A triumph of the interactive medium as a whole. The best realized world of not just all open-world games, not just all games in general but basically all media ever (rivaled only by maybe Blade Runner). Literally made me appreciate the natural beauty of my country more, and as an extension the natural beauty of the world in general. I know how fucking weird that sounds, but it’s just a testament to what a masterpiece this work of art is.
Looking back on it, in a “technical” sense this probably isn’t the best game I’ve ever played anymore. Yet I still cannot bring myself to take it off of that number one spot, and I don’t know if I ever will. I’ve played games with much better gameplay, better story, better characters, better music, better art… I could keep going. But I don’t even know if Wild Hunt can be described with the generic “it’s greater than the sum of its parts”. I think it’s the open world that’s doing most of the job here. It’s the open world that creates the incredible atmosphere and the coveted “Immersion” with a capital I.
I need to be transported – it’s not something that can be described with words, no matter how hard I try, it’ll just end up sounding generic. When I look back on a game, I need to remember something more than sitting in front of a lit up screen and… “being entertained”. I need to remember the feelings I felt. I need to remember the views I saw. I need to remember being there. I need to remember it being real, even if it only existed for me. Or perhaps exactly because it only existed for me.
And honestly? Even this immersion aspect… I have doubts if The Witcher 3 continues to be my number one pick anymore. But I cannot rank games based on some sort of average or a rating influenced by any aspect I could bring myself to call even slightly “objective” (what a bunch of bullshit). That’s not right. That’s not how art is meant to be consumed.
It all makes me a bit scared to ever replay this game. I’ve only ever completed the main story once. Part of the reason is probably that I just can’t really be bothered to replay long games – there are too many new ones to experience. But part of it… I’m scared that what I remember may not be real. May stop being real.
So for now, I’ll let The Witcher 3 continue existing only in my memories. So that when I think back to those golden sunsets over Velen, those bustling streets of Novigrad, those milky peaks of Skellige… I can tell myself that my pick for the best game of all time is a simple choice. I know that in reality it’s not. It’s not a choice that can even be honestly made, really. But I think I’d rather fool myself a little while longer.
Looking back on it, in a “technical” sense this probably isn’t the best game I’ve ever played anymore. Yet I still cannot bring myself to take it off of that number one spot, and I don’t know if I ever will. I’ve played games with much better gameplay, better story, better characters, better music, better art… I could keep going. But I don’t even know if Wild Hunt can be described with the generic “it’s greater than the sum of its parts”. I think it’s the open world that’s doing most of the job here. It’s the open world that creates the incredible atmosphere and the coveted “Immersion” with a capital I.
I need to be transported – it’s not something that can be described with words, no matter how hard I try, it’ll just end up sounding generic. When I look back on a game, I need to remember something more than sitting in front of a lit up screen and… “being entertained”. I need to remember the feelings I felt. I need to remember the views I saw. I need to remember being there. I need to remember it being real, even if it only existed for me. Or perhaps exactly because it only existed for me.
And honestly? Even this immersion aspect… I have doubts if The Witcher 3 continues to be my number one pick anymore. But I cannot rank games based on some sort of average or a rating influenced by any aspect I could bring myself to call even slightly “objective” (what a bunch of bullshit). That’s not right. That’s not how art is meant to be consumed.
It all makes me a bit scared to ever replay this game. I’ve only ever completed the main story once. Part of the reason is probably that I just can’t really be bothered to replay long games – there are too many new ones to experience. But part of it… I’m scared that what I remember may not be real. May stop being real.
So for now, I’ll let The Witcher 3 continue existing only in my memories. So that when I think back to those golden sunsets over Velen, those bustling streets of Novigrad, those milky peaks of Skellige… I can tell myself that my pick for the best game of all time is a simple choice. I know that in reality it’s not. It’s not a choice that can even be honestly made, really. But I think I’d rather fool myself a little while longer.