The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition

[Skinwalker]

The thing that should be praised about Twitcher 3 is that the devs put a lot of effort into making this open-world game filled with content that feels hand-crafted, rather than generic. I'm not saying that there isn't plenty of generic content - there is, most of it just feels like it belongs in this world, rather than put there purely for the player. E.g. plenty of bandit camps and monsters nests in the wilderness, but those naturally should be there in this world.

There are no mindless collection quests, or copy-pasted dungeons, or dumb fetch-quests. Every monster contract is an interesting mini-story that has a twist, sometimes there's not even a real monster and the whole thing is a ploy. The "treasure hunts" are the closest to collections, but you get valuable witcher gear out of them, and you know what you're hunting for ahead of time.

Now, I do remember that the game repeats the "humans are the real monsters" theme one too many times, because ultimately it's still ideologically-driven by shitlibs (including the original author of the book series). But that's not the same thing as generic content that plagues most open-world game, even Elden Ring.

 

[Falksi]

The thing that should be praised about Twitcher 3 is that the devs put a lot of effort into making this open-world game filled with content that feels hand-crafted, rather than generic. I'm not saying that there isn't plenty of generic content - there is, most of it just feels like it belongs in this world, rather than put there purely for the player. E.g. plenty of bandit camps and monsters nests in the wilderness, but those naturally should be there in this world.

There are no mindless collection quests, or copy-pasted dungeons, or dumb fetch-quests. Every monster contract is an interesting mini-story that has a twist, sometimes there's not even a real monster and the whole thing is a ploy. The "treasure hunts" are the closest to collections, but you get valuable witcher gear out of them, and you know what you're hunting for ahead of time.

Now, I do remember that the game repeats the "humans are the real monsters" theme one too many times, because ultimately it's still ideologically-driven by shitlibs (including the original author of the book series). But that's not the same thing as generic content that plagues most open-world game, even Elden Ring.

Visually it may be somewhat handcrafted, but only folk with goldfish brains care about that after a few hours, because anyone without a 3-second memory soon realizes that barely any of it contains any substance, and all the quests follow the same garbage structure (talk-walk-Witcher senses-fight-walk back-resolve).

"Oh look, a tree/hut/whatever which looks different...that will contain no items/quests/anything worthwhile". The entire open world is rendered pointless by the main 3 armour/weapon sets overruling anything else too.

Fucking wank game. Decline embodied.

 

[Modron]

Not to mention the main map is kind of boring no z axis use whatsoever just ever so slightly rolling hills with 1 underground cave. Two of the Skellige islands were the only place they played around with height. If you just beelined from major city to the couple small villages nothing of value would be missed.

Blood and Wine's land was much nicer in that regard and the ratio of points of interest to pointless minimap markers was better.

 

[Skinwalker]

all the quests follow the same garbage structure (talk-walk-Witcher senses-fight-walk back-resolve).

What you're moaning about here is just the basic structure for a typical quest in any RPG, except that in Twitcher 3 you also need to do some preliminary detective work to figure out exactly what is happening, because people who hire you to hunt monsters often don't know much about monsters (which makes sense, given that they're clients and you're the specialist), or may be lying to you, or whatever.

If you're complaining about talking, walking, fighting, and turning in your quest to resolve it, then maybe RPGs just aren't for you. Try FIFA 23, definitely won't have to do any of the above.

Fucking wank game. Decline embodied.

I am still waiting for an example of an open-world RPG done better. Something from the last 20 years, preferably, if you bring up stuff like Worlds of Xeen, I will literally hunt you down.

 

[Falksi]

all the quests follow the same garbage structure (talk-walk-Witcher senses-fight-walk back-resolve).

What you're moaning about here is just the basic structure for a typical quest in any RPG, except that in Twitcher 3 you also need to do some preliminary detective work to figure out exactly what is happening, because people who hire you to hunt monsters often don't know much about monsters (which makes sense, given that they're clients and you're the specialist), or may be lying to you, or whatever.

