The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has surpassed God of War Ragnarok to become the second highest-rated PS5 game of 2022. The next-gen version of The Witcher 3 was released on December 14 for PS5 and Xbox Series X, and it came with a significant list of improvements over the previous generation version.
The new release of The Witcher 3 was met with critical acclaim, and it currently has a score of 96 on Metacritic. By comparison, the original game from 2015 has a 92 Metacritic score for the PS4 version. It’s an impressive achievement for CD Projekt Red, as The Witcher 3 is only behind Elden Ring, which also holds a rating of 96. This number means that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has surpassed one of the biggest new releases of 2022.
As noted by PlayStation LifeStyle, the PS5 version of The Witcher 3 has a higher Metacritic score than God of War Ragnarok, which sits at 94. However, it may not be a fair comparison, as God of War Ragnarok is a brand-new release while The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a re-release of an already beloved title. Furthermore, Ragnarok has 141 critic reviews listed on Metacritic while The Witcher 3 only has 24 for the PS5 version. The final rating may change as more reviews get added, so it’ll be interesting to see where the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 ends up.
Still, it’s rare for games to get such high review scores, as both of them are among the most critically acclaimed titles of the past few years. Elden Ring will go down as the highest-rated game of 2022, though, and its Metacritic crown is accompanied by the numerous Game of the Year awards it has received. Fans should note that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is probably not eligible for some end-of-the-year awards due to it being a re-release of an older game as opposed to a newly launched title.
The upgraded version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has support for ray tracing on consoles, as well as a separate mode for 60 FPS gameplay. However, gamers on Xbox Series S won’t have access to ray tracing features, though they will be able to play the game at 60 FPS. The Witcher 3 also comes with other notable improvements such as the ability to quickly cast Signs, different camera options, and a new Ultra+ setting on PC.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Sources: PlayStation LifeStyle, Metacritic