I think Witcher 3 has ruined/set the bar for any other RPG for me

[aigomorla]

Talk about a Necro.... lol....

I thought Witcher 3 was OK... i haven't played the DLC, but i didn't consider it ground breaking like Skyrim was.
I felt it didn't have as much replay value like Skyrim did.
I liked the first one and second one.

The third one more felt like eye candy, the best thing from it i felt was probably Ciri.

 

[zinfamous]

Having finally beaten Witcher 3 along with its associated DLCs, I generally agree with OP's premise.

The game, and frankly the series itself has been a great blend of drama, humor, intrigue, fantasy etc that its really a helluva masterwork to top. Its really not dissimilar from the Mass Effect trilogy from that perspective, and its no surprise ME Trilogy is considered one of the best series in gaming too (until Andromeda anyway).

Even CDPR, as we know now, stumbled hard with CP2077 which really failed to live up to expectations from a lot of different perspectives.

Unlike the ME trilogy, I do hope the next Witcher game keeps a lid on Geralt's story as well as the existing world state. Sometimes its best to just let things lie and start fresh with a huge time jump into the future (or a new Galaxy in ME's case).

I'm pretty stoked for W1 remake. I found myself randomly thinking the other day that CDPR should do that, didn't know they were, until I saw your other post yesterday.

I never finished W1 and what I remember most about why I didn't finish it was exactly the OP's chief complaint: I got sick of fiddling with my inventory and just told myself never again! ....of course some years after that I went 500+ hours into Skyrim when that came out; but of course you could pretty easily and quickly fix all those inventory issues with mods.

 

[zinfamous]

Talk about a Necro.... lol....

I thought Witcher 3 was OK... i haven't played the DLC, but i didn't consider it ground breaking like Skyrim was.
I felt it didn't have as much replay value like Skyrim did.
I liked the first one and second one.

The third one more felt like eye candy, the best thing from it i felt was probably Ciri.

Did you actually play W3? sounds like you didn't...

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I'm pretty stoked for W1 remake. I found myself randomly thinking the other day that CDPR should do that, didn't know they were, until I saw your other post yesterday.

I never finished W1 and what I remember most about why I didn't finish it was exactly the OP's chief complaint: I got sick of fiddling with my inventory and just told myself never again! ....of course some years after that I went 500+ hours into Skyrim when that came out; but of course you could pretty easily and quickly fix all those inventory issues with mods.

Yeah the series is going to be a bit weird with a gorgeous UE5 DX12 W1, a still gorgeous but clearly dated Red Engine DX9 W2, and then finally a still gorgeous but less dated Red Engine DX11/12 W3.

W1 was sort of like Mass Effect 1, same characters but almost a completely different fundamental game than 2&3.

 

[aigomorla]

Did you actually play W3? sounds like you didn't...

Of course i did...
I played it on launch day even.
I didn't play any of the DLC's however, but i do not think much changed graphic and game wise with the DLC.

Have you play skyrim with full HD mods?
Even the ones which break the game and change the game entirely?
Its not even on the same class as any other RPG.
There are so many mods to litterally change the entire dynamics of the game, you will wonder sometimes if its still Skyrim.

 

[CP5670]

Talk about a Necro.... lol....

I thought Witcher 3 was OK... i haven't played the DLC, but i didn't consider it ground breaking like Skyrim was.
I felt it didn't have as much replay value like Skyrim did.
I liked the first one and second one.

The third one more felt like eye candy, the best thing from it i felt was probably Ciri.

Yeah, I liked it but thought it was kind of overrated except for the DLCs. Both Cyberpunk and Witcher 2 were better. I didn't play any of the Witchers when they came out though, only several years later.

 

[zinfamous]

Of course i did...
I played it on launch day even.
I didn't play any of the DLC's however, but i do not think much changed graphic and game wise with the DLC.

Have you play skyrim with full HD mods?
Even the ones which break the game and change the game entirely?
Its not even on the same class as any other RPG.
There are so many mods to litterally change the entire dynamics of the game, you will wonder sometimes if its still Skyrim.

we're talking about the game, not graphics. I love Skyrim, but even fully modded it's kinda garbage tier for playing compared to the Witcher. There are a few clever quests worth experiencing, but otherwise there really isn't much of a story with much of any consequence.

