A Critique of 'The Witcher 3'...

[@jakehenderson2959]

It’s almost 10 years old and its better than a lot of games we’re getting these days

[@CyraXFactor]

Better than most, if not all. There hasn’t been anything like it since. I’d give BG3 the cake for RPG, but aside from that… nothing else.

[@ISGAMINGFORNERDS]

@@CyraXFactorand what makes it worse it didn’t cost them a lot of the money that’s being made to make slop these days.

[@Thevikingninja117]

You can say that again.!

[@nenadmilovanovic5271]

Witcher 3 and MGS5 tricked us. I thought games would get better. They didn't lol

[@maso303]

I would argue that there is absolutely zero correlation between the newness of a video game, and it's quality. I'd even say that one might have an easier time arguing that older games are inherently better than newer ones, than vice versa.

[@Berrytenor]

I am currently going through my FIRST playthrough of Witcher 3. I tried to play it multiple times but it never stuck with me. Currently 40 hours in and loving every bit of it. Masterpiece

[@wolflarson71]

I bailed after 10 hours after trying for the first time about 6 months ago. What made it stick?

[@andreypokesaround]

Same here, 20 hours in. Just about reached the part where Priscilla helps Geralt find the doppler. Nine years later, I'm finally giving this masterpiece another try.

[@DS-ss1gm]

I never finished it years ago. Just started playing it again last week. I'm the same totally addicted to it now. Not exactly sure why. Think maybe a lot of it has to do with the next gen update. Love the auto apply oil option.

[@neoey]

@@wolflarson71 for me it helped hugely to read the books, to get a better idea of the backstory

[@shift7808]

Took me 10 years to return to it after quitting in 2015. Just beat it at around 4am this morning. It gets okay at the very very end but it was a slog.. all the systems in the game quickly become redundant, no matter what difficulty you play it on, so it you dont enjoy the narrative, youre just screwed. i dont feel like i regret finishing the game... But its a very miss miss miss miss miss HIT type of game, where good content is sprinkled here and there, while the vast majority of content is just pain.

[@machodgdon]

Ah yes Witcher 3 the game that not only changed gaming, but put Luke on the fast track to where he is now. Congrats on all your success man!

[@GallumA]

how did it change gaming? people are down right rewriting history for that game.

[@dr_diddy]

​@@GallumAgamers are notoriously hyperbolic and forgetful, happens with the passage of time. The game put CDPR on the map but wasn't exactly revolutionary, just a great game.

[@AF2277S]

@@dr_diddyna the game was by far a revolutionary game. It changed the way people looked at the standard for an open world RPG. Prior to this it was Skyrim. It took until Baulders Gate 3 to topple the view of best rpg let alone open world rpg

[@atomicfps6]

​@AF2277S i still think for me personally bg3 wasn't as good as the witcher 3, I much prefer the witchers open world/world in general

[@CactousMan]

@@AF2277S the "open-world standard" was already established with GTA5, even if not an "RPG" per-se

[@Roptica]

The best game I’ve ever played, and one of the rare few that transcends being just a "game." It’s an unforgettable experience that leaves a lasting impact on you.

[@CactousMan]

yeah, not bad...

[@Al_Lergic]

The best game from the 2010s.

[@guillaumeinjjuz1744]

The gameplay socks thats what keeps me from platine this game

[@PartyQuest]

agreed

[@GRR1MN1R]

I will never forget that first moment when Geralt finally gets to Skellige and the Ard Skellige theme started playing it was too perfect and is still my favorite map ever

[@musthavechannel5262]

What a memory. A beach area with amazing environment, a new amazing soundtrack, new enemies flying overhead, and a promise of a huge area yet to be explored. What a moment.

[@bodigames]

The Bloody Baron music is my favorite.

[@lua_moura]

One of the most special moments in the game ❤

[@surebow7270]

Very interesting. Cause I think its the most frustrating part of the game due to the slow boat travels and numerous Islands. I like the environments and how beautiful it is. it just gets annoying after a while and all those floating loot with map markers.

[@bodigames]

@ yeah imagine not being able to fast travel in Skellige….. an absolute hell. The guy who made this video is very wrong on that part.

[@MrTD343]

Can't believe that Joseph Anderson still hasn't done a witcher 3 video yet.....

[@osmous]

yea that video is never coming out

[@TheSiscoKid2112]

Tbh my heart skipped a quick beat there for a sec when I saw this cause I thought it was finally it.

[@chasecrappel9480]

I’ve been praying for a GOW Ragnarok review. Joseph had a stream where his thoughts were very similar to my own but I want a 3 hour masterpiece critique haha

[@MrTD343]

@@chasecrappel9480 as much as I would like that too, I'm pretty sure that critique is dead in the water as he said during the year he played the game that if he didn't finish the video by the end of that year it would never come out.

