Having had a less than enjoyable experience with the franchise playing W1 and W2 on PC when they came out, i was never in any rush to get W3 despite the critical acclaim. But hey, I could be wrong. I was wrong about Bloodborne. Could happen again. So when i saw it at sub-20 price, i got the game. Took the chance.
I'm level 10, ~midway-ish through the Crookback bog quest..after meeting the voiceless godling. I did every other main story thing available till this point, including Bloody Baron. Game doesn't track hours so I have no idea how much i've played, but I did not rush, have done plenty of side quests, be it secondary or contracts, making sure to not advance main story without completing side quests that aren't too high level for me.
Keeping it short cause knowing the unlikelihood of there being any W3 hater around here i doubt anyone would waste time reading a full breakdown of what i think about it:
- Combat, as I expected, still sucks. Even many fans of the game have admitted this so it came as no surprise. Not a particular let down. It's too simple, wonky/unresponsive, enemies are still overly erratic, making the whole thing a mess. Like playing drums with no rythm. 3 games in and the only "valuable" improvement they've made is flashy death animations. Unbelievable.
- Quest/storyline design. I hear I have to find this ashen haired woman. So i'll talk to A who'll point me towards B who'll introduce me to C who'll ask me to do X where i'll learn Y so I can talk to D who'll point me towards E so I can ask about the ashen haired woman again.. Are you kidding me. What the hell is this? "The Most Roundabout Way Of Doing Anything: The Game"? Why even bother asking or helping anyone if at this point i already know they're not actually going to help me, but rather just start another meaningless quest that'll repeat the pattern? The padding is real. All of it is a chore. Was there any motive behind any of this other than increasing play time? Is anything interesting ever gonna happen that isn't in the final 10% of the game?
- Batgeralt. Holding L2 while following the obvious red things on screen and Geralt does all the brain work on his own sure makes me feel smart/accomplished /s. Just another unenjoyable way of padding things.
Curiously enough..only thing i've liked about it is playing Gwent. Only good thing about it as I see it. Wish I didn't have to slosh through 50 identical villages to find new NPCs to play against.
So, does it ever get better?
