The coolest thing about second chapter is that you can actually reach wrong conclusion during the investigation, which is thing not many rpgs let you do.
god, first time through doing act 2 blind and you would be lucky to get it right the first time. so easy to get lost with collecting all the evidence and items you need.
@@spaceidiot200 it's easy to reach wrong conclusions via the autopsy and standard investigation, but I imagine most people that like to explore will find real Raymond's body in the crypts at the cemetery, and that overrides all the wrong conclusions, since Geralt realizes that he's been misled at the spot
@@adammusia9527 Unless you're not able to go to the cemetery (it happened to me in my last playthrough). But I got the right conclusion thanks to the knowledge of Zerrikanian fly.
Also the serial killer that attacks Priscilla in Witcher 3... You can stumble upon a sadist who you can confuse with the real killer and he will simply never be caught if you do that
I gotta add something about 4th act of The Witcher. Yes it's a some sort of relief from act 2 and 3, but the most important part of this act is its simplicity and just copy of polish folklore stories especialy about Alina and Celina which is a copy of polish drama - Balladyna. I think this chapter is specialy aimed to Polish fans of Witcher and there is a lot of them. If you know even very minor thing about slavic folk stories, you will love this chapter ;)
Combat animations are great and really give you a sense of flashy dance-like combat style of witchers, but in reality it's just 'click click click' and occasionally dodge
@@ciphergamingsouthafrica8502 lol because Ubisoft are lazy and copy. Witcher 3 is okay with combat. I think it was a big mistake to move away from unique style combat. They could have refined instead of lean into popular gaming trends. Still respect all the Witcher games though in different ways. Also funny enough Witcher 1 is my favourite combat/gameplay lol.
"I was the chosen one, and the chosen one failed." Man, Alvin's story really hit me hard, poor kid... ngl, kinda choked up when I found his letter at the bookshop in Witcher 3. Him, along with The Master are probably my favorite (and most tragic) game antagonists of all time.
I really enjoyed Chapter 4. The Noonwraiths, Dagon, Berengar - it all felt like a Witcher doing is regular job. It might have been better set more towards the beginning than the end but it was one of my favourite parts. I'll never forget how I stumbled upon this game by chance and fell in love straight away as I had a decent rig that didn't suffer from the load times. Must've played it 4 or 5 times, W2 2 or 3, yet W3 criminally only once - have to rectify that. Amazing trilogy well up there with Mass Effect but better in that it sticks the landing at the end of the third game. Thanks for taking another look at this - janky gameplay and graphics 15 years later but everything else is still superior to a lot of what is released today.
I played through the Witcher3 also only once. The "problem" with the witcher3 is that it is just too long. It took me 200 hours to finish it the first time, 150 for the base game and the main story and 50 more for the two DLC's. By far the longest game I ever played, Red Dead Redemption 2 is in second place and it took me three times less than Witcher3. It tried it 3 times to finish the Witcher3 once again and failed, life just gets in the way.
Chapter 4 was brilliant, an iddylic breather from conspiracies, racism, politics, and general awfulness of Vizima. Then reality comes knocking, and destroys the place, throwing you back in. You can totally understand when Geralt says "I'm a witcher, not a hired kill... fine, 10000 Orens." He was so f*cking done.
Played this game for the first time 9 years ago and just finished my 2nd play through a few days ago. It was one of my favorite games the first time, and grew on me even more the second time around. My only wish is they can figure out a way shorten the ~25 hours of pure backtracking to complete every side quest in the remake.
There'll probably be fast travel and the zones that are close together probably will be in the same map, like in TW3. I think it'd make a lot of sense to just leave Kaer Morhen in a different map and then all the rest -- outskirts, Vizima, swamp and Murky Waters -- in the same one, since they're at most separated by a few hours of boat travel. The map would be really big and they'd need to fill it with interesting stuff, but the immersion would be absolute...
One of my favorite games, I remember for that time it had one of the best translations into Russian. This was especially memorable, because at that time a really good translation was only in Gothic. And due to the fact that the books themselves were already quite popular throughout Eastern Europe, the sales of the first Witcher in Russia were incredibly large for that time.
Such a legendary game... The first time around I played it a long time ago, I was a little bit frustrated by the combat and just had to uninstall it, but when I gave it a second chance and when I finally understood how actually simple the combat really is, it slowly became one of my favourite games ever, not to mention the franchise.. the story, the atmosphere, the music, unforgettable. Thanks for another review, and all the best wishes in the New Year!
Chapter IV is my favorite chapter of the game. Love the setting and atmosphere. Played through the game maybe six times since its release. In many aspects, it's my favorite Witcher game. Played the version dubbed in Czech, which was great except for Geralt's voice actor, he went all in on emotionlessness. Also, read books in Czech (after the first game), it's a very faithful translation.
This game really felt like the spirit of the books come to life. Love all the games but this one is special, glad you could read the books in Czech! Cheers from Poland, szczęśliwego nowego roku!
50-plus minutes video duration. A real tour de force. Thank you for your effort, Mortym! This kind of content is the reason why this channel is so awesome. 💯💪
There has been no better gaming experience for me than reading all 8 WItcher novels, then starting a playthrough of Witcher 1->2->3 all the way through Blood and Wine. Bonus points for doing it in Polish with English subtitles. You really feel that Geralt's camera-wink at the end of Blood and Wine is absolutely earned.
As someone going through this game for the first time, I'm not at all surprised this game became such a sleeper hit back in 2007. It's because it's both a genuinely great game, and because it stood out when compared to other fantasy RPGs of the time: The world is as realistic as a fantasy world could get, with basic villages and cities rather than outlandish landscapes. The plot is a far cry from "save the world" plots, being basically a man tracking down both a sect of bandits and a bunch of stolen mutagens with him getting into other side stories along the way. Also, Alchemy was practically the big game mechanic alongside the morally grey choices you had to make, so you kept on making potions both to enhance yourself and to aid the plot. The Witcher became such a surprise because of these differences and more, and I think it still holds up pretty well, warts and all. Yes, even the combat. It's bizarre, but you get used to it. I think I'll go through it alongside another RPG I've been going through on-and-off again, Final Fantasy VII (both incarnations). It's such an intriguing, addictive little gem.
It's my favorite part of the trilogy. Best atmosphere, best music, best inventory (hated, when Geralt in W2 could wear dozens of swords and armors), a lot of cultural references. You could learn a lot about plants and monsters from old ladies in chapter 1 for free (well, not for free, but for a sandwich). Combat, although sometimes clunky, was still better than in W2 and I liked that rhytm-based combat, because it reminded me of another great rpg with rhytm-based combat, Summoner. Regarding bugs, I play W1 with my wife now (end of chapter 3 at the moment) and had only few minor bugs (mostly inability to pick up loot), so IMO it's not buggy at all.
Ah Witcher 1. I have very fond memories of this game. At first I thought I wasn't gonna like it but I found the mechanics regarding having to research the monsters you hunt incredibly immersive. And the story was just fantastic! Made me a fan of the whole franchise.
- I don't remember the cave of abigail being so drafty ^^ - the combat is stat-based but also rhythm-based : you're gonna suck if you don't click at the right time - chapter 4 is like the jabba part in Return of the jedi : only loosely connected to the main plot, but so fun ! it's my favorite part, it also ends on the start of the villainous path of Alvin/Jacques : what would have happened if the kid hadn't seen first hand the violence of the scoiatel ? - on the collectable cards they're definitely not romantic encounters but sexual encounters (but I suppose youtube doesn't like this word so you have to beat around the bush) - to be honest at the time I thought the fact that they're so stupidly unrealistic was sort of charming/tongue-in-cheek, like the one where a peasant think you're a ghost because there is light in an abandoned building ^^ but it does clash with the more realistic take on fantasy, yeah - I think CDPR dropped the ball compared to Bioware for the continuity between games, it's even worse if you chose the elves in witcher 2 : most characters will drop from the face of the earth in 3, and still-alive-Letho is bugged :( I'm really glad you made such a long video (for this channel) on this game I love because IMO it's "the best of eurojank" : ambitious, flawed, does some stuff better than AAA but fumbles on others
Thanks for the lenghty review Mort! This game pretty much was the highlight for me in 2008. I also had issues with the original with very long loading screens (over 1-2minutes) so it took me quite a while to finish the game, but I enjoyed it through and through. The atmosphere mixed with the music and characters is what I loved about the original game. Yes, it does have jank, but that's what makes it a flawed diamond. Regarding the combat I always wanted to tell to people that it's not supposed to be played like a button masher, but more like a dance..as it's described by Eskel in the prologue when he talks about the three stances that you get to use in combat.
