The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I played the PS5 version of the game, with 60 FPS, fast loading, and adaptive triggers. It looks and runs great on this version. I spent around 89 hours finishing the main story, over about two months. I barely played Gwent or the DLCs, although I did start Blood and Wine.

The graphics are beautiful (for a PS4 title), and the soundtrack is excellent. The world feels alive, with lots of interesting stories - even the side quests have real depth. That surprised me because I'm not usually a fan of medieval-style fantasy RPGs. The game gives you a lot of control during conversations, letting you decide whether to keep talking or move on. This makes the pacing very enjoyable and personal.

I tried Gwent just a bit. Some people say it's the best part of the game - I wouldn't go that far, but it's definitely fun. I just decided to leave it for later and lost interest after finishing the main story. The DLCs also seem good; Blood and Wine especially has stunning scenery. But both expansions are quite long, and after 89 hours in the main game, I didn't have the energy to keep going.

Now for the downsides. The game is very long - I honestly wish it were shorter. Still, it's interesting from the beginning, and I couldn't stop playing. It's not exactly my usual kind of game, but I still enjoyed it a lot. There are way too many items, which can feel overwhelming, but it's fine to ignore most of them. I probably used less than 5% of all the loot I collected. I didn't bother much with crafting or upgrading gear - I just did the basics to keep progressing and avoid making it feel like work.

Combat feels boring at first and doesn't change much. It improves later, though, and playing as another character (I don't say who to avoid spoilers) with different skills is fun. I didn't love the skill system - even after unlocking new abilities, you can only activate a limited number of them, which feels a bit frustrating. The story also gets a bit confusing near the end, at least for my taste, but not in a way that ruins the experience.

In my playthrough, Geralt ended up with Yennefer. There are multiple endings, and you can choose how things finish, but you don't see much about Geralt and Yennefer together. Since I didn't choose Triss (and the game "punishes" you if you try both), I expected to see more of their relationship - maybe even a romantic scene or two. I read that Blood and Wine includes an epilogue showing them living together, which sounds like the emotional closure missing from the base game. But since I didn't play that expansion, I never saw it.

Also, about Ciri's power (I think it's called "the Source") - it seems super important near the end of Act II, but then it's barely mentioned later. It feels like the power was more a metaphor for her growth than something meant to be explained in detail.

Overall, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a beautiful and deep game, full of stories and choices that make the world feel alive. Even though its overwhelming length and combat were a bit disappointing, I had a great time!