Simply one of the greatest games ever made. An actual magnum opus and possibly the greatest fantasy epic to ever grace video games.
This is one of those games where I wish I could just reset my memory and play them fresh all over again, despite already having a previous playthrough in the belt.

An incredible open world, fantastic character writing and hours upon hours of meticulously crafted quests and story, the Witcher 3 is simply filled with incredible mechanics and moments through and through that all come together to craft one of the most captivating and magical works of art ever put to the medium.
So much so that I feel like simply listing what I love so much would make this review 4 times the usual size. Plus, I feel like most people have heard the choirs of praise over and over again for the last decade.

If I were to put it simply, The Witcher 3 simply excels at almost everything it does and provides a mind boggling amount of content. It’s a lightning in a bottle mix of incredible content in both quality and quantity, with so many individual systems and threads that could literally suck you in for hundreds of hours.

This is the crescendo conclusion of a rich and dark universe made by a team who created something inimitable with pure passion and dedication. I have no doubt in my mind that this game will be remembered for generations to come and, if my previous paragraphs of unavoidable praise didn’t already do it justice, for good reason.

The highlight of my playthrough this time was the DLC which is the literal icing on the cake. When you think it can’t get better it just does, with hand crafted rpg perfection. Hearts of Stone delivers a perfect tie in into the main story rich with it’s own airs of conflicting moral dilemmas and heartbreakingly complex characters, while Blood and Wine goes all in with a fairy tale epilogue of twisted perversion, full with it’s own political intrigue, princesses and whole new area.

The final segments really drive in how monumental The Witcher 3 is. Where some games of such length and ambition would lose steam, The Witcher 3 kicks it into overdrive and the more you play, the deeper the hold goes, with ever expanding complexity and stakes to match character progression and explosive story beats.
It simply does not stop being great, from the moment you click on new game to the very final moments.

The only problem I have encountered during this entire playthrough was some RTX optimization bugs from the next gen update. But other than that, smooth sailing and pure fun in and out.

A masterpiece? A perfect story? An all timer role playing experience? Yes, yes and yes. But, even for how imposing such a game may sound, The Witcher 3 is one of those rare gems that leave an imprint on all that manage to handle the intimidating complexity of the first few hours.
One may say this could be nostalgia or bias, but even almost 10 years later, very few games can hold a candle to the white wolf’s triumph.

Even if you indulge in this experience for the first time or the 10th, there’s bound to be something here for you, and very possibly a game that will demolish your expectations like a bulldozer and tear down the preconceived limitations one could hold against the creative expression of gaming as an art form.

Maybe a bit dramatic, but hopefully the point still comes across. Wether you come in for the story, the characters, the action or the roleplaying, you’re in for a time to remember, filled with conspiracies, monsters, romance and swords.

Keep the potions close and the medallion closer. Good luck on the path.

A bit hard to rate this generally, it’s clunky and somewhat annoying at times but the foundation for an amazing story and excellent game are still there.

The Witcher 2 is CD Projekt Red’s turning point in creating what would soon become their magnum opus and, in its own right, a game that stands pretty well on it’s own two legs.

While it’s definitely flawed in the combat and exploration department, it undeniably delivers on the writing department with a good story and CD Projekt Red’s trademark RPG charm. I love when RPG games give you actual morally conflicting decision instead of “be nice or be evil”.

There are a few things that hindered my enjoyment here though. For starters, the difficulty curve is kind of crazy, this is by no means an impossible or hard game, but during the earlier levels it almost feels unfair how tanky some bosses and enemies are compared to Geralt. I spent a good chunk of time locked in a save, with sub optimal preparation having to power through a group or enemies or boss that would take me down in 2-3 hits.
Granted this may just be a skill issue and a lack of dedication on my part but considering most of the mid/late game challenges can just be powered through with one potion and spamming attacks, I did find it noticeable enough to make mention of it.

