I just finished B&W. Overall, I really liked it. I do think there are some flaws--which I will mention below--but it is extremely good overall.
First, the pros:
- Toussaint itself is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen in a video game. It really is a work of art. Skellige is pretty. Novigrad is a well-done city. And Velen is atmospheric, though it is purposely not really beautiful. But Toussaint is on a completely different level in terms of beauty and art work, in my opinion (I fully recognize others might very well prefer other environments in the game, though).
- And, for a DLC, B&W is absolutely enormous. This truly could have been a standalone game. There's a lot of content and the content is good.
- I also thought it added some very interesting character build options. Specifically, mutations are a nice addition. Yes, some are pretty OP, but they're fun. Grandmaster set bonuses are cool too. And extra skill slots are nice. B&W undoubtedly was better in terms of character build options than Hearts of Stone was, as that only had the runewords, which weren't all that consequential.
Now for the cons:
- In terms of story and emotional impact, it's not bad (in fact, by the standards of other games, it's absolutely great), but there are stories with more emotional impact in the main game and HoS. While the two antagonists did have interesting and human motivations, I think the emotion of the story was a bit dulled by the fact that they both just seemed to be act petulantly. To be clear, I still liked the story and think it would hold up well against virtually any other game in the genre. But it wasn't CDPR's very best work in this regard.
- I think the voice acting was a bit of a step down from the rest of the game. It often felt a bit cheesy, with voice actors trying to have some sort of French accent but just sounding odd. In the context of this DLC--which was clearly meant to be a more light-hearted fare than the rest of the game--this is more forgiveable. It's sort of part of the atmosphere of Toussaint. But I still think it was a relative weakness.
- I found it disappointing that there was no romance option. Yes, there's a potential sex scene with a female character. And yes, the ending can be romantic. But there's not really a real romance. This seems like an odd choice to me, especially given the setting. In any event, I guess I'm mostly thinking about this because I played B&W directly after HoS, and I thought the Shani romance was very well done. It's actually a testament to CDPR's ability to do romance that I was disappointed by the lack of it here; I'm not one to usually care about video game romances, since they're usually just not very well done.
- This is a matter of opinion, but I didn't love the soundtrack for B&W as much as I did the soundtrack for the main game. This is truly a category that is all relative. I liked B&W's soundtrack; I just liked a lot of the music from the main game even more. There are probably plenty of people who disagree with me on this, since music preferences are clearly subjective.
First, the pros:
- Toussaint itself is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen in a video game. It really is a work of art. Skellige is pretty. Novigrad is a well-done city. And Velen is atmospheric, though it is purposely not really beautiful. But Toussaint is on a completely different level in terms of beauty and art work, in my opinion (I fully recognize others might very well prefer other environments in the game, though).
- And, for a DLC, B&W is absolutely enormous. This truly could have been a standalone game. There's a lot of content and the content is good.
- I also thought it added some very interesting character build options. Specifically, mutations are a nice addition. Yes, some are pretty OP, but they're fun. Grandmaster set bonuses are cool too. And extra skill slots are nice. B&W undoubtedly was better in terms of character build options than Hearts of Stone was, as that only had the runewords, which weren't all that consequential.
Now for the cons:
- In terms of story and emotional impact, it's not bad (in fact, by the standards of other games, it's absolutely great), but there are stories with more emotional impact in the main game and HoS. While the two antagonists did have interesting and human motivations, I think the emotion of the story was a bit dulled by the fact that they both just seemed to be act petulantly. To be clear, I still liked the story and think it would hold up well against virtually any other game in the genre. But it wasn't CDPR's very best work in this regard.
- I think the voice acting was a bit of a step down from the rest of the game. It often felt a bit cheesy, with voice actors trying to have some sort of French accent but just sounding odd. In the context of this DLC--which was clearly meant to be a more light-hearted fare than the rest of the game--this is more forgiveable. It's sort of part of the atmosphere of Toussaint. But I still think it was a relative weakness.
- I found it disappointing that there was no romance option. Yes, there's a potential sex scene with a female character. And yes, the ending can be romantic. But there's not really a real romance. This seems like an odd choice to me, especially given the setting. In any event, I guess I'm mostly thinking about this because I played B&W directly after HoS, and I thought the Shani romance was very well done. It's actually a testament to CDPR's ability to do romance that I was disappointed by the lack of it here; I'm not one to usually care about video game romances, since they're usually just not very well done.
