What is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a role playing game set in a wide, open world that you're free to explore as you wish. Taking place in a land that wouldn't feel out of place in a Game of Thrones novel, this is a game of intrigue, mystery, and civil wars, as two rival factions vie for control of the land. Of course, little of this matters to you - you're not really one to play politics. Playing as a character named Geralt, you are a Witcher - essentially a magic wielding, highly trained, genetically modified mercenary, who comes to the aid of villages and townsfolk when they have a run in with one of the many big beasties that roam around. However, there's a darker, more sinister plot at play here. Recently, a young Witcher in training known as Ciri has been kidnapped by an ancient gang of elves known as the Wild Hunt - and it's up to you to get her back.
How does the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt play?
While you may have an open world to explore, you aren't left to flounder without any direction. Talking to the residents of the many villages and shires will get you quests to do, ranging from the fairly basic - like clearing out some monsters, or retrieving a lost package - to the far more grandiose. Some quests you complete are essential to progressing through the main story, and so by exploring the world, completing quests, and battling monsters to earn experience and grow stronger, you can make your way through the game, in your quest to rescue Ciri.
With reams and reams of writing to get though, and plenty of moral choices to be made, each of which add an extra layer of complexity to proceedings, this isn't one for the faint of heart. Along the way, you'll get to make use of your Witcher powers to stalk and hunt the fantastic beasts, following their trails and ransacking their lairs, before finally toppling them to claim your reward (and save the villagers). You can even partake in a card game known as Gwent, or simply pass the time roaming around on your horse, looking for treasure to plunder and secrets to discover.
How easy is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to pick up and play?
If this is your first Witcher game, the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt can take a bit of getting into. You'll need to be a master of dual analogue controls to begin with (left stick moves your character, right stick looks around), and with a huge open world to explore, there's certainly plenty of potential for both exploration, and for wandering into the wrong neck of the woods. The combat also may take some getting used to. More in depth than simple button mashing hack and slash, there's an emphasis here on having nimble reactions, and seeing enemy attacks coming so you can dodge out the way or parry. Needless to say, you'll need to know your way around a controller to be comfortable here, and will have to learn the flow of the battles.
As an "open world" role playing game, you can choose to go anywhere and do anything you want in the Witcher 3 - but, the downside of doing this is that you may end up in situations and areas designed for characters of a vastly higher level. With that in mind, it's hugely important to keep an eye on the suggested level range of the quests and sub quests you pick up - if all you're finding are mega high level quests, you may be somewhere you're not yet meant to be! Luckily, with a range of difficulty options, you can tailor the challenge to suit, but the combat may still take a few goes to get the hang of it.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt contains large amounts of violence, gore, sex and swearing, and doesn't pull its punches. Even the game's intro gives you an up close and grizzly look at a horse being decapitated.
The game itself is extremely gory, with brutal and bloody combat involving swords, crossbows, fire and magic which will cause decapitations, dismemberment, burnings, exploding heads and sometimes even enemies being cut clean in two.
In terms of language, things aren't really any cleaner, with frequent and strong bad language throughout. Ranging from b**ch to c**t and all swearwords in between, they don't mince their words in this fantasy kingdom.
In terms of sex, the Witcher plays to its "mature" card here too, with boobs, bums and scenes of sexual intercourse, as the player can choose to have sex with several characters throughout the course of the game, which you get to watch in cutscene "highlight" form, complete with moans of pleasure. There are also themes of prostitution and rape.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Xbox One
