The Witcher 3 Gameplay and Early Impressions

The Witcher 3 released yesterday and while we have been playing it for review we know that many others out there are now also galavanting around as Geralt The Witcher, who likes witching whichever Witches he wishes to Witcher.

We have spent around 6 hours in the game now and worked through most of the main early area of the game, and so far our early impressions are that this game feels like something pretty special, and we won’t be surprised if it takes home a bunch of Game of the Year awards if it continues to play the way it’s been playing so far.

Some notable highlights of the experience so far have been in the form of the way that the open-world genre has been tackled, as well as executed from a technical perspective. We absolutely love the way that the open-world is focused down into finer, more focused experience using Geralt’s Witcher Sense ability and taking the big world and reducing it down to small investigations in areas. We never like it when open-worlds feel like they are just big sandboxes that you can’t interact with more than just bashing everything, looting and jumping on top of things, so this really adds a level of depth that we’re enjoying.

Also here, we posted some gameplay up direct from the PS4. (Minor spoiler on a side-quest only)

The visuals didn’t feel thaaaaaaat impressive on the PS4 at first, but it just took a bit of time to settle into our minds that the game is really big, and that the right time of day, with the right lighting and right weather can blow your mind, not to mention the incredible facial animations and details on the characters when in cutscenes and conversations. I really need to make a special mention of how much the wind makes an effect of the atmosphere when you’re standing around and there are clothes waving around on clothes lines while all the trees and grassy areas sway back and forth, it’s quite a sight to behold.

The fact that side missions can lead to smaller investigations, discovery and ultimately some homework from the Bestiary as well as some prep for a confrontation really takes this game to places that we really like, and with the main story pieces feeling so strong and of a high quality, we just can’t wait to carry on.

Also don’t forget to check out our Game Hub for The Witcher 3, which includes local and international reviews as well as videos, guides and extra links all in one place! Go there now!