- This is a matter of opinion, but I didn't love the soundtrack for B&W as much as I did the soundtrack for the main game. This is truly a category that is all relative. I liked B&W's soundtrack; I just liked a lot of the music from the main game even more. There are probably plenty of people who disagree with me on this, since music preferences are clearly subjective.
It's harder to have a proper romance option when you have an already established character. They had Triss for that and that itself still causes a massive argument whenever it's brought up. I prefer the more flirt, shag, move on of HoS and BaW lol.
It works better in Bethesda games having a new romance option as there is usually no established character before the game starts.
It works better in Bethesda games having a new romance option as there is usually no established character before the game starts.
The lack of an established character also makes relationships in Bethesda games much shallower, though. CDPR's approach is better here by focusing on a smaller number of relationships that have been developed over multiple games and/or books. That there is an argument over them it just shows they did a good work, by contrast, there are no arguments over Skyrim marriages because no one really cares about them. Even Shani in Hearts of Stone is more than just a flirt and move on, there is history from the first game and some from the books.
Blood and Wine was designed to be played after the ending of the main game, its events are most likely not even in 1272, at this point the majority of players' Geralt has settled down with someone already. A new romance option would not have fit the theme of the expansion, which is the ending to Geralt's story in the games. Shani in Hearts of Stone is different, she already had an important role in the first game, and her absence from Witcher 2 and 3 has been a disappointment to the developers themselves, they wanted to give her story a better closure than a journal note at the beginning of Witcher 2 or not being mentioned at all.
I do agree with most of the points made by lessthanjake123, although I did like the soundtrack in Blood and Wine. Then again, I found the main game more memorable in this aspect, so I may in fact agree that the soundtrack is good, the best tracks in the base game are just even better.
Blood and Wine was designed to be played after the ending of the main game, its events are most likely not even in 1272, at this point the majority of players' Geralt has settled down with someone already. A new romance option would not have fit the theme of the expansion, which is the ending to Geralt's story in the games. Shani in Hearts of Stone is different, she already had an important role in the first game, and her absence from Witcher 2 and 3 has been a disappointment to the developers themselves, they wanted to give her story a better closure than a journal note at the beginning of Witcher 2 or not being mentioned at all.
I do agree with most of the points made by lessthanjake123, although I did like the soundtrack in Blood and Wine. Then again, I found the main game more memorable in this aspect, so I may in fact agree that the soundtrack is good, the best tracks in the base game are just even better.
The main game is usually always better than the expansions. I've only played HoS once but i've down BaW like 4x as I always play through that to the end on my main characters cos it feels the main story almost, ties up the lose ends.
The 10 year video released the other week is like the full stop xD
The 10 year video released the other week is like the full stop xD
I enjoyed it immensely when I played it last year yet I have no urge to play it again. It has all those great aspects going for it that others have mentioned but for me it lacks the replayability value of the base game. Not long after I finished the base game, I knew I would play it again at some point (playing it now), because I knew a second playthrough would be even better than the first and it is. There are several reasons why I enjoyed the base game more, but I think the story is the main reason. The story of BaW is I think enough to see once, like a good movie that is exciting the first time you watch it but would be boring to watch again since you already know what happens. That is how I feel about BaW. Whereas the story of the base game is complex enough to make you notice new things if you play it again. Also, a minor spoiler for someone who has not played it...
... those giant centipedes give me nightmares. 
Dettlaff and Regis 2 of the best characters in the whole game. Duchess and her sister are just shit, manipulative "everything goes cus i'm the king" kind of shit. Also felt a bit out of witcher world with all the knight things and wines, but still awesome DLC nevertheless.
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I honestly think Blood and Wine DLC has a far better story than the original game as well as the other DLC. I just like the enviroment and the landscape, its so well made. This knight theme is something that fits my taste more especially in a RPG game.
Honestly there is so much I can write about the Blood and Wine DLC, but dont wanna bore u guys to death. So to put it short: I like the story, enviroment and landscape and most important the house you get to live in.
Honestly there is so much I can write about the Blood and Wine DLC, but dont wanna bore u guys to death. So to put it short: I like the story, enviroment and landscape and most important the house you get to live in.
The scene where Dettlaff sends his vampire army to attack Toussaint was the most satisfying moment in the story imo.
B&W is solid. The main campaign is pretty good (wish we could've romanced Anarietta though, wow), although it felt like it was full of too much 'filler' side missions,etc.
Personally I love the Blood and Wine DLC. The whole atmosphere is just beautiful and fairytale like. On an emotional aspect ofc. it cant catch the original story especially when finding Ciri.. But for me in every other aspect its better than the main game and HoS.
