Recent reviews by Mannequinbeater

99% of the game is great. My biggest disappointment is the final boss which is 100% why I do NOT recommend this game to the average player. It calls back to the most extreme boss fights in all the other FromSoft games, but it does so in the worst way possible. It concluded in a behavior much like Mass Effect 3 where all your trials and tribulations ended in a very pigeonholed, uninspiring manner.

What I mean by that is no matter what new fancy build you run, no matter what you learned and levels you gained in the DLC, you will fail. You will be forced into explicitly strong builds and unable to be flashy about it. Unless you are simply godlike at these games, you will find yourself more frustrated than satisfied, even after beating the final boss.

As much as I encourage challenge and good animations, this one kinda crossed a line it didn't need to pass.

I've only played for 44 hours writing this review. Those with more hours than me, they are definitely inclined to leave a better review. There are only a few things I wanna say, so it won't be as long as some of these intricated details.

CDPR is still legendary in storytelling. After Witcher 3, after CP2077, I can still say it without a doubt. The game has an AMAZING story. One of the best I've experienced. If you're looking for a story-driven game with in-depth details, it's worth the $60.

That being said, I cannot ignore the inconsistencies. CDPR took their sweet and beautiful time creating this game. You can tell from the beginning to end, they put immeasurable time into making it. Unfortunately, I believe they ran out of time. 2013 (I think was the announcement) to December 2020 is a long time to put into development. This game needed another 3 years of dev time, not only to fix all the inconsistencies, but to also appease the fanbase.

The discovery of employee abuse (too much overtime), compounded on an incomplete game; It put a massive stain on what is possibly one of the best games I've ever played. HOWEVER I CANNOT BLAME THE DEVS FOR THIS. I don't know the full story and do not care to hear it. I'll place my bets that their investors were fed up with waiting and told them to release it. Similarly to a great many other expensively created pieces.

The good news about this is that we all have seen what CAN happen when a company promises big and falls short on expectations. Namely, No Man's Sky comes to mind. We will without a doubt see this game in a completed form, without many bugs, without poorly paced dialogue, without poorly rendered graphics. The DLC will also bring avid fans back to the game. Should CDPR decide to clean their stains and add high quality content after the initial release, this game can still be a great product.

I'm no bandwagon who jumps ship after a bad storm. I will still reccomend this game to any friend who asks. I appreciate the effort in making this game. Hopefully many other companies will take some notes.

Story is great. Combat is amazing. Graphics are pretty good, but if you're into minute details and a polished product, you might be a little disappointed.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is, by far, my favorite game I've ever played. I highly reccomend it to anyone who is curious.

Now, that being said, there are some downfalls that I'd like to point out. So, I'll set out a Pro's and Con's list just to cut to the chase.

Pro's:

* Graphics are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ gorgeous. Hands down nothing released in 2015 could contest.

* The storyline is the best I've experienced in a video game. There is more detail than any Elder Scrolls game. Although, I don't believe there is an actual series of books written on the ES series.

* There is plenty of combat and an easy to follow skill tree. Coupled with armor and weapon sets, it'll almost feel like finding equipment in Diablo 3.

There are more Pro's, but I don't want to write a full essay.

Con's:

* Glitches and bugs. The are plenty of them. None are really gamebreaking, because the game saves data almost every time you turn a corner. It can sometimes break you out of immersion.

* Quests can sometimes drag on. I moderate between storyline games and blunt action games, so I don't mind. But if you are the impatient type, I'd reccomend you prepare yourself.

* The AI is not a strong suit for this gaming company. This opinion may vary, but I didn't like some of the enemies because of this. Depending on the level of difficulty you prefer, enemies are almost as challenging as Dark Souls, but as dumb as GTA V AI.

Again, there is more to this list, but It'd be counterproductive to my aim for this review.

9.5/10

The price is fair and the season pass is even more so. The first expansion added about ten more hours to the game and I expect the second one to double that. You'd be missing out on a lot of fun if you don't get it.