves Gaunter's riddle, Gaunter is forced to release both Geralt and Olgierd from their pacts. Olgierd, now mortal again, regains his emotions and immediately feels regret for his past actions and mistakes. He gives Geralt his family sword, and promises to start a new life free from Gaunter's control.

Development

The developers on creating the game's world

The game was officially announced on 4 February 2013 via Game Informer, with a 2014 release on PC and "all high-end platforms available". The latter was then clarified to mean the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 21 February 2013 and 10 June 2013 respectively. According to the official information from Microsoft, The Witcher 3 was originally not going to be available on the Xbox One in Poland, the country in which the game's development process took place. However, this was changed as regional restrictions were later entirely removed from the Xbox One. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was developed over the course of three and a half years, with a total of 240 in-house staff working on it. Majority of the staff were Polish, while 1,500 people were also involved in the game's production globally.

On 11 March 2014, it was announced that the game's release date was delayed from Autumn 2014 to February 2015. According to an official statement released by the development team, they had successfully created "a story that flows naturally, cinematically, rendered it in amazing sound and visuals, while preserving full freedom of choice" - suggesting that the core game and its main story were practically finished. However, the statement then goes on to cite the main reason for the delay was manual fine-tuning of many details and thorough testing of the final product to bring it up to the desired standard of quality. On 8 December 2014, the developer officially informed about postponing the release date to 19 May 2015.

On 7 April 2015, CD Projekt RED announced two expansion packs for the game, titled Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Hearts of Stone was released on 13 October 2015, while Blood and Wine was released on 31 May 2016. On 16 April 2015, CD Projekt RED confirmed that the game had been declared gold, indicating it was being prepared for duplication and release.

The development budget for the game was 306 million Polish złoty.

Game engine

See also: REDengine

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features the REDengine 3 game engine, developed by CD Projekt RED and designed specifically for nonlinear role-playing video games set in vast open world environments. It is supposed to help eliminate many of the game development trade-offs previous developers faced, allowing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developers to create "an open environment with a complex, multi-thread story". CD Projekt RED has integrated the Umbra 3 Visibility Solution into its engine to handle occlusion culling. Engineers from Umbra and CDP demonstrated the use of the technology at the Game Developers Conference 2014. As in the previous two Witcher games, players are presented with a complex story featuring multiple choices bearing associated consequences. But REDengine 3 allows for a complex story line without sacrificing the design of the virtual world.

Release

Unboxing video

On 21 May 2015, CD Projekt RED released patch 1.03 for the PC, bringing a number of changes including new graphics options and general stability and performance improvements.

Expansion packs

On 7 April 2015, CD Projekt RED announced two expansion packs for the game titled Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Hearts of Stone was released on 13 October 2015, and Blood and Wine was released on 31 May 2016.

The first expansion, Hearts of Stone, follows Geralt coming in contact with a mysterious entity known as the Man of Glass and an immortal man named Olgierd. The expansion was met with critical acclaim, scoring a 9/10 across media outlets IGN and GameSpot. The second expansion, Blood and Wine, follows Geralt as he travels to Toussaint, a remote Nilfgaardian duchy untouched by war, as he hopes to track down a mysterious beast terrorizing the region. The second expansion was also met with critical acclaim, scoring a 9/10 from IGN and 8/10 from GameSpot.

Reception

Pre-release

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt won several awards at E3 in both 2013 and 2014. The title was voted as 'best role-playing game' at the Best of E3 Awards conducted by IGN consecutively in 2013 and 2014. Furthermore, it won IGN's E3 People's Choice Award in 2013 and 2014, and won GameSpot's E3 People's Choice Award in 2014, as well as the Most Wanted Award in the 31st and 32nd Golden Joystick Award. It also won the Most Anticipated Game award during The Game Awards 2014 in Las Vegas.

Post-release

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic (PC) 93/100 (PS4) 92/100 (XONE) 91/100 Review scores Publication Score Destructoid 8/10 Edge 8/10 Game Informer 9.75/10 Game Revolution GameSpot 10/10 GamesRadar GameTrailers 9.8/10 IGN 9.3/10 OPM (US) OPM (UK) OXM PC Gamer (US) 92/100 Polygon 8/10 VideoGamer.com 9/10 AusGamers 10/10 New York Daily News Digital Trends The Daily Telegraph

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received critical acclaim. Aggregating review website Metacritic has the Microsoft Windows version at 93/100 based on 32 reviews, the PlayStation 4 version 92/100 based on 79 reviews, and the Xbox One version 91/100 based on 12 reviews.

GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd awarded it a score of 10 out of 10, making The Witcher 3 the ninth game ever to have received a perfect score from GameSpot. He described the exploration, enemy-design, and the character progression as "excellent". He also praised the rich content featured, the extensive armor and weapon customization and potions system, and the game for making gameplay choices meaningful and intriguing. He also praised the well-crafted open-world, which he stated "finds a nigh-perfect sense of balance between giving you things to do and allowing its spaces to breathe", as well as the combat for being satisfying and easier than The Witcher 2. He summarized the review by calling the game "one of the best role-playing games ever crafted". Erik Kain of Forbes had similar praise, with him calling it "one of the greatest open-world games" he had ever played.

Daniel Bloodworth from GameTrailers gave the game a near-perfect score of 9.8/10. While he shared similar thoughts on the design of enemies, he praised the game's extensive and mature story, and he stated that it "intertwined with the original books" the most among all the entries. The rewarding combat, as well as the stunning environments, meaningful consequences and missions, along with the sense of discovery and connection delivered and the distant characters were also strongly praised. In addition, he praised the details featured in the game, such as the gestures, the volume of speaking, and the facial animation of characters. He summarized the game by calling it "a thoughtful, diverse, and frequently awe-inspiring adventure".

IGN's Vince Ingenito awarded the game a score of 9.3 out of 10, praising its authentic environment, dynamic weather and day/night cycle, decent voice-acting, well-crafted dialogue, interesting characters, complex character progression, diverse equipment and flexible skill system. However, he criticized the game's over-emphasis on fetch quest, and the story for being too long and for not being as fulfilling as the other aspects of the game. However, he summarized the review by saying that "The Witcher 3 ends Geralt's story on a high note."

Writing for Game Informer, Kimberley Wallace considered the game the most ambitious and accessible entry in the series. She praised the immersive game-world, intriguing narrative, varied landscape and environments, improved user interface, as well as the side-missions for delivering unexpected content, and the responsive and challenging combat, which requires players to employ strategy. However, she criticized some minor issues, such as the game's long loading times, weapon degradation, and the disappointing fast-travel options.

In contrast, Chris Carter from Destructoid, despite calling the combat "action-packed", stated that it discourages strategy. Furthermore, he criticized the repetitive witcher sense and the occasional frame-rate issues and bugs. Tom Senior from GamesRadar also criticized the bugs included in the review build of the game, as he thought that such issues had significantly hindered the combat and the cut-scenes of the game. In addition, he called the combat "inconsistent" and "frustrating".

Sales

Prior to release, over 1.5 million people pre-ordered the game. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt debuted at No. 1 in the UK software sales chart in its first launch week and the income grossed by the game is 600% higher than predecessor The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. It was also the best-selling video game in the UK in 2015 as of 26 May 2015, breaking the record previously held by Battlefield Hardline. It debuted at #1 on the Japan video game sales charts, selling 67,385 copies during its first week. Four million copies of the game were sold two weeks after its launch. By June 2015, over 690,000 players activated copies of the game through GOG Galaxy. The game sold over 6 million copies in the six weeks following its launch. Those sales drove the studio to make a profit of 236 million Polish złoty ($62.5 million USD) in the first half of 2015. In March 2016, developer CD Projekt Red reported that the game has shipped nearly 10 million copies worldwide.

Awards

The developers accepting the Game of the Year award at the 2016 Game Developers Choice Awards

Main article: List of accolades received by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received critical acclaim even before its release. The game garnered over 200 awards for its previews at E3, Gamescom, and other video game industry events. The total number of awards accumulated by the game surpassed 800, including over 250 Game of the Year awards.

Among all the accolades received by the game are from several different events, including the Golden Joystick Awards, The Game Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, and SXSW Gaming Awards. The game received acclaim in many different categories - gameplay design, visual design, sound design etc. The Witcher 3 was recognized as Game of the Year by IGN, GameSpot, Game Informer and many other gaming publications. The game received a Golden Joystick Award for Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design and Best Gaming Moment as well as The Game Awards for Best Role-Playing Game and Studio of the Year for CD Projekt RED. It also won Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, Outstanding Technical Achievement and Outstanding Achievement in Story at D.I.C.E. Awards, and won the Game of the Year and Best Technology awards at the 16th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards.

References

Notes

Footnotes