[@membou]

I was looking for this comment. If he eventually makes it I'll still probably watch, but for now we've got this one. Saving it for the work drive tomorrow.💪

[@marconeves1979]

2:27:10 Yes, the entire Gaunter O'Dimm theme plays in Blood and Wine (upon completing the Spoons/Wight quest), after you speak to the old lady you save and your butler at Corvo Bianco. So, yes: it was Gaunter who caused trouble yet again.

[@GabrielBlackwood7]

If I remember well, it plays at Corvo Bianco when she explains what happened to her, is that right? I kinda remember it not being straight away just after a little bit of time, when she finishes eating.

[@StefanConstantinDumitrache]

Gaunter's traces are present all over Toussaint, and are symbolized by mirrors broken in a very specific way. So basically whenever you see a broken mirror you should assume he may have been involved in whatever happened around that area.

[@IamWonderBread]

Just started playing the Witcher 3 again this week and man the quality I forgot is so absurdly good compared to the majority of the industry currently.

[@EliasHall7]

I'm currently playing it for the first time. 100 hours in and its mind blowingly good imo. I absolutely love it!

[@dominikbakony2705]

just imagine how good the 4th will be considering the fact they moved to unreal 5, with todays technology, holy

[@alu161]

@@dominikbakony2705let‘s hope they learned from Cyberpunk and take their time for this one. But I‘m optimistic!

[@mototoe]

​@@dominikbakony2705 Different devs, a lot of them left a few years ago and made their own companies. Hopefully w4 is good though

[@Bloczek7940]

@@mototoe without them, cdpr made excellent Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk. No worries

[@bodigames]

I’m 60 hours in. Completed all white orchard Velen and novigrad question marks including DLC hearts of stone. Only thing I have to do now is Kaer Morhen Skellige and Toussaint + main story which

[@lonleybeer]

I hear alot of people saying they can't get into the witcher while i got instanty hooked from the start i don't understand..

[@RHQ7]

it's called brainrot 😂😂, people say the same about rdr2.

[@KiiDxLegacy]

From my experience, after playing through it two times; and attempting to get friends into it? I believe it's the intro sequence and White Orchard. For someone who doesn't instantly get hooked to the idea and setting, or if it doesn't cause them to atleast ask themselves even a basic question like "Who is that black haired lady?" then the story and world won't grab them. And even the first "main" contract being killing the Griffin, is quite a length into White Orchard. So if they're not even a tad bit interested in the story, it's just a dialogue slog.

[@bronzin1445]

I’m convinced people don’t want to like it even if they do. As to why? Your guess is as good as mine

[@infrared6973]

I mean the combat is atrocious and looked incredibly boring when i watched someone stream it for the first time. I think thats a huge turn off for alot of people.

[@ValiantInstance]

It took me 3 attempts over 3 years to be fair. Now it's my favourite game of all time.

[@gamemode6526]

What's the problem with fast travel? If you want to go from point A to point B with Roach (and enjoy all of the environment) you can do it. But some people want to save their precious time with fast travel and they should be able to do that too.

[@Uselesscommentary]

And then he also complains that Roach is too fast. Nah brother, it ain't. It could be a bit faster to make traversing the world feel better.

[@chrisj320ac3]

Bro, you're in your mid 20's. You don't get to call yourself old.

[@dMb1790]

It will be one of those comments he looks back upon one day and says, "Man, I had _no idea_ what I was talking about."

[@brendanmonshall9834]

Ah yes. I've been looking for this comment. True. Dude is a bab

[@kityhawk2000]

If he was 19 10 years ago that means he's nearly 30 now. That's not mid 20s

[@Blu3Blaze18]

He's in his late 20s. Didn't he say he was 19 when he released his first Witcher review 8 years ago?

[@Urikhai]

Was more like 7 years ago his first video, which will have been a bit of time after the release of the game, so he's probs like 26. Very young!​@@kityhawk2000

[@grzegorzlewandowski3859]

Important part to remember about not choosing the lesser evil quote is that he is wrong there. Learning in the same story, it's a misguided approach. It's often misrepresented, especially in the Netflix series missing it completely. Life and world around witcher are messy, trying to idealistically to not compromise in the slightest, just leads to greater tragedies down the path. So him making choices in the game is not a thing forced by nature of gaming. It's older Geralt remembering his youth. He might be an idealist at heart, but too expirianced to let it blind him to the situation at hand.

[@igorpodemski9596]

23:00 But Velen isn't separated from Novigrad and Oxenfurt. Only White Orchard is because it's a sort of a prologue to the main story. And obviously Skellige because it's far away from the other places.

