In a post on X, CDPR announced that Songs of the Past would show its face as part of Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event on August 25.
I’ve tried half a dozen times and I just can’t get into this game. :/
Same. Played a million hours of Skyrim and Fallout but I’d rather play Far Cry than Witcher
Just curious, did you make it to Novigrad?
The first few time I tried to play it I did so with my usual completionist mindset, and got bored of wandering around the swamps before dropping it. I replayed it more recently, and just got to Novigrad as fast as possible, and that’s when it finally hooked me. Finished the main game and the expansions, finished all quests except the couple I skipped early game and couldn’t go back to. The start of the game is painfully slow, but when you get into the meat of it, it’s so good.
I have completed the main story and the bigger sidequests like the Red Baron. It’s the gameplay that got over repetitive for me. The combat doesn’t get more complex the deeper you get into the game, and some of the encounters are hella big. It becomes tedius. Like it is well written and everything, the story grabbed me and didn’t let go; but playing it like any other RPG the way I usually do burnt me out because there is just so much extra side stuff.
Cyberpunk isn’t that much better, I’d say, but the shooting and hacking combat with all the speed and abilities you get is more fun to me than the sword play of Witcher.
That’s fair. I do find the combat pretty clunky. But I’m also not the type that really cares about combat. I drop most games straight to easy, unless it’s turn-based. I seem to have the reflexes of a cat undergoing rigor mortis. So in games like the Witcher, the combat only serves as a plot device, rather than the point of the game.
What I ended up loving about the Witcher 3 is the characters and the worldbuilding. Even the random basic quests contributed to the worldbuilding for me in an enjoyable way, but only in ways I could appreciate once I was invested in the game.
Nope. I really don’t get it. There are games I can load into where every second of cutscene or story I’m pumped to find out everything I can, and then some games my brain just keeps screaming “blah blah blah, who cares” before I even get to the main menu.
On the plus side I know all I’m really missing out on is ~100 hours of wandering aimlessly and leveling while ignoring all the main quests, then getting bored with the game before ever doing them.
To those wondering about Witcher 3, it routinely goes on sale for $3 during Steam sales. I don’t think I’ve ever spent a better $3 in my life!
Idk i bought a cosmetic in a game that put a little wobbly piglet named Pigmar on the head of a very grumpy and serious inquisitor fanatic once. Honestly haven’t matched that high in years.
Is anyone actually looking forward to this? The new expansion is nothing but a PR stunt.
It’s been 10 years since the last expansion. Every single person from The Witcher 3’s team is gone from the company, never coming back. CDPR still has not addressed the countless lies it told during The Witcher 3’s and Cyberpunk 2077’s marketing campaigns. Not even an apology. Only gaslighting.
Sure, it’ll probably be better than Cyberpunk 2077. Because almost anything is.
Do yourself and others a favour, and boycott this piece of shit company if you aren’t doing it already.
Yeah I’m looking forward to it. Will obviously check reviews before buying but the other 2 DLC’s were amazing.
Are you still traumatised by color grading in a trailer?
Yeah the new devs on the team probably hates Witcher and can’t bake anything good 😌
Thank you for coming to my expansion reveal reveal.
Aw cool I love it when game companies work on a decade old game’s expansion instead of the new release!
Stop supporting old games: bad Keep supporting old games: bad
Make up your mind gamers
The DLC will be a new release though.
Eh, same way Skyrim Anniversary Edition or Oblivion Remastered were.
Still milking the same cow because it’s easier and lower risk. Sure, at least they have the decency to add a bit of content, but it is still an ancient game at this point, and the only reason they return to it is a cash grab.
If it’s anything like the two other DLC it’s a bit more than “a bit of content”. The cynisism of putting a bad spin on supporting an old game with content is exhausting tbh.
It mostly comes from the exhaustion of video game companies making big announcements and then pretending for years they never happened.
Be it Cyberpunk 2077 (that didn’t even have the actual concept when they originally planned to release the game), The Witcher IV (remember we’re promised that?), or, like, you know, The Elder Scrolls VI from that other studio (announced almost a decade ago, and yet here we are).
Companies attract attention with big announcements, and then just take the easy path, making remakes of remakes of remakes, occasionally bringing in a little bit of content into their older titles.
It wouldn’t be problematic with the old games if they actually tried to make the new ones for once.
