A whole game based on a mini game in another game. Gwent Pro Max

-The gameplay is either running around in the map or playing a match of Gwent. In the map(s), you have to go to a specific point to continue the story but you can wander around in there to find some resource or fight some monsters. And the fighting is just Gwent; sometimes you only need to win one set, sometimes you need to win two. There are also some puzzles in the game for when you encounter some monsters; there is even a match-three Gwent game. I gotta say, Gwent is a great mini game but it gets really boring when you have to play it constantly,

-The visuals are stunning. The environment is very much like a comic book; so is the design of the characters and cards. The only game I can think of with the same approach to art direction, is Hades. I prefer this one though...

-The Story is amazing; like every other Witcher game. You play as queen Meve who is one of the rulers in the north of the Continent. Nilfgaard is invading the north and you have to overcome the obstacles in your way to defend your realm. Your choices are very important in the story. You might find or lose a companion with every choice; although they won't effect the fact that you are going to defeat the Nilfgaardian empire.

-The music and voice acting is fantastic. The music is mostly Witcher 3's, recycled. And the voice acting, fantastic. Every line is delivered with the right amount of emotion; and the narrating method of telling the story makes it sound like an audio book.

-The level design is pretty alright. The paths are clear and obvious. You go down a path, which either leads to another path or leads to nowhere.

A decent spin off to a great franchise. Overall I think it's worth one playthrough, but I don't think I'll get back to it again. As eye catching the art design, and as intriguing the story, the gameplay just can't hold up.

I already really liked Gwent in Witcher 3, so I was really looking forward to this standalone Gwent game. All in all, I really enjoyed it. I was surprised at how much the game focused on the story and characters, both of which are very well written. I didn't expect characters from this card game like Gascon to really grow on me. Sure, the main story is the classic "Nilfgaard is evil and attacks the North" that you know from the games, books and the series, but the dialogue and individual events are really well written.

The card game itself is also a lot of fun. Its complexity has been greatly increased compared to Witcher 3 and it never gets boring. Some of the puzzle battles are also quite innovative or simply very funny (without spoiling anything: "exploding cows"...if you know you know^^).

Unfortunately, I found the pacing very slow. It took me almost 40 hours for my first run and almost half of it could be cut without really losing anything in quality. You can of course ignore all the optional content, but I like to do everything. It would have been nice if the optional stuff had been consistently good or if there had simply been less content overall. That being said, the scenarios were very varied, at least from chapter 3 onwards, and I really liked Mahakam.

So for fans of Gwent and the Witcher world itself I would definitely recommend it but be prepared for a longer gaming experience than I expected. FOR LYRIA!!!!