[@kityhawk2000]

Thank you! I could have sworn I remembered riding to Novigrad from Velen

[@xMiMilicious]

Also, isn't Wizima like 3 days horse ride from Velen? And White Orchard is an additional one day. In my opinion it would feel weirder if you could get there within few minutes.

[@igorpodemski9596]

@@xMiMilicious It is.

[@austindavis6855]

@@xMiMiliciousyes the travel time between those places and Kaer Morhen are day long rides. The system they had was perfect for portraying the scope of the world.

[@xMiMilicious]

@@austindavis6855 yeah my thought exactly. Was it like this also because of the limitations at that time? Probably yes but I feel that they worked with it and executed it very well.

[@ughneyko]

Just want to say that comparing your old Witcher video to this one now is really inspirational to someone like me who feels like he is at that exact spot in content creation where you were back then. It's amazing to see what is possible.

[@igorpodemski9596]

1:53:45 That's literally what the Wild Hunt was trying to do. They tried to save their own world from destruction and their kin from extinction. That's why they needed Ciri. To move and start living in another world.

[@jacoblennartsson2977]

2:06:57 fast travel in witcher isnt unlocked until you already ventured to the location in question, therefor giving you the chance to explore on your way to the location.

[@coleanderson3422]

There is also no random events so once you have seen the POI on the way, it’s literally just choosing to ride roach

[@MonkeyDLuffy-ed4fj]

I’m about to buy it right now, it’s only $10 right now and the sale ends later tonight

[@StefanConstantinDumitrache]

It is the complete edition? If so, you're in for one hell of a ride!

[@atomicfps6]

Please pick it up

[@monolog1349]

Have fun with it

[@jmorgmate]

Please reply to this comment in a month's time to let us know your thoughts. I wish I could experience it all for the first time. Masterpiece of a game.

[@DenDGLegionhardhouse]

No hesitation, just buy it and you will thank us later! Masterpiece

[@lucanaumann34]

Hell yeah! 3 hours of luke talking about one of my favorite games

[@Solaxer]

Close enough, welcome back Joseph Anderson

[@АлександрПирогов-д3ы]

He will never realize his critique, he lost in persona 3

[@Trai1b1aze]

He's having a 3-way writers block staring contest with George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss to see who will blink first.

[@markhobbs8320]

What the hell. I've watched some of your videos on the Witcher 3 today, as I bought it recently with all dlc for £7. And vowed to give it another go having tried throughout the years. I'm 20 hours in so far and loving it. Then you come out with this. Decent.

[@Cyprian161]

I wouldn't want to have just one map without loading screens, because that would restrict us to only one area of the world. I like the system in W3, maps were huge and you had multiple locations with their own climate, culture and vibe

[@marekegert4880]

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER you forgot to add at the beginning, this is all from a western game consumer/critic perspective. Many people had The Witcher as a 10/10 here when it released, but the west mostly ignored it, and then suddenly when the second game came out, which many people saw as a comperatevly worse or on par game, the west woke up and acted like it was the second coming.

[@dennisgordon7767]

One thing to keep in mind as to why Witcher , Rdr2 , stalker , cp2077 feel like just better games, is because its developed by non american devs. The value system is in place and so are the brains.

[@matturso2224]

Love your content, Luke! Your authenticity and relaxed approach is really pleasant.

[@Marci.B]

Suuuuper disagree on the Rockstar movement being used as a positive example. The sluggishness of the movement is what stopped me from playing RDR2 in my theee separate attempts. Arthur controls like a tank, you press D and he takes five business days to turn. I believe there is a happy medium between the almost feline movements of Geralt and the trapped in quicksand feel of Arthur Morgan. Honestly one of the most satisfying 3rd person movements is Helldivers 2 for me, although it wouldn't really work with the melee fights in the Witcher

[@gerardocruz6440]

The fact I’m playing the Witcher 3 at moment and one of my fav KZbinr makes a video about! That’s the way to start the year!

[@viniciuseduardobomfim]

I have no doubt Witcher 4 horses will be a notable upgrade over it's predecessor, it's too big of a thing for CD Projekt RED to simply ignore it after W3's feedback. Now the reason horses in Red Dead Redemption 2 look and animate so amazingly *(in fact even Red Dead Redemption 1 horses are better than the majority of other games)* is because Rockstar did Motion Capture on *ACTUAL FREAKIN' HORSES.* Animators can be as good and talented as possible, they will never compare to the real thing, and Rockstar understood that assignment 😂

[@dr_diddy]

if TW4 doesn't have horse ball physics I'm uninstalling

[@panpawe9738]

If Kelpie won't teleport on the roof I'm reporting CDPR to the Temeria's Intelligence Service.

