Introduction
Basic information
Developer Name: CD Projekt Red
Full Name: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Released on: PC, PS4, Xbox One, later PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch
Cross Play: No
Initial thoughts
Originally, this was supposed to be a passive experience for me, watching, offering tips, and helping navigate tough choices. But what started as light curiosity turned into a full-on obsession. My wife was soon following gear guides, min-maxing her build, and hunting down every hidden treasure. I bought the PS5 upgrade mid-playthrough for her, and it revitalized the game visually. And through it all, one thing remained consistent: the ocean in Skellige, littered with dozens upon dozens of Smuggler’s Caches we never truly wanted to touch.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a genre-defining RPG that sets the benchmark for storytelling in open-world games. With its vast lands, morally gray choices, and richly written characters, it’s become a modern classic. We entered this world expecting a casual playthrough. But it turned into a 300-hour epic. Led entirely by my wife, who went from curious beginner to fully armored Witcher veteran. Along the way, she explored nearly everything. Nearly. Because even she drew the line at completing all the Smuggler’s Caches in Skellige.
Story and setting
Plot overview
The narrative follows Geralt’s desperate search for his adopted daughter Ciri, blending politics, folklore, and family bonds. It’s expansive, rich in subplots, and often distracts you from the main objective in the best ways. However, achieving one of the better endings can be a challenge, it demands choices that aren’t always clearly marked and might require replaying vast segments via New Game+ or reloading older saves. And that gets repetitive fast. Like… you guessed it: the Smuggler’s Caches in Skellige.
World building and immersion
Few game worlds feel this alive. Every village, cave, castle, and battlefield tells a story. Velen is grim, Novigrad feels alive with politics and vice, and Skellige is beautiful, if you can get past all the naval map clutter.
Character development
Characters grow in believable ways, and your choices shape those arcs. Geralt, Yen, Triss, Ciri, and even minor characters like Keira Metz leave lasting impressions.
Emotional impact
storylines hit hard, from personal moments with Ciri to grim fates in side quests, like with the baron. The game excels at blending tragedy with levity.
Rating for story and setting
I have visited multiple aspects of the story and after some thought and objective thinking, I rated the story and setting with an 9.
Gameplay and mechanics
Core gameplay mechanics
Combat in The Witcher 3 walks the line between deliberate and chaotic. Early on, it’s easy to feel underpowered. But as your gear and skills come together, especially with the DLC powers, you become a storm of death. Preparation is key, but levels? They barely matter. You might destroy a level 25 Fiend while barely level 5… or get wrecked by a level 4 bandit because you didn’t dodge one swing.
Swordplay, magic signs, alchemy, crafting, and skill trees provide a flexible foundation for multiple builds. Whether you favor potion-based strategies, aggressive melee, or magical traps, the game gives you the tools to play your way.
Difficulty and balance
Completely unbalanced, but not always in a bad way. It’s satisfying to outplay higher-level foes, though strange when the reverse happens unexpectedly, there is no balance at all.
Pacing of the game
Varied. Some stretches fly by, while others slow to a crawl as you gather herbs or travel across yet another map… usually Skellige.
Innovation and uniqueness
At release, its world detail and quest writing far outpaced most competitors. It remains a milestone. And many years later, the map is still wonderful, even though it has aged a little.
Controls and user interface
Serviceable but still a bit stiff, especially in tight spaces or horseback movement. Inventory sorting isn’t great. Also, Roach gets stuck on every fence, Simone just ran everywhere.
Microtransactions
None. Every major content piece was a paid expansion, with a slew of smaller content updates released for free.
Rating
After combing through many of the mechanics, the pacing and other factors of this game, I rated the gameplay and mechanics with a 8.
Graphics and art style
Quality of graphics and art direction
The PS5 upgrade breathed new life into the already atmospheric visuals. My wife’s reaction to walking through Toussaint at sunset was pure joy. The art direction, lighting, and environmental design make it a world you want to get lost in, even if you’re just sailing from one Smuggler’s Cache to the next… and the next… and the next…
All in all, the graphics are beautifully stylized and striking, even years after release. Toussaint, especially, feels like a fantasy painting brought to life.
Technical performances
Some bugs and pop-in issues still occur, even post-upgrade. But nothing game-breaking.
