What can I say about one of my favorite games of all time? It's honestly hard to express why I like this so much. For me, the pieces just fit. The tone, world, story, characters, pacing, and gameplay all work in perfect tandem.

Some parts drag and some characters are Oghren, but otherwise it all feels right. The later games lean more into fantasy and sillier tones, while shifting the gameplay away from tactics to action button-mashing. Yet even while it drags the other games down by comparison, it elevates them by association.

There won't ever be another game like this. That's a shame. But I'm so grateful this game exists.

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.

I know it really doesn't need me to sing its praises but this truly is the right way to expand your game because it builds upon every single mechanic without exception. Colorful, clever, with the real darkness and cruel twists we expect from The Witcher. Upon entering and engaging in the expansive Toussaint I felt a whimsy I hadn't since I first entered Velen or Skellige. It really outmatches pretty much anything in the base game outside of scale, and the Quixote-inspired setting really breathes fresh air after almost 90 hours of the base-game and first DLC.

"Silk kerchief, monogrammed d.l.C. A noble's accessory, clearly."
CD Projekt Red are no stranger to neat references inside their games, this is evident from the Assassin's Creed reference in Witcher 2, and the famous Tyrion scene from Game of Thrones in the open-walled cell, they usually love to poke funny easter eggs, and this one is funny and spot on.
The easter egg is placed near a pouch filled with florens which was the developers gab at the overpricing of a lot of other companies game DLC. Fantastic!

Blood and Wine is a legit expansion, its filled with awesome new content at an insane value, its the most satisfying piece of content you can get for a post release video game.

Toussaint, the land of love and wine is a new area introduced in the expansion, it differs from the main game grim atmosphere, Toussaint is a colorful and fairy-tale like, the country-side is super beautiful, the landscape looks phenomenal. I believe (Southern France/Northern Italy/Switzerland) inspired the location.
Beauclair the capital city is one of my favorite cities ever, the city is beautifully designed, you can see its distinct architecture, its vibrant culture and glorious palace while taking your tour, admiring the view (especially at the festival in the beginning near the lake, absolutely breathtaking view).

Toussaint is a land rich with culture and lore, it has its accent, its tradition and folklore, its festivals and religion, exploring the map will reveal hidden treasures, pieces of lore and history and old interesting stories that took place way before. Exploration is very rewarding and interesting.

Superb job on the voice acting and sounds design, hilarious sketches from the fairyland quest (big bad wolf), what's better is a new soundtrack collection with fantastic music. Taverns are bigger and more carefully designed, the lighting at night is so well done, its calm and romantic, embodies the land of love and wine.

Story Premise is interesting; Geralt goes on a high value contract, tracking a powerful beast that plagues the peaceful calm land which is Toussaint, Dutchess send after Geralt (they had previous connections from the books). Story starts out like a murder mystery, with Geralt doing his detective work to track down the beast (serial killer) with impressive attention to details, afterwards the story progresses into branching paths with crazy reveals, its tightly written and not journey-adventure type like the story of the wild hunt which makes it better.
Great variety of cast to meet along the way, memorable characters with likeable personalities.
Side quests are the same high quality you would expect, personal favorites are the bank parody which was hilarious and Roach side quest (this was was touching and funny at the same time).

Gameplay wise i loved the new Gwent deck as it added extra layer for strategy, the quest design and dialogue is very well presented. New enemies with more attack patterns, better boss fights, new and better gear that adds passive specials, a new system which offers mutation and adds variety to builds, cool skills to unlock, its obviously a step up from the main game.
Also one of my favorite, you get a house to decorate, paintings, artifacts, swords get to shine in your new marvelous house, the place is amazing, loved the river and gardens surrounding it.

I love this expansion, its like a sequel disguised as a DLC, the new area, the new soundtracks, the upgraded gameplay elements, the story and characters, its fantastic all around, it offers both quantity and quality, and it serves as a love letter to the last Witcher book.
Its an essential part of the Witcher experience and marks the end of Geralt's journey, it completes the Witcher 3 and elevates it as some of the finest gaming experiences ever made. Its like a beautiful mixture of a Book, Movie, Video game, all packed together like a symphony.

The Witcher 3 is, now that I've played it, officially a part of the Holy Trinity of Western RPG's with Red Dead Redemption 2 and Mass Effect 3 due to its tremendous character writing, unparalleled world building and lore, and overall style. Seriously, there is not one thing about this game that after completion, I felt it needed.

Characters in the Witcher, be it in the games, show, or books, are the definitive strongsuit and most important aspect as set in place by Andrzej Sapkowski way back in the 90's when first creating the story of Geralt that would eventually sweep the world by storm. Everybody in the series matters, nobody is intrinsically good, nobody is faultless. Geralt of Rivia, who is probably the greatest protagonist in video game history is a man of imperfection, a mutated shell of a human whose history is marred with bloodshed and tragedy. Geralt never looks back though, he is a pragmatist with a heart. I've never encountered a character in a series who is as multi-faceted and believable as Geralt. He bows to nobody and adheres to his own code, owes no alleigances to men of state or people of power, loves those who he wants to love, and is confident in his staggering ability in combat. One beautiful aspect of the series is how often you split between fighting and conversation, as the history of the continent and people within are decided by Geralt's words, which he carefully must pick and cater to those he speaks with. He is a sly and cunning man, and always cognizant of the intentions of those around him, he is no fool. He knows his love for Ciri, Yennefer, and Vesimir can lead him astray, but his abilties make up for it.

