Blaze (he/him)The Witcher III is currently on sale for 3€ until 25th May
pipesOn GOG too! DRM-free ;)
Complete edition is 10€, same on Steam
miseducatorComplete edition is 100% worth. The dlc is crazy long and excellent.
kazernielI wish Cyberpunk went under -60% off. I don’t tend to buy stuff over -80% sale, so more patience for me… 😅
I was a day one purchaser of CP2077 and played it on a rebuilt $30 PS4. I guess I just got lucky in that I had almost no bugs, not even a t pose, and it maybe crashed three times in the twentyish hours of my first playthrough. But I remember seeing it on sale for like $10 at Walmart not a month or two after release. Like they got shovelware bullshit they don’t discount like that!
You’re not the only one. Pretty sure I got W3 with dlc for $5 ages ago. I’d like to get cyberpunk with dlc for no more than $15.
Especially since I was pretty hype for that game. Had been itching for something with a proper world to explore and get lost in, felt like it was going to scratch that itch. I don’t often buy things day one, but I was taken in by the advertising and CDprojects rep. I took the day off work and then didn’t even buy it because of everything.
solsangraalit took me a couple attempts at W3 before i really got into it, but after that i played all the way through. as a habitual game DNFer. it’s a masterpiece
I think I’ve played the opening scene a dozen times. I know it’s gonna be good, but I never go back to playing it.
i don’t remember what the threshold was for me, it might have been having to defend the bloody baron from mobs while he’s carrying his undead monster infant to a burial spot-- the sort of thing that would make me say wow, that’s about the most warped thing i’ve seen in a game-- i need to see the whole thing!
hitagiI got the worst ending. I should really replay it with a guide some day.
If you got the one where everyone dies, yeah you should probably replay it and at least have a short list of the specific scenes/choices that determine the “best” ending(It’s 5 or so and I think you only need to get 3 or 4 “correct”).
There are also some “hidden” endings to quest chains, where the best outcome is only available if you do a seemingly unrelated quest first or make certain choices early in the chain. Or quests that wouldn’t naturally line up until certain choices are made. So if you’re interested in getting all the best outcomes, a full guide is needed.
Note that some of the "hidden chain outcomes might be bugs, so at least one isn’t always listed in all guides:
SpoilerIf you free the whispering hillock spirit before talking to the village leader, it prevents Anna from turning later and the game acts as if the kids are safe(although they don’t show up where they otherwise would).
BjörnDon’t worry if you didn’t get that discount this time. They have this exact one all the time. At least on GOG.
I got it free from epic a few years ago.
There’s a bundle that includes the first two games for like an extra buck I think. Buy them and then never play them.
or be like me, play Witcher 1, then play other stuff for 12 years, then start replaying it again to go through the whole series this time, then take a 6-months break 2 chapters in… 😅 (yea, I have issues)
samcWitcher 1 really has old-school difficulty syndrome. Getting past act 1 was a nightmare for me, then somewhere around late act 2 the combat became trivial and I could just stunlock everything.
Yeah, that’s one of the memories I retained of my 12-years-ago playthrough that the first boss was the most difficult by far.
Another of my issues is that I’m a completionist and want to play every sidequest and get most unlockables. And that means either juggling 4 wiki lists while playing, or as I ended up having to do, unify them into a single spreadsheet for each chapter. Spending hours not actually playing the game 😑
The Witcher 1 is best played on the easiest difficulty. Just play it for the story.
The bundle is $7.49. I just saw it but already have the first two.
🇰 🔵 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️I kinda wonder if the first one is able to even be finished now… I had that one at launch and I couldn’t finish it due to a CTD bug somewhere in the final act.
The first game is rough by modern standards. Most people (even the most diehard fans) will tell you to just skip it. The second is worth playing, but with the mindset of “this game was made in the 2000’s”. Because it is definitely showing its age too.
First one was rough by the standards of when it came out in the first place. It’s rooooouuuuggghh.
I’m so patient I haven’t played The Witcher 1 or 2 either. Should I get W3 Complete + W1 + W2 for 9.99 + 1.49 + 2.99 = 14.47, or get the trilogy bundle with only the W3 base game for 1.49 + 2.99 + 3.99) * 0.9 = 7.62 and wait for the W3 expansions to be more than 70% at some future date? (In other words, are W1 and W2 likely to keep me busy for a long time, and does a playthrough of W3 need the expansions installed at the start or is it more of a ‘complete the base game and then to the expansion content afterward’ sort of thing?)
