The Witcher 3: When Huge Games Are Too Much
I was late to The Witcher 3, but after the release of the Complete Edition, I decided I would take a chance and pick it up. I hadn't played the other two games in the series, but I thought I could probably piece together the lore thanks to the game's curated notes.
I wasn't ready, however, for the amount of time I would have to invest in the game itself. I'm no stranger to lengthy questing games - I'm a huge fan of the Fallout series specifically - but I rarely get time to sit down and play video games for an extended amount of time during the work week. The Witcher 3 has taken me months to get through, and even now, despite the fact that I've completed the regular content, I'm still trying to get through the two DLC packs before I can truly put the game aside.
For me, The Witcher 3 has gotten to be a chore at this point. After investing hundreds of hours into the story itself, watching the lengthy dialogue scenes and attempting nearly every sidequest the game has to offer, I'm feeling burnt out. I'm now skipping through the cutscenes, reading the dialogue instead of listening to it; I'm trying to run through battles rather than face my adversaries; I've given up on Gwent and alchemy. The fun has worn thin.
The problem probably lies with me - I'm a completionist, after all. But it still feels like The Witcher 3 has far too much going on, as though it's bursting at the seams with pointless things to complete. Many side quests feel like copies of other main missions, and Gwent seems wholly unnecessary with so much else to do. Skellige is teeming with question mark areas that are all exactly the same, and monster battles tend to devolve into dodge-attack-dodge patterns. The things that I used to like doing in the game have become tedious, and I think that's the biggest problem that The Witcher 3 faces besides its clunky movements.
Most people probably don't complain about having too much content, but for me it feels like The Witcher 3 isn't just huge: it's also purposely a time-sink. Have you ever felt like a game is just too big?
You made the same mistake I did by attempting to complete every side quest. I burned out very fast. About 2 months later I came back and started from scratch (with cheat codes) and played through it and the 2 DLC's and really enjoyed it. Granted I did not have to grind it out since I was cheating. With all of that being said this game IMO was a masterpiece. You have to admit that the DLC gave much bang for the buck, the story and maps were the size of some full games. Lol i just got nostalgic of my many hours riding around on roach. I still have saddle sores ;)
I actually like it when games are like that, but there are very few that stay good throughout the game.
I agree. I think for me The Witcher 3 didn't maintain its entertainment. Even Fallout 4 for me became a chore after a while.
I actually played this way back and never got to finish it. I finished Witcher 2 but that was short compared to the 3rd one and I did not even bother with the DLCs. I have to agree with you. It became a chore. Work-Life balance is not helping at all so I grew tired and just gave up on it. I was thinking of getting back to it casually and just finishing the whole story line rather than completing 100% of the game most especially that Netflix is going to show a series for it.
I guess I am not alone after all :)
Nope, not alone! I know that bashing The Witcher 3 at all tends to bring out people who vehemently don't agree, though.
That's always the problem; side quests are by definition, optional, and I need to realize the meaning of the word. The problem with the Witcher is that many of the best quests of the game are optional, and i hate to miss something good!