The protagonist Geralt takes center stage as the player character and decision maker within the story, but every single character within the world crafts what is the greatest low-fantasy adventure and most well fleshed out world in video game history. Secondary characters like Yennefer, Triss, Vesimir, Ciri, Dandelion, Zoltan, Keira, Djikstra, Ehmyr, and many more add an invaluable amount to not only the story, but the passion behind the player's actions. Each character has their own unique motives, their own special relationship to Geralt and the others around, their own piece that fits together for the final puzzle. You spend hours seperately with each of these characters, disputing romance, debating politics, bargaining, and laughing in good faith. The depth that The Witcher 3 goes in to with your supporting cast, without ever overstaying its welcome is only paralleled with one game, Red Dead Redemption 2. I only want to spend MORE hours with the Witchers of Kaer Morhan, with the two beautiful Sorceresses in Triss and Yennefer learning about their world and complicated relationships with Geralt, with the beautiful and evasive Cirilla, and countless others. Few games are like the Witcher 3 and have you smiling when you reunite with characters from previous games or books, when I met with Roche for the first time I jumped with joy, same as with the lovable duo of Dandelion and Zoltan. I can not drive the point home enough, these side characters are some of the most fleshed out peers and comrades of any video game ever. Even the more minor characters, involved in singular quest chains like the Bloody Baron, Cerys, or [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS] leave a mark that you shant forget, as their memories and experiences add an extreme amount to the overall journey.

Now, this is clearly evident to anybody who has seen the show or read any of the books, but aside from the characters, the thing that lays the groundwork for the Witcher's success as a game franchise is the beautiful worldbuilding by Andrzej Sapkowski. EVERYTHING from the Eastern-European influenced folklore to the medieval European architecture and setting is meticulously laid out with extreme thought and care. The cities withing the Witcher 3 feel like real Medieval cities reflecting of their culture. The royal castle of Vizima feels like that befitting of a grand emperor, the free city of Novigrad is one of the most impressive and fleshed out cities in any video game in the history of the medium, and the multiple communities within Skellige are a thing of Scandinavian beauty. The towns and world were so beautiful to traverse, many a moment was spent stopping and staring at the colorful countrysides. Disclaimer, I did play this game with a 4K texture pack enabled to make the pretty things more pretty. But man, I could speak for days about how REAL this felt as a fantasy setting. There is a perfect balance of power within the universe of the Witcher, and that is evident in its third entry. Sorceresses are extremely powerful, yet their volatility is too high for excessive power usage. The Wild Hunt are an impressively scary force, however they are kept in check by certain abilities that will be explained. Geralt and the Witchers themself are the strongest of human warriors, however they are the last of a dying breed. The power in the Witcher series is kept in check by wit and chess-like geopolitics, as it would be in an actual medieval setting. Not by a superhero or undefeatable protagonist. The Witcher is a carefuilly crafted universe of lore that has been in motion for nearly thirty years, culminating with the effort that it took to get to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Each narrative empowering, passionate, and given an incredible amount of thought.

The music of the Witcher 3 is something of note as well, and those who have played this game can easily find a common ground in this aspect, whether they liked the other aspects or not. These songs are long and drawn out, borrowing aspects from Medieval instruments and fantasy choruses and sounds. Each song, whether its for a specific zone or character, couples with the mood and settings perfectly without any shadow of a doubt. I paused when I was riding the trusty steed Roach through the winding hills of Skelige as the beautiful soundtrack played and looked at the open ocean. I was in awe, completely lost in the world. I felt like Geralt, wind howling and hitting my face on a horse looking over a familiar crag. It's moments that games like this and RDR2 nail that have the player completely divulged into the immersive nature that they put forth.

The only knocks I can give the Witcher 3 is the combat being far less than stellar in difficult and rigidity, and the ham-fisted relationship with Yennefer that is more of a qualm I have with the series as a whole. The former is excusable with the addition of the points I made above, however the latter irked me to a fairly large degree. I don't like Yennefer, full stop, which is interesting because she is clearly Geralt's canon love interest if you know anything about the series or have played even a few minutes of this game. The topic of whether I like her or not is strictly an opinion of subjective nature and each player is left to their own vices in that regard, however my qualm for this post is moreso how the game deals with that if you pick Triss as your romantic option. The game does a mostly great job in dealing with this, even hiding nuggets of voice lines in conversation about the awkwardness of having Yennefer around when you're romantically involved with the sorceress you spent time with in the last few games. It does get a little awkward sometimes when there are plot elements that pair you with Yennefer and imply that she is your betrothed, but as this review is a five star review, that is clearly not enough to detract any major points away from the game.

I had not played the Witcher 3 until now because I was not a fan of the low-fantasy medieval setting. Once I played the Witcher 2, I became invested and watched the show, read some books, and became completely enthralled in the world of Geralt. With the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt you have a tremendously crafted narrative, flawlessly written memorable and diverse characters, a lively fleshed out world with a cavernous lore and history, and a magnificent soundtrack that thrusts immersion into the the player.

I strongly recommend The Witcher 3 to those who are looking for a narrative video game journey that they will not forget.