This is honestly a game I never thought I'd really enjoy playing for the first time in 2023. But I did. One of my most enjoyed games of all time, surprisingly.
Geralt’s amnesia to set up the first game is so well handled as it flows through the whole trilogy to culminate in understanding when you play the 3rd game what Geralt was running from and why he had lost his memory. I always loved that continuity which made it more than just a plot gimmick.
When I first played that game back when it came out the fact that the end-game sequence had long-extinct monsters felt like a clear indication that what we're seeing isn't a true vision of the future.
Cool to see so many people in the comments loved chapter 4. That's the one that stuck with me too. I think the slower place and more personal stories were just more memorable than the main plot. On a side note, it always irritated me that Shani was completely dropped from Witcher 2. She seemed like such an important character in the first game and then she's never heard from again until a late game DLC in Witcher 3.
9 times out of 10, if you click in combat and Geralt just kinda flails and stutters, it usually means you're either using the wrong sword, or the wrong sword style. It's confusing, because many enemies allow you to use multiple styles just fine, though some are much more effective. But, for example, using the "strong" style against a "fast style" enemy, means you're going to be whiffing a LOT. And you might not always know by looking at an enemy which style is most effective. Many humanoid opponents are a little ambiguous in their design when it comes to communicating to the player what combat style to use.
Correct, and I explained a lot of that in the combat section. In those instances you'll still see Geralt start to attack though as well as small text about a parry or dodge from the enemy. What I was referring to in regards to attacking sometimes doing nothing as a bug is when you click on an enemy and Geralt doesnt move at all and makes no indication that any input was received.
I remember (on normal difficulty) maxing out Speed style just broke the game. I essentially never switched styles and killed everything without much of an issue.
Strong style vs. fast (i.e. smaller) opponents = you won't hit much or at all (dodge, dodge, parry etc.). Fast style vs. strong (i.e. bigger) opponents = you'll hit a lot, but won't do much damage. For me it's obvious: fight bigger opponents (e.g. muscle guy with big axe) with the strong style, fight smaller opponents (e.g. slim guy with daggers) with the fast style. I don't understand your confusion.
I never understood why so many people would recommend skipping this game and going straight to 2 for new players to the franchise. This first game is a janky masterpiece. Starts off incredibly slow, but the story has onion-like layers the deeper you go and unravel the mystery of the missing mutagens and their intended use. Took me many attempts to get into this one, for it to grab me, but when the credits finally rolled, i sat back in my chair and knew I just had finished playing something truly special. This game is a fantastic example of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. I've seen this game given away for free or be on sale for under $2 many times. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try. It really takes off once you reach Vizima in Chapter 2. Group attack is seriously OP. Prioritize talents that work all the time. Use boxing to make money. Mark all the books read to fill out your character's glossary. If you have knowledge of a monster you gain bonus damage. Thaler is a baller.
I picked up The Witcher only because I was waiting on Dragon Age Origins to release, and I wanted my fantasy CRPG fix. It was the best “filler” game purchase I have ever made and far superior to the game I was waiting for (in my opinion, of course).
There are some fun things if you play from 1 to 3. Some characters only show up in 2 (the flaming rose guy) at the end, and he recognizes you. And during blood and wine dlc. If you git the sword in the 1st game, sold it in the 2nd, the lady of the lake will point it out.
After playing Witcher 3 last year, it made me buy 1 and 2, and despite the aged graphics and combat of the first game, everything else such as the world building, atmosphere and soundtrack more than made up for it. I absolutely loved Witcher 1, and even getting the books after playing the whole trilogy.
I never would have played this game if I hadn't played Mass Effect Andromeda first. It might seem unrelated, but let me explain. I beat The Witcher 3 five years ago and wanted to try some older games, so I downloaded The Witcher. But after getting confused by the combat, I immediately deleted the game and didn't even give it ten minutes of my time. Later on, I was looking for an RPG to play and saw a cool-looking sci-fi RPG in EA Play - Mass Effect Andromeda. I figured, why not give it a try, and I actually ended up enjoying it. I mentioned my thoughts about the game on a forum and some people started yelling at me to play the Mass Effect trilogy. So I thought, why not give it a shot, even though I was hesitant because of my experience with the first Witcher game. I played the first Mass Effect game and absolutely loved it. It really opened the door for me and made me want to try more older games. I played the Dragon Age series and eventually gave The Witcher another chance. It ended up being my second favorite game in the series, with The Witcher 3 at the top, followed by The Witcher and then The Witcher 2. This game has a really strange vibe that sucks you in. I've been wanting to play the Baldur's Gate series for a while, but haven't had the chance because of my job. But I'll get to it eventually.
I never got into the Witcher when I played it. The furthest I got was after the sewers in Vizima to earn your freedom. But one narrative detail just kept bugging me. Geralt has amnesia, he can remember the very basics of fighting. So even though he was a renowned Witcher, he is currently at the level of a new Witcher in terms of skill and is being sent off alone to help investigate Salamandra. Why is he alone. If he was at his White Wolf status as a Witcher with all his knowledge and skill, I would have no issue with that. But he isn't. Why is he alone? Why couldn't they make another Witcher redshirt to venture with him through Vizima and kill off the redshirt once you reclaim your Silver Sword?
This game has a very special place in my heart, it was my first "adult" game that I've fully completed. I was 11 at the time and have heard of it because it was a big deal in Poland compared to the west. I probably missed a lot of stuff and didn't understand many mechanics but I remember the incredible atmosphere to this day. I was dreaming of getting a remake of this game for years and I was really excited when they've announced they're working on a remake. The game is very special to me but I'm afraid of replaying it nowadays because my memories of this game might clash with how it actually plays nowadays. So I'm waiting on the remake so I can experience it like I did in 2008
9:10 Tbf, Witchers being immune to most diseases was a part of the books as well. It doesn't pop up a whole lot but its offhandedly mentioned here and there
Mixed memories of this one. I never finished it after becoming exacerbated at the convoluted quest structure after you reach Vizima. I just remember running around in endless circles trying to figure out what I should do next and what I'm supposed to be doing next. The detective part which makes absolutely no sense as to how Geralt figures things out. I'll always have a soft spot for the dialogue though in this game. It's HILARIOUS.
3 tips learn the alchemy system and benefits from combining the correct types of ingredients exit the cave before the hellhound fight at 11pm (your prep will be pointless if you leave it after 12) save a barghest skull to get G'valchir
I remember that even many reviewers in Poland at the time did not understand that plot twist with Alvin. Several times I came across statements in old reviews that his plot "seems important but was not properly ended".
There is now a community layout for the steam deck called “the Witcher enhanced edition” under the community layouts tab in the controller options. It works great
I saw a small ass little piece about the Witcher in a video game magazine talking about a popular book being made into the game. A couple years later the game released and I couldn't get it to run on windows Vista, lol Another year passes. My dad upgraded his PC and I finally got to play the game. Started years of obsession with this universe. Great book and amazing games
This is such an amazing and in depth review. I played this when I was very young and I remember that it completely blew my mind. The serious tone and the mature story really grabbed me and made me want to binge the game to just find out what happened next. It's really good for young people nowadays and new fans that they're remaking this one. The story and characters are some of the best I've ever seen and with some more polish and care put into them, I think the remake could easily win some awards when it comes out.
