Personally don't agree. Thought the story was excellent. I was gripped all the way through and main felt extremely chunky unlike DAI.
I've got certain issues with the game such as the treatment of certain characters and the interactivity of choices but certainly not the story.
Right up there with Witcher 2 for me which is amazing as i had severe doubts about open world being enjoyable given my past experience of them.
As someone said earlier, Ithlinne's Prophecy and the White Frost has been eluded to from the first game. The last boss fight in the first game pretty much takes place in a world where the White Frost has already overtaken. Granted the prophecy isn't mentioned much in the second game, other than perhaps in a book and maybe a single conversation. So I think the issue is that TW2 is quite disconnected from the plot of TW1, and those who haven't played the first game will be left thinking the White Frost came out of left field. I'm glad there was a resolution to Alvin and his warnings on the White Frost, as that was something that wasn't touched on at all in the second game.
Personally don't agree. Thought the story was excellent. I was gripped all the way through and main felt extremely chunky unlike DAI.
I've got certain issues with the game such as the treatment of certain characters and the interactivity of choices but certainly not the story.
Right up there with Witcher 2 for me which is amazing as i had severe doubts about open world being enjoyable given my past experience of them.
Are you 14 years old? I did not ask for vomiting sentimentality. Allow me the summary of the script:
Geralt: Now that I got my memory back I should look for Yennefer.
[Proceeds to do dozens of favors for people for information on Yennefer]
[Finds Yennefer]
Yennefer: Now that you have your memory back, you should look for Ciri.
[Proceeds to doing hundreds of favors for information in Ciri]
[Finds Ciri]
Ciri: Hey so this Wild Hunt thing is after me, lets defeat them.
[Indecisive battle]
Yennefer: Hey look a random ugly thing turns out to be the elf we always needed! What a fortuitous moment?
Avallac: Hey remember all the preparation you did to fight the wild hunt? Well turns out I know this magic stone thing that can do it, and is absolutely not a cheap plot device.
[Defeats the wild hunt]
Avallac: Hey you know winter? That was the real enemy all along! Dun, dun, dun!
Are you 14 years old? I did not ask for vomiting sentimentality. Allow me the summary of the script:
[...]
Avallac: Hey you know winter? That was the real enemy all along! Dun, dun, dun!
First of all, what does age has to do with sentiment? Your tone is a bit off.. Nothing wrong with some sentimentality, the game presented the Ciri-Geralt relationship far more interesting, than any politic storyline could have been.
Did you play the witcher 1? Then you would know that in fact the world (and most likely all others as well) is most probably endangered by a huge climate catastrophy, leading to the extinction of all humanlike races.
Good to know:
Aen Ithlinnespeath, Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien's prophecy
Verily I say unto you, the era of the sword and axe is nigh, the era of the wolf's blizzard. The Time of the White Chill and the White Light is nigh, the Time of Madness and the Time of Contempt: Tedd Deireádh, the Time of End. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn with the new sun. It will be reborn of Elder Blood, of Hen Ichaer, of the seed that has been sown. A seed which will not sprout but burst into flame.
Ess'tuath esse! Thus it shall be! Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves...
You see how this is tightly linked to Ciri and the elder blood? It was THE main theme in witcher 1 (besides the race conflict), it is the main theme of the books (the hunt for Ciri by various interested parties) and in witcher 3 it is back again, this time solving the problem. That the wild hunt is after Ciri was made clear within the prologue dream of Geralt. Eredin isn't just randomly searching for the elder blood, his motive is to help the elves of his world out of their own climate catastrophe..
So they didn't introduce the winter as the real enemy at the end of game. If you would have played mindfully, you'd know that the time of frost was in fact the real "enemy" all along.
Fair enough, i don't agree though i would have after playing inquisition and before experiencing the Witcher 3.
I think open world means you can't have branching splits like the Witcher 2, which i certainly enjoyed.
Personally I'm happy with either approach as long as reds carry on putting this much effort into the story.
From what I have seen, the OP did not play the first game or didn't even pay attention to this game as many points that they raise where established already in the past games and alluded too or in the case of The Wild Hunt, you see and confront alot of times in the game.
