The Witcher 3

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I would like RealNC to briefly tell us what he loved about The Witcher 3, as I just saw that he tweeted that he spent 150 hours with it. I have done nothing more than start it up.

Did you get more enjoyment from it due to playing the first two? (Did you play the first two?) 150 hours is pretty freaking impressive and the JC crew wants to know more!

[RealNC]

Yeah, I also played 1 and 2. Both great games, especially 2. The first one is like a "flawed gem". Great game, but sometimes clunky. Still an 8/10 for me.

Anyway, it's not required to play the prequels, although it certainly enhances your understanding of the characters and the world if you do. Meeting old friends you care about just isn't the same if you don't actually know them. So I highly recommend to play the prequels. They're lengthy games in their own right, around 40 to 50 hours each, unless you rush through them on easy mode.

The third game is something else though. The "sense of adventure" you get in this game is something I haven't seen before. Morrowind kind of came somewhat close to that, but W3 surpasses it. I played it with "immersion" mods installed that remove the HUD when not needed, and on the hardest difficulty, which makes the game even better. The story is great, the writing, the characters, the dialogue, the music, everything is just... perfect. Everything you do in the game makes sense. The side quests never feel like fillers. The world is huge but it never gets boring. The different regions in the game feel very different. Just wandering around on foot, horse or boat and exploring is very fun and rather relaxing at times. The game world just feels very alive.

And the game makes you feel like a total badass. You're beheading people, cut off their arms, legs, or just slice them in half and there's blood flying everywhere. And they all deserve it

The pacing in the game is excellent. You always know if a quest is too high level or not. None of that "leveled NPCs" nonsense of Skyrim where everything's the same level no matter where you go. But if you attempt a high level fight, you can still win, but you have to be 100% on point with your moves and it's going to take a long time. It is possible to overcome a level difference, but it does require a hell of a lot of skill.

An 10/10 game for sure and certainly the greatest action/adventure/RPG ever made. I plan to start another playthrough soon (ish.)

PS:
If you only played the game for less than an hour or so, then you haven't seen even the beginning of the game yet. And if you play for less than 15-20 hours, you're still in the beginning. The game opens up after about 20 hours, and then again at maybe 70 hours or so. It's an epic journey for sure.

[RealNC]

Oh, and no SJW nonsense in this game. It doesn't give a fuck. In a medieval (or maybe dark ages) type of world where's there's war going on and religious fanatics are taking power, children will get killed, women will get raped and or burned alive, and homosexuals will get persecuted or exiled. Because that's what's fucking supposed to happen in this kind of setting. If you need "trigger warnings", stay the fuck away from this game.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I hadn't played it! I thought I had played it but I had never even started it up.

Enjoying the views so far-

[RealNC]

And they're not just background views! You will be able to just go there when the game opens up. Climb the mountains, cross the rivers, swim across the lakes. And unlike games like Assassin's Creed and such, it actually feels great to just go to places and find adventures and mysteries.

[RealNC]

Since you'll not be playing 1 and 2, you can watch these videos to get a better understanding of what's happening in 3.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Played this for a little bit today. This is a fun game and I am nowhere near the open world parts that RealNC mentioned! Looks amazing, too.