Witcher doesn't need much help to look gorgeous right off the bat, and honestly, it really is as good these days as any heavily modded Skyrim--meaning, you can actually play that game, For Skyrim to load all those skins to surpass a far superior game like W3, it's for still shots only. That's not a game.

Anyway, we're talking about the game. Not shinies. It's just that you earlier described a game that isn't Witcher3, haha, so I was confused. But you're comparing how they look, I guess.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Amen, why is this conversation about graphics?

The Witcher is just a technically well constructed game with a fun story, complex characters, great quests, fantastic environments, incredible cinematic style that rivals Mass Effect, and on and on.

It's literally the only game I've ever played where a city feels like an actual city, not a collection of a dozen or two dozen quest givers and a handful of flavor npcs.

Witcher 1 and 2 were sort of side adventures and they were good games (especially W2, that game is just about as good as W3 but different) but with W3 picking up a lot of threads from the books (and now show, sorta) it's plot does feel a bit more coherent than the full blown GOT level plot of Witcher 2.

With if Cyberpunk 2077 had landed then I would have been prepared to give the "Bioware" title to CDPR. Unfortunately we'll have to see how Witcher 4 and Remake go before making that call now.

 

[zinfamous]

Amen, why is this conversation about graphics?

The Witcher is just a technically well constructed game with a fun story, complex characters, great quests, fantastic environments, incredible cinematic style that rivals Mass Effect, and on and on.

It's literally the only game I've ever played where a city feels like an actual city, not a collection of a dozen or two dozen quest givers and a handful of flavor npcs.

Witcher 1 and 2 were sort of side adventures and they were good games (especially W2, that game is just about as good as W3 but different) but with W3 picking up a lot of threads from the books (and now show, sorta) it's plot does feel a bit more coherent than the full blown GOT level plot of Witcher 2.

With if Cyberpunk 2077 had landed then I would have been prepared to give the "Bioware" title to CDPR. Unfortunately we'll have to see how Witcher 4 and Remake go before making that call now.

though I will say that I don't like the idea of create-a-Witcher for the new trilogy. I think you always end up with an empty husk to shove random plot through, and not an actual story with a real character and consistent motivations. Oftentimes, people confuse "freedom of choice" with "all things are possible" and "engaging story." That's never been the case, ime. The Witcher series is so great because Geralt is a great, established character with a history within that world and you want to engage the world through him. It would never be the same with you running around as some unknown, escaped prisoner called Seamus McBigDong, the Witcher.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

though I will say that I don't like the idea of create-a-Witcher for the new trilogy. I think you always end up with an empty husk to shove random plot through, and not an actual story with a real character and consistent motivations. Oftentimes, people confuse "freedom of choice" with "all things are possible" and "engaging story." That's never been the case, ime. The Witcher series is so great because Geralt is a great, established character with a history within that world and you want to engage the world through him. It would never be the same with you running around as some unknown, escaped prisoner called Seamus McBigDong, the Witcher.

-I thing it's important to define what people mean by "Create a Witcher".

I think there needs to be an established character with a default appearance and the game is written around this character.

But that doesn't mean we can't get a character creator to customize the appearance of the Witcher to potentially have a closer connection to our character.

I agree the PC shouldnt be a completely blank slate, he needs to have an actual personality, but having him be a new (not legendary) Witcher without much experience under his belt that we can customize the appearance of will let players get invested in a new way in the story.

It's kinda like Commander Shepherd, but even more narrowly defined.

 

[zinfamous]

-I thing it's important to define what people mean by "Create a Witcher".

I think there needs to be an established character with a default appearance and the game is written around this character.

But that doesn't mean we can't get a character creator to customize the appearance of the Witcher to potentially have a closer connection to our character.

I agree the PC shouldnt be a completely blank slate, he needs to have an actual personality, but having him be a new (not legendary) Witcher without much experience under his belt that we can customize the appearance of will let players get invested in a new way in the story.

It's kinda like Commander Shepherd, but even more narrowly defined.

oh for sure. something like Shepherd would be great, and you could do male and fem Witcher if you want, with a bit different progression like in Mass Effect.

