Multiplat Official Next-gen WITCHER 3 Discussion

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Its bizarre.

This is the first time I think a sizable portion of the gamer community has ever looked forward to an update. This certainly beats the buzz for CP2077's next-gen update last March.

And practically no one was hyped up for Witcher 3's initial release in 2015, because the audiences for the first two games were so comparatively small but I bet some were paying attention to it due to the E3 demos that had been released.

Now it seems somewhat like this update hype is like what the game deserved upon its release seven years ago. Collective respect for one of the GOAT games getting the update it deserves.

Not the update we deserve.
But the update the game deserves.

And after 28 months, the wait is over.

The timing helps, nothing’s come out this month other than Callisto Protocol and that was a bust, so heading into Christmas people want something to play.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

The timing helps, nothing’s come out this month other than Callisto Protocol and that was a bust, so heading into Christmas people want something to play.

December typically isn't the best month to release a new game unless its highly anticipated.
(Weirdly enough, this may be the weakest holiday season for game in..... well... ever.)

Callisto Protocol was a 12-15 hour game so nearly 2 weeks later everyone that bought it has beat it.

This update is 100% free, for a title that has sold 40 million copies across PC, PS4/5, XBoxOne/S/X, & Switch and is a 7 year old game that still sells well every year due to both word-of-mouth and the Netflix series.

Practically that's played it once long ago or multiple times over the years are looking forward to this.

 

[Valhoven]

December typically isn't the best month to release a new game unless its highly anticipated.
(Weirdly enough, this may be the weakest holiday season for game in..... well... ever.)

Callisto Protocol was a 12-15 hour game so nearly 2 weeks later everyone that bought it has beat it.

This update is 100% free, for a title that has sold 40 million copies across PC, PS4/5, XBoxOne/S/X, & Switch and is a 7 year old game that still sells well every year due to both word-of-mouth and the Netflix series.

Practically that's played it once long ago or multiple times over the years are looking forward to this.

In general, what are looked at from the publisher side as the golden months or release windows every year?

 

[GearSolidMetal]

In general, what are looked at from the publisher side as the golden months or release windows every year?

Thought it was common knowledge October, November, & December were the golden months every year.

But this year, there hasn't been a Call of Duty, Battlefield, Assassins Creed, Halo, FarCry, or any MAJOR franchise releases.

I'm not a fan of those franchises, so this holiday season publishers had a golden opportunity to put something major on the map.

 

[Valhoven]

Thought it was common knowledge October, November, & December were the golden months every year.

But this year, there hasn't been a Call of Duty, Battlefield, Assassins Creed, Halo, FarCry, or any MAJOR franchise releases.

I'm not a fan of those franchises, so this holiday season publishers had a golden opportunity to put something major on the map.

That's the only window I know about so wondered if things had changed in industry overview today – like something springtime or summer. Gaming has never been bigger and industries with (much) longer track records are now looking at it and taking notes; this will precipitate change to norms.

I'd call November's Ragnarök a major franchise release in a series dating back almost 20 years and whose predecessor shipped 20M+ units. You no? FarCry isn't putting up those numbers (are they?), actually peaking in sales and never again matching 2012's FC3 instalment, iirc.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

I'd call November's Ragnarök a major franchise release in a series dating back almost 20 years and whose predecessor shipped 20M+ units.

Yup, I'd say GoW is basically this holiday season only HUGE release, when there's usually three or four.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Regarding the PC's new 'UltraPlus Graphics'...

Me, when the console update was announced 28 months ago - "Finally, we console players are getting the graphical standards PC gamers have had."

*New 'UltraPlus' mode, exclusive to PC -


Me -

 

[Hitman81]

Initial impressions

-It looks great but... it's always looked great. Definitely prefer performance mode. The drop in framerate with ray tracing is quite noticeable.

-Like the new over the shoulder camera angle.

-Combat feels exactly the same so far which is disappointing as I think it's this game's one and only weakness.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

-Combat feels exactly the same so far which is disappointing as I think it's this game's one and only weakness.

Its always been its only weakness.

But its not a simple problem to solve, any small or large change would have to be tested extensively to be sure its balanced for any group of enemies throughout the game... which is easy compared to testing all of the 100 bosses across four difficulties.

