The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone - DLC Review / Critique

[@falk4183]

I can only repeat, even though I watched only the non spoiling part of the video, that the explanations you give to convey your judgement of the game are so in depth and with so much effort into them, so we can all appreciate it. In my opinion the most elaborate reviews from an objective point of view on youtube. I appreciate your eloquent way of talking and how you produce your videos! Thank you and looking forward to the next one!

[@BaalSagoth]

This DLC is certainly my favorite Witcher 3 content by quite a bit. Hearts of Stone rekindled my enthusiasm for the game so much after burning out on some of the more tedious stuff in the base game.

[@MattYansmuck]

Perfectly put

[@JuliusCaesar103]

I am totally on board with you praising this dlc endlessly. It deserves it.

[@jonathansoko1085]

nah

[@GIBI_SZPILORZ]

Fun fact: CDP's Gaunter O'Dim(another fun fact: his initials are GOD) was inspired by the devil from polish book "Pan Tadeusz" in which agreement was that devil meets with main character in Rzym(Rome), but they met in tavern named Rzym(Rome).

[@kacperszulak374]

It was Pan Twardowski, not Pan Tadeusz

[@n3burgener]

I feel like Hearts of Stone is the perfect embodiment of why quality should ultimately be more important than quantity. Sure, it's a smaller and shorter game than either "Wild Hunt" or "Blood & Wine" but its main quest-line has the absolute best content in all of The Witcher 3, not just in terms of the story but also the characters and quest mechanics, too. I would guess that's because they put all of their focus into the main quest-line, as opposed to feeling like they had to crank out a bunch of lesser side content just to fill a massive open world that was ultimately bigger than it needed to be. I wouldn't even say HOS is too short or small of a game, either, as it feels like the perfect length and amount of content for what it set out to accomplish -- there's enough new content to give it a satisfying and fulfilling length, while being short enough to not become stale or repetitive. If the whole game could've been like HOS (except maybe 2-3x longer than HOS, and hopefully without sacrificing too much on the quality or pacing) I would've been so much happier with the base game.

[@villelepoaho4105]

As soon as you started talking about Shani's "harpy nest" and Geralt's "Cockatrice trophies", I knew I had to hit that like button.

[@goncaloferreira6429]

Excelent review. a few thoughts. 1- Iris´s quest in the painted world took too long. Sure it is interactable but not very stimulating. Should it be the first wish in order to humanize Olgier earlier? 2- the heist dispoints, as the final choice between the two brothers. And the twist was clear from the start. 3- HoS give us small things: where to spend our money, connections to previous games and characters, new factions and expanded the world, both physiccaly and in scope .overall the dlc was an improvement and that is all one can hope.

[@Nevil077]

Great review. Can't wait for the Blood & Wine review now

[@megamike15]

heart of stone just made me wish more rpg devs would make a quest as good as dead man's party

[@Massinissathefirst]

"...Destroy her harpy nest multiple times..." I'm dead, thank you very much.

[@dragonalias]

I love that you subtitle your videos

[@pst5345]

The completionist does the trial for completing the Viper set. ;P I get the saddle in 1st playthrough and do the trial in ng+.

[@jackjager8790]

Great Review, good job! I like both Expansions. Hearts of Stone is great but so is Blood and Wine. Both are well written and improve gameplay (Blood and Wine has more improvements in Gameplay but Hearts of Stone has slightly better and engaging story). Personally i prefer Blood and Wine a bit more just because i loved the new area, it was a nice change and i loved the culture of Toussaint more. The music and the new Gwent deck, the Vampire addition is cool and the fairy tale like felt like a fresh change, also i liked the content, its massive for 20$ which is also cool i guess. I wouldnt mind a Cyberpunk review from you at the end of the year, i mean after the fixes, lol.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

I'm still waiting on the Blood and Wine review

[@crios333]

I get the sense that olgierd (idk how to spell his name) will be like a new bloody Baron because I didn't like the Baron at first and he asks a lot and his quests were pretty annoying to do but I eventually came to care about his fate

[@Tobygas]

One of my biggest peeve's in this dlc are the "rewards" that you get from Gaunter in the end if you chose to let him do his thing. Every single one of them is pretty damn useless and one reward is literally just extra lines of dialogue (meaning the one where you ask about Ciri)

[@Demosthenes84]

You can't truly enjoy the combat unless you play it on the hardest difficulty. It's tough in the beginning.But once you get stronger and you build your character properly you have to utilize all of your tools and you become very strong and it becomes very satisfying to kill powerful enemies