Also, are “The Witcher Adventure Game” and “Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales” worthwhile/important?
I only played W2 and W3. W2 was not necessary to play the third one, but it’s certainly not a bad game (I personally didn’t like it as much due to the fairly linear story telling). W1 I am told is not that great. Both are much shorter than the complete edition of Witcher 3 I’d argue. The DLC should be fine if added afterwards, I can wholeheartedly recommend both. Blood & Wine especially has received wide praise back then as “being a whole game in the shape of a DLC” .
Thronebreaker is a tales-game that I haven’t had the time for yet. I was told it’s solid.
The Witcher Adventure Game is essentially a board game and is absolutely not necessary for any of the other games. If you like board games and have people to play it with, it’s actually quite good. It has a bit of a learning curve and I very much recommend reading or watching whatever tutorial you can grab a hold of, because it is not all that intuitive.
RedSnt ♾️🦋♂️👓🖥️I didn’t much like W1 and W2. Especially W2 feels like it’s on rails. The story is pretty good though.
jherazobFor those of us who have never played any of them, is it suggested you go through 1 and 2 first? Is there a recommended play order? Or just "Jump into 3 and forget about it"?
The first game is very dated and not recommended to play. CDPR admits it themselves and wanted to do a rework of the game, but that was said years ago, and IDK if they did it or not.
You can play the 3rd before the 2nd game and be just fine, because the two story lines are not completely connected, only with references and side content. Same with the first in the series.
The 2nd game is much shorter than the 3rd, and is not open world like the 3rd is. I liked both games, and didn’t played the first.
How did you make it through the “sneak through the enemy encampment” bullshit? I really liked the visuals, and cannot tell you how much I loved that first gigantic Kaiju kraken fight, but for the love of God that sneaking mission was bullshit!
It’s been a long time since I played those games. I need a little more detail on what exactly you are referencing. I probably should play W2 again, because I remember less of that game than W3.
It was so long ago I only remember tidbits. But it was fairly early. I fought I giant octopus and some camouflage creatures in some woods, then I remember meeting (or tracking maybe) the king slayer in an area that kinda looked like the ayeliad ruins in oblivion. Then it was night and I had to sneak around this army encampment with tents and shit. I’ll probably just try again with a guide one of these days, but that didn’t cross my mind back then.
Had to look it up, and there are different paths in Act 2, and I chosen Roche over Ioreth’s. I don’t remember any sneaking missions because I didn’t take that route. I should play it again with the other route.
There is a continuing story, but the first two are very different games, even from each other. They’re certainly fun, but won’t really be indicative of anything other than if you like the story or not, which you could mostly gather from wikis or video summaries. All that to say - it likely won’t change your experience of 3 if you don’t play the previous two directly.
I would only recommend the first one of you can stomach a dated system. The story very well written.
Just to be safe, I recommend 2nd then 3rd. The second game is short enough and the graphic still hold up.
I recommend playing them in order, you can Import your save file from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3, carrying over narrative choices you’ve made. Also you get really good (and well earned) starting gear if you import the save.
The first one, while being ultra mega jank has some of the best writing out of any game I evet played. Choices really matter in this game and the game really respects your time for doing your homework whether it be monster hunting or investigations. It has more than the usually bad side, good side choice, characters can die because of your decisions (or even lack of). If you can see past babies first attempt of a combat system, the first Witcher game is amazing.
Hitch42I agree with this. Witcher 1’s combat mechanics are arcane enough to make the game frustrating, but the story is worth experiencing. After a couple of attempts to power through it, I used a godmode cheat and had much more fun playing.
UndercoverUlrikHDThe atmosphere of game 1 is incredible, but it might be a bit dated for most people, especially the combat system. You can perfectly start with any of the 3 games without a problem.
I’m a huge Witcher fan and couldn’t stomach the first game unfortunately. Luckily there is a neat recap video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X52-ssOk2KM
I do recommend playing the second one before the third though, even though the stories are standalone.
I do recommend the books if you feel like it. Books -> Witcher 1 recap vid -> Witcher 2 -> Witcher 3 is my recommendation for best experience.
The Witcher 1 Story Summary in 5 Minutes (official cinematic)
Did the books come before the videogames? If so, are the games faithful to the books?
Yes, books came out some years before games. I think aroind late 80s/early 90s. My understanding is in Poland even people not usually into fantasy know of the books.