The algorithm is going to disincentivize you from making these long form reviews, but I think long term these are the evergreen videos that will continue to draw in subs. I hope you consider continuing to extend your reviews moving forwards.
The algorithm doesnt play into my content much. Most of videos do very well long term which collectively is most of my day to day earnings, the videos I post everyday are usually in the ball park of 10-20% of my total views for the day.
I played W1 for the first time a few months ago - it was my first game on my Steam Deck. It worked quite flawlessly tbh, once I installed Proton. I say this in every W1 video comment I make, but I really liked the alchemy in W1 - I like that you keep using up ingredients, that ingredients can combine to give potions secondary properties, and that you can experiment (though that worked more in theory than practice imo, definitely would like to see that system refined). Also, I really wish they'd kept the drinking contests. They were fun.
@Mortym - really appreciated the detailed overview of the story, chapter-by-chapter. I think you should make reviews like this more often. In fact - it would have been helpful if you did something like: Choice Path A -- flows like this, then merges with the main plot at C. Choice Path B -- flows like this, then merges with the main plot at C. etc. Given that you've played Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous extensively - you should be doing a review like that, of the plot / endings etc. from the perspective of each Mythic Path / suitable alignment. Anyway - thank you for your work, please adopt this format for future reviews. 30mins+, even an hour+ is truly not a problem, and as I understand it - are better monetised.
@@MortismalGaming thank you! :) Although that's like making a commitment for 2024! 🤪 Owlcats have done incredible things for cRPG genre. And between them and Larian are setting trends in this genre.
i do not get why people hate this game. I absolutely love it, I did a witcher trilogy marathon during the covid lockdown and this game was by far my most favourite out of 3, the second most was the witcher 3. It has that sort of old school RPG that you do not have from later games, which are more action oriented
The Witcher is one of the few series where I actually read the books and knew it well going in. I absolutely love the series as a whole but the first game was a huge hurdle for me and I actually didn’t get far and then gave up until the third game came out. Then I went back and replayed all of them and it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. Definitely worth a play.
I feel like one of the coolest editions to like an RPG mechanic in any video game that's completely based off the Lore of the world is the fact that taking potions isn't something that a normal random human could do It's something specifically designed for the witchers because they built up the immunity to it
Thanks for covering this! Witcher 1 is definitely a diamond in the rough type game. Really excited for the remake because it had so much ambition and a full remake is a good opportunity to fulfil that. I hope they retain it's unique atmosphere which I still think sets it apart from the other games. I also really hope they keep the alchemy system, which I really enjoyed.
I love your vids mate, watched almost all of them from the past couple years. Not sure if you've mentioned this somewhere, but do you generally follow guides/walkthroughs etc for your 100% completion runs?
It varies, newer games usually don't have guides to follow which can be tricky, and older games I look up specific things as needed for say stuff like obscure puzzles etc.
Excellent work my friend! I can tell you really put in the work and effort on this one! I just realized it’s almost been an hour, damn it flew by. I didn’t know anything about the first Witcher game as it being a PC only title at the time. Until after this video so for that thank you 🙏🏼 consider this a new sub
It's funny but whenever I think of the Witcher as a series I never even consider that there was a first which admittedly I have never played. In my mind I only think of the second and third game because I never hear the first talked about. Excited to try it someday.
I really like the role playing stuff in Witcher 1. A solid skill tree and I really like the alchemy in Witcher 1. You actually need to create potions or oils more then once where in Witcher 3 you only need to refill them what really loses the role playing aspect. IMO sill tree and RPG elements like alchemy are much better in Witcher 1 then in Witcher 3. Witcher 3 is made more for a casual play then for a role playing aspect.
Despite all its flaws, I believe TW1 has aged good enough and would recommend to anyone who want to get into The Witcher or just try out some old RPGs. I didn't know about the bonus adventures tho, sounds like a good excuse to install it once again.
When I bought and played the game when it first came out, I remember trying to play it in one of the isometric perspectives it offered because that is what I was used to in an RPG. But I couldn't get used to it. I reluctantly tried again in the "over-the-shoulder" 3rd-person perspective and it didn't take long for me to get hooked. It was definitely one of my favorites of that time. I also remember quest markers weren't really prevalent, but I was still surprised that I was able to complete them without the extra help as I played and explored.
I absolutely adore this game. I decided to play it along with the entire Witcher franchise, and my gosh I am glad I did. Honestly, in my opinion, you cannot properly play the Witcher 3 without having played the Witcher and Witcher 2. This game has weird combat, terrible voice acting and other such jank, but gosh does this game have a vibe, a mood which is just amazing.
Have you read the books? If you enjoyed games I can almost guarantee that you will like them, there are quite a few of them but all of them short and really easy to read (though this may not be true after translation). They actually give one of the best dialogues about morale and reasons behind Scoia'tael motivation, also they tell a lot about wild hunt and elves
The translation is pretty good in English. Easy to understand and easy to read. I showed to a Polish friend (after freaking him out by randomly posting I was reading Witcher) when I first read them with him saying it was a good translation.
@@MortismalGaming give them all a chance if you can, they are great! There is a Polish audio drama version but sadly not in English. But I have listened to some of the books in English with the audio book, not bad translation and the reader Peter Kenny does an amazing job.
@@MortismalGaming They are all amazing you got to find some time to finish them off! I really like how there was never any end of world scenario in them or any of your characters are inhumanly powerful. All are just down to earth stories really.
Amazing video... about the steamdeck experience: I've played on steamdeck and I loved it. Some good soul has made a controller setting that was perfect, using even the easily forgettable back buttons to scan the area and other functions.. also using the right trackpad for the camera and as the mouse was perfect as well
The first one is still my favorite of the three. It was slavjank at its finest. Really big ideas with a lot heart crammed into a rickety engine that wasn't meant to do what they were going for and it made the game all the more charming because of it. Also, I freaking love the mocapped attack animations like 38:47 . Look at that bash move he does. And at 40:34 with the fake out poke. The later games didn't have these really flashy yet nuanced attack animations.
Thank you for an awesome review. This is one of my favorite games of all time, and I still remember so much of it vividly because it was truly innovative in many ways. It's hard to believe that I was already in my late 40es when the game came out, but I knew almost the moment I saw it that this was a game I just had to play. And I wasn't wrong, it is still on my favorites list on Steam - and in my mind. I could not have written a better review than this. In fact, if I had the writing skills and ability to express myself as well as you do, this review would be how I would have been exactly how I would do it.....Once again, thank you for this review! :) 👍
Still one of my favorite games. Played through it several times, finding new things every time. The game got some criticism for janky combat, but as someone who played mostly Bethesda Elder Scrolls games and Bioware games, the combat seemed rather good to me. I really like the dialogue in this game. It's more Elmore Leonard than Tolkien, which gives the universe that pulp fantasy vibe - something that is missing from modern fantasy, particularly in video games. Edit: Some of your video footage is really glitchy looking. I don't have any of those issues on my install of the game. It looks a lot more janky in the video than it can be.
@@mitko1955 I know, my problem is I don't know Polish, so all I have to go on is the English translation of the game and the novels. Compared to the novels - which are good - the game has better dialogue, closer to a master of dialogue such as Elmore Leonard; however, for all I know the Polish novels were equally good or better dialogue-wise, they just lost something in translation whereas the game did not.
@@garrick3727 The game was written and developed by a polish studio. I get what you are trying to say: the game's English localization is better than English-translated books. Honestly, I don't think there is a way to translate the books properly. The whole narrative and atmosphere is intertwined with the Polish language syntax, slavic mythos AND subtle modern post-soviet meta jokes
Reminder to the PC enthusiasts - thanks to first Witcher the term "Glorious PC Gaming Master Race" came to be when one reviewer was sarcastically complaining about Witcher 1 being PC only and with no support for the controller. :D
While you may be apprehensive to creating video's like this, I wanted to take the time to let you know I very much appreciate them. I tend to avoid the 'list-vids', though I do check every single actual review, this one has been a very welcome (and clearly high-intensity) effort. By all means do more of them.