[@chrisherzog1367]

Shani's accent is odd and it's impossible to not notice, but I think it might've been intentional just to make her sound distinct

[@killingjoker797]

I know this video is two years old but having played this game + both dlc more than 4 times, I am obligated to address that you failed to mention a vital detail. Olgierd made the deal with G.O.D. in exchange for the life of his own brother. That was the catch. It is quite possible that G.O.D. gave him a heart of stone as well but what would make way more sense is the fact that Olgierd killing his brother could be what caused him to have a heart of stone in the first place. I mean, think about it, would you be able to live a life of pleasure if you murdered a person that you have cherished for the entirety of your life, would you truly be able to live guilt free? This also adds immensely to the fact that Olgierd was not a good person. In exchange for his own marriage, money and immortality, he murdered his own brother. Only to probably realize later in life that he could not live with the guilt. Eventually turning his heart into stone. We know that Olgierd often visited his brother's grave and it might be that this was the beginning of his heart turning to stone. It could also be a hint to his guilt because his brother's is the only specific grave that he visits. Eventually he probably turned even more sociopathic due to the guilt and his immortality turning him even more disconnected as he came to realize that normal worldly pleasures no longer pleased him and then the rest happened. Looking at it this way, it puts olgierd, no longer as someone who just happened to fall into circumstances that led him down some rabbit hole that span out of control but instead proves that almost all that happened to him was what he brought upon himself and all gaunter did was grant his wishes by interpreting them cleverly. And immortality is no curse. It can make it so that you run out of things to do and life starts mattering less to you. But this would require at least hundreds of years. But with olgierd, it happens in a course of a few decades and it could be more to do with his sociopathy exasperated by him murdering someone he cared for in turn for a happy life. This obviously doesen't mean G.O.D. isn't evil but it does make him even more interesting as it leads to the possibility that he might have known that this is exactly how everything might play out when he asked olgierd to kill his own brother. Maybe this entire thing was G.O.D. wanting to prove the point that olgierd was an evil person and making him suffer for it. Obviously he himself doesen't seem to adhere to mortal morality but it could be that he saw olgierd by happenstance brawling with a couple people, drunk after his house was taken by the borsodi's, took a measure of what kind of a person he was and thus decided to condemn him by offering him a deal. He is after all, called master mirror. He reflects olgierd's true nature back at him by showing him just how much of an evil person he is. Maybe thats specifically what he enjoys. Showing people how evil they are in horrifying ways and topping it off by claiming their souls in the end.

[@stefanie_blueberry1350]

Nice, thank you. One thing: Take a look at the initials of Gaunter O'Dimm😉

[@LUckybones25]

Hearts of Stone feels like a completely different game.

[@zoiuduu]

i started playing this DLC, then i got to a house, and ppl laughed at me, at me a guy with 2 swords, armor, and brave enough to take the contract they put, i couldnt fight them because my geralt is such a puss. i gave up on the DLC and went for the other one.

[@greatindianbuilder2491]

I did exactly what you did in your first playthrough. Want to do absolutely nothing with the devil and not giving him a chance to put me in trouble.

[@youstupidheadass]

also solid humor around the 27min mark

[@headbreakable]

if you're useing alchamy...the bosses make no diffrence.

[@АлексеевМаксим-р2ь]

Thank you!

[@LVega_]

I really like this.

[@garok2412]

Not finishing Witcher 3 let alone the expansions hurts because I can't watch this video.

[@afseraph]

The video starts with a spoiler free section.

[@tormund8554]

Finish it then?

[@garok2412]

@@tormund8554 Brother, this game takes time to finish

[@tormund8554]

@@garok2412 Sure, but it came out 5 years ago, not enough?

[@garok2412]

@@tormund8554 But I got it 3 months ago, and a lot of irl stuff to worry about :P

[@MasterFeidn]

If you still didn't find ciri there is another reward you can pick up from Gaunter. Oh and you can ask ciri, lovely triss, yen and regis about that mark in your face.

[@gruchenstein9163]

U can even talk to vesemir after auction house part

[@DanielFlores-fo1ee]

Nice review but what made you review this so many years later??

[@wulfila99]

30:15 - 30:30 You're just describing Assassin's Creed, aren't you

[@youstupidheadass]

team shani huh

[@s3340985]

Also, is it just me, but I cant get immersed into a medieval setting when almost every npc looks like a top model. I hate how everyone needs to look hot. Its medieval goddamnit!! People rarely washed and had crappy teeth back then. And did not have those modern haircuts.

