What You Look Forward To Most In The Witcher 3

[TheDeathRun]

What You Look Forward To Most In The Witcher 3

Hello everyone!

The first Witcher game was released in 2007, and in the following eight years the game series has gained a pretty big following. Now, as we wait for CDPR's biggest project yet, I'm curious to know what everyone in this ever-growing crowd is really looking forward to and wanting to love most in the game. What you choose doesn't have to be based on what we've seen so far; it could just be what you look for most in a CDPR RPG. So I've set up a poll listing the main features of the game with greater detail on each of the options below.

Combat: From the massive skill tree, to preparing for your fights, to slicin' and dicin', to shooting flames from your fingertips - every one of those 80+ monsters will fear your unstoppable wrath!

Story: Will Emhyr be your bestest chum or your forsworn enemy? Will you help the random poor woman who has misplaced her son (or did she)? The main story arcs and the lovingly crafted side quests go into this pot.

Graphics: The glorious sunset, the blood-soaked fields, the roundness of Yennefer's arse (or Triss' if you so prefer), and the cutting-edge abs of the White Wolf are all that you will see. You're going to savor CDPR's character design, environment detail, and art direction (among others) most.

World: You could walk and walk for days, all the way from the darkest swamps of No Man's Land to the top of the highest tower in the city of Novigrad. And along the way, you'll taste and delight in the atmosphere of the world like a fine wine. Sound design, the living dynamic ecosystem, the NPCs going about their daily lives - you want to love one of CDPR's greatest strengths like never before.

I do realize some might define each area differently (art direction should be under world, etc.) so feel free to change them up!

 

[Boreas_Mun_bg]

Hello well to be honest I am excited for the whole package everything seems to be topnotch.I am looking forward to finding out how the story unfolds and Geralt's last adventure ends(hopefully he is alive after the end of it) And one other thing I think you should add to the list is the soundtrack personally can't wait to experience it along with the great atmosphere of the game world.

 

[TheDeathRun]

@Boreas_Mun_bg Ah I actually considered soundtrack to be part of the atmosphere, since I didn't think strolling down the streets of Novigrad would be as lovely as without the soundtrack

 

[Boreas_Mun_bg]

@TheDeathRun Yeah I would imagine it would be pretty bland without the beautiful soundtrack the witcher games provide

 

[Scryar]

story -> characters (especially Ciri, Yennefer, Triss and Letho)- >exploring the world -> combat/challenge(gonna play it on the hardest difficulty without perma-death)- choices and consequences- >rest

 

[JasonShepard]

1. Combat: I've never really seen a system where the player has to prepare not only his equipment before, but also his skills and abilities (I'm pretty sure this is how TW3 works, correct me if I'm wrong). Geralt's animations look fast and fluid, the alchemy system looks like it'll be okay, and playing as Ciri will be interesting because we've never played as a sorceress before. Thinking about the combat just keeps me awake at night in anticipation!
2. Story/characters: The ending to TW2 was really satisfying. Mostly everything was explained, but I'm really curious how my choices will affect The Witcher 3. Learning more about the motivations of the King of the Wild Hunt and what they are will be exciting too. I haven't read all the books yet as they aren't fully translated in English so maybe The Wild Hunt has been explained in the books before, I don't know.
3. Graphics: Skeptical on how the game looks, but I'm still excited to put the game on Ultra and let my 970 scream in pain. Hopefully my 970 can handle it at around 40 frames, but I doubt it.
4. Atmosphere: The music I've heard so far has been excellent and I'm hoping that there will be tons of comfy moments just trotting on Roach and roaming around.
5. Exploration/Side Quests: Also skeptical due to Dragon Age: Inquisition and its padding, but I also would love to just roam around, help plebs, and kill monsters.

 

[TmTapani]

The world. Not a popular choice perhaps, nor an obvious one, but it is the glue that will keep it all together and my a$$ in this chair. Story does matter a great deal but without immersion in the world I would just speed through the whole game to experience it, not stopping every five feet or so just to smell the flowers. Or to trample them.

 

[Ljesnjanin]

What Yenn, Cirilla, Emhyr and Eredin Bréacc Glas has to say...Top priority for me.
No, I am filthy liar...Fringie is top priority, of course...