Strzyga is less of a werewolf more of a buff undead. Princess Ada was literally dead before curse changed her. (Which makes her unenchantment from books kinda weird - as she's alive afterwards - but hey it was writers first short tale so its still pretty cool still)
Great Video. very Nostalgia driven . I remember i bought my first Gaming Laptop in 2008 and The Witcher was the game i got with it. it was awesome for me, mind blowing, considering the last game i had played was I.G.I
Incredible video, finally someone does justice fairly to this wonderful if flawed game. You’ve earned a sub and like for sure, this is a breath of fresh air after the depressing news and general sadness surrounding Witcher Netflix. Well made discussions and not a minute of video wasted on your points. This will always be my favourite Witcher game even though I like them all, and I think it is because of the charm and ambition that was humbly shown here. This game came out during a special year in gaming. Part of me is concerned the remake will wash away the charm of this game, but if anything I hope the story is maintained. Thank you for your hard work!
I've been waiting for a Witcher 3 review since subbing, especially with your title card being from it. This almost hour long review for the first has me even more hyped. Great videos as always.
Oh man, I remember stumbling onto this game shortly after bouncing off of Skyrim and just falling in love with it. Never read the books and only barely aware of its existence thanks to some coverage via Game Informer magazine at the time, this game was just a treat to play. I think its there that I realized I much preferred a nuanced story based game rather than a simulation that Skyrim offered, while you can do a lot of things in Skyrim, most of them just felt shallow and pointless padding that didn't particularly serve to any end to an equally boring plot. Rather ironic because I really enjoyed the hell out of Oblivion prior. Anyway, I really enjoyed my time with this and even grew to like the combat once you got the hang of it. Particular highlight was the amount of thought went into prep work prior to entering combat and the use of potions and poisons. The world and characters were another treat and that first mission where the good choice can lead to letting the settlement be entirely destroyed by the Bhargest just sealed the deal. Its also here I came to the conclusion that some games need to be played with their prime before the magic wears off, personally I would be doing myself a disservice revisiting this game today as its very archaic by today's standards. Although I never did have an issue running back and forth in an RPG like environment as much as most people do today, that is as long as its a worthwhile endeavor. The story was also quite intriguing, between recovering Geralts memories and the connection between Alvin and the founder of the Order of the Flame. There was a cool scifi twist and a foreshadowing of things to come that really invested me in the series. Ironically, it took a little longer to get used to the changes TW2 made. Wasn't a big fan of how they changed up the way certain mini games functions but still a great game none the less. The large cinematic battle sequence at the very end between Geralt and the rogue witcher was a pure treat to behold.
I just played through this game for the first time after getting it for a huge bargin at a steam sale. It blew me away (although some parts of it didn't age super well). I also have 2 and 3 but haven't started playing them yet.
I don't remember, but did they ever alter Geralt's default response to saying "how?". He always said it in the same intonation, and it was funny. I first finished the game before the enhanced edition patch.
I love The Witcher 2 and 3. They are probably on my top 10 list of all time and I've also bought the books even if I haven't had the time to read them yet. I've tried this game several times but never completed it.. I've don't like the combat to put it lightly. I had the same experience as you but in The Witcher 2 with the dark themes, flawed characters and a brutal world that feels realistic, and it made me fall in love with The Witcher and it's world! I thinking of play thru all 3 games just to experience it again :)
My old man memory's a little fuzzy but when this game was originally released I seem to recall it being something of a technical mess. Of particular note was that the game originally created a brand new saved game file every time you entered or exited a building while at the same time the engine struggled if you had a significant number of saves! CDPR put the work in and I can vaguely remember the 1.5G patch they released (which may have updated the original game up to the 'Enhanched' edition ?) just for the sheer size of it back then! As for the game itself, the impact your choices had on the story still stand out today and I loved the 'painted' style cutscenes used to depict these moments. The 'sex cards' were lame then and look even lamer now but I hope there's at least some kind of nod to them in the remake. A 'Suggestive Geralt' card every time he gets his end away, maybe ? Fun video, thanks for the walk down memory lane!
I've been a big fan of The Witcher games since Assassin of Kings. I never played the first one because I wasn't a PC gamer. (Although I do own it physically simply because I wanted it for my collection.) And watching you explain the story here, it surprises me that "Alvin" and his abilities as a Child of Elder Blood is the crux of the game since in The Witcher 3, Siri became the focus of literally the entire world because she was supposed to be (from my understanding) the only foretold Child of Elder Blood and there had not been one of that bloodline known for ages. And it was SHE that's meant to either save the world or doom it to the White Frost. The Wild Hunt wanted her and the emperor wanted her and the remaining witchers wanted to protect her and it was a WHOLE THING. And unless I'm misremembering, "Alvin" wasn't so much as mentioned in the third title. Not even by Geralt who you'd think would have been recanting a bit of this to Siri given their situation (and the fact that he'd KILLED him); rooting through the memories of the first game in order to see if there were any unexploited angles to play against the Hunt. So was The Witcher 3 a soft reboot of the first game, did I just miss something or did CDPR simply neglect to weave that in?
There is one small side quest that references Alvin in The Wticher 3, but it is very small. They kind of just dropped it mostly so as not to have to explain it I imagine
Curious what your setup is as I have never been able to get this game to work properly, on multiple different systems, past chapter 1 (Like Crashes to Desktop every 20-30 minutes). Have played up to what I've been told is most of Chapter 3 but the crashes just increased in frequency in Chapter 3 to every 10 minutes or less and I've tried pretty much every fix I could find. Thing is I often see a review or retrospective that mentions no Technical problems at all, so I've been wondering what the ideal setup for this game is in general and on modern systems.
Old games in general are very touchy, it's hard to give specific answers given the range of hardware to account for, I didn't mention it much because most of what I saw was minor.
Great review. Just finished the game yesterday on the steam deck and thought it was a great experience thanks to the touchpad and customizing. I personally loved it once I got a bit of practice. Great game, im excited to play through Witcher 2 but agree, the world of Witcher 1 was great and thought it was a fantastic experience after reading the novels.
The coolest thing about second chapter is that you can actually reach wrong conclusion during the investigation, which is thing not many rpgs let you do.
god, first time through doing act 2 blind and you would be lucky to get it right the first time.
so easy to get lost with collecting all the evidence and items you need.
@@spaceidiot200 it's easy to reach wrong conclusions via the autopsy and standard investigation, but I imagine most people that like to explore will find real Raymond's body in the crypts at the cemetery, and that overrides all the wrong conclusions, since Geralt realizes that he's been misled at the spot
@@adammusia9527 Unless you're not able to go to the cemetery (it happened to me in my last playthrough). But I got the right conclusion thanks to the knowledge of Zerrikanian fly.
Not anymore anyway. Allowing the Player to be wrong used to be common.
Also the serial killer that attacks Priscilla in Witcher 3... You can stumble upon a sadist who you can confuse with the real killer and he will simply never be caught if you do that
I gotta add something about 4th act of The Witcher. Yes it's a some sort of relief from act 2 and 3, but the most important part of this act is its simplicity and just copy of polish folklore stories especialy about Alina and Celina which is a copy of polish drama - Balladyna. I think this chapter is specialy aimed to Polish fans of Witcher and there is a lot of them. If you know even very minor thing about slavic folk stories, you will love this chapter ;)
Witcher 1...perfect atmosphere; good quests; fantastic music; good writing; terrible combat.
Three games later and combat is still not great...
and before someone ask - no, I'm not a fan of Souls
Witcher 3 still has bad combat, Reminds me of Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Combat animations are great and really give you a sense of flashy dance-like combat style of witchers, but in reality it's just 'click click click' and occasionally dodge
Still sounds better then skyrim 😅
@@ciphergamingsouthafrica8502 lol because Ubisoft are lazy and copy. Witcher 3 is okay with combat. I think it was a big mistake to move away from unique style combat. They could have refined instead of lean into popular gaming trends. Still respect all the Witcher games though in different ways. Also funny enough Witcher 1 is my favourite combat/gameplay lol.
