10 years of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Remembering one of the best RPGs of all time

On May 18, 2015, the third "Witcher" (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) was released. It took the genre to a new level and made the series famous all over the world. In honor of the tenth anniversary of Geralt's last adventure, we decided to remember the universe of Andrzej Sapkowski and tell why "Wild Hunt" turned out to be so significant for the gaming industry.

The game trilogy "The Witcher" is based on the books of the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. This is a standard fantasy, which is based on classic European fairy tales and a unique interpretation of historical events. Something similar was in "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George Martin. We are described a world in which there is magic, dragons, elves and ancient prophecies. At the same time, a brutal war is being waged between the Northern Kingdoms and the powerful empire of Nilfgaard, in which diplomacy plays no less an important role than success on the battlefield.

The story of the first books centers on a gray-haired man named Geralt. He is a witcher, a professional monster hunter. Later, the hero finds himself in the center of political conflicts, and he has to make serious decisions with far-reaching consequences. In the second half of the book saga, his adopted daughter Ciri comes to the fore. The blood of ancient elves flows in the girl's veins and she is the heir to the kingdom of Cintra, so the most powerful rulers and influential sorceresses are hunting for her.

In terms of chronology, the last book is "The Lady of the Lake". There, Geralt and his beloved Yennefer die, and Ciri sends their souls to a parallel world known as the Island of Apple Trees. According to Andrzej Sapkowski, this is where the saga ends. Two more volumes were published later, but their action took place many years before the end of the main story.

The book saga "The Witcher" received some fame and was published in various languages, including Russian. However, they did not become true fantasy classics in the spirit of "The Lord of the Rings" or the already mentioned "A Song of Ice and Fire". It is also important to note that their current popularity was facilitated by the excitement around the third part of the game series.

The company CD Projekt was founded in 1994 as a distributor of foreign games on the Polish market. In 2002, a separate division for its own developments was created under the name CD Projekt RED. From the very beginning, the management planned to make an RPG based on the saga "The Witcher". Initially, the scriptwriters wanted to dedicate it to an unnamed character, but fans of the books by Andrzej Sapkowski insisted that the protagonist be Geralt of Rivia. Therefore, it was decided to continue the events of "The Lady of the Lake" and resurrect the hero.

The original The Witcher was released in 2007. And although the development was accompanied by a number of difficulties and even a change in concept, we got a very unusual and bold project. For example, its combat system was more reminiscent of a rhythm game than a typical action/RPG. To defeat enemies, you need to click the left mouse button in time. The story in the first The Witcher is local, but it competently reveals the universe for those who are not familiar with it. In addition, the plot features many characters from the book saga, including Doctor Shani, the sorceress Triss Merigold and the grown-up Adda the White. Right now, work is underway on a full-fledged remake of this game.

Four years later, the second part of the series was released with the subtitle "Assassins of Kings". In it, the developers offered a standard combat system and noticeably increased the scale. Geralt found himself in the center of political intrigue, he was accused of attempting to assassinate monarchs, and among the characters there were not only kings, but also the most powerful sorceresses, including Philippa Eilhart. CD Projekt RED took a qualitative step forward and offered an excellent role-playing game, which was unlucky enough to be released in the same year as Skyrim.

With all our love for the first two "Witchers", it is worth paying attention to their obvious shortcomings. For example, the inconvenient interface — players have to spend a lot of time in order to getaccess to basic functions. The second part is better than the first, but there are problems with moving around the locations — it's easy to get lost.

If you read the reviews of fans of the Polish writer, you may get the impression that the games did not approach the legacy of Andrzej Sapkowski very reverently. The scars on Triss's chest disappeared, some heroes returned from the dead, and the postscript describing the further fate of the characters was completely ignored. However, in our opinion, these are trifles that can be forgiven.

"The Witcher" is an example of excellent work with the book source. The scriptwriters skillfully adapted the characters' personalities, transferred the complex relationships between them to the game format and continued the story from the moment Geralt and Yennefer disappeared. Moreover, Sapkowski's novels can be an excellent addition to the games, because they describe in detail the entire prehistory of the CD Projekt RED trilogy.

The first two "Witchers" from CD Projekt RED did not include two key heroines of the book saga — Geralt's main lover named Yennefer and his adopted daughter Ciri. This decision was made by chance, because during the development of the original game, the scriptwriters simply did not have time to add the black-haired sorceress to the plot. However, the result was interesting — it feels like in "The Wild Hunt" all the trump cards were laid out before us. Yen appears at the very beginning of the game and immediately sets Geralt the main task — to find Ciri. The last novels of Andrzej Sapkowski immediately come to mind, where Nilfgaard agents searched for the girl all over the world.

The third "Witcher" has a surprisingly large number of events. The sad fate of the Bloody Baron, a clash with the witches who live in the Crooked-Eared Marshes, Ciri's adventures, a hunt for sorceresses, an ambiguous romance with Keira Metz, a struggle for power on the Skellige Islands, a confrontation with the Wild Hunt — each of these mini-stories is impressive and memorable forever. Moreover, individual plots complement each other perfectly and create a complete picture of the world.