[@dudeunkown]

The Leshen encounter in skellige is still the best folklore monster encounter of all time. It is dark, frightening, mysterious. It takes you to the thought of existence of devil, witches, which suits the fantasy setting. Everything that is there is put because it should be there or is the natural extension which is very difficult to do. The witcher 3 by far has been the greatest game I ever played

[@mannydatboy]

i've never played the Witcher 3, picked it up for dirt cheap during a steam sale with everything included. Starting my first playthrough now!

[@owieczkacs]

Update us tomorrow about your first hours :)

[@oxenfurt89]

you are lucky then, having the opportunity to play the definitive edition on a current gen console or a good pc

[@mannydatboy]

@@owieczkacswill do!

[@mannydatboy]

@@oxenfurt89actually gonna be both, lucky enough to have pc version via steam and the ps version off ps plus. Gonna be using cross save to play on whichever is more convenient at any given time, plus it’s nice since I also have a ps portal to game handheld with.

[@atomicfps6]

Let us know how you go with it! I'm jealous you get to experience it for the first time

[@lucasgasperim5124]

The game that changed a industry and my life

[@youngpro00]

Thank you for the incredible effort that you put into these videos. Keep up the good work!

[@yairsofer8933]

I actually think breaking up White Orchard from Velen and Novigrad makes Temeria feel huge in a way that no open world map can accomplish because you can never make an open world map that is ACTUALLY as big as a country so to make it feel realistically big you have to break up the map imo

[@kityhawk2000]

Is it definitely broken up? because I swear I've ridden between these places

[@On_dooger]

White orchard is seperate but Velen and Novigrad are connected and can be ridden to and from seamlessly. I don’t know why he’s saying they are seperate.

[@yairsofer8933]

@@kityhawk2000 I think you misunderstood, I didn't say Velen and Novigrad are separate, I said White Orchard is separate from Velen AND Novigrad

[@lighthousefilms5530]

Replaying the witcher 3 on series x. It's still so damn good. Favorite game of all time

[@ValiantInstance]

Nice, I watched your original critique recently and thought it was worth a revisit. The Blood & Wine review in particular.

[@e_bomb3338]

your idea about the witcher contracts is great in theory. but unless you only want roughly 5-8 throughout the entire game its just not viable. im fine with how they did it in w3 which is a side quest with some required prep if you play on death march and a little bit of story attached to that town providing the contract. that way we get plenty of them throughout the game with some variety.

[@zmar121]

So crazy that you posted this video today. I just completed my first playthrough on the ps5 version last night! Have yet to start the DLCs though.

[@bodigames]

“The easy combat” is exactly why I go into fights ridiculously underleveled. Right now I’m beating level 37 monsters when I’m level 21 myself.

[@mladabitanga2677]

You can turn on enemy scaling in the menu. I'm playing on medium and I'm level 40, it's just the right amount of demanding, a pack of wolves or couple more drowners can mess me up if I am not careful enough.

[@austinpugmire2843]

The saying of "Evil is evil" is often misrepresented by people trying to explain the world. It was early Geralt leaning into that ideaology, but Geralt as a character grows as his journey makes him see that he HAS to choose. He cannot simply not choose.

[@Davidium84]

You are wrong about his movement imo! He has physical weight attached to him which might make you bump into a wall in tight turns or tricky surroundings but it's for damn sure not because of the opposite which would be him being to agile and fast. I love RDR2 but in that game it's almost like running in quicksand at all times.

[@AF2277S]

Yeah but how else should a cowboy run around? Video game running almost always looks so unnatural

[@johncunningham1889]

You're absolutely right about the economy. It always felt so worthless taking on a Witcher contract and haggling to increase the pay from 50 to 53. Like bruh, the only reason I'm doing this is because it's content to do in the game. I want to feel like a witcher. Witcher contracts should be the heart and soul of the open world, outside of the main story, and they should be the primary means of earning an income.

[@718Hokage]

Later in the game, when you're rolling in gold, you'll find that there's nothing to buy. Winds howling.

[@BlueBEAZY45]

Almost a decade later and it’s still my favorite game of all time. It’s definitely showing its age now but for its day especially it was a massive breath of fresh air. It essentially had the same impact that the original Call of Duty had back in 2003, where it did things so differently in its respective genre that it pretty much changed the blueprint for those genres for years to come. You pair the beautiful open world, with the fantastic writing, believable and relatable characters, and the gorgeous soundtrack.. you have a recipe for greatness. I really hope they can carry that same energy into the new trilogy and the Witcher 1 remake.

[@shutup1037]

Fresh of breath air

[@thund3rstrik329]

Just got this notification and I've never clicked on a video so fast, your Witcher 3 video is one that I've fallen asleep to probably a hundred times over the years, so this is an exciting one for me! I'm replaying the game after the Witcher 4 announcement and it's held up even better than I remember, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts!

