The Witcher is a fantasy RPG game developed by CD PROJEKT RED (based on the books by Andrzej Sapkowski) who are also responsible for the acclaimed series that follows this game. As the original successor to the games: Assassins of Kings & Wild Hunt, The Witcher starts the story of Geralt of Rivia, the game’s protagonist, a modified human that was made to slay the monsters in the world.
How to Download The Witcher
The Witcher (Polish name Wiedźmin) can be downloaded from Steam or from GOG.com. To begin your download click on the Download at the end of the review. If you like the universe it’s also worth checking out the three Witcher spin-off games: the board game The Witcher Adventure Game, and the CCG GWENT, the card game. it’s worth noting that the free-to-play online mobile MOBA The Witcher Battle Arena is no longer available for download.
The Witcher Story
I’ll let you discover the meat of the story for yourself, it’s well worth playing it than hearing it from me or anyone else. Regardless, one of the highlights of the game series is its story choices which can lead the game in different directions but as for The Witcher, (ENDING SPOILER) the ending consensus is that the player kills the mastermind behind the mutants and the knight who betrayed the King, which also happens to be the guy that gives you the mission to kill the Grandmaster. And just before it all ends, someone tries to assassinate the King which leads into the next game with a fitting title, Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
The Gameplay
Now that we are done with the rather broad summary, let’s talk about gameplay. The playable version of the game is currently on Steam under the official title Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut. The very original game was released in October of 2007 while the Steam version I just mentioned was released in September of 2008.
Just to clarify, I will be talking about the more commonly known version, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut, although there are minor differences, and is really just a graphics update. Anyhow, the game features real-time combat with six different combat styles that change the way you attack.
The Witcher Game Mechanics
Despite being released in 2008, the game’s combat mechanics are not shabby at all and reminds me of a very watered-down version of For Honor thinking on the spot. While side-quests and other game features such as minigames become more capitalized on and polished following the first Witcher game, The Witcher has its fair share of fun mini-games to play that I sometimes get on just for. It makes the game so much fun when you have an actual compelling story for an RPG with fun game mechanics that go beyond the given.
Speaking of which, some choices whether outside of the main storyline or for another quest, carry actual weight to them as replays of the game would prove so while the ending may invert to a single choice for the sake of continued storytelling among the three games. Overall, it is a solid game and for those who genuinely enjoyed The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, try coming back to an early game in the series most have missed.
I will not lie in saying that the game may be an eyesore in some instances, whether it be the graphics or gameplay, but regardless the game is a solid pick up if you have some money lying around with nothing to do.