There are a few other elements that could have benefited from some fine tuning, and one such aspect that definitely shows its age are the forced QTE and stealth sections. I’m no stranger to linear gameplay and even I have to admit I’m a sucker for QTE’s and stealth sometimes.
Sadly I just thought it did not fit here and both mechanics suffered from a lot of jank. It kind of breaks the immersion but for a game released in 2011, I appreciate the effort and definitely understand the influence of the times when every game was trying to be a third person action/adventure title.

Overall, maybe didn’t like this as much as I thought I would but I can’t say I was disappointed. Despite a few hiccups in the side quest and gameplay departments I was fairly engaged with the main story and enjoyed most of the twists and characters.
Some sections are definitely stronger than others, but the Witcher 2 still delivers a pretty satisfying roleplaying package complete with action, romance and adventure. It may not be great just yet, but it sets an excellent foundation for fun gameplay loops and story denouements, which would soon be picked up, upgraded and expanded on all fronts by it’s legendary sequel, The Witcher 3.

Would recommend this to any RPG fan looking for a fun side adventure, or to any Witcher fan looking to get a deeper experience before they inevitably replay Witcher 3 for the 4th time.

Do you ever finish a game and just go “wow“?
Let me introduce you to Nier Automata, a game that is practically begging for you to underestimate it. I’m gonna really try to weigh my words in fear of not doing Nier Automata the justice it deserves, but this is one of those games that breaks all conventions we know of as players, to challenge us, to make us think, but most of all to make us feel.

I cannot understate how important it is go into this blind and experience this for yourself and through your own gameplay. Chock full of meta moments and delightfully freaky 4th wall breaks, Nier Automata takes full advantage of the agency of the player to put you into what may seem as a banal JRPG story: flashy main character, over the top action and combat, anime robots etc.. But it quickly flips these expectations on their heads over the course of the game to give the player progressive glimpses of it’s true form: a piece of art, philosophical and thematically charged in nature, detached and unlike anything else you may have played before.

With no punches held, Nier Automata transcends the gaming medium with constant genre switches from bullet hell to platformer to shooter to fighter (and so much more you probably wouldn’t believe), a masterclass in storytelling that really messes with your own emotions and, dare I say, some of the greatest level design and soundtrack work ever put to code. How insane is that.

I could write 3 more paragraphs and the truth is I wouldn’t even scratch the surface. There’s so much to unpack and replay and digest that I feel like this is a game I will play over and over again for a long time. But for a first experience? Nier Automata touched me in a powerful way, and left a unique imprint on me I don’t think a lot of games would be able to hold a candle too. Even now, a full day after I beat it, I find it quite hard to define all the things I liked so much about this game. It’s an elusive package that hides its true intentions so well and really feels more and more like a fever dream as you unpack this surreal and bizarre narrative.

If I were to put it shortly, Nier Automata is a masterful contradiction. It’s grand and epic but also quite and intimate, beautiful at times but just as much tragic, sad and somber but with just enough optimism to peer through the clouds. This game is incomparable and a monument to what can be achieved through art and humanity, utilizing every mechanic, concept, tool and pre established gimmick to enforce it’s incredible narrative and deeper messages from the second you boot up the game.

Never too corny or in your face, there’s a genuine moral element to the game which attempts to digest and exemplify philosophy and great life questions in almost bite sized, gameplay portions. From Nietzsche, Engels to Simone de Beauvoir and even Jean Paul Sartre, it’s an effective and admirable attempt to deepen the core messages and blur the lines of fiction and reality with questions and feelings that would be so easily justified in both settings.

Meaning? Identity? Purpose? These are all existential questions you never really get an explicit answer too. Life questions defining your existence and your sense of self, so easily defined by the good, the bad, and everything in between. And though the game may not seem like the most hopeful approach to these unanswerable meditations, through it’s constant repetition, depressing enemies and bizarre world, it uses that aforementioned perfect contradiction to break the boundary between the game and the player, to give you something real. Something so real it becomes hard to figure out if it’s your own reflection through the game or an odd message left behind. And, for old time’s sake, it does so with one last great contradiction.

"Everything that lives is designed to end. They are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. However, life is all about the struggle within this cycle. That is what 'we' believe."

A better future is always possible. Glory to mankind.