Since the first two Witcher games never came to Sony’s console, some of the Playstation owners may be in doubt as to how much of the story the’d have missed, or even if the game is worth it, in the midst of so many releases.
So, here’s an overview of the past games, mostly covering gameplay elements, some story elements, lore and trivia.
So, what exactly is a Witcher?
Witchers are a breed of warrior monks, swordsmen versed in magic and trained specifically to keep humans safe from monsters for a fee.
Witchers are normal children separated from their families in order to undergo training. At the heart of this training lies the Trial of Grasses, in which the children are forced to ingest mutagenic herbs, mushrooms and natural stimulants. It’s a skin-searingly painful and fatally dangerous process. Those that live through the ordeal are rewarded with superhuman reflexes, endurance, hearing and vision. But only very few survive.
Looked upon with fear and mistrust as a result of their otherness, only a few witchers remain, leading a solitary existence. In the games, the site of the witchers’ training, the fortress Kaer Morhen, has been destroyed by fearful fanatics. Nobody remains to continue the line. As a result, witchers are a dying breed.
Who is Geralt?
No knight he, though a master of the sword
No wizard he, though adept in secret magic
He did not care to save the world, yet for many he was a deliverer
He was no murderer though he killed for a living
The legend of him that arose
is not over
Also known as Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf or Gwynbleidd (amongst other things), Geralt is the main character of the stories. He’s also one of the most powerful witchers.
Given away as a ten year-old boy, Geralt was exposed to more powerful experiments in the Trial of Grasses than anyone else, a process so traumatic that it turned his hair white and imbued him with increased abilities. He’s king of the badasses.
He also has a fondness for the ladies. The lusty lad does it at every available opportunity, yet he can never have children. His witcher training left him sterile and impervious to disease, so basically he can do the dance with no pants with whoever he wants, without having to worry about babies or penicillin shots.
The Story So Far…
The Witcher game series, while based on the books, actually continue the story from where the books left off. With branching plot lines which introduce the players to entirely different areas and characters, according to player choices, it’s hard to summarize the story, but a gist of the over-arching plot of the first Witcher game is presented in the nifty video below:
And, CDProject has promised to surmise the events of the second game with the release of The Witcher 3, but since the second game had a drastically branching story line, depending heavily on player choices, it won’t be an easy task. It’s highly advisable to experience the second game yourself, as it’s probably the best RPG to come to a console!!
A short video of much needed back story and lore that will be prevalent in The Witcher 3 is presented in the video below:
Gameplay Mechanics in The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
The gameplay is similar to that of the previous installment. The Witcher 3 will introduce “a living Open World larger than any other in modern RPG history.” The setting is more than “30 times larger” than previous Witcher games, requiring players to catch a sailboat to some locations and ride by horseback to others. However, fast travelling around the areas of known locations are also possible. The Witcher 3 has been described as “20% bigger than Skyrim. Each action the player does will affect the world; every quest has a plethora of options on how to complete it, and every outcome is different each time. Combat, like the second game, revolves around an action RPG system combined with the use of magic, and a recent trailer displayed that dismemberment is present in the game. CD Projekt RED anticipates approximately 100 hours for the completion of the game, 50 of them belonging to side quests, and 50 belonging to the main story line. The game also features a dynamic day and night system, realistic AI, responsive and dynamic environments, and much more.
In an interview back in E3 2013, the Gameplay Producer of The Witcher 3, Marek Ziemak, stated that the game will have around 80 monsters. The monsters will be unique and have their own AI, special moves and traits.
The interview goes on to reveal that some monsters’ powers and abilities will also change with the day and night cycle, similar to how a werewolf would gain powers during the night of a full moon. This is supposed to incorporate deeper gameplay mechanics when monster hunting. During the closed E3 presentation in 2013, a quest was shown to allow you to have the option to hunt a monster that seems to be terrorizing a village on many accounts, while the elder of that village claims the monster is protecting the village. You are then given the choice to hunt this monster and, if you pursue this, you will be tasked to do certain chores to weaken this monster and proceed to hunt it down. Item creation and potion brewing still remains in this iteration of the game, but has been modified drastically from The Witcher 2 to bring a better experience to players.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt also introduces some new mechanics, such as witcher-sense, combat on horseback, and at sea, swimming underwater, and using a crossbow. Additionally, Geralt can now jump, climb, and vault over smaller obstacles. The climbing mechanics have been described as “not exactly” like Assassin’s Creed, but more “similar to what we have in Uncharted.
Finally: Why Geralt is a Badass!!
Well, here’s why..
Hopefully, this summary of the Witcher games helps players doubtful about getting the game, and refreshes the memory of those who already have played it. It’s truly a great series of games, with a solid story structured by player choices, beautiful and immersive visuals, and tight gameplay mechanics. All in all, this is a fine example of how video games should be. This game series is a must-play!!