[@y_corruptor_y]

Insane that such a old game is way better than the shit today

[@charlielamperouge4152]

I’ve started the game again to get the platinum on the PS5. It’s incredible how this game hasn’t aged a day since its release

[@Kaileigh_Broko]

Still a masterpiece, a decade later🤌

[@afroponix3414]

Finally, the critiques that brought me to this channel like 5 years ago. Bring them back please

[@The_Apothecary]

Its now nearly 10 years from release, I'm on my third play-through exploring and unlocking everything on the maps. Just got the Aerondight Sword. The game is incredible and sets the benchmark for any Single Player Open World game. Looking forward to the new: 'The Blood of Dawnwalker' game made by Witcher 3 developers.

[@StefanConstantinDumitrache]

After you finish the run do an NG+ and level Geralt to 100 and get TWO fully upgraded Aerondights!

[@troyn5305]

Really love this video! I enjoy this channel as a gaming news + review channel. But these critiques will always be my favorite content!

[@pgh3316]

I love roach, but they're the worst controlling horse I've ever rode in a game

[@rybug15]

I didn't remember how bad the controls were when riding Roach but, now that I'm playing through the game again, my god are they bad.

[@pgh3316]

@rybug15 imo movement is the worst part of Witcher 3 by far. Horseriding and just general traversal feel sluggish, yet weightless in a way that makes Geralt awkward to control at times and Roach damn near impossible bc that damn horse gets stuck on a 2 inch change in elevation. The only part of the game that I remember feeling out of date when the game came out. I avoid the races every time I replay and have taken to just walking everywhere to avoid that horrible horse. It can't turn around easily or walk backwards 90% of the time either so you have to dismount if you bump into anything

[@yxon1ph]

@@pgh3316 tbh i agree movement is weird but yk game goated anyway

[@09spidy]

Just FYI, the toggle for auto applying oils was literally added last year in the 4.0 update.

[@replay717]

I have to disagree with the fast travel statement. I’m a dad of two with two jobs, man. I only have 1-2 hours to play sometimes. I don’t want to waste 30 minutes having to travel through land that I’ve already traveled through multiple times just because it breaks your immersion. If you don’t want to use it, then don’t use it. If someone wants to overuse it , that’s their choice. I only use it when I feel like I really need to. for instance, like you mentioned earlier in the video, where I have to go to multiple shops to find something I need. But not everyone has so many hours a day to play games. I get what you’re saying, but I think fast travel is a good thing that allows people to play games in a more convenient way in real life.

[@thisistori1]

so true. majority of the players don't have the luxury to play hours a day - probably everyday - and get money/benefits from it. the fast travel could be disabled in options for people like him, but again, but removing fast travel will not be good

[@KaitoConan1412]

Thanks for all your hard work man! I’ve been looking forward to this video for a while now.

[@Peatnik9]

It’s the Bret Hart of videogames. Best there was, best there is, best there ever will be.

[@jakekrzymowski2166]

Wow great timing I’m playing through this again now

[@PhilipeeAlberto]

Finally, a long form essay type video which is the main reason I subscribed in the first place. Getting pretty bored of the low effort reading a news artcle type vids, wish Luke stuck with this type of content

[@ImYourHuckleberry-98]

The KZbin $$$ went to his head. He just regurgitates the same talking points over and over again about games that are popular to hate on (Starfield, Fallout 4, Suicide Squad, modern day Assassin’s Creed games)

[@PhilipeeAlberto]

*Game A releases* Lukes next 3 vids - "Skepical look at game A" - "I tried game A" - "Game A has a serious problem" - Just kinda boring and predictable these days

[@cianboy97]

These videos are basically the same thing, with all due respect to him. There isn’t much critique of how the actual game works, just a list of things which are good and bad. Which is fine but not very interesting

[@matthewwebster3143]

I love these long form reviews you do me the best luke!

[@bgko91880]

Geralt and Roach are floaty and too fast? Nitpick much? Arthur Morgan and the characters of Rockstar are based in reality. The characters of The Witcher franchise are based in fantasy. Apples and f****** oranges.

[@StreamGearTalk]

Working on my platinum run of the game now. Just started this run 2 weeks ago. Spent 30 hrs in velen. Saw so much I never saw in my previous runs. Story still hits. The world is dark and beautiful and filled with tragedy. I love this game. Genuinely a great game.

[@max_blackened]

Dude, the people of Toussaint are actually subjects of the Nilfgaardian empire. Their beloved duchess is like relative to Emhyr. They're totally fine with the war in the north.

[@benevans7934]

I respect your opinion, but so many of your critiques about immersion breaking, IE play super hard difficulty, collect everything to make all decoctions, no use of fast travel; would make the game feel like work and very tedious. Not all of us play games to feel that way. A lot of us play it for escapism. In addition many people won’t want to play it all because of the enormous time suck just walking from point a to point b rather than getting objectives or quests done.