 

[dexter2]

Story for me. And Novigrad, this is propably gonna be the best city in an open world rpg ever created.

 

[Scholdarr.452]

At least here people seem to have the right priorities...

 

[TouPoutsou]

I voted "world" because it is the new element in The Witcher games. Story will be absolutely amazing, i have zero doubts about it. The combat seems to be an improvement over TW2 wich was already decent. The graphcs will also be great, downgrade or not, as they have been with the previous titles. So the new thing is what excites me the most.

 

[EliHarel]

1. Combat: I've never really seen a system where the player has to prepare not only his equipment before, but also his skills and abilities (I'm pretty sure this is how TW3 works, correct me if I'm wrong). Geralt's animations look fast and fluid, the alchemy system looks like it'll be okay, and playing as Ciri will be interesting because we've never played as a sorceress before. Thinking about the combat just keeps me awake at night in anticipation

I'm pretty sure she'll play mostly like Geralt, with a few small modifications here and there. Witcheress more than a sorceress I believe.

My vote was story. Though I suppose it also means the world at large. I think there's not any franchise out there that has the potential to develop an emotional bond as deep as The Witcher. Some games are long and that helps. Mass Effect, for instance, owes a lot in my opinion to the fact that by the end of the trilogy you have spent around 100 hours with these characters. TW1 took me 60 hours, TW3 around 40, and we all know what they say about TW3's length (and the trump card I'll mention in a bit).

That's not negligible, but length alone isn't enough, either. Some games have great writing, but they end too soon. Witcher has that writing. It also has it with its unique flair, with a lot of irony, dry-humor and cynical perspectives. These aren't really the most awe-inspiring examples, and maybe at this point I'm just so into it that I'll swallow everything they produce while an outsider will scratch his head and wonder what's different here from any other franchise, but the conversations with Djenge Frett himself, the refugee recommending Geralt speak to his clever brother, Thomil, Roche interrogating Geralt, Geralt and co. speaking inside Flotsam's inns, these moments just convince me, they make me go "ah, this is The Witcher". There was also a tiny snippet of the Russian Geralt and Yennefer from many months ago that went something like...

Spoiler: Yen & Geralt Dialogue Snippet

"Mm, you smell wonderful."

"Geralt! We're at a funeral."

"You smell wonderful at this funeral."

I dunno. It just makes me smile.

But even when you have long games with great writing, they still can't hold a candle to TW's greatest advantage - that it's based on a very personal saga.

It's not even lore, per se. Many franchises have deep lore, probably deeper than TW's. Its world, geographically, is small, and it doesn't cover a huge timeline with endless characters. Lord of the Rings is the most famous franchise and most acclaimed books. But its lore doesn't mean I develop a deeper connection to, say, Talion, because it's a lot of historic matters that don't leave any emotional imprint, not to mention that there was nothing about Talion himself. Witcher has that. So it's more than spending 100 hours on a game, or 200 hours on a series of games, or 1000 hours on a franchise. It's spending this huge amount on time on these specific characters, see them grow, change, see them at their best and their worst. And to see it come to its conclusion.

Combat is second. I never relate when I see comments about TW2's combat being shit. It's not amazing, no, but I had a lot of fun with it. So far TW3 seems to improve it in every possible way, significantly, and I can't wait to experience the game on the hardest difficulty in sticky situations. I like that it doesn't take after spectacle fighters and lights up like Times Square, yet still manages to be fast if you want. The base mechanics are very simple, but it looks like we'll be able to mix up our skills in a huge number of ways, between upgraded signs, different potions, activated abilities... and honestly, I'm confident it'll be a joy to watch. Over 90 animations seems like a lot to me. TW2 had around, what, 20? And I didn't really get the feeling of "this attack again". Mostly because most melee games aren't really identified by a huge number of animations anyway. I don't think so, anyway.

More than just the number, the quality seems great too. The way Geralt changes between several basic stances, the way he actually has a battle stance, the way each strike continues from where the last one ended instead of Geralt shifting back to this default pose, it all seems delicious to me. I remember I was worried about combat when we saw the first gameplay footage, the griffin hunt, but man did that change since. Maybe this won't tickle you guys, but in the SHIELD presentation, I really enjoyed how Geralt killed the second wolf. He attacked four times, and while they were just two animations, they somehow blended together beautifully in my opinion. The way Geralt pressed forward, foot after foot, swing after swing... argh, it makes me want to write a short story about it.