[@Mycrosss]

The NPCs in the game look like ugly peasents usually. If you meant the NPCs with more focus on them, its only the romantic interests. And its also explained, Triss and Yen are sorceresses, they dont actually look like that, its a spell/illusion they use to change how they look. Shani is average on the other hand.

[@skorhed00]

People in medieval times regularly bathed and brushed their teeth

[@smailmilak]

How did CDPR manage to make this game and then Cyberpunk with terrible quests compared to the Witcher 3?

[@noraeld5020]

Apparently employee turnover rates are high in gaming so it probably might not have been the same people making it

[@jackjager8790]

Well, every studio makes one great game and then goes a bit downhill, i dont rememeber a studio that keeps delivering same quality games, you are bound to fuck up at some point. Look at Bioware, Bethesda, Obsidian, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Dark Souls. All of them had 1 bad or mediocre game in their series, so please lets not act so surprised.

[@aligmal5031]

simple answer : greed both by the company and shareholders

[@mr.fahrenheit2157]

I think the four major storylines with Judy, Panam, River and Kerry were good enough, probably more than most of the main story, though they carry the same problems as TW 3, like uninteresting gameplay or being too linear. with little to no roleplaying options without compromising content

[@Thedeepseanomad]

My Geralt has someone else, but he always makes some room for Shani...

[@mnmsdn]

You deserve more subscribers.

[@ProtoLolZz]

the witcher 3 base game had its highlights and started to trail off hard towards the end, hearts of stone and blood and wine in my opinion beat many many standalone AAA games with their stories and content, i have put more than 600 hours in to the game and whenever i have started a new game i start to rush things after velen just to get to the dlcs and their atmosphere.

[@jonathansoko1085]

You know you can just play the dlc tho right? You can literally start a new game there, why even waste your time?

[@Setorrs]

Witcher 3 was such a good game, easily 10/10 in my eyes even tho it had some minuses. The dlcs just add onto that and makes it untouchable for any other game that will come in the next years. I doubt CDPR will catch lighting in the bottle like they did with witcher 3, you can see they failed to do that with cyberbug 2077.

[@jaybs5380]

100% agree that Shani is the best romance option in all the base game and DLCs

[@typickoopakid]

Best story I've ever experienced in a video game. The only thing about it really rubs me the wrong way though, is how you never get a chance to reunite Olgierd with Iris. The reason I left her in the painted world was the hope that something good could eventually come up if a piece of her soul or whatever is still alive in that world, but even after you save Olgierd, he should be able to enter the painted world like Geralt did but for some reason Geralt never says anything.

[@Valvadrix]

I agree with the heist being the weak point of the story. It felt like an overly drawn out (especially by the quests you have to do for the people you recruit) and unengaging sidetrack more than anything significant. The only reason I had any sort of dilemma on the last choice was because I found both brothers unappealing and couldn't choose which one I disliked more. I definitely agree with the other parts of the main story being interesting, though. This expansion was the most fun I've had with the game because of the story. I'm looking forward to your Blood & Wine review because I think that expansion was a step back. Started well, but it really dropped the ball towards the end.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

I had a similar issue choosing between the Borsodi Brothers at the end of "Open Sesame!" Neither of them got much actual characterization throughout that quest, as they were used primarily as plot devices instead of characters, so when it came time to make a decision it felt arbitrary and meaningless. I remembering staring at the dialogue screen when you're supposed to make your choice just drawing a blank in my mind as to why I should pick one over the other; in end, I said to myself "I don't care about any of this, I'm just here for the House, and the one guy (I don't even remember his name -- "The Stranger") at least got me this far, and the other guy was kind of a jerk at the auction house, so I guess I'll stick with the guy I came with." I couldn't anticipate what lasting consequences might be for that decision, if there even would be any, and so it felt like CDPR was just ticking the box on "Well, we gotta point a Choice™ in there because that's our formula," even though the story and background wasn't developed sufficiently to support the weight of that choice. That quest also has the least to do with the main plot between Olgierd and O'Dimm, which makes it even less interesting. "Dead Man's Party" gives us tons of character interaction with one of Olgierd's direct relatives, which helps to expand on some Olgierd's backstory as to what kind of antics he and Vlodimir got into during their raiding days and the type of company Olgierd keeps, with a couple major conversations between O'Dimm and Vlodimir that shed even more light on the backstory. And of course, "Scenes From a Marriage" is all about the rise and fall of Olgierd and Iris's marriage. The stuff with the Borsodi Brothers, in comparison, feels completely unrelated; you can find an old Love Letter from Olgierd to Iris in the attic of the auction house, and they did play a role in what led to Olgierd summoning O'Dimm through their financial investments taking on the Von Everec's debts and then squeezing them dry, but you don't learn about that until after you've already completed the quest. Ultimately, I had more fun attending the auction and mingling with guests (like talking to the woman who'd had a brief love affair with Vesemir) and doing all of the prep-work for the heist, than I did with the actual heist. I think if they'd sprinkled in some of Olgierd's connection to the Borsodi Brothers a little earlier on, gave the two brothers a little more characterization, and fleshed out the gameplay a little more, it could've been decent, at least, but as it is it's like they didn't have a great idea of what to do for a third quest, but felt obligated to have Three Wishes because that's the standard in these types of stories, and because only two main quests wouldn't have been enough content. So instead we get kind of a boring and under-developed concept that just isn't anywhere near as engaging, interesting, or satisfying as the other two main quests.