[@itszaque]

My largest issue with Witcher 3: it has small mountains... No really, they're really just streched, slippery textures that look pretty bad when viewed up close. I don't know if this means much but it's something I've always noticed.

[@austindavis6855]

I understand the want for a more cohesive map, but I think the maps being separated helps portray how massive the world is. White Orchard is supposed to be pretty far removed from the main parts of Velen and Novigrad. And Kaer Morhen is supposed to be so far North that not much else is even close to it. Being able to travel there with 40 second points of interest wouldn’t make much sense because it implies anybody could find just stumble upon that fortress in the far North. I also assume it helps with performance which is a big problem lately in a lot of open world games.

[@oxenfurt89]

Life is basically a 3-year cycle between Witcher 3 playthroughs

[@allbarg1]

The best sleeping pill for the week, appreciate your work Luke!

[@SirShadeyy]

We got ANOTHER Luke Stephen’s Witcher analysis before Joseph Anderson’s Wild Hunt video AND GTA 6

[@tha_alien]

How crazy is it that just two weeks ago I came across your "Ultimate Critique" from 7 years ago and it made me want to play The Witcher 3 again. And here we are today 😂

[@tha_alien]

I've put in 50+ hours since two weeks ago, and I am not ashamed. I'm loving it even more now than I did 6 years ago when I first played through the game.

[@Zaney_]

holy shit joseph anderson uploaded the Witcher 3 video.. wait.

[@fwc2047]

I'm also re-playing the Witcher 3 now... On PS4 I had 580 hours on this game. The thing that blows my mind is that my current playthrough is way different from the ones from the earlier gen. And the graphic overhaul and the new finishers nicely spice things up. 10/10

[@shift7808]

Fallout 4 is still my 2015 GOTY. The Witcher 3 feels more like a "narrative experience" with gameplay taking a backseat, so as an actual game, Fallout 4 definitely takes the win for me.

[@levi8781]

Fallout 4’s story is complete trash tho, literally criticized as one of the most boring games ever

[@shift7808]

@@levi8781 And yet, I'd still consider it a better game than TW3.

[@Powder-p7j]

No I played both the Witcher 3 is miles better​@@shift7808

[@kityhawk2000]

Lol it was 10 years ago buddy, get over it already 😂

[@levi8781]

@ yea and on top of that fallout 4 is just not a good game lol

[@martymcfly88mph35]

The amount of branching storylines is what hooked me. You can really change up the story from how your buddy played. Its crazy.

[@stevehook7012]

I literally just got back into playing Witcher 3 last week as well! It is a true masterpiece with the only grief I have is that gwent is too difficult to get into by having difficulty finding new cards and easy opponents to start, then getting locked out of completing the "collect em all" quest due to the triss side story. They could have added an NPC to win lost cards from in a tavern but sadly they've never added that. Besides that, I am love with this game. I hope witcher 4 is astounding, the combat is fun, gwent is still around, and all the game's personality is still there.

[@AlicanDagdemir]

I was just playing it (I started playing witcher 3 again yersterday) and now I come accros this video, what a day :D

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I never played the witcher 3 but the witcher impact on gaming was felt

[@mitchnewland4916]

You need to play it it’s once of the best RPG ever made. Also it has one of the best card games made Gwent

[@Dan01-01]

You should play it. But beware that once you do it will almost certainly raise your bar for games by a lot. This is what happened to me and it became very hard for me to enjoy games afterwards. I wish I was exaggerating but no

[@ValiantInstance]

@@Dan01-01 I played W3 and RDR2 back to back in 2018. Gaming has never been the same since.

[@kakun723]

​@ValiantInstance play rdr2 witcher 3 and bg3. This kinda game can ruin your expectations for gaming in general.. far cry 3 is another example

[@ValiantInstance]

@@kakun723 BG3 is ready to go on my pc. Just need to be prepared to sink 100 hours into a video game.

[@mrguydavis]

Something that struck me as crazy the other day was, there was a point where this game was 5USD. Granted, it was a few years old at that point, but to get something of this caliber for that price seems absolutely insane. Obviously it would be the same with every game.

[@shift7808]

That seems about right, tbh. Having just beaten the game this morning and knowing what I know now, I wouldve waited until it was around 20 dollars before buying, but wouldve been happy paying 30.

[@Reedg333]

Still the best game I’ve ever played a decade later. Since most of the Witcher 3 devs have left CDPR (including the game director) I’m looking most forward to Rebel Wolves new game “Blood of the Dawnwalker”. It’s from W3’s director. Go show it support!