I think I already wrote a short story in this post, so time to bail out. I'm just gushing.

 

[JimmyQ]

@Boreas_Mun_bg Ah I actually considered soundtrack to be part of the atmosphere, since I didn't think strolling down the streets of Novigrad would be as lovely as without the soundtrack

I would consider the soundtrack separately. If I think a soundtrack's good enough, I'll listen to it outside of it's respective game, repeatedly, and sometimes long after I've stopped playing the game. I hope to do this with at least some of the tracks from TW3. And I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

Anyway, what I look forward to the most in this game, as I do in all video games I play, is the gameplay as a whole. Combat is only a part of that, and I'm not even sure it's the most important part. I do hope for some quality, viceral combat, though.

Everything else can be had in other media (tv, books, etc.), but is otherwise (almost) as important to me.

 

[mecha_fish.619]

i'm going to cry. just the whole time. i won't even experience the game, i'll be crying so much.

the story, the wit in the dialogues, from what i see the facial expressions are going to be priceless, the characters like Djikstra and Yennefer and Cirilla, the narrow streets of Novigrad, the myths and legends i'll experience in No Man's Land, the windswept seas of Ard Skellige, the delicious soundtrack, the pretty pretty graphics that look fine to me get out of my life h8rs, the baddassery of being a witcher, the sass of chatting with noblemen, the fist fighting, the brawling, the magic and the drugs, the cat-like swordplay, the designs of the city streets and the cliff faces, the costumes, the glorious artbook, the work of art that is the game itself the everything i'm going to melt you can't stop me.

 

[Bellator Pius Gratus]

World, because in it the all rest will happen.

Actually you got me hooked by mentioning atmosphere. ^_^

Great poll and descriptions!

TW1 took me 60 hours, TW3 around 40,

Just kidding.

 

[Ljesnjanin]

And I forgot to mention it earlier - prices in Passiflora are also a big deal...

 

[mecha_fish.619]

Witcher has that writing. It also has it with its unique flair, with a lot of irony, dry-humor and cynical perspectives. These aren't really the most awe-inspiring examples, and maybe at this point I'm just so into it that I'll swallow everything they produce while an outsider will scratch his head and wonder what's different here from any other franchise, but the conversations with Djenge Frett himself, the refugee recommending Geralt speak to his clever brother, Thomil, Roche interrogating Geralt, Geralt and co. speaking inside Flotsam's inns, these moments just convince me, they make me go "ah, this is The Witcher". There was also a tiny snippet of the Russian Geralt and Yennefer from many months ago that went something like...

^ this. i don't have any other words to say. it's just all delicious and i wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Rawls]

1. Story. It is the thing that makes this series unique from other current RPGs. It is the one area where even the "good" open world RPGs have failed in recent history. 2a. The open world setting. 2b. Characters. 2c. Choice and consequence. 2d. Immersive graphics and sound. 2e. Gameplay mechanics (combat/alchemy/spells/quest design/etc.).

I'm looking forward to all of these things. It's actually very hard for me to prioritize them after story. This was my best stab at it. It's all important. If they do each of these things well, the game will be a masterpiece.

 

[jerf.674]

I haven't read all the books yet as they aren't fully translated in English so maybe The Wild Hunt has been explained in the books before, I don't know.

Read the fan translations, seriously! They are quite good, and your experience with The Witcher 3 will be much fuller, since TW3 deals heavily with the themes from the last books.
The correct reading order is as follows:
1. The Last Wish
2. The Sword of Destiny
3. Blood of Elves
4. Time of Contempt
5. Baptism of Fire
6. The Swallow's Tower
7. The Lady of the Lake

 

[xdevnull]

This was tricky, because for me I'm really interested (from a gamer point of view) in how the story and the world relate to one another. From what cdpr has been talking about this game could redefine rpg/open world/narrative games, as in games will be judged by it in the future. No one will expect games like skyrim or DAI anymore because Witcher 3 redifine the genre.