Great game that suffers from pacing issues. Chapter 1 and 2 draaaag. Unfortunately reading the books is pretty much required. Not because you won't understand whats going on (the game actually serves as a great introduction to the witcher universe and the games story is completely self contained), but because without reading the books alongside playing the game it will likely be difficult for anyone to maintain the motivation required to complete the game before dropping it in 2025. Chapter 1 took me like 8 hours to complete, and went from fun to tedious after about 3 hours. Chapter 2 was a similar story, being fun for about half of its runtime (beginning and end) and just frustrating as you run circles around the game world trying to figure out how to move things forward. (make an offering of bread at the altar of melitele in the temple and thank me later.)

The game gets better with each consecutive chapter. Each chapter is good, just not in its entirety. Until chapter 3/4. By that point things should be moving along more consistently. The game just gets better and better for the entire runtime until you reach the epilogue where if you make it to that point your mind will probably be blown by the story. The writing in this game is great with awesome characters. The writing is typically serious with occasional hilarious moments. Dandelion is best character.

Chapter 1 and 2 could probably be done more quickly if you know what you're doing. My problem was I was still learning aspects of the game for these sections causing me to halt game progress due to my own ignorance of how the game functions. I'd highly recommend just googling things if you cant figure out how to progress a quest within about 10 minutes of trying to, don't spend an hour running in circles like I did. I spent forever trying to find white myrtle for Abigail, only to become frustrated and google it and discover that you can't see it until you unlock the harvesting skill in your intelligence skill tree. And that was just one of the handful of roadblocks I experienced in chapter 1. Chapter 2 is similar with quests in your journal that say you're waiting for something to happen, but really you need to take a proactive approach and speak with said person you're waiting on before it says they are ready. Just various speed bumps like that which will slow your progress if you don't know what you're doing.

I'd imagine most people will drop this game in the prologue or first chapter. Then several more will probably drop off during the lengthy 2nd chapter. Anyone who makes it to chapter 3 has demonstrated their stubbornness, and refusal to give up and will likely finish the game. Its absolutely worth it, just trust me, research if you're struggling to move forward.

Everyone talks about the gameplay in this game being bad and the worst part of the game. I found that the actual biggest issue plaguing the game (outside of pacing) was the presentation. Voice acting is often bad, scripted sequences often glitch out, camera angles are frequently terrible, the character models are some of the worst i've ever seen, its a mess. But its a first attempt by a brand new studio. The music is goated though.

I'm extremely excited to play the remake when it comes out. Unfortunately I think they're going to "modernize" the combat and censor the ♥♥♥♥ out of it.

Great game that suffers from pacing issues. Chapter 1 and 2 draaaag. Unfortunately reading the books is pretty much required. Not because you won't understand whats going on (the game actually serves as a great introduction to the witcher universe and the games story is completely self contained), but because without reading the books alongside playing the game it will likely be difficult for anyone to maintain the motivation required to complete the game before dropping it in 2025. Chapter 1 took me like 8 hours to complete, and went from fun to tedious after about 3 hours. Chapter 2 was a similar story, being fun for about half of its runtime (beginning and end) and just frustrating as you run circles around the game world trying to figure out how to move things forward. (make an offering of bread at the altar of melitele in the temple and thank me later.) The game gets better with each consecutive chapter. Each chapter is good, just not in its entirety. Until chapter 3/4. By that point things should be moving along more consistently. The game just gets better and better for the entire runtime until you reach the epilogue where if you make it to that point your mind will probably be blown by the story. The writing in this game is great with awesome characters. The writing is typically serious with occasional hilarious moments. Dandelion is best character. Chapter 1 and 2 could probably be done more quickly if you know what you're doing. My problem was I was still learning aspects of the game for these sections causing me to halt game progress due to my own ignorance of how the game functions. I'd highly recommend just googling things if you cant figure out how to progress a quest within about 10 minutes of trying to, don't spend an hour running in circles like I did. I spent forever trying to find white myrtle for Abigail, only to become frustrated and google it and discover that you can't see it until you unlock the harvesting skill in your intelligence skill tree. And that was just one of the handful of roadblocks I experienced in chapter 1. Chapter 2 is similar with quests in your journal that say you're waiting for something to happen, but really you need to take a proactive approach and speak with said person you're waiting on before it says they are ready. Just various speed bumps like that which will slow your progress if you don't know what you're doing. I'd imagine most people will drop this game in the prologue or first chapter. Then several more will probably drop off during the lengthy 2nd chapter. Anyone who makes it to chapter 3 has demonstrated their stubbornness, and refusal to give up and will likely finish the game. Its absolutely worth it, just trust me, research if you're struggling to move forward. Everyone talks about the gameplay in this game being bad and the worst part of the game. I found that the actual biggest issue plaguing the game (outside of pacing) was the presentation. Voice acting is often bad, scripted sequences often glitch out, camera angles are frequently terrible, the character models are some of the worst i've ever seen, its a mess. But its a first attempt by a brand new studio. The music is goated though. I'm extremely excited to play the remake when it comes out. Unfortunately I think they're going to "modernize" the combat and censor the shit out of it.