Gamer’s Review: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” was officially in 2015 (same year Batman: Arkham Knight came out) on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it earned universal praise from critics and gamers alike. Plus, it was a commercial hit, the game ultimately won “Game of the Year” at The Game Awards 2015. In 2022, the game was given a “Next-Gen” update on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Anyway, CD Projekt’s currently working on “The Witcher IV” focusing on Geralt’s protege, Ciri. It’ll be released sometime around 2028. One more thing, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is getting a DLC expansion, “Songs of the Past” coming in 2027.

As I prep up for the upcoming fourth game and third DLC expansion, I wanna share my thoughts on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Today’s review contains no SPOILERS.

Powerful & Weak Aspects

Powerful: Voice Actors all did an excellent job for their respective voiceover performances.

If you’re a “Game of Thrones” fan, Charles Dance voices the Emperor of Nilfgaardian.

Graphics bring the world to life. They look gorgeous. Next-Gen augments textures, high quality resolution and ray-tracing. Not too shabby.

Marcin Przybyłowicz & Mikolai Stroinski orchestrated the soundtrack.

Gameplay/Mechanics

Presented as a third-person action-adventure role-playing game, you play as Geralt navigating regions. Traverse on foot. Sail a boat. Call your horse, Roach. Travel on horseback exploring each region. Five of them combined is one massive open world. Six if you install DLC story, “Blood and Wine.”
Combat’s the meat and potatoes. A silver sword allows you to damage monsters. A steel sword damages humanoids. Signs are magic spells. They’re useful whenever you’re in a tight situation.
Enemy Variety has unique monsters, normal humans, witches, ghosts and other species.
Bestiary details enemy types. Some have strengths and weaknesses. Exploit them using your potions and spells.
Gain XP by completing quests and slaying enemies. Doing so levels up. Granting you Ability Points.
Ability Points can be spent and transferred to a slot within a Skill Tree. Four branches are Combat, Signs, Alchemy & General. Esch branch is limited to twelve slots. Choose whatever suits your playstyle.
Mutagens are found by dead monsters. Color coded mutagens matching a Skill Tree’s color boost your abilities.
Witcher Senses enables you to investigate your target’s whereabouts. You can also use your senses to find sweet loot.
Craft weapons and armor at a nearest blacksmith. Refine your personal ones using required materials. Don’t forget to restore your equipment. You’ll need ‘em sturdy enough on your journey.
Spend money on outfits, saddle upgrades for Roach, new weapons, food and ingredients. Heck, get a haircut. Certain regions have different currencies.
Fast Travel via signpost or harbor. Discovering one will take you from Point A to Point B.
Dialogue Tree determines your decisions. Be careful. Many of ‘em in various quests will affect the outcome of characters in good or bad endings. Selecting mind trick in a dialogue scene gives you a bit of XP. Remember, some characters will either live or die. This is Game of Thrones territory.
Side Quests are immersive as the Main Quests.
Activities feature contract killing monsters, hunting wildlife, horse races, fist fights, embark on scavenger hunts, and playing a card game, Gwent.
Question marks all scattered all over the map. Some have surprises. For instance, Places of Power grants you a free Ability Point or a temporary boost. Keep your eyes peeled.
Certain sections within the Main Story switch to Ciri as temporary playable character. Her combat skills and abilities are way powerful than Geralt.
Next-Gen includes Photo Mode. Take an awesome snapshot. Gotta love Photo Mode. Never gets old.

Geralt’s chemistry with Yennifer, old and new allies serve as the main highlight. His interactions play a crucial part affecting what would happen if you make decisions.

If you’re new to The Witcher series, it’s not required to play the first two games. Characters Profiles on returning characters will help you know the context regarding the status quo.

Next-Gen adds new outfits inspired by the Netflix series starring Henry Cavill/Liam Hemsworth. I admit, I haven’t seen the TV adaptation.

It took me 54 hours to beat the Main Story. There’s so much stuff do to it took me 100+ hours partaking in Side Quests and Activities.

Replay Value solely for different outcomes doubles another 100+ hours. You can tell CD Projekt put a lot of effort.

Two DLC story expansions “Hearts of Stone” & “Blood and Wine” adds more additional hours. These two are for a future review.

For those who’ve already purchased The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, a remastered edition significantly improves the Gameplay/Mechanics, Photo Mode options etc. Unlike greedy scum bums, EA, Bethesda, Ubisoft, WB Games, Konami, Nintendo, Sqaure Enix & Activision, CD Projekt confirmed the remastered edition’s totally free. It’ll be available on September 29, 2026.

Like Game of Thrones, this game’s not for kids. There’s nudity and sex scenes. In the words of Adult Swim Action announcer, “Put the kids to bed and get ready to get down.”

Not really a con, but you can’t go on a rampage. This ain’t GTA. Reminds me of Tony Montana in “Scarface: The World Is Yours.” He refuses to kill bystanders. He’ll only mow down low live thugs. It’s fine. Geralt isn’t a bloodthirsty psychopath.

Fun Fact: Conan O’Brien played the game in a segment of “Clueless Gamer.” The way he plays it is priceless.

Random Thought: I never played the first two games. My first exposure to the series was Angry Joe’s review on the third game. I have to give him credit for introducing me to the series. Someday, the first two games might pop up in a future PlayStation console. I’ll give ‘em a try.

Weak: I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving CD Projekt Red an Extra Point for making a flawless game as possible.

The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!

The Witcher III Wild Hunt is without a doubt, my favorite game of 2015. I consider this game as one of my all-time favorite games. If you’re new to The Witcher series or a fan of open world RPGS, I strongly recommend this masterpiece. I cannot wait for the fourth game.