If you're complaining about talking, walking, fighting, and turning in your quest to resolve it, then maybe RPGs just aren't for you. Try FIFA 23, definitely won't have to do any of the above.

Fucking wank game. Decline embodied.

I am still waiting for an example of an open-world RPG done better. Something from the last 20 years, preferably, if you bring up stuff like Worlds of Xeen, I will literally hunt you down.

"Detective work", you mean holding a button down

Many other RPGs expand on that structure though. I'm just playing the Avernum games now, and many of the quests there veer off to various sub-quests such as solve a riddle, find a secret passage (without having the computer tell you where it is with "senses"), expand your abilities to allow you access to other areas etc. Witcher 3 is lame with all that; it just does things badly.

FIFA 23 joke was about as original as a Witcher 3 job quest.

Nearly every other OW game I've played was better than Witcher 3. Various Exile/Avernums, various TES games, Gothic 2 etc. Hell, even Risen 2 was better.

 

[Skinwalker]

Nearly every other OW game I've played was better than Witcher 3.

Ok, so you're a retard with no taste.

various TES games

Fuck off and die, retard.

Various Exile/Avernums

Not the same type of game, moron.

Gothic 2

Ok, maybe this. A very small game, compared to Twitcher 3, though.

even Risen 2 was better

No, kill yourself.

 

[Ryzer]

The thing that should be praised about Twitcher 3 is that the devs put a lot of effort into making this open-world game filled with content that feels hand-crafted, rather than generic.

Did you like the ? location with bandit in Velen or the ? location with bandit in Skellige?

 

[Skinwalker]

Not to mention the main map is kind of boring no z axis use whatsoever just ever so slightly rolling hills with 1 underground cave. Two of the Skellige islands were the only place they played around with height. If you just beelined from major city to the couple small villages nothing of value would be missed.

The main map has landscapes varying from grasslands to forests to hills to swamps to traversable wide rivers, which is an accurate, and - I'll be bold enough to suggest - a loving recreation of Eastern European biomes (including, yes, an authentic lack of verticality). It is chock-full of interesting side-quests, encounters, and atmosphere-creating details.

Skellige is an entirely different terrain altogether (I actually did not find as interesting as the main area, Vikings are dime a dozen in gaming, authentic quasi-Slavic countryside not so much). Tuissant is also different. And then there are Novigrad and Oxenfurt.

 

[racofer]

I enjoyed playing all three Witcher games and nothing you faggots say will take that away from me.

 

[NorwegianWolf]

"Detective work", you mean holding a button down

Many other RPGs expand on that structure though. I'm just playing the Avernum games now, and many of the quests there veer off to various sub-quests such as solve a riddle, find a secret passage (without having the computer tell you where it is with "senses"), expand your abilities to allow you access to other areas etc. Witcher 3 is lame with all that; it just does things badly.

FIFA 23 joke was about as original as a Witcher 3 job quest.

Nearly every other OW game I've played was better than Witcher 3. Various Exile/Avernums, various TES games, Gothic 2 etc. Hell, even Risen 2 was better.

While Avernums are good(ish) games, and writing is not terrible, there are certain things missing there. Witcher 3 may have some filler quests, filler locations, filler characters, but it also has some characters with interesting character development, quests with dramatic tension. Whereas in Avernum most characters and quests feel like forgettable 7/10 TV show episode.

 

[9ted6]

The thing that should be praised about Twitcher 3 is that the devs put a lot of effort into making this open-world game filled with content that feels hand-crafted, rather than generic. I'm not saying that there isn't plenty of generic content - there is, most of it just feels like it belongs in this world, rather than put there purely for the player. E.g. plenty of bandit camps and monsters nests in the wilderness, but those naturally should be there in this world.

There are no mindless collection quests, or copy-pasted dungeons, or dumb fetch-quests. Every monster contract is an interesting mini-story that has a twist, sometimes there's not even a real monster and the whole thing is a ploy. The "treasure hunts" are the closest to collections, but you get valuable witcher gear out of them, and you know what you're hunting for ahead of time.

