This game, WOW

I did not expect it to be this good at all, I'm sad it's over! :(

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Due to reading several posts saying they weren't able to finish the game, shitty combat, lame dialogue, bad graphics for its time etc... I came into this game expecting a mediocre experience that I'm going to haul through unwillingly. Hell no, not even close.

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Going to preface this by admitting I'm most likely biased (just reasons, not game spoilers)

I consider myself new to games in general as I built my first PC this year. So the only games I played are mostly Skyrim, Half-Life & Portal, and some multiplayer games with friends. Meaning Skyrim is the only RPG game I can compare Witcher 1 to. I don't intend to argue of whether certain aspects were better in Skyrim or TW1, though for the parts that I found TW1 to excel in, I'll compare to Skyrim to explain how that made me like TW1.

See, I wanted to play the Witcher 3 (as anyone else). Though, I usually concern myself about playing the prequels, especially if there's a story. Just couldn't stand jumping into a book/show/game without seeing it the proper order, you know? Sure, you could play the Witcher 3 as is without any prior Witcher knowledge... and I was about to (as I did with Skyrim since you didn't need the previous games), but also seen a lot of people heavily insist I read the books first. The books were absolutely treats (100% please read them), made me want ALL of the Witcher. Absolutely could not skip anything after that.

Basically, I couldn't stand going into TW3 without knowing the abundant references, people I should know, and missing out on a bulk of the story (including books and TW1-2). Wanted to enjoy TW3 at the fullest potential!

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The Game

(will stop digressing)

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Story

Firstly, I seemed to enjoy TW1 because of all the familiar faces. Having to see my favorite characters being portrayed and living out the plot was just adequate enough way for me to spend my evening after a tough day at school.

The game didn't stop at being "just adequate" but went beyond my expectations with, honestly, an epic story. The plot was complex and better yet, you greatly influenced these events with certain choices, usually much ahead of time with heavy consequences.

Frequently there would be questions that can be very difficult to decide on, even for side quests. Hard choices to make, though it was mainly because I did try to choose decisions that GERALT would make (great perk for reading the books) and he often is conflicted. If the average player, like I for example, would make the choices it would be fairly simple I think however (help humans, save the world, kill ALL monsters, etc), and would not be as fun.

Speaking of side quests as I mentioned, I love how even though they are just side quests, they can help enhance the main plot very much. They can move the story forward even or give good background info. (spoiler) example would be speaking to Carmen before meeting Vincent with his "ability". Or taking the hermit's sidequests and learning more about the Wild Hunt.

Quests, to my surprise, weren't so linear as expected. As an example to explain, there was an investigation in the story you do alongside with a detective. You choose who to question and questioning/fighting one person leads to another clue, which you can believe in or not, and literally investigate without the game leading you every step. Most of the game, in terms of progression is rather like this I'd like to say.

You could have two/three main quests each chapter, and not needing to progress each separately as a whole. Completing part of one main quest can help give you insight of another quest. On top of that, you make crucial choices along the way, until ultimately resolving every matter of the chapter.

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Not to mention, every Act/Chapter had its surprises, each better than the next. All together it was just an epic story with very nice twists and turns.

The plot and the consequences were strong elements of the game that kept me very enticed. Gotta add, it was super satisfying at the end how ultimately everything came together and the choices you make influence who shows up to help you at the end.

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Combat

Most would say combat is at best "clunky" and lame. As before, my say on this is that I actually love the combat.

For TW1's combat, I often found myself dodging and positioning myself effectively to deal with enemies (which I like how it correlates to how combat is portrayed in the books). I'd flip over enemies to deal with them one at a time, or barge in the middle so I can get a large slice on all the enemies at once. You have to switch between different Witcher fighting styles depending on which enemy, and how many. Also may have to deal with switching between different swords, spells, and potions.

The timing of the attacks determined out powerful/quick they were and were cool to pull off.

Potions and the system to create them is quite nice, much better than how Skyrim you just choose between mostly "health" or "mana" and it's mostly from the shops.

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Many boss fights were special. Kind of like a puzzle or some boss fight you'd see in Half Life.

Instead of directly slashing or fighting them, you had to break down all the pillars of a cave to crush one enemy, survive the night to defeat another enemy, direct lightning from the sky onto another boss, etc.

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Combat Cons:

One thing that might have turned off players and I didn't like too much either was that during fights is that you can't swing your sword freely and traditionally in modern games. Attacks are done in combos. I would run and speed through swamps filled with plethora of enemies but I can't slice them as I run unfortunately.

Also, the stuns. The game relies on "strong" enemies stunning you too often to get you killed! It gets very very annoying. Perhaps I am upgrading wrong. If there's lots of enemies that can stun, I keep finding myself stunned or laying on the floor for most of match until I can get a few hits on the enemy.

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Other aspects I can talk a bit about:

- Dialogue: Definitely not the same quality as the books and I expect TW3 would have. Dialouge looked like it came out of some B-movie or a parody. Admittedly, that's also what I liked about it, I found it funny how the fancy and complex from the books became very dumbed down. I have a feeling it won't be that way forever in future games so I enjoyed it while it lasted. Though for someone who would theoretically only play this game alone, I can see how the dialogue can be a turn off. Seemed like a 5th grader wrote the lines. The voice acting is also terrible, makes Geralt and everyone sound stupid compared to how badass they should be :/

- Graphics: Not as great as the other games of its time I think (Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, and Oblivion before it). Though still beautiful! I often found myself taking screenshots as I did with Skyrim.

- Characters: I thought the characters were well fleshed out and had good development, everyone quite unique and lovable. I actually liked the character designs, even Geralts, and especially the Witchers and Villains (especially Professor. I want those glasses in TW3). Most notably characters who were also cool were Berengar for having a change of heart and Vincent for his werewolf reveal. Oh, and damn, I wish picking up girls was as easy as it was for Geralt haha.

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- Some things I liked (spoiler):

>! The detective part I knew something was up, saw the medallion but couldn't figure it out in time. Aw man LOL!<

Glad I chose to fight the wild hunt at the end, very satisfying ending.

>! I like that the resolute girl wasn't afraid of talking ghoul were friends at the end, aw. !<

And the dice side game! Great way to take breaks and earn some coin. Looking forward to Gwent!

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Disappointments:

- No Roach?? I mean I'm fine with waiting for Ciri and Yennefer for future games but come on, I wanted a Roach :)

Easier transportation and possibly storage with Roach

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Conclusion:

It was definitely worth my time, I thought it was a special game :D

I am glad I finished it, can't wait to see what Witcher 2 and ultimately Witcher 3 has in store! Hoping to finish before Cyberpunk comes out, without rushing 2 and 3 of course. I rambled on enough, thanks for reading!