I finished watching the show a week ago. I was impressed by it thanks in part to my low expectations, but it didn't blow my socks off either
Its production quality ended up being better than I thought it was going to be but what caught me offguard the most were some of the changes compared to the books, for better or worse. There were some things I think they did fairly alright for the show's purpose, like linking the short stories to the Child of Destiny plot, and the expanded focus on Yennefer's backstory; but some other I didn't really enjoy at all, like some of the costume design, the plot pacing, turning the Brokilon segment into basically filler, and turning Nilfgaard into a not intimidating and not menacing enough kingdom run by zealots
The show also couldn't fully capture the characteristic slavic "charm" of the books like the games did big time. In an odd way, it felt more like a standard fantasy setting. Maybe the games spoiled me a lot in this regard, the art direction and writing in The Witcher 2 and 3 were truly wonderful
Despite all that, the show did have some commendable things. For instance, they managed to translate some of the books' darkness and comedy to the screen, some CGI and practical effects were really good, music was great (notably certain catchy song), and some of the actors were the absolute highlight of the show (mostly Geralt's, Yennefer's and Jaskier's, just to mention some) to the point of making their characters' interactions the main reason I keep rewatching some of the episodes.
Plus, generally speaking, despite some questionable artistic license, I felt like the showrunners did put a little of love into the show. They did care about some of the lore and the characters and I could tell that at least the people at Platige had a blast with this project, even if the CGI on the whole wasn't on par with the best we've seen in the industry.
Overall, it ended up being better than I expected but, at the same time, it didn't win my heart the way the books and the games did. I'm very glad that at least it managed to make more people aware of the books and the games
Hopefully the following seasons improve on some of the failures of the first one but, honestly, my expectations are still on a healthy low level. For the time being, nothing for me will beat the games.
Its production quality ended up being better than I thought it was going to be but what caught me offguard the most were some of the changes compared to the books, for better or worse. There were some things I think they did fairly alright for the show's purpose, like linking the short stories to the Child of Destiny plot, and the expanded focus on Yennefer's backstory; but some other I didn't really enjoy at all, like some of the costume design, the plot pacing, turning the Brokilon segment into basically filler, and turning Nilfgaard into a not intimidating and not menacing enough kingdom run by zealots
The show also couldn't fully capture the characteristic slavic "charm" of the books like the games did big time. In an odd way, it felt more like a standard fantasy setting. Maybe the games spoiled me a lot in this regard, the art direction and writing in The Witcher 2 and 3 were truly wonderful
Despite all that, the show did have some commendable things. For instance, they managed to translate some of the books' darkness and comedy to the screen, some CGI and practical effects were really good, music was great (notably certain catchy song), and some of the actors were the absolute highlight of the show (mostly Geralt's, Yennefer's and Jaskier's, just to mention some) to the point of making their characters' interactions the main reason I keep rewatching some of the episodes.
Plus, generally speaking, despite some questionable artistic license, I felt like the showrunners did put a little of love into the show. They did care about some of the lore and the characters and I could tell that at least the people at Platige had a blast with this project, even if the CGI on the whole wasn't on par with the best we've seen in the industry.
Overall, it ended up being better than I expected but, at the same time, it didn't win my heart the way the books and the games did. I'm very glad that at least it managed to make more people aware of the books and the games
Hopefully the following seasons improve on some of the failures of the first one but, honestly, my expectations are still on a healthy low level. For the time being, nothing for me will beat the games.