Name: The Witcher 3- Wild Hunt Developer: CD Projekt Red Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC Playing Witcher 3 feels like reading a poignant poem. Geralt of Rivia's journey through the vast, mythical lands of Northern Kingdoms unfolds like the pages of an old book. After all, his story is inspired from Andrzej Sapkowski's 'The Witcher' series of novels. Unlike other games, which pits us against gargantuan goals like saving the world or preventing apocalypse, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is simply about a father's journey through a strange country torn apart by politics, war and beasts, to look for his daughter. Surprisingly, as you progress and encounter the riots and clash of the clans, you begin to realise that the true monsters hide not in the jungles and caves, but in the hearts of men themselves. Witcher 3 is no slow game, either. It is fast paced, lets you test your skills in trying combats and rewards a true explorer. The Wild Hunt is the first witcher game designed to be a sandbox-style adventure and the developers at CD Projekt Red has provided a map that is so vast and riddled with so many activities that you could easily spend over 100 hours in the game and still find a plethora of things left to do. Story: Gone girl Witcher 3 revolves around a visibly aged Geralt. He is no longer the reckless bounty hunter who could eviscerate ghoulish creatures and woo fair maidens with unparalleled ease. He is a stoic warrior now, with battle-hardened combat skills and a seasoned world view. Geralt traverses the stunning landscapes of North, looking for his surrogate daughter, Ciri. Ciri's past and present are slowly unravelled through special missions and flashbacks. It's not overdone, but just enough to start feeling for her and looking forward to the moment the two finally meet. It is the huge map that truly helps unravel the story. For those who are wondering just how big it is, take Skyrim for scale. Add a half of the original Skyrim map to the original and you will get Wild Hunt's map. It's much bigger than that of GTA V and definitely the biggest one we have laid our hand upon in recent times. Each character you meet adds to your story. They give you tasks, which may range from something as trivial finding a lost goat to solving the murder of village children, which would eventually lead you to a face off with one ferocious monster after another. You can refer to village notice boards to find missions. Now, they are not your generic notice boards, where each note is a mission. You will also come across local advertisements of cobblers, blacksmiths or simply other villagers looking for work. The noticeboards give you a glimpse into the bustling life of villagers, striving to survive in the world. Gameplay: Warrior or a wizard? Witcher 3 lets you find the right balance in terms of combat style. You can upgrade Geralt's sword skills to turn him into a lethal weapon. Or, you can brush up your knowledge of alchemy, arming Geralt with magical powers of fire, ice and more to lend him the upper edge in skirmishes. The overall combat in Wild Hunt is relatively much easier than the previous Witcher games. This might come off as a little dampener for hardcore witcher fans. However, you can always notch up the difficulty settings if things get a little too easy. The combat is smooth, fast-paced and responds well to both the gamepad or the keyboard. While we found fighting off human enemies more fun, there is always a strange satisfaction when you slay a dragon right through its heart. The various monsters of Wild Hunt are meticulously designed, with minute attention to details, making the extraordinary beasts feel real and menacing at the same time. Wild hunt also features the Witcher Sense, which lets Geralt deduce clues from crime scenes, very much like Batman in Arkham Origins, only in a raw witcher way. We need to mention how incredibly the developers played with colours in the investigation sequences, by highlighting points of interests with a blood-red glow while effortlessly turning the backdrop into a shimmering grey. This is art at its finest. Graphics: Art, uninterrupted As we mentioned earlier, the investigation sequences only scratches the surface of the Wild Hunt's artistic prowess. It is only when you amp up the settings to the fullest, can you really feel the vibrant world of Witcher. The shadow cast by Geralt on the blades of grass as he rides his horse down the wild valleys, with the sky slowly turning orange with the setting of the sun - all of it reminds you of a beautiful french movie. The Witcher 3 demands a minimum requirement of 6 gb RAM. It's a tall order, but when you see the gorgeous screen brighten up your display, you can't help but lose yourself in a trance. Something only a gamer can appreciate. Verdict CD Projekt Red is probably the only house, which keeps on raising the bar with each game. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the best installment of the series for all the right reasons. If you choose not to play this one, you are probably going to miss out on this year's best RPG title. So go ahead, fire up your rigs, get that extra ram or just go for the slightly better GPU, because this is one of those games which makes all the efforts worth it.
