


Here’s perhaps the most important thing, though: If you’re shying away from T he Witcher 3 because you’re unfamiliar with the series and lore, I can only say you’re making a huge ploughing mistake. And now I face my toughest challenge with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: pulling myself away from the game long enough to actually write about it. Martin of Poland-they vastly exceeded it. CD Projekt RED didn’t simply deliver on their promise to craft a sprawling landscape worthy of the fantasy works of Andrzej Sapkowski, essentially the George R. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gives the open-world genre back to the player. Sure, you’re free to explore the world, but usually on the developer’s terms. Other so-called “open-world” titles have felt even more stifling in recent years. Ever since then, I’ve certainly enjoyed the games, but with each entry, I feel like I’m doing things less and less the way I personally prefer. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was the last time I felt a true sense of freedom in Rockstar’s landmark open-world series. It’s not their looks or general demeanor that connect the two, though-it’s how they go about their business. Sure, at first glance, a mutated, scar-laden beast-slayer might not seem to have much in common with a Ray Liotta–voiced Italian-American mobster decked out in ‘80s neon cruising a facsimile of the sun-soaked, cocaine-fueled beaches of Miami.

When I look at Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, however, one name comes to mind: Tommy Vercetti. When most people look at Geralt of Rivia, they see an indomitable, dual-blade-wielding monster hunter who could cut a man in two without batting an eye-and he frequently does, truth be told.
