Next-gen Geralt can do it! The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition [RECENZJA]

For the next-gen update to The Witcher 3 CD Projekt RED studio made us wait an extremely long time. In addition, the release date of the add-on was postponed several times. Apparently, “Redzi” took the problems related to Cyberpunk 2077 to heart and in the case of their iconic RPG, they preferred to play it safe. The “broken” Geralt of Rivia fans of the series could not forgive them.

However, the waiting time has come to an end. December 14 update for next generation will finally reach the players. Both owners of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as PCs will be able to install it. CD Projekt RED emphasizes that the update will also appear on old-gen consoles, but in this case the list of new products will be very limited.

Last week I had the opportunity to test next-gen The Witcher 3 on PS5. I came to Velen and Novigrad again. I sailed to the Skellige Islands and visited my brethren in the fortress of Kaer Morhen. I spent a good dozen or so hours on the Continent. And I still want more.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

Geralt’s new clothes

The Witcher 3 on PlayStation 5 looks great – and also in performance modewhere “rigidly” acts in 60 frames per second (I encountered liquidity drops several times, but these were only incidents).

It’s a little worse with liquidity in performance mode with ray-tracing. The game targets 30 frames per second here, but the console started choking on more demanding scenes. Anyway, it’s worth trying The Witcher 3 in this mode as well, if only to see how realistic – thanks to the global illumination and occlusion environment – the lighting is presented.

Already the first scene in the game, when Geralt goes to the balcony of the Kaer Morhen fortress to look at the mountain landscape stretching to the horizon, is breathtaking.

The improved Witcher 3 also includes new textures. Here the developers have implemented number mods, which are well known to those who play Geralt’s adventures on PC. It’s about, among others about mod The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project and HD Monsters Reworked Mod.

In fact, almost all textures look better or much better – from rich vegetation, through buildings in Novigrad, to the interiors of the palace in Vizima or Kaer Morhen.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

However, to say that The Witcher 3 could compete visually with the best games from the last 2-3 years would be an abuse. In several aspects, you can still see that we are dealing with a game that premiered 7 years ago. This is primarily about NPC character models (they are heavily generic), as well as and character face animation – here the “tooth of time” is most visible.

If you played The Witcher 3 on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you will certainly observe huge difference in graphicsj. However, if you played the PC version (and with mods that improve graphics), this difference will be small.

It is worth noting that the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 for PC will offer several improvements that will not be found on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s about, among others about DLSS 2, realistic reflections and realistic shadow lighting.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

What’s new in gameplay?

CD Projekt also added a number of gameplay improvements to the next-gen update. These are mainly cosmetic changes, which does not mean that they do not affect the gameplay. Some of them you will notice immediately, others after a few hours of play, and others you would probably notice only after returning to the old-gen version of the game.

It can be included in the first category quick character casting (without having to open the selection wheel), new camera settings (can now be positioned closer to the character) clearer map (something for people who felt FOMO at the thought of hundreds of question marks around the Skellige Islands) or dynamic interface (some UI elements only appear during combat).

Changes that are less noticeable at first glance are environmental improvements (dense vegetation, new weather phenomena), less damage when falling, faster herb gathering, slower gait (there are three modes of character movement), or an alternative running mode.

In the course of the game, we will come across dozens of other small amenities. Example? Surely you know the famous side mission related to the Bloody Baron. Many players were annoyed by the fact that there was no fast travel marker in Crow’s Perch, the location of this quest. Now such a marker has finally appeared. A small thing, but it makes me happy.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

Cross-save and support for DualSense

Another useful novelty that is definitely worth mentioning is cross-save function. It allows you to use cross-platform records in the cloud using your GOG.com account. So if you started your adventure on PC and want to continue it on PS5 – you have such an opportunity.

And speaking of PlayStation 5 owners, that’s it I hasten to report that the improved Witcher 3 offers support for the DualSense controller. While riding Płotka – depending on the terrain on which we are moving – we feel different haptic vibrations. In turn, during the fight, the game uses adaptive triggers, which at certain moments put up more or less resistance.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

Dziki Gon x Netflix, or welcome to Devil’s Hole

There was also a lot of talk before the release of the next-gen update to The Witcher 3 about DLC inspired by the Netflix series. The content related to this production is not only new items (two swords and armor for the White Wolf, a new outfit for Nilfgaardian soldiers, or an alternative outfit for Dandelion), but also a new mission – “To the Glory of the Eternal Fire” which will allow us to obtain this gear.

This mission takes place in the notorious among the gaming community Devil Down – location that was previously cut from The Witcher 3. Without going into spoilers, I will only write that the quest is really worth attention, and at the same time quite extensive. Interestingly, for the purposes of its implementation, Jacek Rozenek returned to the role of Geralt, who recorded new lines of dialogue.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

Geralt for our times

Was it worth waiting so long for the next-gen update to Wild Hunt? In my opinion, yes. Although it is still almost the same The Witcher 3 that stole the hearts of players seven years ago, with improved graphics, improved gameplay and additional content, CD Projekt’s game has a chance to win our favor again.

The Witcher 3 photo by DM

She already got into mine. Although initially – for the purposes of this review – I planned to spend only a dozen or so hours with the game, and then put it on the virtual shelf, the Wild Hunt spell worked on me and I intend to keep playing. So Geralt will take 80-90 hours out of my resume again.

It is also possible that the “new” The Witcher 3 will be of interest to those people who were simply too young to play an “adult” RPG in 2015, and only heard about Geralt of Rivia for the first time due to the success of the Netflix series.

Rating: 8/10

A review copy of the game was provided by CD Projekt.