Highlights

  • Witchers rely on their expertise and preparation to survive battles with monsters, making each fight rewarding.
  • Witcher senses enhance gameplay by guiding players and immersing them in the story through increased perception.
  • Gwent, the strategy card game, is a beloved staple of the Witcher series that adds depth and variety to the gameplay experience.

The Witcher 3 is one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time. Praised for the depth of its gameplay, the way the world responds and changes according to player choice, the details in the environment, and its storytelling, The Witcher 3 has many elements that deserve praise. As the series moves on to a new chapter with The Witcher Polaris and a new protagonist and trilogy, some key features define The Witcher franchise that CD Projekt RED should retain as it moves the franchise forward.

The Witcher 3 screenshot
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Making Battle Preparations

Witchers are experts on monsters and are as much scholars as they are swordsmen. This is a necessity because they often have to be able to identify the monster they are hunting before they see it, lest they be underprepared for the battle and killed. They must also see through local stories and descriptions of the monsters they hunt, which are often inaccurate or distorted by local legend. Witchers first identify the monster by examining the area using their Witcher senses. Witchers prepare for battle by preparing the right bombs, oils, and potions. Such preparation is often the difference between life and death and makes each monster fight feel like a rewarding battle once it arrives.

Using Witcher Senses

Unique to Witchers are their heightened senses, which serve them both in and out of combat. Witcher senses are particularly helpful when tracking monsters, looking for people, or solving problems. Witcher senses give Geralt a better sense of smell, hearing, and sight, and allow him to notice details others would miss. In terms of game design, they're the perfect way to guide players in the right direction without holding their hand, as well as showing rather than telling them the story, and this is a core reason why many of the side quests in The Witcher 3 are so captivating. Witcher senses are a fantastic example of blending gameplay and story for some great game design.

Creating Witcher Potions

Potions are deadly to most people living on the Continent, but Witchers have resistance to the toxicity of potions and get a variety of benefits from various concoctions. While there are many different alchemical formulae for consumable potions, players need to keep an eye on Geralt's toxicity and ensure he doesn't drink too many at once, lest he be poisoned. This means that potions don't become a crutch for players, and instead become a careful balancing act, usually amid combat.

The World of The Witcher Should Be a Familiar One

Playing Gwent

Love it or hate it, Gwent is a staple of The Witcher, and any future games just wouldn't be Witcher games without it. Gwent is a strategy card game that has several themed decks. Each deck has its own theme, strengths, and weaknesses. The rules of Gwent are comprehensive, and it can actually be played in real life (though only digitally thanks to the complexity of some of the rules and mechanics). Gwent is almost entirely avoidable, and the player is only required to play a couple of games in a playthrough, but the option to play Gwent is always there, and it should remain so for every Witcher.

Exploring an Open World

The Continent is a vast place, and The Witcher 3's open world was one of the best examples of environmental design. The ambient weather, music, NPCs, and various events made places like Velen, Novigrad, Skellige, and Toussaint feel like real, living places, and to change them to a closed, linear map would be a step backward.