The reason for this is simple. Both the Wild Hunt and Gaunter O'Dimm (GOD?) are very interesting and frightening enemies. The problem with both is just that they dont have enough screen time and in depth story like Dettlaff in B&W. Which isn't a bad thing because this is feedback on a very high level comparing to other games so dont get me wrong here. Its just the whole concept which fascinates me with the fairytale land Toussaint, the wonderful music in every situation, their Knights, colourfull cities and landscapes and all of a sudden you realise this whole paradise is just an illusion.
Another reason B&W is the best part of the game in my eyes is that I actually dont like to compare it to the main game or HoS since this is a story for itself and the last big adventure for Geralt after the happenings with Ciri the Wild Hunt and so on.
Im playing this game for the 3rd time now. The second time with both DLC's which in my eyes some companies would give out as Witcher 4 and Witcher 5 when looking at this huge world and hours of gameplay etc. It fascinates me again and again.
I mean.. when arriving in Toussaint you just get your own winery! How cool is that? And it doesnt even end with this. You can invest coins for it to make it even more beautiful and places armors, weapons and trophies by your own likings. You can build your own home!
New gwent cards ofc. which is super fun to play even as a lite version of the standalone with new skellige cards. The side quests are super fun to play and perfectly fit into the scenery. Not to mention the knights tournament and so on...
I can literally get lost for hours in Toussaint walking slow on the paths enjoying the music and the landscapes in a game..
Thank you CDPR and especially all developers for that wonderful masterpiece.. :smiling2:
The reason for this is simple. Both the Wild Hunt and Gaunter O'Dimm (GOD?) are very interesting and frightening enemies. The problem with both is just that they dont have enough screen time and in depth story like Dettlaff in B&W. Which isn't a bad thing because this is feedback on a very high level comparing to other games so dont get me wrong here. Its just the whole concept which fascinates me with the fairytale land Toussaint, the wonderful music in every situation, their Knights, colourfull cities and landscapes and all of a sudden you realise this whole paradise is just an illusion.
Another reason B&W is the best part of the game in my eyes is that I actually dont like to compare it to the main game or HoS since this is a story for itself and the last big adventure for Geralt after the happenings with Ciri the Wild Hunt and so on.
Im playing this game for the 3rd time now. The second time with both DLC's which in my eyes some companies would give out as Witcher 4 and Witcher 5 when looking at this huge world and hours of gameplay etc. It fascinates me again and again.
I mean.. when arriving in Toussaint you just get your own winery! How cool is that? And it doesnt even end with this. You can invest coins for it to make it even more beautiful and places armors, weapons and trophies by your own likings. You can build your own home!
New gwent cards ofc. which is super fun to play even as a lite version of the standalone with new skellige cards. The side quests are super fun to play and perfectly fit into the scenery. Not to mention the knights tournament and so on...
I can literally get lost for hours in Toussaint walking slow on the paths enjoying the music and the landscapes in a game..
Thank you CDPR and especially all developers for that wonderful masterpiece.. :smiling2:
Loved B&W's story campaign - more great characters, and loved the world as always.
Couple negatives for me -
* No romance option with Anarietta - for me, easily the most beautiful girl in the game, it would've been an enjoyable option to have, or if they'd been able to integrate Ciri & your sorceress more into the storyline, that would have been nice as well.
* Felt like the map was a little overfilled with 'filler' content as far as Points of Interest - just felt it was a little too big of a map.
Couple negatives for me -
* No romance option with Anarietta - for me, easily the most beautiful girl in the game, it would've been an enjoyable option to have, or if they'd been able to integrate Ciri & your sorceress more into the storyline, that would have been nice as well.
* Felt like the map was a little overfilled with 'filler' content as far as Points of Interest - just felt it was a little too big of a map.
I actually liked it more than the base game to some extent. The atmosphere was what really engrossed me.
Loved the Wild Hunt, really enjoyed it from top to bottom. But after harsh, brutal to downright miserable environs of that chase as well as most of HOS, B&W's sunny fairy-tale environment was a brilliant change of pace.
Also was a fantastic(al?) send off for Geralt, enjoying Yen, a stuffed unicorn and a couple bottles of his vineyard's finest.
Liked HOS, but downright enchanted by B&W.
Also was a fantastic(al?) send off for Geralt, enjoying Yen, a stuffed unicorn and a couple bottles of his vineyard's finest.
Liked HOS, but downright enchanted by B&W.