The 1936 Polish film is even more harrowing since a large number of its cast and crew perished in the Second World War. The director starved to death in the Warsaw Ghetto, while the actor playing Pan Twardowski was killed during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Ironically, the actor who portrayed the devil in that film had a wife who made a Faustian bargain by becoming a Gestapo informant, and later her decision ushered terrible consequences for her and her husband once the Polish Home Army discovered her act of treason.
I want to make it very clear that it takes a lot to stir my emotions. I practically feed on horror, whether its movies or books.... But that fight scene by the red lit fireplace in a dark room was genuinely disturbing.
Replayed HoS recently, the couple who gets married, whose wedding you and Shani go to have money problems similar to Olgierd and Iris. But the difference there is that the families accepted their kids choices despite this but Iris's didn't. Neat parallel that I didn't quite catch the first time.
About the song at the end: Children constantly sing this in places while playing after you met Gunther. Only hours later you realize this is the devil's song, basically. So subtle, but so good.
I heard it while roaming around doing ?s during my main quest run. I stopped, listened to the whole thing and found it creepy before moving on and mostly forgetting about it. Then I began Hearts of Stone and heard the melody from that song as Gaunter's theme and I was like "wellp"
nah man, if you get the best ending on your first try (or the one you consider best) you will feel completely satisfied and slightly sad, but in a good way. see the worst ending though and that will leave you broken.
I think the original commenter is pointing out that after playing such an incredible game...most games will feel hollow in comparison (im enjoying Nier automata right now tough)
yeah, i got that but to me it felt like such a complete experience that i was satisfied. i didnt want more of it because i felt that what i got was just right, and thats super rare.
Picked Witcher 3 up after watching this video (unrelated events, I just upgraded my system), was surprised to find O'Dimm sitting in the very first inn of the main game and giving your quest of finding Yen a kickstart.
Yes that's what I found immediately cool about the first expansion, a seemingly unimportant yet strange character from the beginning of the original game was written into this seamlessly.
The Witcher series is pure genius, and despite its success I feel it's still way underrated for the content and care that goes into these games. I enjoyed HoS immensely, and just last night picked up B&W and can't wait to dive in again. Great video. subbed.
Mr Weidman, This will likely never reach you, but it is my intention to express the following. You may comment on your work all too often in a self deprecating fashion, but videos like this really do push the envelop for gaming writing, and even for art critique in general, whilst inspiring a number of people to - in the one hand - appreciate and analyze their experiences even more, and in the other hand, try to pursue the creating content of the same level. Thank you so much.
Well I kinda already realized that. I mostly just thought of him as the Devil, when you consider how he gives people all their wishes a desires, at the cost of their eternal soul. But then again, it's hard to say he isn't god when his initials spell it out.
This is why I haven't given up on internet videos yet. This guy researches his shit and talks to us like we have a brain. Instead of the shitty culture of "HELLO UA-cam!!" **waving arms violently in front of a camera** This kind of person is like the CD Projekt Red of UA-cam - still making great content even if everyone else is making cookie cutter shit for easy profit.
I found HOS to be incredible. Olgeird is a complex and interesting character, the absurdity of the tasks required, the constant contemplation of odimms reasons for doing any of this or exactly who he is if he is the devil or something else. The writing of iris's story was true and the mansion was one hell of an atmosphere.
Great eye for detail and almost perfect source analysis. Only thing that you've missed (and it was outright impossible to catch without indepth knowledge of Polish literature) is a fact that while Olgierd is 50% Pan Twardowski he is also 50% Kmicic from XIX century historical novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz (mostly "Deluge"). Almost his whole character comes from there, even name of Iris that we learn from marriage contract in the house (Bilewitz) matches the name of the love interest of Kmicic. Their story matches as well. Same goes for the portrayal of Kmicic in 1974 film adaptation (google it!). As for the dress it is a bit of a broader category since it, along with quite a few cultural details from the expansion, matches the world of XVII Polish-Lithuanian nobility.
Here is something that should help your pronunciation: replace W with V, since that how 'w' is pronounced in polish. Tvardovsky, it's that simple. Also 'Pan' is not a name, it's Mister Twardowski or Sir Twardowski.
As an English person learning Polish I found it quite endearing haha. My only observation is that if he considers himself as a professional [fill in blank] he should do some research on the pronunciation.
I was just about the comment on that. He made a good effort, and I am not sure if he was referring to the legend, the title of which is Pan Twardowski, or implying that the character's first name was "Pan" like the Greek God. Polish honorifics simplified: Pan = Lord (by itself; ex. pan zamku = lord of the castle; Pan i wladca = lord and master)/Mr. (in front of last name, ex. Pan Nowak = Mr. Nowak, Pan Sapkowski = Mr. Sapkowski) