This morning is an exciting day for all Witcher fans as the first season of Netflix's take on the Witcher series has been unlocked to the public!

The Witcher series is a gritty series of high fantasy novels written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and popularised to a much wider public by the legendary games Witcher 1/2/3 developed by the equally legendary Polish games studio CD Projekt Red.

The games were (and still are) considered to be masterpieces in the RPG genre of gaming, with the player's avatar (Geralt) making choices that are best gray on the scale of morality. The Witcher Universe is one of monsters (human and supernatural...), human racism towards the other humanoid races and choices between shades of evil. In all of this, Geralt is a mutant who is used by the varying power factions whilst being both shunned and feared by the people who he protects.

Unlike many other Western RPG games, most of the choices that you make in The Witcher aren't between goody-two shoes paladin and pantomime villain evil decisions. Instead, they are morally gray and difficult choices, often having to decide between two terrible choices on limited information with outcomes and consequences that are not visible to the player until much later. This was such a breath of fresh air to adult gamers who were sick of such fairy floss moral choices of other RPGs.

Some of the early mainstream reviews have compared the Witcher to an attempt to fill the Game of Thrones vacuum. A number of them have complained about the fact that the viewer is just dropped straight into the complex political world of the Witcher without so much as a gradual introduction (a point that I disagree with...).

My First Impressions

Unlike the Game of Thrones, the Witcher is set in a more fantastical universe where monsters and magic are much more common. This does mean that the series relies alot more upon CGI effects which are significantly more costly and difficult to pull off.

This is apparent in the first fight scene which opens off the series, with Geralt battling a kikkomore. There is something a little bit unreal about the scene... however, the human fight scenes are pretty decent!

The large battle scenes are a bit ho hum... but the small scale fights that Geralt partakes in are really a huge highlight! The one on one fights between opponents who can hold their own against the Witcher (briefly...) are really fast moving and kinetic dances of steel and lethal beauty. They also serve to highlight how unwilling Geralt is to be entangled in human affairs... despite the fact that he is constantly dragged back in.

Around other humans, Geralt is like a medieval version of Batman... gravelly voice and with clipped and short answers. However, it is pretty interesting that he opens up to his horse Roach, a constant companion in both the books and the game.

The plot does seem to drop you around the time of the opening stages of the 3rd Witcher game or before, with some pivotal characters from that narrative being introduced to the viewer. I personally think that the introduction of the characters is really quite good... in fact, it does seem to contain also some references to earlier events in the narrative timeline, before the first game... such as how Geralt got the the name Butcher of Blavikan. Personally, I think the early negative reviews are a bit too eager to criticise....

In visuals (of the towns and countryside), there is much that reminds you of the games... the opening village even reminds me a lot of the opening village from the first Witcher game! Now, I'm not quite sure if that was intentional as a homage, but it was a nice little touch for those who might appreciate it!

On the music front (something that I do notice as a musician!), there are many strains from the opening music through to other scene specific music that have similar scoring and strains as the game music. Again, a nice touch for those who appreciate it... and a little nod to dedicated fan!

Conclusion

I have to say, after the first episode... I'm definitely hooked! I think the introduction of the characters (it appears to be Ciri and Geralt in the first episode...) and the start of the second episode seems to introduce Yen?... although if it is, it is a very different Yen to the one that will know as gamers!

There are many nods to fans of the Witcher universe for those who are observant... and there is much to like in this series. I really think that those who are trashing the series as a terrible Game of Thrones knock-off have no idea and are a bit over-zealous... The series stands up in it's own right, and shouldn't really be compared. I find it to be a great adaptation (so far...), but that is speaking as a fan of the Witcher universe anyway... so, I'm also both the hardest to please... and also the least critical to the continued success of the series.

However, in the long run... I think it was great that Netflix took this gamble to develop a much loved IP. In the coming content wars, Disney and the other big content houses are muscling in on the streaming space by pulling their content from Netflix. I think it would be a terrible thing if Netflix falls... as they are really making the effort to develop new and interesting IP, and aren't trying to just reboot '80s sitcoms and old stale IP.

Steem-Monsters (aka the best blockchain game out there!)

Humble Bundle

Have you heard of Humble Bundle? It's a place to get some really great deals on Games, e-books and comic bundles. However, if you sign up for a Humble Bundle Subscription (12 USD per month) you get some really nice bonuses!

1. A 100+ USD bundle of games delivered direct to you each month, redeemable on Steam, Uplay or direct download (depending on the game). This includes recent Triple A games!
2. Access to the Humble Bundle "Trove", a list of 60 games (and growing...) which are free to play as long as you remain a subscriber!
3. Additional Discounts on the Humble Bundle store, with the choice of supporting charities, Humble Bundle or developers in whatever percentage that you wish!

Humble Bundle Subscriptions, it's a no brainer for the dedicated gamer!

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