Average Guy Reviews: Witcher 3 GOTY Edition

An epic fantasy adventure worth your time
by ~SL​

As someone who has never played any of the games in the franchise I was told I needed to at least check out Witcher 3. It's boasted as one of the best games of all time, as well as won numerous awards when it was released. I asked myself, "Was it right to start a game in its third entry?" Will I understand the story? Will it be fun? Is it worth my time? The answer is a resounding yes!

I will start by saying this game is massive! The main story is comprised of 3 acts, and even after 20 hours I am still only half way through Act 1. Since I am currently still playing this game I wanted to give my thoughts on what I have played so far, in lieu of a full review.

Story: You play Geralt, a witcher who is on a quest to find another hunter, a young women named Ciri. As you retrace her steps, you run into all sorts of characters, friend and foe, as the story unfolds like an onion, with hundreds of different layers of quests to complete.

Pros:
+ Fans of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings will love the setting and lore.
+ Gritty fantasy world filled with stories of war, poverty, racism, love, and monster slaying.
+ Open world game that offers main story quests, tons of side missions, and witcher contracts, which can easily take 100+ hours to complete everything.
+While this is the 3rd game of the franchise, the story itself is considered a standalone adventure. Someone coming into the franchise fresh may not know all the names of characters, but there are books and entries to help a newcomer fill in the gaps of who people are.
Cons:
- While length of the game is a positive it is also a negative. This wouldn't be a game I would recommend for someone to just stick to the main story, as some of the side missions and contracts are more fun and engaging. 

Gameplay: The game is considered an open world action RPG. Combat requires a bit more patience than your standard game, and there is also a level up system to invest in certain points, based on your play-style.

Pros:
+ Combat is essentially a "strategic hack 'n' slash."
+ Once you get used to the controls, you will feel like a bad ass taking on several bandits at once, or a giant monster with ease.
+ The game is essentially all fetch quests, but right now no quest has ever been repeated. Tip of the cap to the developers for making every single mission unique. This is not an easy task when there are over hundreds of them.
Cons:
- Controls will take a bit to get used to. The mindset of just hacking and slashing will result in death. It will be beneficial to focus on enemy movements and block, as well as evade.
- With all the options to create potions, craft armor, level up, and research monsters, it can be a little overwhelming and took me several hours to finally get a grasp on it all.

Graphics/Sound: 
Pros:
+ Graphics are amazing, whether it's the scenery, or the characters themselves (some screenshots below during my play through). This is one of the best looking games on Xbox One!
+ Even though the world is so vast, loading only takes place when you start up the game, fast travel, or die. It really helps engross you into the world when everything is so seamless.
+ Soundtrack is your standard fantasy genre music, but fits well within the world.

Misc:
Cons:
- Traveling the world by horse is sometimes finicky, with not being able to go through a bush or a small edge, causing the horse to stop. It's not the worst thing in the world, but annoying when it happens, and does quite a bit.
- As stated before, the menu screens can be very overwhelming, with the vastness that is this game. There is definitely a learning curve to it all.
- Sadly, some story related achievements for me are not unlocking, which is devastating as a cheevo hunter like myself...be weary.

Assortment of some captures and funny glitches in my play through​

I was very skeptical playing a game in its third entry, but even only at 20 hours, I can already see why this game is so special. They have created a fantastic open world and filled it with a million things to do. As you are reading this now, I am probably online still playing this game. If you have the time, I would highly encourage to experience it for yourself.

Average Guy Review Score: 9 out of 10
Price point worth of purchase: Worthy of full price (GOTY comes with all DLC for $50)
Level of Replay: Game can easily be over 100 hours. There are achievements for going back and playing at higher difficulty, but those would only be for the determined.