The Witcher IV is in full-scale production (probably wouldn’t be finished sooner if they threw more personnel at it) and Songs of the Past is being developed by Fool’s Theory, a studio formed by former CDP staff.
I’ve actually never played it. Had a twenty year gap in gaming until I got a steam deck a year or so back. It’s very well spoken of, but I’m aware that it’s also a pretty old game. Does it still hold up okay?
One thing Witcher 3 does better than most open world RPGs even now is being able to make consistent small-scale side quests that are arguably more interesting & well written than the main quest. Almost every village has a unique monster quest that could act as a short story in an anthology series. The tutorial zone, White Orchard, is a perfect example of this. Every questline links to another, and clever players can put together a storyline for the whole village over the course of several years.
Aside from that, the DLCs are amazing. Gwent is a blast, and the soundtrack is still one of the best I’ve ever heard in gaming. Geralt is a wonderful protagonist too, he’s not the fantasy Batman that the marketing likes to portray him as. He’s curious, empathetic, and isn’t afraid to make a fool out of himself.
I replayed the main game, and played the expansions for the first time a few months ago. It still feels like a new game to me, and since they did a big graphics update in 2022, so it pretty much is. The movement is a little clunky to me, but that’s the only thing that even comes close to letting it down. I had a hard time getting into it when it was new, but this time around it got me hooked line and sinker. I find it strikes a really good balance between a story driven narrative, and rpg, and I just got so invested in it. It was a little sad when I ran out of content, so I’m really looking forward to the new expansion.
So if not obvious, I highly recommend it.
Okay, thanks, I’m going to give it a go! Had a bunch of other replies saying the same. I played bioshock for the first time a year or so ago, and I enjoyed that. Prob a remaster tho. But yeah enjoyed it and will prob play Witcher 3 next. Cheers!
It’s better than the vast majority of games released today and still looks really good. Highly recommend it IF you like open world RPGs as it’s pretty much the gold standard.
What I needed to hear, thanks. Okay I’ll play it next.
As far as the expansions go, Heart of Stone is okay, mostly more of the same, which isn’t a bad thing, but Blood and Wine is as big as a whole other game. Prossibly the best expansion ever, in my opinion.
Its not really an old game, though i guess that depends on your age, given you’ve had a 20 year break from gaming you likely aren’t young. The game is younger than both GTA:V and skyrim though, in saying that there is nothing wrong with old games. The half-life and portal games still hold up great, Witcher 3 is no different, its a pretty decent game. If you like this sort of thing. If you like story heavy third-person open world games with a fleshed out world then yes. Also, gwent. Ignore the standalone version, but the in-game card game is extremely addictive. Multiple endings, new game +, nothing like a souls game but it isn’t a cake walk either, unless you want that.
Mate the last games I played before I stopped gaming were GTA vice city, silent hill, and unreal tournament. Then I got a steam deck a couple of years ago and lots to catch up on . Favourite games since then : bioshock, cyberpunk, prey, baldur’s gate 3 (playing now, just starting act 3). But I’ve played a few that ppl said were classics I missed out on that I felt didn’t how up - like system shock, half life, a few.
Good to know this isn’t one of those, I’ll pay it next, cheers :)
I played W3 a few years ago over a period of a couple years. it holds up just fine in this patient gamer’s opinion. I certainly lost a good number of nights playing it. I did get fatigue about a year in and stopped like one quest from the main story ending, and came back a year later to do that and start the expansions. it’s a good game with decent mechanics, graphics, environment, and good ambience.
note that I don’t really play the newest games, except for group stuff like when Siege first came out or DbD. otherwise I play through my backlog of too many excellent games, and play an awful lot of Minecraft. like I just started playing SOMA in the past year finally
Might be a good time to finally play the DLC’s . I began hearts of stone after replaying the game a while back but I was kind of burned out and never finished it.
Blood and Wine took the headlines due to the sheer size of it, but I honestly think Hearts of Stone is probably the best DLC for any game.
Maybe tied with Outer Wilds Echoes of the Eye expansion.
I was gonna ask what year are we having, but yeah…
Lines up with the 20th anniversary of the first Witcher game
Please be compatible with 4.04 mods 🙏 please please please
I’ve never played the two original expansions. I pirated them, but never played. I purchased the “complete” edition from GOG, but still haven’t gotten around to it. What is wrong with me?
