The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is bit tersweet. On one hand, CD Projekt RED is giving its all to the project and it shows – the visuals are breathtaking and the choice and consequence storytelling is strong as ever. On the other hand, this is protagonist Geralt of Rivia's final adventure. Thankfully, he's going out like a witcher should. CD Projekt RED is providing him the biggest stage possible: an open-world game with opportunities and choices around each corner.
What's immediately striking is how alive the world feels. As Geralt walks the streets of Novigrad, the largest city in the game, he runs into children fighting over who will play the witch they pretend to burn. These exchanges feel authentic, and the NPC chatter is cleverly written. The world appears boundless, with towers, bridges, and the sea visible in the distance. This isn't merely decoration; CD Projekt RED says if you see something, you can interact with it, often revealing hidden paths and treasures. In our live demo, Geralt continues on a quest to find the “ashen-haired woman.” Longtime fans should have an inkling of who he's pursuing.
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| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game Review |
The basic premise and gameplay remain unchanged, but Geralt looks quicker on his feet. He still has a silver sword for monsters and a steel one to fell humans, alongside his handy set of magical powers. His witcher senses still prove fruitful for finding enemy traces, like footsteps to keep him on the right trail. New here is Geralt's access to a crossbow to help him shoot down flying enemies like harpies.
Geralt soon hits his first obstacle: A monster child referred to as a godling has information but lost his voice. Geralt must restore it if he wants answers, so he follows the godling. Through the murky swamps, Geralt encounters drowners, dead bodies that guards dispose of by throwing them in the water. Now they've come back to pester anyone who goes through their territories.
Geralt restores the godling's voice, who then leads him to an elderly woman. She can channel spirits for three different women, beautifully showcased on a tapestry. These women hold the key to the ashen-haired woman. We must fulfill a favor first, which leads Geralt to a man who needs him to destroy a tree monster that's cursing his village. At this point, the mission is starting to become dependent on fetch quests, but the next event turns things around by bringing what we know and love about The Witcher. As we're about to slay the tree monster, it pleads for us not to kill it saying, “Only I can save the children.”
On our way, we passed an orphanage with children playing outside. At this moment, Geralt's path branches. Can we trust this creature? It could just be saying this to save its life, but what if it's telling the truth? In the demo, Geralt chooses to kill it. After our quest, we go back to the man, who slices off his ear like it's no big deal, giving us what the spirits wanted.
When Geralt brings the ear back, the beautiful ladies from the tapestry transform into their true selves. Let's just say they're more grotesque than the pretty picture we previously saw. We then get a glimpse of the ashen-haired woman, who fans will recognize as Triss, except her hair is now gray. That's enough to leave us intrigued, but as the demo closes, we see the impact of the choice to kill the tree. The orphanage has disappeared; the children are nowhere in sight.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Style: 1-Player Role-Playing
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: CD Projekt RED
Release: February 24
