I just bought this yesterday as a birthday present for myself.

I own the other two games on Steam and enjoyed parts of them, but could never really immerse myself in them. After playing a few hours yesterday, I feel like this one is a keeper. I am officially enthralled with the storyline, and the game mechanics feel far better to me than either of the other two games in the series.

I am denotatively a casual gamer. I'm no longer a young man, and my responsibilities and interests don't allow for me to spend a ton of time concurrently playing a game. So this may be slow.

But I wanted to document my most memorable moments of the game as I progress. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. I don't know how to not show those. I will wait to hear from this community on how to responsibly hide those, if possible. And if I cannot, then I will warn readers as far ahead as possible.

So, to start...

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't played through the first part of the game at White Orchard, then do so before reading this.

DAY 1

My first impressions:

- The game is WAY easier to control than the previous iterations. Combat is simpler, more intuitive (to me), and more fun.

- Character development is so far excellent. I get a real feel for the personalities of Yennefer, Ciri, and Vesemer (spellings may be incorrect), and the local commander of the Black Guard. There is even sympathy/understanding for the Griffin, and what he has been through.

- The world is gorgeous. One of the first times I've really appreciated different parts of the day/night, and variable weather/conditions.

- The themes (so far) are dark, but not as dark as I anticipated. I think humor and humanity sprinkled into dialogue and cutscenes goes a long way in building a world that is harsh, but not completely devoid of joy. This is a hard balance to strike and why I find many games to be so depressing. We'll see if this tone continues. I hope so.

Thoughts on the first few missions:

- The Griffin quest was by far the most fun for me in this first area. It unfolded in a way that felt very natural and the narrative really fleshed out how disparate parties all had an interest in what I was doing.

- It is clear that some decisions will have potential implications later, but it's hard to understand what they will be. That's very real. I like it.


The two things I haven't liked so far:

- Geralt can be a dick. And in ways that bother me and seem out of character. The game *makes* you respond in a certain way that isn't necessarily commensurate with the dialogue choices. This is true in almost every RPG I've played. But for being almost a century old, and supposedly being amoral and apolitical, this guy sure can get his feelings hurt easily and react like a 15-year-old instead of a centenarian.

- It bothers me that I was given no choice with the bandits at the tavern. It bothers me a LOT. Here are two killing machines that have untold experience under their belt. It would seem to me that they could resolve the matter in a more professional way. As in, making a really good example of one bandit and then backing themselves out of the situation. Or even an option to take some damage and hand out some non-fatal beat downs (which is what they had coming to them - I hope the idiot barmaid had to clean up the mess).

I am itching to fire TW3 up again here today, but don't know if I'll have the chance. Hopefully I can sneak in another hour or two. :)

So far I am smitten. Most fun I've had since The Wolf Among Us. I LOVE narrative-driven games.

I can only reply with five words: "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Have fun. :)

Lol. Thanks, Hickory.

I think I may have sped through the first act a bit too quickly. I had just reached Level 2.

May cause some pain here soon. We'll see...

Just remember that this game does not reward you for fighting monsters, like most other RPGs. This game makes you do quests for your XP, and each quest has a recommended level. If Geralt's level is higher than the suggested quest you get less XP, until it stops altogether if Geralt is 5 levels or more above the recommended one. Also be aware that doing quests at too high a level (usually with a red skull warning), you will not be able to deal sufficient damage to any foe and you *will* get killed. Your level 2 is pushing it if you don't level up some more before leaving White Orchard. You want to be at least level 3 and preferably level 4. That requires doing side quests.

Thanks, Hickory. I'm assuming I cannot re-enter White Orchard at this stage unless I start over?

I might start over and skip the tutorial, or I might try and find some things to do that won't get me killed...if I'm lucky.

No, you can return to White Orchard at any time in the game. I often do, since Tomira is one of the best alchemists, in respect of what herbs she sells, in the game. She is the only person to sell Bison Grass early game. You have to wait until much later to get anybody else who does -- I think there's only three merchants in the entire game to sell it.

Instead of starting again, you could also lower the difficulty level a bit for a while until your level "catches up" by doing more side-quests. Don't rush through the game, there's LOTS of great side-quests in Velen to explore.