"I was the chosen one, and the chosen one failed." Man, Alvin's story really hit me hard, poor kid... ngl, kinda choked up when I found his letter at the bookshop in Witcher 3. Him, along with The Master are probably my favorite (and most tragic) game antagonists of all time.
I really enjoyed Chapter 4. The Noonwraiths, Dagon, Berengar - it all felt like a Witcher doing is regular job. It might have been better set more towards the beginning than the end but it was one of my favourite parts. I'll never forget how I stumbled upon this game by chance and fell in love straight away as I had a decent rig that didn't suffer from the load times. Must've played it 4 or 5 times, W2 2 or 3, yet W3 criminally only once - have to rectify that. Amazing trilogy well up there with Mass Effect but better in that it sticks the landing at the end of the third game. Thanks for taking another look at this - janky gameplay and graphics 15 years later but everything else is still superior to a lot of what is released today.
I played through the Witcher3 also only once. The "problem" with the witcher3 is that it is just too long. It took me 200 hours to finish it the first time, 150 for the base game and the main story and 50 more for the two DLC's. By far the longest game I ever played, Red Dead Redemption 2 is in second place and it took me three times less than Witcher3. It tried it 3 times to finish the Witcher3 once again and failed, life just gets in the way.
Chapter 4 was brilliant, an iddylic breather from conspiracies, racism, politics, and general awfulness of Vizima. Then reality comes knocking, and destroys the place, throwing you back in. You can totally understand when Geralt says "I'm a witcher, not a hired kill... fine, 10000 Orens." He was so f*cking done.
Played this game for the first time 9 years ago and just finished my 2nd play through a few days ago. It was one of my favorite games the first time, and grew on me even more the second time around. My only wish is they can figure out a way shorten the ~25 hours of pure backtracking to complete every side quest in the remake.
@@Paradox-es3bl Yeah, luckily it will be remade from the ground up so I think all of those problems will be resolved
There'll probably be fast travel and the zones that are close together probably will be in the same map, like in TW3. I think it'd make a lot of sense to just leave Kaer Morhen in a different map and then all the rest -- outskirts, Vizima, swamp and Murky Waters -- in the same one, since they're at most separated by a few hours of boat travel. The map would be really big and they'd need to fill it with interesting stuff, but the immersion would be absolute...
One of my favorite games, I remember for that time it had one of the best translations into Russian. This was especially memorable, because at that time a really good translation was only in Gothic. And due to the fact that the books themselves were already quite popular throughout Eastern Europe, the sales of the first Witcher in Russia were incredibly large for that time.
Such a legendary game... The first time around I played it a long time ago, I was a little bit frustrated by the combat and just had to uninstall it, but when I gave it a second chance and when I finally understood how actually simple the combat really is, it slowly became one of my favourite games ever, not to mention the franchise.. the story, the atmosphere, the music, unforgettable. Thanks for another review, and all the best wishes in the New Year!
Chapter IV is my favorite chapter of the game. Love the setting and atmosphere. Played through the game maybe six times since its release. In many aspects, it's my favorite Witcher game. Played the version dubbed in Czech, which was great except for Geralt's voice actor, he went all in on emotionlessness. Also, read books in Czech (after the first game), it's a very faithful translation.
This game really felt like the spirit of the books come to life. Love all the games but this one is special, glad you could read the books in Czech! Cheers from Poland, szczęśliwego nowego roku!
50-plus minutes video duration. A real tour de force. Thank you for your effort, Mortym! This kind of content is the reason why this channel is so awesome. 💯💪
There has been no better gaming experience for me than reading all 8 WItcher novels, then starting a playthrough of Witcher 1->2->3 all the way through Blood and Wine. Bonus points for doing it in Polish with English subtitles. You really feel that Geralt's camera-wink at the end of Blood and Wine is absolutely earned.
10:48 excellent animation and mindblowing hair physics during this scene
i’m dead 😂
As someone going through this game for the first time, I'm not at all surprised this game became such a sleeper hit back in 2007. It's because it's both a genuinely great game, and because it stood out when compared to other fantasy RPGs of the time:
The world is as realistic as a fantasy world could get, with basic villages and cities rather than outlandish landscapes.
The plot is a far cry from "save the world" plots, being basically a man tracking down both a sect of bandits and a bunch of stolen mutagens with him getting into other side stories along the way.
Also, Alchemy was practically the big game mechanic alongside the morally grey choices you had to make, so you kept on making potions both to enhance yourself and to aid the plot.
The Witcher became such a surprise because of these differences and more, and I think it still holds up pretty well, warts and all. Yes, even the combat. It's bizarre, but you get used to it. I think I'll go through it alongside another RPG I've been going through on-and-off again, Final Fantasy VII (both incarnations). It's such an intriguing, addictive little gem.
The Witcher 1: Vibrating Hair Edition :D
It's my favorite part of the trilogy. Best atmosphere, best music, best inventory (hated, when Geralt in W2 could wear dozens of swords and armors), a lot of cultural references. You could learn a lot about plants and monsters from old ladies in chapter 1 for free (well, not for free, but for a sandwich). Combat, although sometimes clunky, was still better than in W2 and I liked that rhytm-based combat, because it reminded me of another great rpg with rhytm-based combat, Summoner. Regarding bugs, I play W1 with my wife now (end of chapter 3 at the moment) and had only few minor bugs (mostly inability to pick up loot), so IMO it's not buggy at all.
God I remember playing this when it first came out literally nobody was talking about it. So crazy how big this franchise has gotten over the years.
Ah Witcher 1. I have very fond memories of this game. At first I thought I wasn't gonna like it but I found the mechanics regarding having to research the monsters you hunt incredibly immersive. And the story was just fantastic! Made me a fan of the whole franchise.
- I don't remember the cave of abigail being so drafty ^^
- the combat is stat-based but also rhythm-based : you're gonna suck if you don't click at the right time
- chapter 4 is like the jabba part in Return of the jedi : only loosely connected to the main plot, but so fun ! it's my favorite part, it also ends on the start of the villainous path of Alvin/Jacques : what would have happened if the kid hadn't seen first hand the violence of the scoiatel ?
- on the collectable cards they're definitely not romantic encounters but sexual encounters (but I suppose youtube doesn't like this word so you have to beat around the bush) - to be honest at the time I thought the fact that they're so stupidly unrealistic was sort of charming/tongue-in-cheek, like the one where a peasant think you're a ghost because there is light in an abandoned building ^^ but it does clash with the more realistic take on fantasy, yeah
- I think CDPR dropped the ball compared to Bioware for the continuity between games, it's even worse if you chose the elves in witcher 2 : most characters will drop from the face of the earth in 3, and still-alive-Letho is bugged :(
I'm really glad you made such a long video (for this channel) on this game I love because IMO it's "the best of eurojank" : ambitious, flawed, does some stuff better than AAA but fumbles on others
Thanks for the lenghty review Mort! This game pretty much was the highlight for me in 2008. I also had issues with the original with very long loading screens (over 1-2minutes) so it took me quite a while to finish the game, but I enjoyed it through and through.
The atmosphere mixed with the music and characters is what I loved about the original game. Yes, it does have jank, but that's what makes it a flawed diamond. Regarding the combat I always wanted to tell to people that it's not supposed to be played like a button masher, but more like a dance..as it's described by Eskel in the prologue when he talks about the three stances that you get to use in combat.
This is honestly a game I never thought I'd really enjoy playing for the first time in 2023. But I did. One of my most enjoyed games of all time, surprisingly.
Geralt’s amnesia to set up the first game is so well handled as it flows through the whole trilogy to culminate in understanding when you play the 3rd game what Geralt was running from and why he had lost his memory. I always loved that continuity which made it more than just a plot gimmick.
