Martin JørgensenRPGs these days have surpassed nearly every expectation for the genre. Over time, stories and plots have improved, and the various mechanics have been tweaked and tuned to perfection. This winning combination delivers deep immersion and pure enjoyment.
An example of an open-world RPG series that has evolved this way over the years is The Witcher. With its latest installment, 3, the game has reached new heights and set a bar for future RPGs that will be hard to beat.
A breathless, gripping story
The Witcher series originally began as a set of novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, and later, CD Projekt Red adapted the universe for games. Before long, a TV series would also arrive. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt even won Game of the Year in 2015.
But what kind of world are we stepping into? What should you expect? The Witcher is known for having one of the most compelling worlds in dark fantasy. The universe blends classic dungeons and dragons tematik with the brutal reality of the Middle Ages. A bit like Game of Thrones, not just anyone has special powers or can wield magic, and those who can must often find their place in a grim, chaotic world.
You play as Geralt of Rivia, a renowned Witcher known for his courage, cunning, and skills. A Witcher is essentially a monster hunter who dedicates his life to selling his services to people plagued by deadly creatures—assuming they can pay.
What makes Witchers special is both their upbringing and their biology. Witchers are typically orphans taken in by the Witcher order. They are then mutated to heighten their senses and combat prowess. For example, they gain cat-like eyes that let them see details normal people can’t.
One day, Geralt senses that Ciri, a young Witcher to whom he has a father-daughter bond, is in danger. She’s being pursued by “The Wild Hunt,” a mysterious faction of powerful beings whose purpose isn’t clear at the beginning of the game.
Geralt begins searching for Ciri after she vanished years earlier. As Geralt follows her trail, you’ll explore many fascinating regions such as Velen, Oxenfurt, and White Orchard. Each area has its own identity, yet they all hold clues to Ciri’s whereabouts—and populations suffering from war, political strife, and monsters.
The story is expanded through a series of DLCs you can purchase to supplement the game. These include Blood and Wine, Hearts of Stone, and many more.
The Witcher 3’s fantastic gameplay
The Witcher 3 is one of those RPGs that lets you play almost any way you want. Like most RPGs, progression is based on levels and skill points you can spend to change how you play and what Geralt can do.
Each level you gain earns a skill point you can place in different “trees,” each touching different aspects of the game.
For example, a Witcher is also a skilled alchemist and can brew potions that give the edge in dangerous situations. But to craft the best potions, you’ll want to invest skill points into the Alchemy tree.
If you prefer charging in with weapons and dealing exceptional damage, you can go down the Combat tree, which unlocks special, effective attack combos and enhances your basic strikes.
Beyond these two, there are several other trees where you can spend points to improve practical aspects of your adventure.
A Witcher can also wield limited magic through what are called “Signs.” There are several of them, each making combat easier and sometimes essential when facing powerful monsters—and there’s a dedicated skill tree for them too.
To gain levels—and thus skill points—you’ll venture out to complete main quests and side quests. Main quests move you closer to Ciri and drive the central story you must finish to complete the game. Side quests are more about local concerns. For instance, you might help a weeping woman who hasn’t seen her husband in days; typically, something has gone terribly wrong. Side quests reward you with armor, money, and other useful items for your journey.
Beyond main and side quests, there are also “points of interest” on the map. These locations hide treasure or enemies you can defeat to earn rewards and learn more about each region’s history and condition.
Perfect if you love sinking weeks into a single game
The Witcher 3 is a game a bit like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim in terms of how much time you can spend before you’ve seen and done everything. Some would even say it’s impossible. You can easily spend 100 hours or more and still be only about halfway.
After you’ve cleared the main story, there are, of course, all the DLCs to work through—there’s a couple more days right there. And then what?
Because there are so many ways to play The Witcher 3 (with different character builds and dialogue choices that change the story), the replay value is huge. Don’t be surprised if you want to start over just to see how a magic-heavy Geralt compares to a pure melee build.
If you’ve got plenty of free time or a vacation to burn, this is the game for you.
A unique, dark fantasy universe
At times, it’s hard to separate The Witcher series from outright horror. In many ways, the game is designet til at være mørkt, skræmmende and everything that follows. It’s a compelling and stærk blanding mellem den traditionelle fantasy and brutal medieval realism, colliding beautifully to create a dark, depressing, and hopeless world.
A world where nothing good comes free, and everyone is plagued by something that could ultimately cost them their life. You can role-play a Witcher through this cynical lens, but you can also choose to be a white knight in shining armor. It all comes down to your dialogue choices and what you want to achieve in this world.
Stunning graphics and a slick UI that impress in The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt can proudly claim to be one of the most beautiful games in video game history to date, despite already being over four years old. That’s nothing to scoff at.
The game’s Polish medieval aesthetic comes vividly to life through incredibly detailed graphics—a sunrise over Novigrad feels authentic, melancholic, and beautiful all at once. The budget clearly shows.
Sonically, the world is filled with atmospheric sound effects that make a city feel alive, or a dark forest feel like somewhere you probably shouldn’t be. The music is also incredibly fitting, helping build the perfect mood. Expect an emotional roller coaster every time you play.
The game’s UI is also extremely well thought out, making it easy and intuitive to manage your inventory, skill points, and character build.
The combat system is engaging, encouraging different mouse-button combinations to trigger special attacks that deal more damage. These can also be unlocked with skill points.
Alternative games
As the name suggests, The Witcher 3 is the third and final game in The Witcher series (trademark of CD Projekt Red). It’s worth playing the other two entries to fully understand where you are in the story when you start 3. It’s not strictly necessary, but it’s a good idea.
The earlier games haven’t aged especially well, but both still offer interesting moments, and it’s not hard to enjoy them.
The Witcher 1 marks the start of Geralt’s adventures.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings kicks off a confusing affair in which Geralt was mysteriously involved in the murder of his own king, Foltest.
The Witcher 3 is an action-packed RPG
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is everything an action-packed RPG should be—and then some. It’s hard to find real faults, because every aspect is so well-crafted and fun to explore. We can’t recommend it highly enough.
Buy and download The Witcher 3 here.
Download The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