[@lovablesnowman]

@@TheNocturnalRambler I have 0 evidence for this but tbh it wouldn't surprise me at all if the entire heist mission was supposed to be a side quest in the main game that got modified and transferred to the DLC to give it more content. It's so utterly divorced from the rest of the HOS storyline which is otherwise really right and well knit together.

[@Grondorn]

So, what do you think about Blood And Wine DLC?

[@jonathansoko1085]

While this dlc offers a TINY BIT of creativity that requires you to think, A TINY bit. I still cant forgive how awful the base game is in that regard. This game is ingeneral for people that want to be told every little thing they are supposed to do. Its the biggest problem with it. This does it a BIT better but not that much

[@frantisekfojt8688]

I always knew the HoS content was superior, couldn't figure out why tho. Thanks for the great review!

[@nd8490]

The first boss of this dlc, the frog, was such an awesome/frustrating AF experience on death march.

[@Spellweaver5]

This dlc is also much better for the fact that it tells its own story rather than repeating what's already been told in the books, and mostly about new characters, with the exception of Shani. Something that Blood and Wine sadly refused to do, which makes it significantly worse. Who, by the way, at least has a likeable personality, unlike Triss and Yen. As for the final riddle... my problem is that the actual answer to the puzzle does not matter. You just run around until Geralt says "oh, I know, it's a mirror!". And honestly, there is very little place where to run aside from the path that would lead you to the answer.

[@cosmologicalgarbage5915]

17:31 perfectly synced to the folk song. You just gotta applaud the effort.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

That was a fun little sequence to edit, as I not only synced up my voice-over to the children's singing so they could take-over the lyrics more effectively, but I also synced the instrumental soundtrack underneath their singing to properly match the tune for extra musicality. Thanks for noticing, and thanks for the kind words!

[@stevokucinsky630]

I've been watching your videos for a longer time now (first time came after replaying Gothic 1 and 2 the 10th time and wanted to know more about Risen) and I find your content very informative, enjoyable and funny at times. I would like to see you more engaged in playtroughs because you have incredible voice for commentary and certainly deserve much bigger audience. Nonetheless, thanks for the content, It really helps when coping with bad mood. Feeds my nostalgia and inner peace :D

[@JuliusCaesar103]

This is going to be good. I was wondering whether or not you were going to cover the DLCs. This is going to help make these 2 weeks enjoyable.

[@wildhunt6350]

"Destroy your harpy nest" 💀💀💀💀🔥🔥🔥😆😄😁😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@marcwittkowski5146]

Well, that was quick. Loved the review. And loved the DLC. I'll have to replay it again soon...

[@darkholyPL]

Interesting, so the main guy is just a variation on Mr Twardowski, a Polish story about a man that has made a deal with the devil in exchange for his soul. But Mr Twardowski had several conditions that the Devil needed to meet, before he would get the soul of Twardowski. One was that he needs to meet with the devil in Rome, which obviously he had no intentions of ever doing. One day the devil met Twardowski at an Inn, and it so happened that the inn was named 'Rome' so as far as the devil was concerned, the condition was met. It's a cool story.

[@Spellweaver5]

It's a variation of Twardowski, that is itself a variation of the Faustian tale.

