Wasn't huge on Hearts of Stone (thought it was good, not great) but man I fucking loved this. To me, Toussaint is the best location in the game, bar none. Stepping into it for the first time and basking in its radiance feels unlike anything else in the base narrative and the story feels infinitely more rewarding than Hearts of Stone. The final Detlaff boss has a learning curve for sure but his monster form is so cool and it's incredibly satisfying when you finally come out on top. Wonderful ending too, being able to settle down with Yennefer for good felt like a beautifully bittersweet finale to my adventure. Ended my journey arriving back at my fully upgraded vineyard and mounting personal favorite collected swords and paintings in my home was lovely.

now this is how you iterate on one of the greatest games of all time. you introduce a whole new biome to explore; add on gameplay elements that improve upon the existing mechanics; bring in new characters; and follow-up a story about the end-of-the-world, an otherworldly army, and an all-powerful elf girl the only way they could - by featuring vampires. and the ending/epilogue is the cherry on top that we all wanted for one of the greatest epics in the history of gaming. even if you don't want to play the base game, this is a 30-35hr self-contained experience worth playing!

Blood and Wine might just be the best bang for buck expansion you will ever purchase
Blood and Wine features an expansive new region called Touissaint, a vibrant French inspired piece of land full of political intrigue, humor, and defined culture. You will also be pitched against new monsters, in a fully fetched campaign helping out the local Duchess.

The story and side missions are characteristically as good as the original Witcher 3 game, and perhaps better in some areas. The characters you encounter are well written and engagement, and much of the activities to be had are quite fun. This expansion also features a full length soundtrack, which further immerses you into the escapist heaven of the Witcher series.

All-in-all, this expansion deserves an honest 10/10. In all my years of PC gaming, this expansion has reached a milestone, and set a bar so high that I doubt any other developer can reach in a long time.

A great wonderful new addition that contrasts the drearier areas of Witcher 3 with a much more fairytale and playful world of Blood and Wine. Filled with many more great interactions and characters with even some of the best in the Witcher series overall, this DLC seeks to give the series an ending for Geralt that satisfies fans of the game. New Beautiful visuals, enemies, quests, there is very little reason not to buy this immediately if you own the Witcher 3.

Honestly, it should come as no surprise to me now after completing the Witcher 3 main game, but I am geniunely shocked at how great of an experience that Blood and Wine was. CD Projekt Red managed to create a whole new setting, cast of characters, and group of villains for Geralt to encounter (ideally) after the events of the Wild Hunt that was so good it can rival and outmatch the feelings I've had from playing full game relases.

The land of Toussaint is downright beautiful, taking place in a fictitious rendition of a Southern France or Northern Italy, in which beautiful flowering fields populate the countryside. Much like I did in Skellige in the Wild Hunt, many a times did I find myself stopping while running or galloping on Roach to give a gander to the environment around me. Again playing with a 4K pack and with most graphical fidelity settings on, I felt like I was experiencing something real with how picturesque the setting was. The city of Beauclair was akin to Novigrad in its teeming with life, however a much more classy architectural feel and populous resided within.

Characters, the series' greatest strength, were again a strongsuit in this expansion. Anna Henrietta was as daring and cunning as she is beautiful, Regis (a book callback) was an elegant and charismatic partner for Geralt, and Damien was a more-than-meets-the-eye second in command. There were plenty of other characters who made the experience memorable, however I would spend another lengthy review speaking on how great they were.

Blood and Wine is easily one of the best expansions/DLC's to have ever existed, full stop. This is a MUST buy for fans of the Witcher 3.