You don't like that they didn't continue the politics? that's fine, that's a good complaint. It's why while I disagree with Jou and KoP, I can understand where they're coming from, but when you complain that things are coming out of nowhere when they are not, it just shows me you did not pay attention.
From what I have seen, the OP did not play the first game or didn't even pay attention to this game as many points that they raise where established already in the past games and alluded too or in the case of The Wild Hunt, you see and confront alot of times in the game.
You don't like that they didn't continue the politics? that's fine, that's a good complaint. It's why while I disagree with Jou and KoP, I can understand where they're coming from, but when you complain that things are coming out of nowhere when they are not, it just shows me you did not pay attention.
I don't care about politics. As I said, it doesn't matter to me that Witcher 3 has a complete tonal shift from Witcher 2. What matters is that the quality is not consistent. I played Witcher 1 and if you think that brief mentioning of the prophecy is a sufficient foreshadow to a cataclysm which serves as the ending of the entire series, think again. The White Frost and the White Light is the definitive end of the story, and it is not built up in any significant capacity, making it one of the more egregious cases of deus ex machina in recent memory.
First of all, what does age has to do with sentiment? Your tone is a bit off.. Nothing wrong with some sentimentality, the game presented the Ciri-Geralt relationship far more interesting, than any politic storyline could have been.
Did you play the witcher 1? Then you would know that in fact the world (and most likely all others as well) is most probably endangered by a huge climate catastrophy, leading to the extinction of all humanlike races.
Good to know:
Aen Ithlinnespeath, Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien's prophecy
Verily I say unto you, the era of the sword and axe is nigh, the era of the wolf's blizzard. The Time of the White Chill and the White Light is nigh, the Time of Madness and the Time of Contempt: Tedd Deireádh, the Time of End. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn with the new sun. It will be reborn of Elder Blood, of Hen Ichaer, of the seed that has been sown. A seed which will not sprout but burst into flame.
Ess'tuath esse! Thus it shall be! Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves...
You see how this is tightly linked to Ciri and the elder blood? It was THE main theme in witcher 1 (besides the race conflict), it is the main theme of the books (the hunt for Ciri by various interested parties) and in witcher 3 it is back again, this time solving the problem. That the wild hunt is after Ciri was made clear within the prologue dream of Geralt. Eredin isn't just randomly searching for the elder blood, his motive is to help the elves of his world out of their own climate catastrophe..
So they didn't introduce the winter as the real enemy at the end of game. If you would have played mindfully, you'd know that the time of frost was in fact the real "enemy" all along.
Complete hindsight justification on your part. Film, books and television all know what true foreshadow and buildup is. It is clear that most of videogame industry along with its young fans, do not understand that mentioning the final obstacle all but 2 or 3 times in the entire game is not a setup. It is out of left field. You can try and justify it all you want, but it becomes immediately evident you haven't seen or appreciate narratives of more complexity that have all done this more gracefully than the Witcher 3. You pull out a few random quotes and call that setup? Yeah right.
Red Dead Redemption says otherwise. I thought the story of this was good. It could've had a little more to it but in the end it's still a fantastic game.
Completely disagree with the OP. The story "clicks" in every aspect of it. And just because it's been done before doesn't mean that it cannot be executed very well. And no, the final battle is not pointless. Ciri couldn't have killed Eredin oh her own, he's protected by the navigators, you can't teleport next to him and just end the guy. Remember when Keira tried to teleport Geralt close to the Hunt expedition? She failed completely.
Ciri's abilities are boundless but failing to control them, or even a certain unwillingness to learn them properly, has always been a big thing for Ciri's character development. Besides, if it wasn't for Avallach she wouldve died 3 times in the course of the game. If that's not a good enough motivation for her adoptive father to chase after her, I dunno what is.
The Wild Hunt is certainly a story that's been told before in books and movies. But for a game to have a story with so much heart, despair and internal struggle is a huge achievement. Laugh at me all you want but I actually teared up when I saw her sitting in the tavern. Could this all be predicted? Sure. But why the hell would you want to be so cynical instead of simply enjoying the ride ?