To me it's the best game I've ever played, and I haven't even completed it yet due to lack of suitable hardware in the past. I've played 70 hours so far, completed the Velen / Novigrad main quest and just arrived on Skellige Island and decided to make a clear cut and take a break. In hiatus now for about one month and eager to continue soon. When I read your post, my fingers start itching ;-) I think tonight I will continue playing a bit. This game really redefined the word "awesome".

Ah. Good to know. Thank you. MORE POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW

Too late! I started again. Lol. Good news is that I was intentionally blowing through all the elements of the main plot up until the Griffin fight and I am to the herbalist now after visiting the hunter. Still have to get the bait. After I do that, I plan on settling in and doing a few side quests (already pulled all the notice board missions the first time in town).

Really didn't take me all that long. Should be back to where I was in around 90 minutes. And I did enjoy revisiting a few dialogue choices I might've done differently the first time.

Thanks for all the input so far, y'all. I'm glad I've inspired you to consider going back (I think that's good inspiration). :)

Looking forward to trying to log another hour or so tomorrow and see what adventures I come across.

DAY 2

Rehashing from yesterday, but I've managed to level up to L3 whilst still in White Orchard. I have a lot more question marks to explore, and the "tutorial" of White Orchard is still teaching me things.

Side quests are quite entertaining. And I can understand why folks enjoy this as an RPG. There is a lot of complexity and convolution to a lot of the storylines. The game is often pitched as a "gray" or amoral world. Or one where you have to make hard decisions and no one wins.

But I don't see (so far) that there are no winners. I just see it as navigating how the world really is. You can look at that pessimistically, or try and make the most of things and hope for the best, just like IRL.

I am pleasantly surprised that the world is not actually as dark as I thought it was. There seems to be a seriousness to life in this universe, but not necessarily cynicism (although Geralt certainly IS cynical sometimes) or gloom.

Looking forward to playing some more tonight and possibly leaving White Orchard at L4.

I have NO idea how to build Geralt out, but I'm enjoying using IGNI and quick attacks right now. I'm fascinated with whether I could build out AXII into something that would actually be effective in the *majority* of situations.

I don't have time to play this game through twice in my life, I don't think. But I can see why folks would want to. :)

DAY 3

SPOILER POSSIBILITY

Devil In The Well one of my favorite sidequests so far. Loved the touch at the end where you have to go back and visit an old acquaintance. THAT is why this game is different. An opportunity to tie up loose ends, have (mostly) natural conversations.

I am still interested about six hours in. That's more than I can say for 90% of games that I don't play with my kids. :)

This is such a great idea. If you are interested in writing down the memorable moments, then feel free to take part in this topic https://www.gog.com/forum/elder_scrolls_series/the_elder_scrolls_campfire_stories_post_any_of_your_most_memorable_moments_in_all_tes_installments

The Witcher 3 is very large. There will be several books of memorable moments before you finish.

Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock-n-roll. -Shigeru Miyamoto

Enjoy and Have Fun
gogwitcher300

Thanks gogwitcher,

I appreciate it. After I do this, I may head over there and post some highlights.

DAY 4

I have completed the main quest in White Orchard again. This time, I'm leaving at just over Level 4. Much better. Plus I got to complete some pretty interesting quests.

Man, seriously. Geralt is such a PITA for such an old dude that's seen so much. He has attitude with every line of dialgue. Maybe that's commensurate with his upbringing. SPOILER: Maybe that's why Yen talks about his awkwardness. Although she's not particularly charming herself.

My favorite character so far is Vesemir.

One question: Is there a "no turning back" point inside of Velen? I don't want to blow through the main quest too fast, but I am intrigued enough to want to persue it first.

Still fun!

Yes, but not until much, much later and Velen also incorporates Novigrad as far as story is concerned. Places of no return are Skellige (Isle of Mists) and various (Final Preparations). Until end-game you can always go back to any area, though some quests may become locked or failed because of decisions you make.

Nope! One of the great things about this game is that you're able to take your time with it and work on quests/exploring as you want to. The only 'point of no return' comes MUCH later in the game (not saying when cos I won't spoil it for you) so enjoy Velen/Novigrad and Skellige for as long as you like. Even after the PONR, you can still explore and do quests in your own time. One suggestion i will make though : in the early game harvest as many plants as you can (especially arenaria) and loot everything you possibly can and sell what you don't need/want.