Now, I do remember that the game repeats the "humans are the real monsters" theme one too many times, because ultimately it's still ideologically-driven by shitlibs (including the original author of the book series). But that's not the same thing as generic content that plagues most open-world game, even Elden Ring.

That's a common thing with RPGs after the last decade or so. The writing's woke, the characters dumb, the story shallow, but there's a fun open world to mess around in.

Except Elden Ring.

 

[Skinwalker]

The writing's woke

Yes, which is why I strongly suspect that the new game will have Ciri as the protagonist, and not Geralt or a customizable new PC. Twitter 3 main quest spent most of its time preparing this tiresome feminist passing of the torch from aging male protagonist to (adoptive) daughter Mary Sue character. They may choose not to go this route, but the groundwork has been laid as obviously as possible.

 

[Falksi]

"Detective work", you mean holding a button down

Many other RPGs expand on that structure though. I'm just playing the Avernum games now, and many of the quests there veer off to various sub-quests such as solve a riddle, find a secret passage (without having the computer tell you where it is with "senses"), expand your abilities to allow you access to other areas etc. Witcher 3 is lame with all that; it just does things badly.

FIFA 23 joke was about as original as a Witcher 3 job quest.

Nearly every other OW game I've played was better than Witcher 3. Various Exile/Avernums, various TES games, Gothic 2 etc. Hell, even Risen 2 was better.

While Avernums are good(ish) games, and writing is not terrible, there are certain things missing there. Witcher 3 may have some filler quests, filler locations, filler characters, but it also has some characters with interesting character development, quests with dramatic tension. Whereas in Avernum most characters and quests feel like forgettable 7/10 TV show episode.

I don't disagree, but anyone playing open world games for the characters is playing the wrong type of game. OW games are about the exploration and sense of discovery, something which Exile/Avernum does infinitely better than Witcher 3.

 

[Falksi]

Nearly every other OW game I've played was better than Witcher 3.

Ok, so you're a retard with no taste.

various TES games

Fuck off and die, retard.

Various Exile/Avernums

Not the same type of game, moron.

Gothic 2

Ok, maybe this. A very small game, compared to Twitcher 3, though.

even Risen 2 was better

No, kill yourself.

Some great counter-points there. Completely changed my opinion.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Witcher 3 may have some filler quests, filler locations, filler characters, but it also has some characters with interesting character development, quests with dramatic tension. Whereas in Avernum most characters and quests feel like forgettable 7/10 TV show episode.

"May have some"

That's the understatement of the fucking year. 95% of the entire game is filler.

Character development has nothing to do with the OW, and since when are long, winding monologs considered good development?

What quests had dramatic tension? There's a maximum of 5 decent quests in 100+ hour game.

 

[Zlaja]

What quests had dramatic tension?

Those that feature tits & ass.

 

[NorwegianWolf]

What quests had dramatic tension? There's a maximum of 5 decent quests in 100+ hour game.

Possession (Skellige), A Towerful of Mice, Family Matters, Scenes From A Marriage (Hearts of Stone), Ladies of the Wood, Beyond Hill and Dale (the fairytale land), Wine Wars. These are the ones I remember.
Some of these may have tedious moments or sections that are purely fetch quests, but if I'm genuinely curious about what's the story here, how will it unravel, I consider it dramatic tension.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

What quests had dramatic tension? There's a maximum of 5 decent quests in 100+ hour game.

Possession (Skellige), A Towerful of Mice, Family Matters, Scenes From A Marriage (Hearts of Stone), Ladies of the Wood, Beyond Hill and Dale (the fairytale land), Wine Wars. These are the ones I remember.
Some of these may have tedious moments or sections that are purely fetch quests, but if I'm genuinely curious about what's the story here, how will it unravel, I consider it dramatic tension.

In a game that's 100+ hours long you can remember 7. Just under half are part of expansions, not base game, and even then you admit they have tedious (in some cases very tedious) sections & moments.

