At last; I finished the game. Now I'm super sad.

[Muffinrex]

At last; I finished the game. Now I'm super sad.

I took my sweet time with the game, only finishing it tonight after pretty much playing nonstop since launch (had a wee break playing MGSV, though). Man, what a great freaking game this was. It’s the best game of the year, without doubt, and one of the best games I’ve ever played...
No. Wait. Saying that feels wrong. One of the best? That’s not enough. I just can’t think of any game I’ve ever played that has had me this emotionally invested. The world, the story and those wonderful, wonderful characters... I’m legitimately sad that it’s over. I spent a 110 hours of my life playing this game, and now it’s over? Damn! This really sucks.
About the ending, though: I found it pretty much perfect. In my playthrough, Geralt ended up hunting monsters with Ciri, without Triss or Yen. I found Geralt and Ciri’s relationship the most interesting in the game, so I am super happy about their conclusion. However, I am a bit sad that Geralt ended up a lonely man. I honestly found the threesome-scene a bit cheap and disappointing... I was so shocked when that scene happened and I wanted to talk about it afterwards. I really wanted to explain and fix it, but it was impossible. Poor Geralt... Though if I know that character right, he won’t stay lonely for long.

In my game, Radovid won the war and took over the country. It really caught me off-guard and was actually super-depressing. Though I found it to be a pretty good reminder of what a brutal and ruthless world the world of The Witcher is. Sad as heck, but also really fitting for the universe. Though I felt a bit sorry for the Emperor... And all the nonhumans. Again, really depressing stuff.
But it was a great and fitting ending to my favorite game of all time. Now I’m going to cry a bit. Thank you so much, CD Projekt Red. You folks rock. I wish I could thank each and every one of you personally for making this game. Can’t wait for Hearts of Stone!

 

[HardcoreSalmon]

The threesome scene wasn't done very well IMO. It punishes you for not knowing that you can't pick between them later, as if you're supposed to know that in your first playthrough. For me what should have happened is that you get a chance to talk to both of them at kaer morhen and explain to them both what happened, then they would ask you to choose. And if you chose not to tell either one of them then the threesome scene would happen.

Glad you enjoyed the game though, hopefully next time you'll get a less sad ending.

 

[centda]

Play it again once more . It really is the best game so far for me to. And as you said, some scenes are very sad, but some are also very inspiring.

9 more days to Hearts of Stone

 

[Rahelron]

I think the threesome scene is what Geralt deserves if he goes down that path.

About the fact that the player doesn't get warned about the consequences of his actions: in my opinion it's better that way. In real life people know that they can be with just one girl at a time and since TW3 is a role playing game the player has to act pretending that what he does is real and carries consequences. What happens with triss and yen is what would have happened if anyone tried to do the same things in real life.

I can understand that we, as players, have been trained to do things in games that we wouldn't do in real life just because "it's a game", but in TW3 it's always clear that what you do carries consequences and you can't just screw around with people without any retribution. The "bad ending" where Ciri dies is a consequences of choices you make without being warned of their weight. You choose not to bring Ciri to see her dead friend in Skellige, you choose make her get drunk instead of having a snowball fight with her... and in the end she decides to die (or to disappear forever, no-one knows) because she thinks you haven't been a good father to her.

Someone could argue that it's not fair to force a player to play through the game a second time just because he didn't get the ending he wanted. Some of the decisions that impact the final outcome are taken in act 1, so you have to go through pretty much the whole game just to choose a different option in a couple of dialogues. But I'm all for it, because it gives emotional impact to the endings and makes them feel real and meaningful. The witcher's ending is leagues better of the endings we find in Mass Effect or Deus Ex Human Revolution. Why? Exactly because of what i've just argued: players aren't asked to choose what outcome they prefer in a menu at the end of the game; the actions they carried out during their whole playthrough decide what outcome they get. This is so much better because adds impact, tells the player that what he does forges what happens in the end. That's how real life is: many times you don't get to choose, what happens is just a consequence of your actions.