Hearts of Stone is the best Witcher content they ever produced in my opinion. Highly recommend checking it out.
You’re doing spooning wrong:
spoiler
You should spoiler tag that for H&S.
I’ve played Hearts and even I don’t know what the fuck is happening. Other than one man spooning another, obviously.
spoiler
Gaunter O’Dim showed part of his great power as he freezed time and put a spoon in the eye of an annoying guy as I remember.
Can’t be that great. He put the spoon in with the wrong side.
I’d say you only need to play Blood and Wine - Hearts of Stone isn’t bad but it isn’t what I’d call an expansion.
Heart of Stone hits harder than blood which is breezy in comparison. First time I enjoyed blood better but that was mostly down to the new location. Going over the same territory from the main game was a bit underwhelming. But on replay - no contest. (Well apart from the Auction house.)
Given the depth of writing in the Witcher 3, I think skipping Hearts of Stone would be a huge mistake.
I would argue the other way around. Blood and Wine is fun and nice as a capstone to Geralt and has a lot of content if you just want to ride around and play Gwent and do the Wine Wars and play house with your vineyard or whatever. It’s a fun expansion with a lot of value for your money if that’s what you’re after.
Hearts of Stone though is the most focused, well written, cinematic and concise story and content they ever made for Witcher. Has great characters, mystery, tension, levels, cutscenes, atmosphere… For me it was by far the more impactful of the two DLCs. If anything B&W is too long, I was already burned out by the end of it.
Idk man, Hearts of Stone’s story is the best in the entire game IMO.
I wouldn’t just call it not bad, it’s great.
Nothing. Some games do not appeal to you and that is fine.
I have the trilogy, played a bit, hated the characters and went back to Skyrim. I guess I like my main character less chatty.
Probably cuz you got burnt out playing the base game? I am replaying the game right now and it’s kinda exhausting because the gameplay isn’t as great as I remember (I got so spoiled Souls games, they raised my standards too high lol) but it was fine once I installed a few mods to tweak things.
Also you can just play the DLCs alone instead of starting an entire new game just for them.
Hearts of Stone is the best story in the entire game. Blood and Wine takes you to the most beautiful place in the entire game (and one of the most beautiful places in gaming IMO).
tbf they are stupidly big and take way too long to complete.
Waiting for witcher 3 special edition. Gotta milk that cow.
Out of all the games, Witcher 3 is probably at the top for best bang for the buck there buddy.
I’ve never played it, but it’s on my list. It is kind of an old game now though - does it still hold up?
It’s very highly regarded, but I honestly didn’t enjoy it a ton. One thing that it does do quite well is its characters, which I think it also frankly one of the strongest aspects of the source material.
The gameplay was super mid to me though, leaning on not fun. Like, I don’t think I would have played it if not for a few mods on PC that I considered damn near necessary for my enjoyment.
Oh, another thing it did really well was its urban centers. I love me a big city in a video game, and Witcher 3 does have one of the best I’ve seen.
I like story driven rpgs, and so yes for me it does. You do have to push yourself to get through the first training area though, that’d a slog. Once you get through and into the open world it’s one if the top games.
Not really, unless you have a preference for their type of storytelling. Anyway it’s 11 years old and didn’t even need another dlc/expansion.
Anyway it’s 11 years old and didn’t even need another dlc/expansion.
No one is forced to buy or play it. The fact that the game didn’t need a DLC / Expansion speaks for the game. Nowadays games are developed with DLC in mind and cut off from the actual game just to sell you a part at launch. I wish more older games would get high quality DLCs like Witcher 3 does. CD Project Red does usually a phenomenal job of doing these expansions without abusing its user base.
I do have a preference, and who cares about the age of the game as long as the content is good? Last time it was blood and wine, an 80 hour expansion. They haven’t let me down yet with content quality.
I didn’t realize the highly regarded Blood and Wine would have so much possible playtime! Maybe that’s the playtime with the normal play through of the actual game together? OK so I looked up https://howlongtobeat.com/game/33660 and it says 28 hours for main story and side missions on average, and over 40 hours for completionists. Which is still extremely impressive, as the DLC is of high quality.
What does that even mean? No one who has the game and expansions need to buy it. Having Special Editions with everything in one go is just easier for anyone going into the game for first time. Also it most likely has all the updates up to that point builtin. I really like Special Editions for this reason. Generally speaking off course.