The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a multi-platform computer role-playing game developed by the Polish company CD Projekt RED. Like all previous installments in the series (inspired by the literary universe of "The Witcher" created by renowned author Andrzej Sapkowski), Wild Hunt tells the story of the witcher Geralt – a white-haired monster hunter who faces many perilous adventures.
Wild Hunt is the first game in the Witcher series to boast an open and completely seamless world. This is a bold move by CD Projekt RED, as all previous projects in the Witcher series, while not entirely linear, still restricted players – one can recall the act divisions, for example. Moreover, the developers have taken a leap, offering audiences such vast spaces that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – a game that the Poles were largely inspired by when creating Wild Hunt – is left to mourn on the sidelines, which is understandable, as the world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is approximately twenty percent larger than the aforementioned product from Bethesda Game Studios. Let alone The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – this game, released in 2011, has a world area that is thirty to forty times smaller than that of Wild Hunt, if not more. There are no acts, no chapters – the player is free to explore the surrounding spaces as they see fit. Of course, it would be strange if horses did not appear in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – and they do appear, as the territory presented in the game is so vast that traversing it entirely on foot would be quite problematic and, most importantly, time-consuming. Mounted, the player will only spend "forty to fifty minutes" moving from one end of the map to the other.
The story presented in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is no longer focused on a single narrative thread, as was the case in previous installments. Firstly, Geralt has plenty to do in the boundless world. A randomly taken side quest that Geralt has to complete may develop almost into a separate narrative line. Secondly, much of Wild Hunt revolves around the Nilfgaardian invasion, and only Geralt’s actions determine whether it succeeds or not. Yes, this is one of the narrative threads, but the game does not hinge solely on it; thirdly, in Wild Hunt, Geralt no longer follows anyone's orders; he acts independently and pursues only his own goals. Away from the Nilfgaard invasion, he searches for his beloved and attempts to avoid encounters with the Wild Hunt. It should be noted that the entire storyline will take the player more than fifty hours of gameplay, and if they aim to complete all side quests, the time frame will increase to a hundred hours.
Considering The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in light of the changes made, one can confidently say that there are an unimaginable number. The combat mechanics, crafting system, game balance, and artificial intelligence have all been revised, redesigned, or improved to some extent. Take, for instance, the animation of movements. In Assassins of Kings, Geralt could perform about twenty different maneuvers during combat, while in Wild Hunt, their number has increased to 96. Dynamic weather changes have been introduced, and the behavior model of NPCs and monsters has been enhanced. The latter, by the way, are not scaled to Geralt's level – if the hero encounters a powerful opponent, there is a chance that he simply won't be able to defeat him until he matches his strength. Among the absolute innovations is the so-called "Witcher Sense,” allowing the hero to investigate various events in the style of a true medieval detective. What else? Yes, the decisions made by the witcher now bear much more significant consequences than before, and each of them can influence one of the endings. There is one more crucial point – saved data from Assassins of Kings can be imported into Wild Hunt to allow the game to continue in line with previously occurred events.