I'm 10 hours into my forth playthrough and my mental is complete Dogshit so my finding enjoent out of this is baffling to me. I can't find joy in anything else but this game, regardless of nostalgia is just something else on Death March while taking a leisurely pace and being at least a semi completionist. 

Many game have tried to follow it's blueprint, mainly Assassin's Creed post the Egyptian one but in over a decade no game has gotten to the same level. The sub genre is kind mercy cause it's not just an action open world nor is it an action RPG truly but a middling of the two. Rockstars RDR2 came close but it still doesn't eclipse it. Elden Ring nearly but it doesn't quite match the subgenre as ER is way more RPG focused. I struggle to name a game that beats it. Ghost Of Tsushima and quit few more. 

In your opinion what makes this game unmatched? 

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Also, with the Next Gen Patch the game holds up so well. Like a Kojima game. 

What made it shine for me was the way every little place and sidequest told a compelling story, with even the side stuff written with a level of detail and interest most games can't boast even in their core questline. I wanted to explore this world and interact with these characters because they were so well fleshed out.

I do wish its physical world was as interactive as its narrative, but that's a minor quibble in the face of all that it gets right.

Incredible world building.
Godtier OST.
Amazing likeable characters.
Gorgous and fast world with lots to see and a attention to detail.
Side quests that are stories on their own.
Meaningfull choices.
Gwent.

By far the BEST open world game i ever played.

Back around that time all eyes were on Bethesda to deliver the big immersive sandbox, as Skyrim (4yrs prior) would cement itself into gaming myth. But unfortunately 4yrs after Skyrim Bethesda would show zero progression in their game design and really highlight how stuck in his way Todd as a game director really is  and that would be fine as Fallout 4 is a perfectly mediocre game but in the same year Witcher 3 launched. A game that shows a generational improvement to game design. CDPR really would knock Bethesda into irrelevancy by creating the most immersive open world of the entire Gen 8 and honestly even by today’s standards it’s still one of the very best. Nobody does it better in terms of Characters (design & VA), world design, OST and immersion better than CDPR (don’t @ me idc). Witcher 4 is gonna be generational.

I’ll admit I never played any of the Witcher games.

But I’ve read all of the books, except for the latest one.

Is there anyone here that had read the books before playing the games and how did you feel about the games coming in from the books?

I ask this because from what I read in forms of praise on the internet, it always seem to come from people not even knowing there are books that predate the games or people discovering the books after the game.

At least the games don’t seem to bastardise the books in the way the Netflix series, past S1, did.

All good points but there's something more fundamental. You can't play Skyrim for 15 minutes and get the same out of it as you would of an hours gameplay yet here is this game with arguably more broad content and it's divided into chunk based gameplay. I don't even know what it is I'm describing but I know one thing, the TLC in all the points mentioned above is probably why it excels still. Anyone who has played it through knows how big it is but it never feels that daunting cause of this chunk based design where all goals are woven together from big quests to small and even the design of the world and placements of content seem to have some kinda of logic to their distance. It's perfectly packed as to not mis content but also feel like you're discovering it adventuring. No content feels repeated, even though there are a few monster repeats like early on with Wraith contracts but they feel very different.

Then there's the story, every little bit, tiny quest is interesting as the main story. It's also a rare sequel that fills you in on lore perfectly, I read two of the books later, watched a good chunk of the first game and played the second and I feel like I had learned the vast majority of the world and Geralts previous situations in the games after his amnesia and I never even noticed they dumped that on me. The vibe is only beaten by RDR2.

I struggle to get my thoughts on this game out or explain the feeling it gives me. It's pure perfection even with the slight annoyances like Gerald's movement indoors and igniting candles and what not. Even the villages look the same but this matters not, they still work perfectly despite being copies shuffled around. But then there is the little really witty bits you'll find every now and then, for example the quest with the priest who had taken a vow of silence, there's a lot of levity like that in the game and as with DOS 1&2 it creates a comfort even though Velen is a shit hole and that's another thing, the world never feels like a shit hole even though it is a terrible place. Also only game ever I wanted to read the side stuff, all books, descriptions glossery and most of all the beastiary. 

Arghhhh. It's just too good. I feel bad for people who play this game on easy difficulties and never see how it comes together and why reading those passages on monsters is important or the systems for gathering and crafting. People with no need for oils, potions or master gear. 

Gwent indeed. Even better than the actual Gwent game they made and the OST....oomph. Also, the ambiences and atmosphere throughout from trees blowing to a crowded tavern. One of the most ambient bits of any game ever is when Prisillia sings in Novigrad. 

It's both a linear game and an open world game. I don't even know what that means but The Witcher 3 is it and no game has ever done it asides.

For me it is a fine game, I never felt that the combat was addictive, it is a me thing but I find it less immersive because of the third person camera and the fact you have to play as Geralt. Completing the question marks felt a bit like an AC or Far Cry game. What I loved the most was Gwent, an open world game with Gwent as the main thing would have been better for me =p. Also I loved Cyberpunk way more.