CD Projeckt Red did a great job. Released a game that amazed everyone! This is definitely a success. In my opinion, no one makes games the way they did.
Nowadays a game is, first of all, a product that must pay off, but as for me, CD Projeckt Red is the first to consider making this product as high quality as possible. And, strange as it may seem, they succeeded. Moreover, the game became commercially successful even without DRM and sold 10 million copies! Okay, let's get to the point.
Plot
At first the story is not even particularly catchy (especially for those who have not played the previous parts, since both the universe and the characters are not familiar), but as it develops events, you become completely immersed in the game and continue to play it for hours, just to find out what’s next. In short, our goal until the end of the game is to find Ciri. Just think, find a girl, what's wrong with that? But the fact is that she is in great danger. Ciri is the carrier of the Elder Blood gene, which gives the owner enormous magical power and the ability to move between worlds, and this is exactly what her pursuers, the Wild Hunt, need. In fact, this is our main goal in the game - to find and protect the girl.
We can say that Cirilla is Geralt’s adopted daughter, but that would not be entirely correct. Ciri plays a much larger role in the witcher's life. Ciri is his Destination, the Surprise Child, connected with his life by thousands of inextricable threads.
Yes, perhaps the main plot is quite fascinating and its development is interesting to watch, but the game would lose a lot if it didn’t have additional stories that complement the main plot or are completely unrelated to it. Additional quests can sometimes be so exciting... Perhaps this is why I adore this game - each additional quest has its own original story.
To sum it up, the game is extremely unusual. This story gave me so many emotions: sympathy, anger, sadness, melancholy, joy, anxiety, excitement, delight and many others. Dozens of characters with their own personalities who became like family to me, with whom I rejoiced and empathized. I think that after completing the game once, you won’t be able to resist doing it again.
Gameplay
The gameplay is not complicated and extremely simple, essentially like in any other RPG. Although... Perhaps there is something special here.
If you don't know, a witcher is a monster slayer. And, in fact, in the game we will often engage in this craft, but you don’t think it’s that simple? Usually monsters can be found almost everywhere, but sometimes you will take orders for special creatures, and here perhaps it’s worth talking about the features. The work of a witcher is similar to the work of a detective. Sometimes that's why they hire you - to investigate. So, we found the monster we ordered and then we enter into battle. The combat is excellent. Masterfully wielding a sword, dodging in time and using signs (simple magic techniques), throwing bombs, etc. After the kill, you take the trophy (often the head of a monster) and go for the reward. This is how a good half of the game goes - in battle.
The world is full of all sorts of things and it’s quite interesting to explore, but in my opinion it’s a bit empty.
There are also a lot of activities in the game. The same gwent that many people loved so much that it is being released as a standalone game!
Graphics
Is it even worth saying anything about it? She's amazing! The lighting works wonders and sometimes the scenes look absolutely stunning. Sunrises and sunsets, rains and storms, combined with picturesque forest landscapes, sometimes create a cool picture. True, of course, I was talking about maximum settings, although the game is well optimized.
Music
What is music in games for? To give what is happening the right atmosphere. Well, the composers did a great job with this. The music perfectly describes what is happening and perfectly conveys the spirit and atmosphere of the entire game. The music is so beautiful that it often gives you goosebumps (I still remember the music when Geralt found Ciri.)
Localization
In my opinion, it’s worth mentioning, because... she's just great. The dubbing actors convey emotions exactly as they should be, and their voices are correctly selected for the characters. There are, of course, some flaws, but overall they don’t interfere at all. I will also probably say that there is no censorship in the game (Russian swearing, how you are sometimes missing in games).
Summary
The game touched me to the core... We got the best game ever created so far! Why only “the best so far”? Because I hope for a sequel that will be even better.