And its all about perspective.
Yes, the combat is somewhat weak compared to other games.
But compared to Witcher 2 its a huge improvement.
Compared to other 3rd person medieval RPGs with swords & magic, its above average.

 

[Hitman81]

Its always been its only weakness.

But its not a simple problem to solve, any small or large change would have to be tested extensively to be sure its balanced for any group of enemies throughout the game... which is easy compared to testing all of the 100 bosses across four difficulties.

And its all about perspective.
Yes, the combat is somewhat weak compared to other games.
But compared to Witcher 2 its a huge improvement.
Compared to other 3rd person medieval RPGs with swords & magic, its above average.

Yeah I didn't expect much. It's just kind of a shame because I think if the combat was better this game would be the GOAT.

 

[Kona Bear]

Downloading... Hope I'm not terribly disappointed when comparing to BOTW.

 

[Bornstarch]

I bought the Witcher 3 Complete Edition, but I don't see it in my LIbrary on Steam. I just see the regular Witcher 3 I bought awhile back. I want to play the Complete Edition that has all the DLCs.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Yeah I didn't expect much. It's just kind of a shame because I think if the combat was better this game would be the GOAT.

Funny enough... I don't recall reading any reviews or on YouTube complaining about the combat... on PC.

I first played it on PC and had relatively few complaints when playing it at 90FPS @ 1080P. It was only months later I played it on PS4 at 30FPS and its.... barely tolerable.

I wonder if the bulk of complaints about it having weak combat are from mostly those who first or only played it on PS4/XB1/Switch.

[When I say 'I wonder' I mean its a theory I'm just now considering. Don't bite my head off if I'm 100% wrong.]

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Downloading... Hope I'm not terribly disappointed when comparing to BOTW.

I did hear a few YouTubers mention BOTW was their #2 game of the last decade.

Witcher 3 is #1.

But it was a tough debate.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

I bought the Witcher 3 Complete Edition, but I don't see it in my LIbrary on Steam. I just see the regular Witcher 3 I bought awhile back. I want to play the Complete Edition that has all the DLCs.

You sure you bought the 'GOTY edition' recently?

 

[method115]

I got 20 hours deep into this game originally and just dropped it because the story was just bad. Witcher 2 had a great story that kept moving with serious events happening at the end of each major mission. Witcher 3 missions just ended with you going to another town for more clues on where Siri went and I didn't like that. I'm going to give this update a chance and just take my time and not rush through hoping the story picks up.

 

[Hitman81]

Downloading... Hope I'm not terribly disappointed when comparing to BOTW.

Probably my top 2 games of the last decade but honestly I don't think there's much to compare other than they are open world games where you use a sword and ride a horse. Both do certain things better than the other.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

I got 20 hours deep into this game originally and just dropped it because the story was just bad.

Witcher 2 had a great story that kept moving with serious events happening at the end of each major mission. Witcher 3 missions just ended with you going to another town for more clues on where Siri went and I didn't like that.

You do know each mission had 2, 3, or maybe even 4 resolutions, right?

This game is a slow burn, and its very satisfying when it hooks you.

I'm going to give this update a chance and just take my time and not rush through hoping the story picks up.

I guarantee you - It absolutely does.

 

[method115]

You do know each mission had 2, 3, or maybe even 4 resolutions, right?

This game is a slow burn, and its very satisfying when it hooks you.



I guarantee you - It absolutely does.

Yea I think it was just my mindset at the time. When the Witcher 3 came out I had just beaten Witcher 2 not that long before. So imagine my excitement when Witcher 2 ends with Wild Hunt showing up. So I boot up number 3 and I'm ready to dive into this story with the Wild Hunt and Ciri. What do I get? A guy who beats his wife and doing a bunch of shit for him. Not going to lie I almost broke my TV after hearing that guy say "Just do one more thing for me and I'll tell you a little bit more" like three fucking times. Then I finally make it past that and now I have to talk all these women that the singer dude banged. It all just felt like a bunch of side missions that I was being forced to do.

Either way going to come in with the understanding it's a slow burn and go from there.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Either way going to come in with the understanding it's a slow burn and go from there.

Here's an idea...

You COULD start 'Blood & Wine' first.

Or try the main game first, but if you feel like it isn't hooking you yet rather than abandoning it give Blood & Wine a shot.

Its very to-the-point.