This topic came up in the downgrade thread more and more and I think it's better separating the two discussions. For those of you who weren't following, it's the debate about whether or not TW3 should be a dark, melancholy and grey world, or a more colorful and "fantasy"ish place - Wild Hunt in particular and the franchise in general. Bear with me, I'm paraphrasing here.
What do you guys think?
I'll just give two cents briefly and expand on it if this thread picks up.
I think the franchise earned a reputation of "dark and gritty", in atmosphere, that might not really be accurate or justified. Partly because the books have a lot of humor, high-fantasy and even whacky moments, and very colorful locations. Partly because of a constant motif, that men are capable of worse things than monsters. I think that that message loses much of its impact if the world always looks like a shitty place, but keeps its punch if you're traveling, say, in the beautiful Skellige archipelago, and then suddenly come across an act of deep cruelty. It's that contrast and sudden shift that I think make it powerful, and prevent it from becoming hackneyed.
Of course, what I say is relevant only to those areas not ravaged by war. In No Man's Land, I expect to see scorched fields, burnt and emaciated trees, death galore and suspicion from the survivors. Fortunately, TW3 being a big multi-region open-world, can take us across many different locations, each with its own different atmosphere. It can be balanced.
I also think there's place to argue against "dark and gritty medieval'esque world" being equated with "realistic", as I've often seen written, but I'll stop here for now.