Poll of the Day > Witcher 3 is basically the only game left on my backlog

(+) Yeah! (+)

Should I grind out Witcher 1 and 2?

I liked the "science of magic" about Witcher 1, even though I didn't play it much and I only played like 5 minutes of Witcher 2

You don't have to play the others to play Witcher 3.

Revelation34 posted...

You don't have to play the others to play Witcher 3.

I know that, plot wise - I just mean, like, content wise

I think Witcher 3 has more content than both other games combined.

Revelation34 posted...

I think Witcher 3 has more content than both other games combined.

And that's before DLC.

as far as needing to play them to get 3, no. 3 takes a lot more from the books than the previous games anyway. youll have a better understanding of certain relationships and characters if you played the others, but its not a big aspect to understand the game. that said 2 specifically has a lot of cool elements going for it which even 3 didnt pull off as well. 1 is still really good as an rpg, but has a lot of older aquired taste stuff going on and its disturbingly slow for its story to get going. if you wanted to skip you wouldnt be missing a lot and the unique aspects to the series was pulled off better in 2 anyway.

length wise 1 is 40-50hours. 2 is 40hours + another ~25hours depending on choices for another run(which id say is mandatory). 3 is closer to 80-100hours +40-50hours for dlc.

having played 1 I would recommend it. the gameplay is not fantastic, but it's very unique and the themes are excellent. I suppose I wouldn't do it just to have done it, especially if it's not required for 3. I would just do it if you specifically want to play it. (play it for its own sake, if you want to.)

Ok, the first Wearwolf fight took like 40 tries... I literally could not see anything cuz of my ultra-high contrast HDR :p

I probably coulda learned how to make cat potion or something for nightvision... but meh

I downloaded the GotY edition when it was on sale for $10. One day I will get around to playing it. One day

A friend in Poland who gifted me the game who was offered a job at CDPR a few years back told me to skip the first two and just play 3. :P

Just clear it from your backlog and give me an excuse to dump a new game on you. >:D

DeSantis2024 posted...

I downloaded the GotY edition when it was on sale for $10. One day I will get around to playing it. One day

Do it!

I tried playing 1&2 but I hate the controls and the AI and pretty much everything honestly

Just play 3 and go with the flow. You can watch the story of the first two games on YouTube but they honestly arent very interesting

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/8/6/AADnJsAADOvC.jpg

Witcher 3 is also far easier than the other two since they added dodging to it.

I finished the Bloody Baron (Velen as a whole) quest chain and... yaknow, I would love to say something like "wow, that is one of the best written characters in gaming" but then I realized that it's only cuz he has a character arc... like, at all; the bar is that low.

... still, he is one of the best written chartacters in gaming

heh - drunk Geralt is hilarious, he sounds like 'how's it going dude?'

Lokarin posted...

I finished the Bloody Baron (Velen as a whole) quest chain and... yaknow, I would love to say something like "wow, that is one of the best written characters in gaming" but then I realized that it's only cuz he has a character arc... like, at all; the bar is that low.

... still, he is one of the best written chartacters in gaming

Lok you are truly un-understandable to me at times

VampireCoyote posted...

Lok you are truly un-understandable to me at times

I think it's a problem with gaming as a medium.

In TV serials you get time with characters to learn their nuances, but a game has to wrap that up quickly so characters don't have the time to develop anything unless they are among the primary cast - What Witcher 3 does well is stagger multiple quests, with breaks and offshoots, that let you dwell a little on the characters while also bringing you back to them.

Lokarin posted...

I think it's a problem with gaming as a medium.

In TV serials you get time with characters to learn their nuances, but a game has to wrap that up quickly so characters don't have the time to develop anything unless they are among the primary cast - What Witcher 3 does well is stagger multiple quests, with breaks and offshoots, that let you dwell a little on the characters while also bringing you back to them.

Even then when you think about it there wasn't enough content for a lot of the characters. It's impossible to do a game that would be the length of a multi season TV show.

I like that the game uses intentional annoyance to break up tense moments...

I'm something of an expert of game design and I feel 'annoyance' is a very mis-used mechanic and Witcher 3 uses it very well.

Firstly, Geralt himself expresses annoyance exactly as the player does, which is great ludonarrative

Secondly, much of the annoyance is a result of gamer error - not plot error, which is just perfect: An example, all the many many many many candles in the game. It's in-universe and world appropriate for Geralt to light and unlight candles as he sees fit, but from a gamer point of view lighting/unlighting a candle when you're trying to loot is a short annoyance (via the short Igni animation) that serves as a failure state to your looting... THAT is well applied annoyance.

...

Also... it seems a Witcher's greatest weakness is gravity.

I don't remember needing to light candles to loot.

Revelation34 posted...

I don't remember needing to light candles to loot.

that's not what I meant... I meant accidentally lighting a candle while looting is a minor annoyance that helps the game

Lokarin posted...

that's not what I meant... I meant accidentally lighting a candle while looting is a minor annoyance that helps the game

Oh. I probably did that. Dragon Quest 11 was like that. Every fucking action button on the overworld map was the A button. I kept talking to party members when trying to preemptively strike a monster or loot something.

How far am I in the game?

I thought the battle of kaer baers was going to be the end of the game since it prompts for a manual save... but it's starting to seem like it was merely the half-way point

Lokarin posted...

How far am I in the game?

I thought the battle of kaer baers was going to be the end of the game since it prompts for a manual save... but it's starting to seem like it was merely the half-way point

Another 10 hours? I don't remember exactly. I played the game out of order.

Battle of Care Bears lmao

Lokarin posted...

How far am I in the game?

I thought the battle of kaer baers was going to be the end of the game since it prompts for a manual save... but it's starting to seem like it was merely the half-way point

More like 3/4 iirc

There, the game is the over!

Well, gotta do the DLC

And since I bought Monster Hunter RISE I now have a new game as the only game left on my backlog... but, hey, that's what it is.

Now I'm really curious to go back to Witcher 1 and 2

Lokarin posted...

There, the game is the over!

Well, gotta do the DLC

And since I bought Monster Hunter RISE I now have a new game as the only game left on my backlog... but, hey, that's what it is.

Now I'm really curious to go back to Witcher 1 and 2

Good thing you didn't do what I did. The final boss was way too easy for me because I did the DLC first.

Revelation34 posted...

Good thing you didn't do what I did. The final boss was way too easy for me because I did the DLC first.

My final boss was too easy cuz he T-posed :<

The DLC is very good. Hearts of Stone is a cool story and Blood and Wine adds a whole new fancy chapter to the game.

Ok... Witcher 1 MIGHT be unplayable

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/8/9/AADnJsAADQGl.jpg

I think it's just cuz Windows 10 or something

You should add Elderborn to your backlog :P
https://store.steampowered.com/app/727850/ELDERBORN/

DeltaBladeX posted...

You should add Elderborn to your backlog :P
https://store.steampowered.com/app/727850/ELDERBORN/

I don't know where I got that from.

Revelation34 posted...

I don't know where I got that from.

Bundles, possibly, or maybe me giving away bundle keys

DeltaBladeX posted...

Bundles, possibly, or maybe me giving away bundle keys

Either it was on Humble Choice or from a random Fanatical key.

That reminds me I need to cancel my Humble and also redeem what last months.