Games are fairly faithful to the books, at least in spirit. There are some problematic things lore wise that they did in games but I can understand why with most. No adaptation can be 1:1 and I understand it. Overall, I’m happy with how the games ended up.
First game, I didn’t like that much though. One thing is that the age is showing on the gameplay. I could get over that, but the story also recycled too many things from the books. The main story is its own thing, but there are many story beats that felt copied, with some things changed up to mask it. Pretty sure some sidequests were just stories from books, but with diferent characters. It was not bad, but it broke the immersion and I just couldn’t get over it. This in combination with the aged gameplay just made me look for a recap.
Stoked for the announced remake of the Witcher 1 though.
Thanks for the information! I may give the books a read.
First two are collections of short stories so there is no big time invesment with testing it out. You can try the waters and see how you like the style and if you don’t like it enough to continue, at least you have a book that works on its own.
Witcher 1 was weird, but I finished it just a few years ago. The combat is half automatic. Like, if you get a dodge skill it just means that when an enemy attacks, “Dodge” might appear above your head more often as enemies attack you. You dont actually dodge anything.
Geralt just swings his sword like crazy (automatically) and numbers appear above the enemies to indicate damage. It’s a constant stream of numbers. And you press buttons once in a while to cast spells, change combat style, or do special moves. At least I think you manually trigger special moves. It’s been a while.
If you watch this video on YouTube, you’ll see what I mean. None of the sword slashes involve pressing a button. They just happen.
I thought it was worth playing. Janky, yes, but worth playing. I played 1 and 2 before playing 3.
The Witcher 1 : All attacks for each style
I’m gonna say just play the 3rd one, and if you can bear the clunky gameplay and dated graphics, you can play the other two after.
Witcher 3 stands on its own, and the lore of the previous games isn’t relevant to its entertainment value.
I tried the first two and didnt play more than 5 minutes. But nearly 100% the 3rd. Make that as you wish.
Skip 1, play 2. The second game opens with the main character having amnesia, so basically everything important from the first game is explained to you.
2 is starting to show its age, for what it’s worth. It’s still a great game, but go into it with tempered expectations; It’s missing a lot of the quality of life things you have probably come to expect.
3 is a great game, but get through the intro area before you actually judge it. The tutorial is a massive slog. The game picks up around the time you reach the Bloody Baron, so at least get to that point before you write it off as boring.
I would actually recommend to also skip the 2nd one. They made some, ahm, unusual decisions, like having to meditate to drink potions meaning alchemy is basically useless unless you know when a fight is coming, which would be alright but the game also has a tendency to throw you into random fights right after a cutscene.
I wish I had the patience to like this game. It seems so well made.
FenrirIIII played all the way once and less than 50% a half dozen times. It’s just hard to get into for some reason.
Captain Poofter35 years old and this is one of the most overrated franchises I’ve ever touched.
Go away, Todd.
Sweet another addition to my 15+ year old account I only made because of the first humble bundle. I really tried putting effort into one and two, but they never gripped me. Hopefully I can find time to invest in this guy.
The trilogy is only $7.49 btw.
The third one is a significantly better game in pretty much all aspects.
The intro act is a bit of a grind, but once you make it to the main story, it’s really good.
Buy it on GOG.
I Like gog but is there any reason why to prefer the gog Version over the Steam one?
- It’s DRM-free.
- It’s (one of?) the only platforms that cares about preserving old games.
If you prefer the Steam launcher (I do), you can always buy with GOG and launch with Steam.
I dont mean poliethical reasons I meant actual technical(?) reasons like more content or better support for something or Idk. Good arguments tho
Do you have a source on how to do this? I keep seeing that you have to use Heroic Launcher or Lutis. I just want to buy games on GOG and then play them on my steam deck, but haven’t had time to figure out the best way to go about it
Also, do GOG games only save to internal memory and not the SD card? I read that it one article, but don’t know if that’s still true.
I’m still figuring out everything I can do with my steam deck, I just don’t have as much time as I used to, to REALLY tinker around with it
I’m not a tech guru, but pretty familiar with linux and ok with using CLI (though I’ve never needed it on steam deck, just a point of reference for my comfortability)
If you set your Steam Deck to desktop mode, the process is the same as on Windows.
Click on “Games” in the top menu bar, then click “Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library.”
Heroic also has a handy “Add to Steam” shortcut for each game:
If you “add to Steam” from Heroic, will the game still receive any updates/patches, or would you have to re-add it to Steam?
You don’t have to re-add the game but I think you have to start Heroic itself from time to time to check for updates.