The Witcher 3: Return of the monster slayer

Dark fantasy seems to have become all the rage in recent years, with grim brooding heroes (uneagerly) leaping at the chance to save their corrupted and dystopian worlds. Of them all however, few have managed to bring their universes to life with same subtly and nuances that The Witcher games seem to bring about so effortlessly, shoving players into a world of grey-mired moral decisions that truly bear consequences. It’s little wonder then that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has drawn such huge attention from the gaming community, despite the recently announced release delay.

For those that somehow managed to avoid the massive hype the game has generated, The Witcher 3 will once again see players stepping into the boots of Geralt of Rivia, a monster slayer seeking to uncover his lost past in a land riddled with intrigue, racism and greed. The biggest news by far for this release has been the move to open-world, with the game featuring an explorable area roughly 20% larger than that of Skyrim, according to developers CD Projekt RED. The Witcher 3 will also include streamlined combat mechanics, double the amount of Witcher signs (simple spells essentially), improved A.I., and the promise that even side-quests will provide weighty and meaningful encounters.

As for the delays, the developers have been quick to assure that the game is not stuck in development hell, with absolutely no new content being added. Rather, the extra four months will serve as time to fully optimise the game engine and get rid of as many bugs as possible. Given the amount of scrutiny this game has drawn, CD Projekt RED undoubtedly want to get their game as close to perfect as possible.