You made my point for me. I can remember/name more quests in Mass Effect 1 than I can in Twitcher 3 because it's the same, mind numbing slop over and over again. The only difference being whatever "story" is in the quest which just means more bland monologs by a random NPC.

Hearts of Stone & Bloody Baron are the only good parts of Twitcher 3. HOS being the highlight of the entire trilogy.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I am still waiting for an example of an open-world RPG done better. Something from the last 20 years, preferably, if you bring up stuff like Worlds of Xeen, I will literally hunt you down.

Realms of Arkania HD

 

[Zlaja]

I am still waiting for an example of an open-world RPG done better. Something from the last 20 years, preferably, if you bring up stuff like Worlds of Xeen, I will literally hunt you down.

Realms of Arkania HD

Eclectic
Lavish
Exhilarating
Xenial

 

[Skinwalker]

What quests had dramatic tension?

Virtually every witcher contract, funnily enough.

That's the understatement of the fucking year. 95% of the entire game is filler.

You're trying too hard.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Virtually every witcher contract, funnily enough.

Listen to boring NPC blabber on --> tap witcher senses and follow that glorified quest marker ---> talk to self --> tap witcher senses --> mindnumbing action combat --> talk to NPC

They add some "story" onto it and suddenly all is forgotten. The worst part is these are the better quests in the game lol

Muh dramatic tension. Only the story quests have this, goes to show how little you remember or how easily you're fooled into thinking something is good by some fancy production.

I am still waiting for an example of an open-world RPG done better. Something from the last 20 years, preferably, if you bring up stuff like Worlds of Xeen, I will literally hunt you down.

Gothic 1-2, ELEX, Kenshi, Morrowind, Oblivion, Space Rangers, AIM Artificial Intelligence Machines, Vangers (RIP to the dev), Kingdom Come.... should I keep going?

You might be easily fooled by high production values, pretty graphics, professionally done (yet empty) dialogues but I'm not. Every single game I listed there does more with its OW than Witcher 3. I don't want to hear shit about characters/development, story, etc. When looking at what the game did with its OW and how well it was crafted, W3 is an empty, vapid piece of shit. They should've made that game much more linear. HOS works because it's the only time they changed the formula.

 

[Skinwalker]

Listen to boring NPC blabber on --> tap witcher senses and follow that glorified quest marker ---> talk to self --> tap witcher senses --> mindnumbing action combat --> talk to NPC

There's also writing involved. And preparing for combat with alchemy, which you need if you're playing at the highest difficulty, like I am.

Again, you're repeating Falksi's dumb non-argument: any CRPG quest is built around basic mechanics.

Gothic 1-2, ELEX, Kenshi, Morrowind, Oblivion, Space Rangers, AIM Artificial Intelligence Machines, Vangers (RIP to the dev), Kingdom Come.... should I keep going?

Oblivion. Please, keep going. I want everyone to see the true face of these edgelords.

 

[Skinwalker]

You might be easily fooled by high production values, pretty graphics, professionally done (yet empty) dialogues but I'm not. Every single game I listed there does more with its OW than Witcher 3. I don't want to hear shit about characters/development, story, etc. When looking at what the game did with its OW and how well it was crafted, W3 is an empty, vapid piece of shit. They should've made that game much more linear. HOS works because it's the only time they changed the formula.

I'm not reading this butthurt rant, you said "Oblivion". Your argument is invalid. It's over.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

There's also writing involved. Again, you're repeating Falksi's dumb non-argument: any CRPG quest is built around basic mechanics.

Slap on a "story" where some NPC with a British accent blabbers on and suddenly 100 hours of grinding is worth it.

It's funny you bring up writing though, because the writing makes the game even worse. No connection to an extremely time sensitive storyline, that's not good writing. Just have to conveniently ignore everything to fill up another 80 hours of gameplay and justify this open world, that'll convince the masses this is a masterpiece!

The game is terrible as OW, should be linear. Somehow you're too stupid to see that.