As in the previous parts of the series, here you will find romances with beautiful sorceresses. There are not as many of them as in the original "Witcher", but they are presented more beautifully and worked out to the smallest detail. Moreover, the player is faced with a tough choice between Triss and Yennefer. You can't choose both — for this, the main character will face a humiliating punishment, and in the finale, he will be left alone. The debate about who suits Geralt better is still ongoing.

In the third part, the developers have improved the interface and, thus, eliminated the main drawback of the first two parts of the series. In addition, CD Projekt RED once again improved the gameplay, which combines action and a role-playing system. You can bet on light or heavy blows, and also complement them with magical skills, which are called signs here. Ideally, your leveling and choice of equipment should correspond to the chosen tactics. And before battles with particularly strong monsters, it is advisable to study their weak points. Often, they are vulnerable to specific spells and special oils that can be used to lubricate a silver sword.

The battles themselves are a bit reminiscent of Dark Souls — you will dodge enemy attacks, parry them and deliver your own blows in time. However, in "Wild Hunt" there is an option to adjust the difficulty, thanks to which any player will be able to complete the third "Witcher" to the end.

But the main advantage of "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is that the individual elements of the game combine perfectly with each other. Even a banal search for materials for crafting armor seems interesting here, because we simultaneously explore the open world, complete secondary quests, clear out bandit camps or fight monsters. At the same time, no one imposes a specific style of play. You can limit yourself to just the main storyline and not touch on additional activities.

Periodically, we are shown events from Ciri's perspective. Moreover, we do not just watch from the sidelines, but personally control the girl during the hunt for monsters and battles against other people. This approach allows you to better feel the fate of the heroine. CD Projekt RED pulled a similar trick in Cyberpunk 2077, where there will be short levels with the game for Johnny Silverhand.

There were many small DLCs for "Wild Hunt", which added new quests and alternative outfits for Triss, Yen and Ciri. However, we want to pay attention to two large story additions that are perceived as full-fledged games.

On October 13, 2015, "Stone of Hearts" was released. It told the story of Olgierd von Everec, who entered into a contract with the mysterious Gunther o'Dimm. Geralt is forced to fulfill three wishes of the bandit chieftain, and then decide what to do with him next. In addition, in the DLC we will again meet Dr. Shani, who is undergoing medical practice. The main character will have a short but amazingly beautiful romance with her.

A year after the release of the original game, on May 31, 2016, the second addition was released, called "Blood and Wine". Its action took place in sunny Toussaint, which is a province of Nilfgaard. Readers are familiar with this principality from the book "The Lady of the Lake". Geralt is offered to investigate a series of murders in which the sister of Princess Anna-Henrietta and higher vampires are involved. The ending of the story directly depends on our decisions.

Sometimes story DLCs are made in such a way that without them the main game seems insufficient. Good examples are Trespasser for Dragon Age: Inquisition, Broken Steel for Fallout 3, and Awakened for Dead Space 3. The Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine add-ons don't make such an impression. They are interesting in their own right, but they are not at all necessary for understanding the plot of Wild Hunt.

It was the third Witcher that made the series famous all over the world. 50 million copies sold brought it into the top 15 best-selling games of all time. In our opinion, this success is fully deserved, because we got a practically flawless action-RPG.

A collectible card game called Gwent appeared in Wild Hunt as an additional activity. Three years later, it was released as a separate project, which hosted eSports competitions. At the moment, CD Projekt RED is not involved in its development, but the fan community is involved.

The excitement around the third Witcher interested the management of the streaming service Netflix. Since December 2019, a series has been released dedicated to the adventures of Geralt. The main role in the first three seasons was played by Henry Cavill, known for his role as Superman, and starting from the fourth — Liam Hemsworth. However, the showrunners significantly deviated from the original plot of the book saga, which caused discontent among fans.

It should also be noted that the success of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt attracted the attention of players to the novels of Andrzej Sapkowski. In many countries, an additional print run of his books was released.

Even now, 10 years after its release, the game is still popular in fan culture. For example, new cosplay works based on the Wild Hunt are released every week. The best of them are included in our monthly selections.

At the time of writing this article, CD Projekt RED is actively developing the fourth "Witcher". The main character in the new game will not be Geralt, but his adopted daughter Ciri. But the White Wolf will also appear in the main plot as a secondary character.

If for some reason you missed "Wild Hunt", we strongly recommend that you catch up. This is a great game that has not aged a bit over the past 10 years. In addition, it is available on all current platforms. The PS5 and Xbox Series consoles received a special version with modern graphics, and the PC has support for mods, including those that improve its appearance. If you want, you can run The Witcher 3 on the first Switch, although the version for the hybrid Nintendo device cannot be called technically perfect.

Ideally, you should first read Andrzej Sapkowski's books, and only then start playing the games. With this approach, you will understand the characters' personalities, their motivations, and the balance of power in general.

Have you played the third "Witcher"? Or are you just planning to get acquainted with it? Share your opinions in the comments!