Hes a Witcher, a mutated human, trained to be an elite hunter of monsters.

Hell lend his skills to anyone, as long as they can pay.

As the series has grown and evolved, its changed in many ways.

Its into this new, open world we reprise our role as Geralt, one of the greatest Witchers.

This means you’re able to effectively carry over your progress and character from the last game.

As the story opens, Geralt is looking for his lost love, Yennifer.

At first, the game is easily one of the most daunting Ive played in a long time.

The combat here is much the same as the system seen inWitcher 2.

In practise, though, the combat, whilst solid, needs some work.

The main reason for this is Geralts overly sluggish response.

This is especially apparent when trying to skilfully dodge an attacking monster.

Basically, the combat doesnt flow as smoothly as it should.

His spells (signs) are just as, if not more useful than ever before.

Theres a greater emphasis on them here, and they can be used more often.

Potions can heal you faster, increase your damage, and can also give you night vision.

Geralts other skills include his fantastically useful Witcher sense.

Its also used when hes trying to track people, or a monster hes hunting.

All of these skills and abilities only further enforce the elite nature of Geralt.

This is a man whos very good at his job, and it outlines his position in the world.

Firstly, the menu system.

Damaged weapons still work, but deal far less damage.

There are also some bugs that have been found, which Ive not noticed myself.

These includes everlasting loading screens, crashes, and an inability to leave the tutorial.

A patch is already in the works.

Its all delivered with a fine eye for detail, which includes each and every character.

This is fortunate, as the game is big, very big.

Youll rarely be without something to do, thats for sure.

This is all enhanced by the impact you have, which has been refined further here.

I was left with no recourse but to turn to my blades.

CD Projekt Red should be applauded for this, and other companies, including Bioware, should take note.

The Witcher 3is one of those mammoth RPGs where a simple review cannot fully do it justice.

Rating:

4 out of 5