[@moira4707]

God you lot are tiring. Most of the people in lead roles for TW4 have been with CDPR for ages (including for TW3's development). CDPR's last project, Phantom Liberty, was great. Story-wise, visuals wise, RPG systems wise, it's been great all around - there's *0* reason to scream about the end of CDPR's greatness right now. Will TW4 be great? Who the fuck knows. But at least, you know, don't go in with a negative biais. You'll just spoil your own fun that way.

[@Reedg333]

@ Tiring? I’m voicing support for a little known game from a studio made up almost exclusively of former CDPR devs. And yes, MANY devs in former leading roles have left CDPR and have split off into studios like Rebel Wolves, Fools Theory, etc. Plenty remain as well. I’m a massive Witcher fan and want to see Witcher 4 do well, but I’m not going to bury my head in the sand and pretend I don’t see the changes in CDPR. The very fact that there is an ENTIRE studio called “Rebel Wolves” *hint hint* and the director there was kicked out of CDPR should at the very least make you skeptical. And yes he was Witcher 3’s director. Luke is definitely a more casual fan and harbors a relatively casual audience as he’s gotten at least 5 things factually wrong just in the first 20 mins of this video, but I don’t know if he’s read the books. (ie Velen and Novigrad aren’t separated by loading screens, Toussiant physically cannot be on the same map as it’s literally hundreds of miles/COUNTRIES away from Temeria/Redania, etc) I’m still giving Witcher 4 the benefit of the doubt, but I’ll remain skeptical as Luke always preaches. And Rebel Wolves has a gameplay reveal on Jan 13th so I want to get the word out.

[@DenDGLegionhardhouse]

Yes correct many people who worked on W3 have left CDPR shortly after witcher 3 was out. I think the writers and designers where absolute next level back then!

[@moira4707]

@@DenDGLegionhardhouse you mean, people like Pawel Sasko? Who is one of the leads for TW4?

[@Reedg333]

@@moira4707 Bellular just conveniently dropped a video on this exact topic today. You can go check that out for some solid objective info.

[@stefanuifalean5803]

32:01 also very intresting to mention, the one who cursed the wight was actually Gaunter, you can see that by checking her logbook, where she says she was cursed by a mirror seller. Gaunter is also called "Master Mirror", making the parallel clear. That also explains the spoon correlation between the 2 stories and the riddle she was given, as we know Gaunter to use riddles.

[@Tom-sd2vi]

Imagine the Witcher 3 with Arthur's movement from RDR2, that would be amazing.

[@bilbobeuli]

Nah, the movement is fine as it is. The only things I would change about Witcher 3 is letting the devs get back to fully flesh out the final third of the main story, and fixing Reasons of State, as that quest was supposed to be waaaaaaay bigger (and probably had a much better ending).

[@TheThirdWorldCitizen]

@@bilbobeulithe combat is definitely clunky. The new gen update was really good for the combat using signs though.

[@somedude5353]

Movement and combat is terrible, it was the turnoff for me that couldn’t get me past 5 hours.

[@mikeschwartz1764]

31:45 Gaunter also notably kills the drunk man in the inn with a spoon. That's quite a bit of spoon imagery.

[@matturso2224]

It still holds up graphically, but gameplay wise it's showing age. Still one of my favorite rpgs ever

[@SilverDay17]

Mods can help enhance the gameplays more dated aspects 👏

[@bronzin1445]

I never understood the gameplay argument and people refuse to elaborate as to why. If anything, it got better with age.

[@shift7808]

​@@bronzin1445 I'm happy to elaborate as I just finished the game 6hr ago. Combat in W3 is more like a formality. Something that just needs to be there.. And you're going to hear this a lot -- It feels "floaty" and lacking impact.. primarily because of sound design but also animations. With the "immunity" roll and the Quen sign you're effectively immortal and unless you create a build around a very specific thing, most of the tools they give you are worthless, resulting in you just swinging your sword and backstepping the entire game, no matter what difficulty you play on. Systems rapidly become redundant. Alchemy, crafting, modding (runes), toxicity (because you dont need to consume many potions), coin (you dont really need upgrades by midgame, so you dont need money), and more. I found myself not engaging with these systems around 30% of the way through, and would forget the talent points were even there because combat was so brainless at that point.. then i'd go "Welp, i might as well get more attack power I guess..." and just pick some attack perks and ignore the system for another 7-10 levels, and by the last 20% of the game I was just running in popping quen and swinging my sword. Never needed to repair my armor because I never took damage. Probably the weakest combat system i've experienced in 15 years. This isn't even covering the issues with the RPG elements but that's a whole nother can of worms. I enjoy feeling skilled at something or at least like the game isn't playing itself, and I wasnt able to achieve this in W3 because they clearly gave up on balancing combat. Unless you go out of your way, you'll be fighting 80% drowners, with a couple humans thrown in, and everyone has the same attack pattern with maybe one variation like a charge or sweeping strike... so once you learn one enemy you basically learn them all. Learning to fight drowners effectively taught me how to win every boxing match (even if opponents were 10 levels higher) and 1shot every single boss while losing no more than 10% hp. And i did it all with "quick attack", the most effective means of conquering all foes...

