PS4nukkah: The Witcher 3

All right, cards on the table: is The Witcher 3 a good game?  Yeah, obviously.

Really, you could leave it at that.  It’s a good game that’s both fun and intriguing; there are thrills to be had, but you only have to play for an hour or two (if that) to realize that this isn’t your standard-fare adventure.  That’s kind of a given, since I’m guessing that The Witcher 3 is one of 2015’s biggest games both in terms of popularity/hype and the actual scale of its world.  I had my doubts beforehand because open-world games have lost their pizazz in the wake of an industry that’s trying to run the subgenre into the ground (should we blame GTA5’s success for that?  Who knows?), but CD Projekt RED’s latest deserves whatever praise it gets…even if it’s not exactly ZOMG BESTEST GAEM EVAR material, but whatever.  You’re in good hands with it.

But you’re not here to see me give my blessing, are you?  So let’s get in deep with the game -- and try not to develop a Gwent addiction.  First off…

In Search of Majestic Games

I’ve been thinking about Until Dawn recently, even though -- as of this post -- it’s been more than a month since I finished it.  Part of the blame is on the recently announced VR installment, Rush of Blood.  I don’t know what to make of that, because I haven’t followed VR developments too closely; still, the fact that Until Dawn is seeing more play than a one-off release inspires confidence.  It’s new, it’s different, and even if there are some serious flaws, overall it’s still a good game.  I’m glad it came out, and I hope it gives Supermassive Games the freedom to branch out.

People are going to have different reasons as to why they like Until Dawn (thanks to that pesky thing we call “free will”).  Some wanted horror movie tropes, and got them.  Some wanted an adventure in the vein of a Quantic Dream title -- minus the Quantic Dream -- and got that.  But even if people give different reasons, I have one of my own.  I don’t think anyone’s going to fight me on it, but it might be the reason why the game succeeds overall, on some basic level.  And beyond that, Until Dawn is a good reminder of what a game can be, because its makers remembered what a game could be.

The word of the day -- or close enough to it -- is spirit.

Who Do You Want to Play As?

So a while back, I (finally) started playing The Witcher 3 -- and believe it or not, I actually like it.  I like the exploration, I like the combat, I suspect I have the potential to develop a Gwent addiction, and I even like Geralt.  Because even if his gravelly voice says otherwise, he’s not your standard tough guy antihero; seriously, you have no idea how much it means to me to have a character who shows a full range of emotions.  You will never know.

But even if I like Geralt, I have to admit I like Yennefer more.  She’s just plain cooler -- a witch with some serious magical chops, for sure, but there’s more to her than that.  She’s got the smarts, the sass, and underneath her bluster she’s someone that actually cares about things.  I admit I don’t know the full extent of her relationship with Geralt, but at least I know firsthand that there is a relationship.  It means something to them, and by proxy it means something to me.  It should go without saying, but I wish I could stop playing as a witcher so I could go full blast with a straight-up witch.

And that got me thinking -- which is my M.O., of course, but whatever.  No time for semantics.

On The Witcher 3 and Intelligent Games

“The world doesn’t need a hero.  It needs a professional.”

You can’t begin to imagine how much that tagline irritates me.  Is it true?  Maybe.  But just hearing it makes me cringe -- like it smacks of the obsession with pessimism and grit that’s held a stranglehold on creative outlets for ages.  Yeah, a professional can do a lot, but a good hero can do even more -- become an enduring symbol that overpowers and outlasts “a job well done”.  Plus, it’s just more interesting; who was it that decided that fiction can never ever have idealism or a lack of realism?  Doesn’t that mean stripping away good possibilities -- a good half of what fiction is all about?

Also, Geralt just rubs me the wrong way.  Maybe I’m alone on this, be he feels like the most DeviantArt-ass OC the world’s ever seen.  White hair!  A scar!  A dark costume with lots of belts!  Two swords!  A gruff and growly voice!  Unusual eye colors!  He’s a bounty hunter!  He’s the best bounty hunter!  He’s got a dark and troubled past!  He’s different from normal people, which also makes him better!  I know The Witcher is much better than what I’ve described here, but at a glance?  Boy, it doesn’t do itself any favors; it’s as if it was designed to be industrial strength Voltech repellant.

But it’s fine, though.  If there’s any game I want to give a chance -- to open my heart to, and welcome into the depths of my soul (and/or ventricles), it’s this one.