I will also say that I really liked Cyberpunk for all those reasons, even though it was clearly broken in mechanics that Rockstar had long perfected. There were several issues, just inexcusable, but the Main story/character, at least with the street kid that I played, was fantastic. I hope the DLC and updates really improve things, because I will try that at some point. I still haven't written them off.

So maybe they do something similar: you get a couple of classes to choose from and can fiddle with appearance, but your character is still a real person. ...however, I think they need to have the constant name and set storyline tied to class/gender. That's a surprisingly big deal, tbh. NPCs just saying "You" or "Adventurer!" needs to stop. I hate that.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

oh for sure. something like Shepherd would be great, and you could do male and fem Witcher if you want, with a bit different progression like in Mass Effect.

I will also say that I really liked Cyberpunk for all those reasons, even though it was clearly broken in mechanics that Rockstar had long perfected. There were several issues, just inexcusable, but the Main story/character, at least with the street kid that I played, was fantastic. I hope the DLC and updates really improve things, because I will try that at some point. I still haven't written them off.

So maybe they do something similar: you get a couple of classes to choose from and can fiddle with appearance, but your character is still a real person. ...however, I think they need to have the constant name and set storyline tied to class/gender. That's a surprisingly big deal, tbh. NPCs just saying "You" or "Adventurer!" needs to stop. I hate that.

- Bruh watch out saying that kind of thing could get you killed on some parts of the internet. Canonically Witchers can only be Male.

Aside from just introducing new lore like mages figured out how to not only make new Witchers but make women Witchers too, the really big balls move CDPR could go with here is if you pick a male character, its a Witcher (Combat heavy with magic as a supplement) but if you pick a female character you get a sorceress who is Magic heavy with some basic combat abilities.

That would probably stretch them way too thin and whats the point about playing Witcher 4 as a sorceress but hey one could dream.

 

[zinfamous]

- Bruh watch out saying that kind of thing could get you killed on some parts of the internet. Canonically Witchers can only be Male.

Aside from just introducing new lore like mages figured out how to not only make new Witchers but make women Witchers too, the really big balls move CDPR could go with here is if you pick a male character, its a Witcher (Combat heavy with magic as a supplement) but if you pick a female character you get a sorceress who is Magic heavy with some basic combat abilities.

That would probably stretch them way too thin and whats the point about playing Witcher 4 as a sorceress but hey one could dream.

that's true. but I mean, there's Ciri now.

Yeah that would be cool to main a sorceress, but it kinda defeats the point of Witcher. ...maybe make them more prominent, like a game-wide companion, like fricking Lydia.

actually, that would be great if they shove a fem Witcher in there. The collective Magats of the world heads' would explode! Could be a huge benefit. Though, the Polish would certainly be offended. But whatever.

what if it just continues the Ciri story? People would be so pissed. They'd have to nerf her, though. She's instant Godmode all over W3

 

[GodisanAtheist]

that's true. but I mean, there's Ciri now.

Yeah that would be cool to main a sorceress, but it kinda defeats the point of Witcher. ...maybe make them more prominent, like a game-wide companion, like fricking Lydia.

actually, that would be great if they shove a fem Witcher in there. The collective Magats of the world heads' would explode! Could be a huge benefit. Though, the Polish would certainly be offended. But whatever.

what if it just continues the Ciri story? People would be so pissed. They'd have to nerf her, though. She's instant Godmode all over W3

- IMO they should jump the whole thing like 300 years in the future and leave all the current characters behind. They're done as of Blood and Wine and cracking that whole thing open just doesn't make sense to me.

With a huge time jump CDPR would have a lot of latitude to really make the Witcher world theirs and they could bend the lore a bit to introduce proper female Witchers (Ciri is not a proper Witcher, she got the training but doesn't have the mutations etc).

One idea that was floated is that over time the Witchers eventually died out and with human kingdoms at each other's throats monster populations exploded back and became a proper threat again. Some mages and sorceresses got together to try and remake Witchers and your PC is part of this first founding. Throw on a lot of intrigue with kingdoms trying to use Witchers as soldiers and the monster problem perhaps being driven by some nefarious force and you have a pretty good foundation for a new Witcher series IMO.