[@AF2277S]

@@shift7808I think that’s your looking to deeply into the functionality of combat in a game like the Witcher 3. It’s a game that doesn’t require a souls like level of detail to combat as the stories it tells and the world you explore are meant to be the most pivotal parts of it. Anyone who actually thinks this game hasn’t aged well just has an overly critical attitude to games and ruins there own fun for the sake of having something to whine about

[@dr_diddy]

​@@AF2277Sdude was asked to elaborate and you're upset he elaborated 😭 The combat is one of the most common complaints with this game, it's shit lol or serviceable more accurately.

[@randomjoker21]

your Witcher 3 videos are so well articulated, nuanced, fair, and entertaining that i rewatch them every once in a while just to reaffirm a great game analyzed by a strong content creator

[@fe6uary]

I never understood the hype for this game I’ve tried getting into it like 4 times and every time I just got bored

[@levi8781]

Yea same I loved AC Origins tho

[@emmettruskowsky5626]

same

[@kityhawk2000]

When you play games do you skip all the cutscenes by default? If you do that and are not interested in story of a game and just gameplay I could see how W3 might not be for you. It's a slow burn game and if you don't care about the story you won't care about what you're doing in the game.

[@levi8781]

@@kityhawk2000 no i always watch cutscenes

[@fe6uary]

@ no I always watch cutscenes and I love rpgs but the witcher 3 just wasnt that interesting to me

[@scottshannon3654]

"Triss is like woe is me, pouting in a corner" Bruv all mages are being hunted like rats in the city she's in 😂😂

[@anearthian894]

What new players must remember is that it's not a game, it's a closest to an experience of a grim world you are gonna get from a so called RPG. There are tonnes of things to be disappointed about though but overall...greatest masterpiece so far.

[@Renzsu]

Oh man I've been looking for those Noclip documentaries! Especially the bit where they talk about how they decided on the layout of Novigrad. Very clever stuff.

[@maincobra6749]

Witcher is a lil overrated imo

[@chance757]

i’ll NEVER get sick of luke talking about my favorite game!

[@XxMrFrogxX]

In the newer Tomb Raider games it is the same problem as in Uncharted. The young Lara (without any experience) downs so (soooo) much of the bad guys. It's ridiculous

[@marsnr1]

The "This is my story, not yours. You must let me finish telling it." sentence is so great. It's Ciri's story....you were just a background figure in her story the whole time. So great.

[@KattarAthiest]

Witcher 4 better .

[@WxMan18]

Played it once every year since release. Still find something new in the game every time.

[@OneVoyager1]

The comment about white orchard not being connected to the whole map of velen is due to the fact that white orchard is in a different parts of what is called the "continent" which is the whole known witcher universe. There's a map u can look at that shows u how big the witcher universe is and white orchard and velen are very far from one another that's why they are 2 different maps you have to fast travel between. In the witcher universe going from white orchard to velen is like a full days ride or even 2

[@proximacentauri9635]

I bought the game in September 2022 but didn’t like it at first because it was too gloomy and since I was living alone for the first time I preferred playing some “brighter” games (Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2, Ghost of Tsushima). In July 2023 I decided to try it again and that’s when I fell in love. I’ve played it for months and completed the Blood and Wine dlc last January. What is special for me is the story, the characters and their evolution, the exploration and the music. I never got bored and every main or secondary quest or contract, was well written and fun to do. It is definitely my favorite game for PlayStation and together with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it is the game that had the biggest impact in my life. This is the longest comment I’ve ever written on KZbin but I wanted to express my love for this game, a true masterpiece.

[@lordbaylay]

What an incredible piece of work, looking forward to running it as I drive to work over the next couple days!

[@willsheridan6981]

This is amazing. Have literally been a subscriber since the OG critique, and have watched the channel explode these past few years. This video really shows how far you’ve come!

[@Zain_Ali_.]

Yesss super long form Luke videos are back

[@jkays99456]

Your continued effort and skill put into your videos is incredible, I cannot wait to see you rise further.

[@mxyellow]

To appreciate TW3, you have to go back to TW1 and TW2. The improvement on each installment is so massive and the lore is so deep you know that the developers really care about the source material

[@zachnizz]

I just started up my playthrough again on the PS5 after taking a break. This is eerie that you just uploaded this. It's in my top 5 games of all time.

[@AF2277S]

Nice to see a critique. Not just the gaming drama content that has become the norm. Back to what you do best

[@BallyBoy95]

Can't tell if new Critique or simply reupload...