“The Witcher” is one of the most popular fantasy RPG game series to come out in the last decade, alongside other giants such as “Dragon Age” and “The Elder Scrolls." Based on a series of novels by author Andrzej Sapkowski, “The Witcher” series has provided fans with three excellent and different games over the past decade. Each game improved on the last, and the third and final game won countless “Game of the Year” awards and is frequently touted as one of the best gaming experiences in years. There is much to celebrate for the developers and fans of “The Witcher."
The first and second games
The first “Witcher” game was released in 2007, and began the trilogy’s tale of Geralt, a legendary witcher.
Though not the most graphically advanced of games, it still proved quite popular, giving gamers a chance to play in a gritty fantasy world and make choices that were not divided between good and evil.
The second game improved on this, thrusting Geralt even further into the world, involving him in the complicated politics of the Northern Realms and chasing down the murderer of a king in order to clear his own name. Players had a tight story filled with multiple important choices; one choice made in the first act of the game would drastically change what the rest of the game looked like. The game was relatively linear but made up for it with an incredible story that gripped players and compelled them to keep playing to see what happened next.
'The Wild Hunt'
Released in 2015, “The Wild Hunt” was an immediate success. Moving toward an open-world gameplay style, the game managed to draw in tons of praise for its fantastic world-building, interesting storyline, and the seemingly endless side quests that were actually fun for players to experience. Players were immersed in the lands of Velen, Novigrad, and Skellige and playthroughs could go as long as one hundred hours without boredom setting in.
“The Wild Hunt” was a massive success for all involved. Two DLCs, “Hearts of Stone” and “Blood and Wine” were released which added new stories and regions to explore, keeping gamers entertained for many more hours.
Now, Ten Years after the release of that first game, gamers reminisce about one of the best trilogies in gaming history.
The developers at CD Projekt Red gave fans of the series a fan service video of Geralt with many of the main and side characters from the third game at a party, speaking to the players directly, as well as a behind-the-scenes video of the making of “The Wild Hunt” which is hilarious.
“The Witcher” series will long be remembered as one of the best RPG gaming experiences. Happy ten years, "Witcher"!
