MANUFACTURER'S DESCRIPTION
THE SWORD OF DESTINY HAS TWO EDGES. YOU ARE ONE OF THEM. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - a fantasy RPG with a character-driven, non-linear story set in an open world, featuring meaningful player choices, tactical combat and rich, living environments. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final installment of the highly-acclaimed modern RPG saga. The CD Projekt RED team has set out to make The Witcher 3 a richer, larger, and deeper experience - a breakthrough in quality that will take the franchise to its ultimate heights. A masterwork of storytelling and gameplay, The Witcher 3 is everything an RPG fan could crave. With The Witcher 1 and 2, CD Projekt RED has produced robust, high-quality, modern RPGs, winning broad acclaim and earning a loyal following. The Witcher 3 honors these roots, combining CD Projekt RED's storytelling flair with new game mechanics and, most notably, a vast, open, living world. A mature game cast in dark shades of gray with no divisions between good and evil, it features a non-linear story with tough choices that produce real consequences. The game's vibrant world ravaged by war plunges players into difficult dilemmas and gripping adventures. This vast universe brings a new philosophy of exploration to the Witcher series: horseback riding and sailing prove crucial to any journey, and the communities the player encounters resonate with problems, conflicts, friends and foes. Added features like Witcher Senses and Monster Hunting, improved Alchemy, magic Signs, Crafting, as well as many other innovations, make The Witcher 3 the quintessential RPG experience, a must-play for fans of the genre.
FEATURES
A WORLD IN TURMOIL, AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME
The world is in chaos. The air is thick with tension and the smoke of burned villages. The fearsome Empire of Nilfgaard has struck again, ravaging the hapless Northern Kingdoms. The once-mighty who tried to use Geralt for their own gain are now gone. In these uncertain times, no one can say what future holds in store, who will bring peace to the world and who will cause it only misery.
But a force darker and deadlier emerges. The petty men and women commanding tin-plated armies fail to understand that their conflict is child's play compared to the Wild Hunt, the otherworldly threat which now looms. These ghastly spectral riders have plagued the world for ages, plunging it in misery and despair. Yet this time the Wild Hunt seeks one person in particular: the one bestowed upon Geralt by Destiny itself, the one soul Geralt considers kin.
NON-LINEAR, HAND-CRAFTED
The Witcher 3 features over 100 hours of non-linear gameplay, nearly half of which is devoted to the immersive main storyline, a narrative focusing on Geralt and those closest to him. None of this is automatically generated - both core and side quests are handmade with meticulous care, meaningfully weaved into the vibrant game universe. Forming or supporting the main and secondary storylines, they draw players into engaging, intricately-crafted adventures extending across the rich, living world.
Non-linearity is a core feature of the game, with player choices branching the adventures from the main storyline on multiple levels, from entire sub-stories, to trivial everyday matters. Saving a miller's son from a wyvern attack may affect who will ultimately don a crown, while thwarting a plot to assassinate a noble lord could spell doom for his oppressed subjects.
Quests may be taken on in any order, completed one at a time or pursued in parallel with others. Regardless of the method, player actions will bring many consequences that change the story and affect the game world. These consequences culminate in three completely different playable epilogues set in one of twelve possible unique world states. Defined by the outcome of climactic events and the fate of key NPCs, these states provide a total of 36 different possible endings.
A CONTINENT TO DISCOVER
The world of The Witcher 3 is vast and continuous, yet diverse, with each of its lands distinguishable by a unique feel inspired by different sources and cultural references:
- No Man's Land: a sparsely populated, war-ravaged territory, based on Slavic mythology. Murky swamps and dark primeval forests cover this land, where monsters lurk behind every tree and no one can be sure whether they will see another sunrise. Its fields stripped bare by passing armies, No Man's Land is a place of anarchy, where might makes right and gold buys life.
- Skellige: a wind-swept and rugged archipelago, based on Nordic and Celtic legends and sagas. In these isles, inhabited by proud and noble people, warriors seek fame by facing legendary monsters, druids guard nature's secrets, and bards sing of heroes past in torch-lit halls. Stubbornly independent, the Skelligers are rig their longboats and sharpen their spears, ready to lay down their lives defending against the inevitable Nilfgaard invasion.
- Novigrad and its surroundings: a port city inspired by medieval Amsterdam. In this grand city, as rich and colorful as it is corrupt, players witness the persecution of mages by an all-powerful cult, while at the same time dealing with underworld figures poised to profit from the ongoing world war.
THE NEXT GENERATION ROLE PLAYING GAME
The Witcher 3 integrates a robust RPG system into the heart of gameplay. Stats, abilities and items have clear and intuitive effects, changing Geralt and shaping his encounters: a new sword might fell swarming foes en masse, while an enhanced Axii Sign could sway a merchant in negotiations. A tutorial eases players into this system, guiding them through a smooth learning curve as they master the game world.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH, HONE YOUR SKILLS, CRAFT YOUR FORTUNE, BREW YOUR DESTINY
The new RPG mechanic binds player stats to gameplay, and does so visibly: players see their strength and dexterity alter their interactions with the game world. In addition, RPG elements such as skill trees, Alchemy and Crafting have become even more engaging and essential elements of the game:
- Players can combine skills from three specialization paths - Swordsman, Mage and Alchemist - to shape hybrid characters.
- Each ability gained has a visible and visceral impact on combat: players who unlock a precision enhancement on the Swordsman tree might then see their blows slice through opponents' jugulars with deadly regularity.
- Under the expanded Sign casting system, each of Geralt's five Signs has two different modes, broadening the creative use of magic in combat.
- Alchemy is highly intuitive, with potions used as easily as skills: players drink their brews before combat, then activate them when needed.
- Players can concoct an expanded array of potions, bombs and blade oils, including special mixtures for use against specific monster types.
- Greatly expanded Crafting allows players to create items like armor elements and weapons, significantly adding to Geralt's deadly combat arsenal.
DESTINED TO AMAZE
The Witcher 3 is the best-looking RPG to date. Built from the ground up for modern PC hardware and taking advantage of the power of next-generation consoles, the game makes no compromises on quality and delivers stunningly beautiful visuals. Matching the level set by games of other genres, where graphics have traditionally been superior (high-end shooters and action games), The Witcher 3 sets new visual standards for the RPG genre.