[@Mishana10]

I began wondering why I haven't noticed Shani's changing accent... and then I realized I've always played Witcher 3 in Polish xD Anyways, great video. Thanks :)

[@paintedplates3149]

Hi NR, another excellent review, thank you so much! I found HoS such a refreshing experience too, and I agree with your list of its strengths. I would add two impressions, of a more critical nature: 1. I felt disconnected from the romance with Shani. After Vlodimir’s spirit departs, your interactions with Shani play out as a very long, heavily scripted cutscene, with only few interactive moments, to the point I felt it was Geralt romancing Shani with me as an onlooker, rather than me roleplaying Geralt’s relationship through dialogue and decisions. Just to be clear, the dialogue and direction are excellent, but my relationship as a player to Geralt - taking on his character and giving it my personal twist - felt invaded and taken over by the invisible hand of the script director. (A criticism you did bring up in your review of the base game) 2. I didn’t like how Knights of the Flaming Rose were implemented. When I first encountered them at a POI, I got really excited at this W1 reference, thinking a ‘reckoning with old enemies’ questline was in the works. Sadly, that never materialised. Their presence is well justified - a corrupted order of knights fallen from grace, surviving on the breadline of crime and violence. However, your interactions with the order are framed by a straight up assassination quest handed out by one of Olgierd’s underlings, in which you are expected to punish the killers of a fisstech dealer. The fact it’s the Order responsible is almost incidental, it may as well have been any other rival drug gang; you learn about the backstory leading to their current situation from the leader in few lines of dialogue; and the only gameplay scenario involved is combat, or rather a one-sided slaughter, about which no one makes a comment, even Geralt himself. Compare this to W1, where killing an entire village was a result of your moral decisions, followed closely the boss fight and resolution of the first story arc, and left an indelible impression of how seemingly ‘right’ choices can end in violence and death. In HoS there was ample opportunity to develop a more complex presentation of the Order, or rather the desperate remnants trying to survive, and to allow Geralt a greater range of choices regarding their fate. As it stands, they are little more than filler bandits, and - at least to me - a misuse of a major faction from the previous games. That being said, HoS is definitely the highlight of the series. Combat got interesting for the first time in forever, thanks to well designed bosses, quests set up interesting and varied scenarios, and the characters are well developed throughout the story. If only CDProjectRed could learn the lesson here, and consistently adopt the ‘less is more’ approach that capitalises on their strengths…

[@hiroshi6421]

the demon cat is the only cat in the entire game who doesn't hiss at you :( great retrospective btw

[@Hynotama]

The only thing I despised in this expansion was that ofeiri mage and his stupid one hit kill sand tornadoes. Those were just so cheap. And I kinda wish we could go back to Master Mirror's dimension to explore without a time limit.

[@dontbeextremeblackdogisade4136]

woah ek acha review

[@helenline1790]

12:45

[@CountSorinsRealm]

Hey NR, I recently discovered your channel based on some Gothic searches and love all your content, fantastic insight/videos, I pretty much agree with everything I've watched so far. Out of curiosity, if you had to pick only one, what would be your favorite game of all time? Thanks!

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

It's easily the combination of Gothic 1 and 2, though Vampire Bloodlines, Deus Ex, Prey (2017), and Fallout New Vegas are up there as well.

[@CountSorinsRealm]

@@TheNocturnalRambler Awe hell yeah man, I completely agree! For years now I've spent my days explaining to my non old school gamer friends why Gothic1/2 and not Skyrim and the Witcher 3 are the greatest RPGs of all time, but now I just send them your videos. Thanks for the reply, stay awesome!

[@DidierWierdsma6335]

The mighty CDPR has fallen so low it's just sad. Witcher 3 was was their Magnum opus cyberpunk 2077 is not. Great video btw keep it up👍

[@jackjager8790]

Well, every studio makes one great game and then goes a bit downhill, i dont rememeber a studio that keeps delivering same quality games, you are bound to fuck up at some point. Look at Bioware, Bethesda, Obsidian, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Dark Souls. All of them had 1 bad or mediocre game in their series, so please lets not act so surprised.

[@DidierWierdsma6335]

@@jackjager8790 surprised i am not but if you promise something you better deliver. CDPR is no better than all those other studio's never believe any hype it will only disappoint you. Also never pre order any game no studio is worth that.

[@manassikdar1]

@@jackjager8790 what about Valve and rockstar?

[@Floooyd3d]

Noice Please make Risen 2 and 3 review

[@eldiablogmic6760]

yeah that would be nice! No wait... Vampire The Masqurade: Bloodlines