The Witcher 3 has been announced and it looks like they are bringing some changes to the series. Unlike The Witcher 2, TW3 is going to have a completely open-world experience similar to Skyrim or Fallout. In The Witcher 2, we loved the story, the world and characters, but the quests were very planned out and you had a specific direction to take throughout the game. However, TW3 appears to be a more open-world game like Skyrim where players can ignore quests or do what they want. Of course, we are expecting a good balance between the two, as players don’t want to feel limited in an open-world game.
Yes, the Witcher 2 is an amazing game because of the narrative and some critics fear that a completely open-world experience can ruin that. If you have played Fable then you will understand how a direct path throughout the game can make you feel limited while playing, as it feels like there should be more to explore and see (not that the Fable series was bad).
True open-world games usually have less narrative than other RPGs, which would take away what we all know and love from The Witcher series. Can they pull it off? There could definitely be a balance balance, and they say the quest design in TW3 will be very similar to TW2, so they will likely attempt to deliver a good storyline while giving players more freedom at the same time.
Basically, they will prioritize the narrative between Geralt’s main quest, monster hunting, and the political situation. The first two games in the series still put you in a fairly large world that you can explore, and even though the environments are contained they don’t feel too limited. There was always a balance between a good storyline and letting players explore the world and feel free.
Game Informer has put out some of the game artwork and screenshots, which display a beautiful open-world with extremely detailed graphics. Yeah, you’ve probably heard or read that a million times in game articles, but TW3: Wild Hunt really shows us what these new consoles are capable of. This large open-world isn’t something you will see on a PS3 or Xbox 360, not this detailed. Think about it, this game is literally 30 times larger than the previous Witcher titles and 20% bigger than Skyrim.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is expected to come out on February 24, 2015 for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The game is expected to be more complex than other modern RPGs as well, as the monsters are going to be completely unique. For instance, some monsters will have different abilities and powers during the day and some are going to be stronger at night, like the werewolf will during a full moon. There are about 80 monsters featured in this game, so it will be interesting to see how each type uses its abilities.
If you are a fan of the item creation and potion brewing features from The Witcher 2 then you won’t be disappointed, as they didn’t remove it, they improved it even further. It looks like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is going to deliver an amazing next-gen gaming experience, what do you think?