When I first played that game back when it came out the fact that the end-game sequence had long-extinct monsters felt like a clear indication that what we're seeing isn't a true vision of the future.
Cool to see so many people in the comments loved chapter 4. That's the one that stuck with me too. I think the slower place and more personal stories were just more memorable than the main plot.
On a side note, it always irritated me that Shani was completely dropped from Witcher 2. She seemed like such an important character in the first game and then she's never heard from again until a late game DLC in Witcher 3.
9 times out of 10, if you click in combat and Geralt just kinda flails and stutters, it usually means you're either using the wrong sword, or the wrong sword style. It's confusing, because many enemies allow you to use multiple styles just fine, though some are much more effective. But, for example, using the "strong" style against a "fast style" enemy, means you're going to be whiffing a LOT. And you might not always know by looking at an enemy which style is most effective. Many humanoid opponents are a little ambiguous in their design when it comes to communicating to the player what combat style to use.
Correct, and I explained a lot of that in the combat section. In those instances you'll still see Geralt start to attack though as well as small text about a parry or dodge from the enemy. What I was referring to in regards to attacking sometimes doing nothing as a bug is when you click on an enemy and Geralt doesnt move at all and makes no indication that any input was received.
@@MortismalGaming I remember the number one enemy I saw that happen with was with Echinops and their ilk. Not sure if you had the same experience?
I remember (on normal difficulty) maxing out Speed style just broke the game. I essentially never switched styles and killed everything without much of an issue.
Strong style vs. fast (i.e. smaller) opponents = you won't hit much or at all (dodge, dodge, parry etc.). Fast style vs. strong (i.e. bigger) opponents = you'll hit a lot, but won't do much damage. For me it's obvious: fight bigger opponents (e.g. muscle guy with big axe) with the strong style, fight smaller opponents (e.g. slim guy with daggers) with the fast style. I don't understand your confusion.
This story is pretty amazing
I never understood why so many people would recommend skipping this game and going straight to 2 for new players to the franchise. This first game is a janky masterpiece. Starts off incredibly slow, but the story has onion-like layers the deeper you go and unravel the mystery of the missing mutagens and their intended use. Took me many attempts to get into this one, for it to grab me, but when the credits finally rolled, i sat back in my chair and knew I just had finished playing something truly special. This game is a fantastic example of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. I've seen this game given away for free or be on sale for under $2 many times. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try. It really takes off once you reach Vizima in Chapter 2. Group attack is seriously OP. Prioritize talents that work all the time. Use boxing to make money. Mark all the books read to fill out your character's glossary. If you have knowledge of a monster you gain bonus damage.
Thaler is a baller.
Happy 2023 Mortismal and everyone!!
I picked up The Witcher only because I was waiting on Dragon Age Origins to release, and I wanted my fantasy CRPG fix. It was the best “filler” game purchase I have ever made and far superior to the game I was waiting for (in my opinion, of course).
There are some fun things if you play from 1 to 3. Some characters only show up in 2 (the flaming rose guy) at the end, and he recognizes you. And during blood and wine dlc. If you git the sword in the 1st game, sold it in the 2nd, the lady of the lake will point it out.
After playing Witcher 3 last year, it made me buy 1 and 2, and despite the aged graphics and combat of the first game, everything else such as the world building, atmosphere and soundtrack more than made up for it. I absolutely loved Witcher 1, and even getting the books after playing the whole trilogy.
Oh hell yeah "hour long reviews of the Witcher" is my love language
Love the note Alvin leaves you in a book in the Witcher 3
I never would have played this game if I hadn't played Mass Effect Andromeda first. It might seem unrelated, but let me explain.
I beat The Witcher 3 five years ago and wanted to try some older games, so I downloaded The Witcher. But after getting confused by the combat, I immediately deleted the game and didn't even give it ten minutes of my time. Later on, I was looking for an RPG to play and saw a cool-looking sci-fi RPG in EA Play - Mass Effect Andromeda. I figured, why not give it a try, and I actually ended up enjoying it. I mentioned my thoughts about the game on a forum and some people started yelling at me to play the Mass Effect trilogy. So I thought, why not give it a shot, even though I was hesitant because of my experience with the first Witcher game. I played the first Mass Effect game and absolutely loved it. It really opened the door for me and made me want to try more older games. I played the Dragon Age series and eventually gave The Witcher another chance. It ended up being my second favorite game in the series, with The Witcher 3 at the top, followed by The Witcher and then The Witcher 2. This game has a really strange vibe that sucks you in. I've been wanting to play the Baldur's Gate series for a while, but haven't had the chance because of my job. But I'll get to it eventually.
Haven't expected an hour long video that's to be sure.
A great surprise!
There was a lot of the story I wanted to talk about compared to my initial understanding of it 15 years ago lol
I never got into the Witcher when I played it. The furthest I got was after the sewers in Vizima to earn your freedom. But one narrative detail just kept bugging me.
Geralt has amnesia, he can remember the very basics of fighting. So even though he was a renowned Witcher, he is currently at the level of a new Witcher in terms of skill and is being sent off alone to help investigate Salamandra. Why is he alone. If he was at his White Wolf status as a Witcher with all his knowledge and skill, I would have no issue with that. But he isn't. Why is he alone? Why couldn't they make another Witcher redshirt to venture with him through Vizima and kill off the redshirt once you reclaim your Silver Sword?
This game has a very special place in my heart, it was my first "adult" game that I've fully completed. I was 11 at the time and have heard of it because it was a big deal in Poland compared to the west. I probably missed a lot of stuff and didn't understand many mechanics but I remember the incredible atmosphere to this day. I was dreaming of getting a remake of this game for years and I was really excited when they've announced they're working on a remake. The game is very special to me but I'm afraid of replaying it nowadays because my memories of this game might clash with how it actually plays nowadays. So I'm waiting on the remake so I can experience it like I did in 2008
My fave in the trilogy
There are 2 to 3 really shocking twists to the story in this that I missed from the narrative from Witcher 3. Other than that Witcher 3 is stellar 😁
9:10 Tbf, Witchers being immune to most diseases was a part of the books as well. It doesn't pop up a whole lot but its offhandedly mentioned here and there
Mixed memories of this one. I never finished it after becoming exacerbated at the convoluted quest structure after you reach Vizima. I just remember running around in endless circles trying to figure out what I should do next and what I'm supposed to be doing next. The detective part which makes absolutely no sense as to how Geralt figures things out. I'll always have a soft spot for the dialogue though in this game. It's HILARIOUS.
Finished this for the first time just the other week. Found it boring early on but then it gradually gets better the more skills you unlock.
3 tips
learn the alchemy system and benefits from combining the correct types of ingredients
exit the cave before the hellhound fight at 11pm (your prep will be pointless if you leave it after 12)
save a barghest skull to get G'valchir
I remember that even many reviewers in Poland at the time did not understand that plot twist with Alvin. Several times I came across statements in old reviews that his plot "seems important but was not properly ended".
There is now a community layout for the steam deck called “the Witcher enhanced edition” under the community layouts tab in the controller options. It works great
It's not only eurojank, it's that glorious subset of it called "Slavjank"! Ask CV11 about it 😊
Made it to the end. Thanks for the review. Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.
I saw a small ass little piece about the Witcher in a video game magazine talking about a popular book being made into the game.
A couple years later the game released and I couldn't get it to run on windows Vista, lol
Another year passes. My dad upgraded his PC and I finally got to play the game. Started years of obsession with this universe. Great book and amazing games
This is such an amazing and in depth review.
I played this when I was very young and I remember that it completely blew my mind.
The serious tone and the mature story really grabbed me and made me want to binge the game to just find out what happened next.
It's really good for young people nowadays and new fans that they're remaking this one.
The story and characters are some of the best I've ever seen and with some more polish and care put into them, I think the remake could easily win some awards when it comes out.
The algorithm is going to disincentivize you from making these long form reviews, but I think long term these are the evergreen videos that will continue to draw in subs. I hope you consider continuing to extend your reviews moving forwards.
