Today's gaming industry is rife with annualized releases, preorder bonuses, and micro-transactions being shoved down our throat. The Witcher 3 is a shining example of how to sell a game without being a greedy corporation. To start off the Witcher 3 on PC actually had a retail release. Something we don't see often with things like digital distribution. Just look at Gamestop's site where almost every PC game listed is only buying a code to then download said game. This is all well and good for people who have a decent internet connection. But for those who don't it can take days to download a big game. The Witcher 3 allowed me to insert the game disc, install the game and jump into the game. Another incredible thing is that the retail version is DRM free. It is a good thing too because GOG galaxy lacks the kind of security STEAM has. I have already had my account hacked on GOG because someone from another country changed my email address. But I am still able to play the game. CD Projekt Red could have charged for day 1 dlc, etc. Instead they are giving buyers 16 pieces of free DLC. They also included a soundtrack CD as well as a note thanking you for spending your hard earned money on their game. Now that I have sort of unwrapped the game so to speak; the game itself is a clear GOTY contender. Its visuals are impressive. Skin tones, facial animation, and textures have an incredible amount of detail. Skin looks realistic and leather looks real. The sound design is fantastic. Rich folk music accentuates battle and the dialogue is particularly well done by some incredible voice acting. Combat is a further evolution of that found in Witcher 2. Its fluid and your attacks feel like they have weight behind them. That carries over to mounted combat too. If you charge an enemy the momentum seems to affect how hard your attack hits and is very satisfying. This is complemented by robust character progression and crafting system. The game also has a trading card minigame known as Gwent which seems simple on the surface but has an incredible amount of depth to it. The Witcher 3's biggest accomplishment is its fantastic storytelling. The game respects your time by making you feel like even the sidequests are important through excellent writing. Your decisions ultimately affect the outcome of the game and shape the world around you. If you are looking for a meaty RPG that you can get lost in for hours on end? The Witcher 3 could very well be the game you are looking for.

ill out this review into a pro's and cons list. Pros: beautiful graphics, fluent combat, solid voice acting, nice weather effects that make the world feel much more alive, hair physics, i can run it on medium settings and it still looks great with an Nvidia GTX 860 graphics card, Cons: huge difficulty curb in parts of the game, contracts are time limited and sometimes extremely difficult( and i play on the easiest difficulty), yeah thats all the cons i can think of right now there haven't been any bugs.

This game is amazing, sounds great, looks great, and plays great. This game does not go easy on the graphics cards though, which is perfectly fine and could be worse (meaning a lot better if it wasn't on consoles). This is one of the best, if not the best RPG's I have ever played. There are a lot of options, massive areas to explore, lots of enemies to kill, lots of women (obviously not for us), and just feels so right. Oh and when I said does not go easy on the gfx cards I mean it, I have a R9 280x and I have mostly high settings with some on medium and the hair turned off....oh right the hair...Thanks nvidia...If you do not have an nvidia card or a recent nvidia card, forget about using the haireffects, it complete destroys the frame rate.

Im now on my second playthrough of this game playing on the hardest difficulty with the HUD turned off and let me say this is a game you have to play on the hardest difficulty, i can run the game on high now after several updates and the amount of detail in everything is absolutely amazing, after playing as long as i have you eventually get to the point where you can fight most enemies and know what there weaknesses are and what strategies to use against them, there is a ton of stuff to do in the game such as the main story, side missions, contracts, treasure hunts, looking for legendary witcher gear, playing cards, and getting drunk. It is a mature game and does show nudity quite a few times throughout the main story an d side missions but the cutscenes can be skipped, not to mention at some points you can literally cut your enemies in half or cut any of their limbs off, same goes for some of the monsters. but all in all the witcher 3 is a great game an d i highly recommend it to any one who doesnt mind a challenge and is looking for an intriguing story and side missions.

If you liked Dragon age Inquisition on hard then you will love this game. Huge open world lots to do and plenty of hours of game time for your money.