Bozzlife: Finally playing Witcher 3... First thoughts
Before you ask what rock I have been living under for the past five years, let me start by saying I don't own a console and I don't believe in paying $60 for games. Not to diminish the blood sweat and tears that developers put into their games, but I just can't pry my wallet open that far.
I do most of my gaming on either my smartphone or a PC. In addition to that, I typically only purchase games when Steam is having one of their annual sales. That happened to be the case over Christmas break when I was able to snag Fallout 4 and Witcher 3 for less than $15 a piece.
Having gotten Witcher 2 in a similar sale and briefly playing it, I was a little hesitant to purchase Witcher 3. I had found the mandatory sequences and the abundance of controls to be annoying and I doubt I even got 1% into the game before bagging it.
Despite that, random comments I have seen on Steemit about Witcher 3 have been glowing with one user (I can't remember who) saying it was hands down the best game ever. That statement alone was enough to change my mind and pull the trigger on the purchase.
Having just watched the Witcher series on Netflix, I am familiar with most of the characters and concepts. I actually loved the series having never really played the games and that was another reason I really wanted to give Witcher 3 a shot.
I can't tell you if I was looking for something with easier controls than Witcher 2. If I was, then you could probably consider me disappointed. Witcher 3 has a significant number of keys and buttons to push to achieve various actions. I am slowly getting the hang of it, but I feel like I still have a long way to go.
For example, I suck at the combat aspect. I went through the tutorial, but all of the dodging, blocking, and parrying is beyond me. For the most part I just mash the primary attack button and throw some Ingi signs until the thing is dead. I came up against my first enemy with a shield today and was pretty much beside myself trying to figure out how to actually land a hit on him (I did eventually btw).
Lucky for me I am only playing on the easiest difficulty!
Speaking of signs, all I use so far is Ingi and the telekinetic blast one. I am sure the other ones will come in handy at some point, but I am just not seeing it right now.
I find the movement controls pretty difficult as well. Most of the time I am walking around in circles trying to get the object I need in front of me so I can hit the 'E' key to interact with it. Perhaps this is a behavior that doesn't happen as much when you play on a console with a game pad, but I feel like a monkey with two fingers at this point.
Lucky for me you can save your game as often as you want. I'd probably be screwed otherwise.
Roach is a hoot, I love riding around on him, but again, I find myself running into pretty much everything. I can't imagine taking part in the horse races that they have alluded to in the loading messages.
The inventory screen is absolutely crazy. There is just so much going on, especially when I am talking to a vendor. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally sold the wrong thing to a vendor because I didn't realize what was highlighted. That is something I wish they would make more intuitive, though I have feeling I will get more familiar with it as I play.
For those of you familiar with the game, I am just getting ready to leave White Orchard. I have about 4 or 5 hours into the game and I am maybe halfway to level 5. I have a feeling I have barely scratched the surface of the breadth this game has to offer.
I have yet to spend any of the points I have accumulated, nor have I made any changes to my character yet besides gear upgrades. If you are well versed in the game, I would love to hear your opinion on the best place(s) to spend my points. Which abilities should I focus on to make the game fun for a beginner?
This post probably sounds like I can't stand the game, but that is far from the truth. Each time I play, I get more and more drawn into the story and I am really enjoying it so far. The graphics are fantastic and the daytime/nighttime mechanics are pretty cool.
I can definitely see there is a lot to love about Witcher 3!
All screencaps were taken in game by me
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I do have a ps4 but seldom play games on it and only ones I buy on sale these days
I like ones with minimal buttons to use I am terrible where you have to sequence of button pushes to do something I forget them all lol
I hear you! I was never great at console games anyway, but now days they are so much more complex!
Ohh yeah I like the simple left right jump and shout lol
I only play games on consoles now (PS4), and am a long way into this game on DeathMarch (the hardest level). It eases up a lot when you break a few levels.
Still one of the best I have ever played. You should add #steemace, it's not too late.
Any recommendations on where to put my points or how to develop my character? Are the choices you have to make at the beginning really that big of a deal? The pressure to not choose the wrong thing is immense! Also have you played the expansions? Are they worth it?
I haven't touched it in over a year, I do this sometimes and then go back to them later. If you playing easy it won't matter much about your selections. Use dodge a lot when fighting, it helps.
I have all the expansions and yes, they are good and worth it.
Okay, thanks! I will have to keep an eye out on a sale for them.
I tried playing Witcher 1 recently, and was kinda enjoying it... problem was that I use a Mac, and everything went to shit with the recent upgrade, and basically no one is supporting Mac 64-bit, which is beyond me why anyone thinks that’s an ok business decision.
We recently bought a PS4, so gaming has now moved to console because I refuse to buy a Windows machine. It’s a bit more fun, but there are games I miss which aren’t on the PS4, predominantly the MMORPG I’ve been playing for a couple of years now (also no longer supporting Mac 64-bit 😠)
I found Witcher to be a great story-line, but some of the mechanics sucked. I found myself unable to progress because of decisions I had made; which meant I had to go back to earlier saves and play the whole damn thing again. It makes for tedious gameplay IMHO, so when i could no longer play it, I simply shrugged my shoulders and left it.
I’ve been wondering about Witcher 3 (since I can get it on PS4), but something holding me back. Perhaps I need to watch some games and get a feel for it.
Hoping to catch the series or at least read the books.
Thanks for the review.
I am worried about the decisions I am making too, but I have a feeling they probably have better mechanics for every scenario by the third game. That is pretty stupid that they wouldn't support 64 bit. Who still uses 32 bit anything these days :) Mostly legacy software that sucks in my experience. I'd watch for it to go on sale. Right now it is enjoyable, but I don't consider it world changing.
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They’re both epic, the game and Netflix show. Biggest downside of the show was Tris, but otherwise loved it, and I’m thinking of playing this again again now. Also don’t worry too much about skill points, it all works out, as far as I can remember, it was quite some time ago. Oh and don’t forget to play gwent with who ever u can.
Good to know about the skill points. I kind of agree about the show. Even though I haven't really played the games I am familiar with some of the characters. Triss seemed like a pretty major one but she was just kind of a throw away on the show. My biggest issue with the show was getting lost in the timeline. I just saw a tweet today where they put everything in order. Maybe someday I will need to read the books.
I just bought it too.
I really like it. Mind control sign helps with shields.
Thanks for the heads up, I will have to remember that!
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Oh, you are such gamers! I am watching it on Netflix. That is like cutting through the chase and has saved me soooo many hours.
I probably would play if I had a wee bit more time. I know eventually that will come!
Have a great time and I say just go for it!
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Thanks, I appreciate it. I thought the show was pretty fantastic but the timeline threw me off. It sounds like a lot of people had trouble with that aspect of it.
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