The algorithm doesnt play into my content much. Most of videos do very well long term which collectively is most of my day to day earnings, the videos I post everyday are usually in the ball park of 10-20% of my total views for the day.
I played W1 for the first time a few months ago - it was my first game on my Steam Deck. It worked quite flawlessly tbh, once I installed Proton.
I say this in every W1 video comment I make, but I really liked the alchemy in W1 - I like that you keep using up ingredients, that ingredients can combine to give potions secondary properties, and that you can experiment (though that worked more in theory than practice imo, definitely would like to see that system refined).
Also, I really wish they'd kept the drinking contests. They were fun.
@Mortym - really appreciated the detailed overview of the story, chapter-by-chapter. I think you should make reviews like this more often. In fact - it would have been helpful if you did something like: Choice Path A -- flows like this, then merges with the main plot at C. Choice Path B -- flows like this, then merges with the main plot at C. etc.
Given that you've played Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous extensively - you should be doing a review like that, of the plot / endings etc. from the perspective of each Mythic Path / suitable alignment.
Anyway - thank you for your work, please adopt this format for future reviews. 30mins+, even an hour+ is truly not a problem, and as I understand it - are better monetised.
I'll be doing a story series for WotR when they stop updating it.
@@MortismalGaming thank you! :) Although that's like making a commitment for 2024! 🤪 Owlcats have done incredible things for cRPG genre. And between them and Larian are setting trends in this genre.
Here is some jazz!
I really like these longer videos and im always down for a retrospective from you!
i do not get why people hate this game. I absolutely love it, I did a witcher trilogy marathon during the covid lockdown and this game was by far my most favourite out of 3, the second most was the witcher 3. It has that sort of old school RPG that you do not have from later games, which are more action oriented
The Witcher is one of the few series where I actually read the books and knew it well going in. I absolutely love the series as a whole but the first game was a huge hurdle for me and I actually didn’t get far and then gave up until the third game came out. Then I went back and replayed all of them and it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. Definitely worth a play.
The best of W1 and W2 are the choices. Following the neutral path in W1 felt rewarding imo.
50 minute Mortismal review? Now this is a New Years treat
I feel like one of the coolest editions to like an RPG mechanic in any video game that's completely based off the Lore of the world is the fact that taking potions isn't something that a normal random human could do It's something specifically designed for the witchers because they built up the immunity to it
Thanks for covering this! Witcher 1 is definitely a diamond in the rough type game. Really excited for the remake because it had so much ambition and a full remake is a good opportunity to fulfil that. I hope they retain it's unique atmosphere which I still think sets it apart from the other games. I also really hope they keep the alchemy system, which I really enjoyed.
I love your vids mate, watched almost all of them from the past couple years. Not sure if you've mentioned this somewhere, but do you generally follow guides/walkthroughs etc for your 100% completion runs?
It varies, newer games usually don't have guides to follow which can be tricky, and older games I look up specific things as needed for say stuff like obscure puzzles etc.
Excellent work my friend! I can tell you really put in the work and effort on this one! I just realized it’s almost been an hour, damn it flew by. I didn’t know anything about the first Witcher game as it being a PC only title at the time. Until after this video so for that thank you 🙏🏼 consider this a new sub
It's funny but whenever I think of the Witcher as a series I never even consider that there was a first which admittedly I have never played. In my mind I only think of the second and third game because I never hear the first talked about. Excited to try it someday.
I really like the role playing stuff in Witcher 1. A solid skill tree and I really like the alchemy in Witcher 1. You actually need to create potions or oils more then once where in Witcher 3 you only need to refill them what really loses the role playing aspect. IMO sill tree and RPG elements like alchemy are much better in Witcher 1 then in Witcher 3. Witcher 3 is made more for a casual play then for a role playing aspect.
Despite all its flaws, I believe TW1 has aged good enough and would recommend to anyone who want to get into The Witcher or just try out some old RPGs. I didn't know about the bonus adventures tho, sounds like a good excuse to install it once again.
I really enjoy when you make longer content like this… should make the next one 2 hours long 👌
When I bought and played the game when it first came out, I remember trying to play it in one of the isometric perspectives it offered because that is what I was used to in an RPG. But I couldn't get used to it. I reluctantly tried again in the "over-the-shoulder" 3rd-person perspective and it didn't take long for me to get hooked. It was definitely one of my favorites of that time. I also remember quest markers weren't really prevalent, but I was still surprised that I was able to complete them without the extra help as I played and explored.
I absolutely adore this game. I decided to play it along with the entire Witcher franchise, and my gosh I am glad I did. Honestly, in my opinion, you cannot properly play the Witcher 3 without having played the Witcher and Witcher 2. This game has weird combat, terrible voice acting and other such jank, but gosh does this game have a vibe, a mood which is just amazing.
Have you read the books? If you enjoyed games I can almost guarantee that you will like them, there are quite a few of them but all of them short and really easy to read (though this may not be true after translation). They actually give one of the best dialogues about morale and reasons behind Scoia'tael motivation, also they tell a lot about wild hunt and elves
The translation is pretty good in English. Easy to understand and easy to read. I showed to a Polish friend (after freaking him out by randomly posting I was reading Witcher) when I first read them with him saying it was a good translation.
@@neil4692 that's good to know
I've only read a couple of them myself, not all I believe 8 of them
@@MortismalGaming give them all a chance if you can, they are great! There is a Polish audio drama version but sadly not in English. But I have listened to some of the books in English with the audio book, not bad translation and the reader Peter Kenny does an amazing job.
@@MortismalGaming They are all amazing you got to find some time to finish them off! I really like how there was never any end of world scenario in them or any of your characters are inhumanly powerful. All are just down to earth stories really.
Amazing video... about the steamdeck experience: I've played on steamdeck and I loved it. Some good soul has made a controller setting that was perfect, using even the easily forgettable back buttons to scan the area and other functions.. also using the right trackpad for the camera and as the mouse was perfect as well
Any eta on the kingdom come deliverance 100%? I been anticipating your impression of it and see how you like or dislike it
I'll get started on it this weekend/early next week so it shouldnt be too much longer
The first one is still my favorite of the three. It was slavjank at its finest. Really big ideas with a lot heart crammed into a rickety engine that wasn't meant to do what they were going for and it made the game all the more charming because of it.
Also, I freaking love the mocapped attack animations like 38:47 . Look at that bash move he does. And at 40:34 with the fake out poke. The later games didn't have these really flashy yet nuanced attack animations.
I really appreciate the detailed summary of the story you did. I'm never going to play this game myself but was always curious what the story entailed
Thank you for an awesome review. This is one of my favorite games of all time, and I still remember so much of it vividly because it was truly innovative in many ways. It's hard to believe that I was already in my late 40es when the game came out, but I knew almost the moment I saw it that this was a game I just had to play. And I wasn't wrong, it is still on my favorites list on Steam - and in my mind.
I could not have written a better review than this. In fact, if I had the writing skills and ability to express myself as well as you do, this review would be how I would have been exactly how I would do it.....Once again, thank you for this review! :) 👍
The years just started and this man just casually drops a 50 minute review on the Witcher. Love your work man, don't know how you do it!
Still one of my favorite games. Played through it several times, finding new things every time. The game got some criticism for janky combat, but as someone who played mostly Bethesda Elder Scrolls games and Bioware games, the combat seemed rather good to me. I really like the dialogue in this game. It's more Elmore Leonard than Tolkien, which gives the universe that pulp fantasy vibe - something that is missing from modern fantasy, particularly in video games.
Edit: Some of your video footage is really glitchy looking. I don't have any of those issues on my install of the game. It looks a lot more janky in the video than it can be.
It's more Andrzej Sapkowski (whoever that is) than Elmore Leonard by the way
@@mitko1955 I know, my problem is I don't know Polish, so all I have to go on is the English translation of the game and the novels. Compared to the novels - which are good - the game has better dialogue, closer to a master of dialogue such as Elmore Leonard; however, for all I know the Polish novels were equally good or better dialogue-wise, they just lost something in translation whereas the game did not.