If the Wild Hunt was a movie I wouldve scored it 7/10. The story is not the greatest ever told but it surely is the greatest ever told in an open world RPG.
If the Wild Hunt was a movie I wouldve scored it 7/10. The story is not the greatest ever told but it surely is the greatest ever told in an open world RPG.
My son and I (bought a copy each) agree with the OP. It has a kind of a confused, Mass Effect 3 type disappointment to the ending, along with being unceremoniously dumped back into the world before the final chapter with absolutely NOTHING. No closure, no lover, all your friends gone. The world, once alive becomes a barren, loveless expance.
Maybe so, the original game discouraged me. It had that bland Bethesda story telling that doesn't appeal to me in the least. Again, can't speak to the expansion, haven'r played it
Maybe so, the original game discouraged me. It had that bland Bethesda story telling that doesn't appeal to me in the least. Again, can't speak to the expansion, haven'r played it
The expansion was developed by Obsidian Entertainment,original developers of the classic Fallout games and the guys who've brought the greatest writing ever seen in video games (Planescape Torment, KOTOR 2, Mask of the Betrayer).
The expansion was developed by Obsidian Entertainment,original developers of the classic Fallout games and the guys who've brought the greatest writing ever seen in video games (Planescape Torment, KOTOR 2, Mask of the Betrayer).
You've convinced me mate I actually wanted to say in my original post that if Fallout 2 had the same technical tools CDPR has now, it would surely top my list in terms of immersive worlds
On the other hand, don't even get me started on Bethesda story-telling
Red Dead Redemption says otherwise. I thought the story of this was good. It could've had a little more to it but in the end it's still a fantastic game.
Completely disagree with the OP. The story "clicks" in every aspect of it. And just because it's been done before doesn't mean that it cannot be executed very well. And no, the final battle is not pointless. Ciri couldn't have killed Eredin oh her own, he's protected by the navigators, you can't teleport next to him and just end the guy. Remember when Keira tried to teleport Geralt close to the Hunt expedition? She failed completely.
Ciri's abilities are boundless but failing to control them, or even a certain unwillingness to learn them properly, has always been a big thing for Ciri's character development. Besides, if it wasn't for Avallach she wouldve died 3 times in the course of the game. If that's not a good enough motivation for her adoptive father to chase after her, I dunno what is.
The Wild Hunt is certainly a story that's been told before in books and movies. But for a game to have a story with so much heart, despair and internal struggle is a huge achievement. Laugh at me all you want but I actually teared up when I saw her sitting in the tavern. Could this all be predicted? Sure. But why the hell would you want to be so cynical instead of simply enjoying the ride ?
If the Wild Hunt was a movie I wouldve scored it 7/10. The story is not the greatest ever told but it surely is the greatest ever told in an open world RPG.
Complete hindsight justification on your part. Film, books and television all know what true foreshadow and buildup is. It is clear that most of videogame industry along with its young fans, do not understand that mentioning the final obstacle all but 2 or 3 times in the entire game is not a setup. It is out of left field. You can try and justify it all you want, but it becomes immediately evident you haven't seen or appreciate narratives of more complexity that have all done this more gracefully than the Witcher 3. You pull out a few random quotes and call that setup? Yeah right.
Please, I do enjoy media with complex narratives and of course Witcher 3 hasn't the most intricate story there is. I wanted to point out that the prophecy clearly has an entitlement as the final issue of all three witcher games and that it wasn't only mentioned 2 or 3 times during the games, but was the guiding theme of Witcher 1. If you dig a bit deeper, many points in the games can be linked to elder blood and the prophecy but you call the lack of obviousness a lack of complexity.. I think most players can enjoy that the end of a game isn't shown to you permanently, just to let you know that in the end of the game it actually happens.
This said, I greatly enjoyed The Wild Hunt's story. If you don't like it, than don't like it.. In my opinion they did a good job at portraying Geralt, Yen and Ciri, and as a fan of Sapkowski's books I can't complain about Geralt beeing on an odyssey again, searching for someone who jumps through different worlds may turn out that way.
I actually wanted to say in my original post that if Fallout 2 had the same technical tools CDPR has now, it would surely top my list in terms of immersive worlds