Environment and design uniqueness
From haunting swamps to Elven ruins and royal palaces, each location is distinctive. However, it does feel like some assets are reused.
Rating
It took me some time to give the graphics and art style an objective rating. There are many things to consider, but ultimately, I rated this section with a 8.5.
Sound and music
Music score and how it contributed to the game
The Witcher 3’s soundtrack is iconic. From Slavic-inspired battle chants to eerie ambient tracks in dungeons, it sells every scene. Though, yes, the music swells into an epic score even when Geralt fights a lone wild dog or wolf. It’s dramatic, but charmingly so.
Despite that, the soundtracks are masterful. Every region and situation has its own mood, and you’ll find yourself humming tracks long after logging off.
Sound effects quality
High quality throughout. Steel-on-steel combat and magical signs all have weight and impact.
Voice Acting
Strong performances across the board, with Geralt’s dry tone perfectly capturing his world-weary nature.
Rating
After a lot of consideration, I rated the sound and music section with a 9.
Replayability
Game Length and content volume
There’s a staggering amount of content here, two full expansions, branching choices, new builds, and gear hunts. Yet with that comes fatigue. Doing it all again is possible, but requires commitment. And then there’s Skellige. So many islands. So many… Smuggler’s Caches.
The core game is 50–70 hours; 100+ if you go deep. Add another 30–40 with both expansions. Even much longer if you do every quest!
Extra Content
Both Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are essential, adding incredible new quests, powers, and locations. You will have enough time to play for months!
Replay value
High, but requires patience. Great for players who enjoy diving deep and optimizing builds.
Rating
After thoughtful consideration, I decided to rate the replayability and game length of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt with an 8.
Suggestions and comparisons
Suggestions and feedback
Rework enemy scaling to feel more consistent. Allow better in-game sorting and tracking of quests. And… maybe reduce the number of Smuggler’s Caches in Skellige. Or at least give us a grappling hook boat mod.
Comparisons
If Skyrim defined open-world fantasy in its time, The Witcher 3 refined it. It stands alongside games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition, but remains unmatched in side quest quality and narrative depth.
Personal experiences and anecdotes
My wife cleared everything, Velen, Novigrad, Kaer Morhen, Toussaint, every contract, every side quest. But she refused to deal with the endless Smuggler’s Caches in Skellige. Despite that, she built a nigh-immortal Geralt who could resurrect on adrenaline and slaughter entire monster packs with a single spell. I played Gwent, she played God. It worked out well in the end.
Rating
Taking in all the personal experiences with The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Simone gives this game a personal rating of 9.
Last words
Pros
- Deep, morally complex storytelling
- Stunning open world with variety
- Engaging combat (eventually)
- Incredible music and audio
- Beautiful visuals, especially with PS5 upgrade
- Fantastic expansions
- Excellent voice acting
- Rich character interactions
- Loads of builds and gear sets
- Free DLC content
- Meaningful side quests
- Atmosphere that pulls you in
Cons
- Poor enemy level scaling
- Combat balance issues
- Tedious inventory management
- Bloated map markers (especially Skellige)
- Clunky mounted controls
- Repetitive side activities over time
- Overly dramatic music in minor fights
- New Game+ lacks reward pacing
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a triumph of storytelling, world-building, and RPG mechanics, despite a few rough edges. It’s an experience that stays with you long after the credits roll. Whether you’re slaying monsters, solving political conspiracies, or just ignoring the 87th Smuggler’s Cache in Skellige, there’s something here for everyone. And honestly? We wouldn’t have it any other way.
FINAL RATING
8.8
Please let me know what you think of the Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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Love the review <3 Was def one my favourite rpgs at the time of release. cant wait to try the dlc !
You really should try the DLC, Simone enjoyed every bit of it.