@@garrick3727 The game was written and developed by a polish studio.
I get what you are trying to say: the game's English localization is better than English-translated books.
Honestly, I don't think there is a way to translate the books properly. The whole narrative and atmosphere is intertwined with the Polish language syntax, slavic mythos AND subtle modern post-soviet meta jokes
Reminder to the PC enthusiasts - thanks to first Witcher the term "Glorious PC Gaming Master Race" came to be when one reviewer was sarcastically complaining about Witcher 1 being PC only and with no support for the controller. :D
I appreciate the hair physics in the video lol
While you may be apprehensive to creating video's like this, I wanted to take the time to let you know I very much appreciate them. I tend to avoid the 'list-vids', though I do check every single actual review, this one has been a very welcome (and clearly high-intensity) effort. By all means do more of them.
Strzyga is less of a werewolf more of a buff undead. Princess Ada was literally dead before curse changed her. (Which makes her unenchantment from books kinda weird - as she's alive afterwards - but hey it was writers first short tale so its still pretty cool still)
10:52 it seems the witch has so much power that she makes hair start vibrating.
Great Video. very Nostalgia driven . I remember i bought my first Gaming Laptop in 2008 and The Witcher was the game i got with it. it was awesome for me, mind blowing, considering the last game i had played was I.G.I
Incredible video, finally someone does justice fairly to this wonderful if flawed game. You’ve earned a sub and like for sure, this is a breath of fresh air after the depressing news and general sadness surrounding Witcher Netflix. Well made discussions and not a minute of video wasted on your points. This will always be my favourite Witcher game even though I like them all, and I think it is because of the charm and ambition that was humbly shown here. This game came out during a special year in gaming. Part of me is concerned the remake will wash away the charm of this game, but if anything I hope the story is maintained. Thank you for your hard work!
I've been waiting for a Witcher 3 review since subbing, especially with your title card being from it. This almost hour long review for the first has me even more hyped.
Great videos as always.
Oh man, I remember stumbling onto this game shortly after bouncing off of Skyrim and just falling in love with it. Never read the books and only barely aware of its existence thanks to some coverage via Game Informer magazine at the time, this game was just a treat to play. I think its there that I realized I much preferred a nuanced story based game rather than a simulation that Skyrim offered, while you can do a lot of things in Skyrim, most of them just felt shallow and pointless padding that didn't particularly serve to any end to an equally boring plot. Rather ironic because I really enjoyed the hell out of Oblivion prior. Anyway, I really enjoyed my time with this and even grew to like the combat once you got the hang of it. Particular highlight was the amount of thought went into prep work prior to entering combat and the use of potions and poisons. The world and characters were another treat and that first mission where the good choice can lead to letting the settlement be entirely destroyed by the Bhargest just sealed the deal. Its also here I came to the conclusion that some games need to be played with their prime before the magic wears off, personally I would be doing myself a disservice revisiting this game today as its very archaic by today's standards. Although I never did have an issue running back and forth in an RPG like environment as much as most people do today, that is as long as its a worthwhile endeavor. The story was also quite intriguing, between recovering Geralts memories and the connection between Alvin and the founder of the Order of the Flame. There was a cool scifi twist and a foreshadowing of things to come that really invested me in the series. Ironically, it took a little longer to get used to the changes TW2 made. Wasn't a big fan of how they changed up the way certain mini games functions but still a great game none the less. The large cinematic battle sequence at the very end between Geralt and the rogue witcher was a pure treat to behold.
Can't wait to get back home to watch this, love The Witcher universe and despite all of its jankiness I do think the first game is really great!
I just played through this game for the first time after getting it for a huge bargin at a steam sale. It blew me away (although some parts of it didn't age super well). I also have 2 and 3 but haven't started playing them yet.
I don't remember, but did they ever alter Geralt's default response to saying "how?". He always said it in the same intonation, and it was funny. I first finished the game before the enhanced edition patch.
I love The Witcher 2 and 3. They are probably on my top 10 list of all time and I've also bought the books even if I haven't had the time to read them yet. I've tried this game several times but never completed it.. I've don't like the combat to put it lightly.
I had the same experience as you but in The Witcher 2 with the dark themes, flawed characters and a brutal world that feels realistic, and it made me fall in love with The Witcher and it's world!
I thinking of play thru all 3 games just to experience it again :)
For me personally, the longer the video the better; thanks much for that it’s welcome.
wonder what will change?
Starting off the new year strong !!
My old man memory's a little fuzzy but when this game was originally released I seem to recall it being something of a technical mess.
Of particular note was that the game originally created a brand new saved game file every time you entered or exited a building while at the same time the engine struggled if you had a significant number of saves!
CDPR put the work in and I can vaguely remember the 1.5G patch they released (which may have updated the original game up to the 'Enhanched' edition ?) just for the sheer size of it back then!
As for the game itself, the impact your choices had on the story still stand out today and I loved the 'painted' style cutscenes used to depict these moments. The 'sex cards' were lame then and look even lamer now but I hope there's at least some kind of nod to them in the remake. A 'Suggestive Geralt' card every time he gets his end away, maybe ?
Fun video, thanks for the walk down memory lane!
I've been a big fan of The Witcher games since Assassin of Kings. I never played the first one because I wasn't a PC gamer. (Although I do own it physically simply because I wanted it for my collection.) And watching you explain the story here, it surprises me that "Alvin" and his abilities as a Child of Elder Blood is the crux of the game since in The Witcher 3, Siri became the focus of literally the entire world because she was supposed to be (from my understanding) the only foretold Child of Elder Blood and there had not been one of that bloodline known for ages. And it was SHE that's meant to either save the world or doom it to the White Frost. The Wild Hunt wanted her and the emperor wanted her and the remaining witchers wanted to protect her and it was a WHOLE THING. And unless I'm misremembering, "Alvin" wasn't so much as mentioned in the third title. Not even by Geralt who you'd think would have been recanting a bit of this to Siri given their situation (and the fact that he'd KILLED him); rooting through the memories of the first game in order to see if there were any unexploited angles to play against the Hunt. So was The Witcher 3 a soft reboot of the first game, did I just miss something or did CDPR simply neglect to weave that in?
There is one small side quest that references Alvin in The Wticher 3, but it is very small. They kind of just dropped it mostly so as not to have to explain it I imagine
this game is so damn underrated. sure character models are ugly and combat is strange, but the rest is top tier CRPG
Love the review, agree with most what was said. Oh, and that NVIDIA hairworks on Triss at the end - stole the show ;>
Vivaldi's beard was actually the worst with it lol
28:32 I'm sad everybody's hair doesn't have a seizure when they talk in the witcher 3. 😆
props to you for 50+ minutes and not once mentioning the romance cards. my puberty self loved them ^^ still a very nice rewiev :)
Curious what your setup is as I have never been able to get this game to work properly, on multiple different systems, past chapter 1 (Like Crashes to Desktop every 20-30 minutes). Have played up to what I've been told is most of Chapter 3 but the crashes just increased in frequency in Chapter 3 to every 10 minutes or less and I've tried pretty much every fix I could find. Thing is I often see a review or retrospective that mentions no Technical problems at all, so I've been wondering what the ideal setup for this game is in general and on modern systems.
Old games in general are very touchy, it's hard to give specific answers given the range of hardware to account for, I didn't mention it much because most of what I saw was minor.
A well deserved profound review. Let's hope the devs of the remake listen to the reviews like this and the one from Neverknowthebest.
Great review. Just finished the game yesterday on the steam deck and thought it was a great experience thanks to the touchpad and customizing. I personally loved it once I got a bit of practice. Great game, im excited to play through Witcher 2 but agree, the world of Witcher 1 was great and thought it was a fantastic experience after reading the novels.
can't believe I miss watching Geralt's Sword Lambada...