Glad you liked it. The Witcher has a special place in my heart. It is great that such good company as CD Project made this game (or those games, Witcher 1 and 2 too), they know how to make a quality game and understand Witcher, they done really well to put to life masterpiece material from books to make new stories to use the same world and likeable or known characters from Sapkowski books. Those books are deep btw, it is not only some story for children but something much more. I would rate it even higher 🙂 😉 So let me try to answer some cons: There is no enemy scaling and thats good but it is true ithat returning to some areas can be bit boring/too easy after your characters is maxed in level and equipment or almost but even then it can happen mostly about map side quests not main missions, which show also which level is recommended so you are not planning on blind. Inventory might be some burden so i used weight mod to not be forced to backtrack too often. I had tendency to get lost in some games like newer Doom or so but this was never a problem in The Witcher games so i didnt see any problem with markers in any Witcher part at all. World and story, characters are unique great in this game and books. Atmosphere is incredible, I just loved both Skellige and Toussaint, it was incredible to see those areas on my own eyes after reading about it and it was even better i could imagine in many areas, so breathtaking locations. nature, climats, just wow 😀 Work of art, I have a huge respect for CD Projekt and Andrzej Sapkowski for creating all this. And i can be proud from them because they are from my country. Thanks for your review 🙂
Oh i forgot to add, good job Simone!! I also finished all side quests in a whole game and YES it was worth it 😀 Including caches and Gwent 😉 Great review.
What a wall of text! I am glad you liked this review, and I still might want to try the books, haven’t gotten to that.
This brought back so many memories of playing the game. I totally agree about the choices feeling meaningful and how the world just pulls you in.
The world indeed pulls you in!
The witcher 3 is indeed fantastic. Though I can understand rating some of it’s aspects <10..I think overall it deserves a 10. Much better than skyrim imo.
Sadly there are a few aspects that lower the rating.
The witcher 3 is indeed fantastic. Though I can understand rating some of it’s aspects <10..I think overall it deserves a 10. Much better than skyrim imo.
I would like to get to this game at some point since everyone seems to really love it!
Of course, since I tend to play games in order, I have to play through the previous games first… XD
You can use mods to enhance the previous games.
I agree this game is spectacular. Looking forward to witcher 4.
I think the witcher 4 will take some time before it is completed.
It’s one of the games I’m curious about and want to try!
You should try it!
They made a great RPG that will always be on the top
Maybe the next game will top it?
Think the inventory system got to me the most of this game ut over all was a fun playthrough.
It was indeed a fun game to watch!
I totally get the jokes around Roach getting stuck in The Witcher 3, it’s part of the charm. In the Blood and Wine expansion there’s even a quest called Equine Phantoms where Roach literally talks about how frustrating it is to call her and she appears in ridiculous spots
Oh, Simone loved that quest, it was so fun!
Hahah, I also did everything BUT the Smuggler’s Caches in Skellige. My brother, however, did Caches, but didn’t catch all the quests I’ve found.
It’s a truly enjoyable experience through and through. An exceptional game that stood out.
Damn those Smuggler’s Caches!
It deserves this score. Really good rpg game.
It indeed is a good RPG game.
Thanks for the review of this legendary game. I’m going to play it soon I hope (even if it takes a while to see the end of it).
It might indeed take some time!
I haven’t played Witcher 3, but you did manage to make me very interested in Skellige. I like finding treasures and would like to try if I can find all of them in this game.
It is going to take a lot of time to find all the treasures!
this is one of my all time favourite games… modding this game is also what got me into pc gaming xD Nice review!
Never seen it with mods.
Loved reading the review! Definitely one that I will check out in the future 🙂
You really should!
I like this game. I want to play 1 and 3 part, because firstly I played witcher 2 and like plot and gameplay in this part and secondly I I got into the Witcher’s universe.
How was the witcher 2?
It seems like a really in-depth, atmospheric and beautiful game! I’ve never played any and don’t know much about The Witcher but would love to play this! “Overly dramatic music in minor fights” made me laugh 😆
It is indeed a bit dramatic, lol.
The hundrets of Smuggler’s Caches in skellige are way too much to handle. I really enjoy this game but way too often I find NPCs stuck in the floor or objects hovering 5 feet above the table. This really breaks Immersion. Also but that is kind of a classic. The horse just moves wrong and silly sometimes.
Oh, there are less bugs than some modern games right now, but I get it.
Wow, I can’t believe this is actually 10 years old now and I still haven’t played it. I really like the concept but I’ve never gotten around to it… It’s good to see that it still holds up so well even after all this time.
It is indeed 10 years old! There is even a celebration.
I want to play it some time. Although I think it would be useful to play the first two beforehand? To get the story and background. But thinking about the clunky controls the first had even in its time let’s me hesitate a bit 😅
Maybe wait for a remake for the older games?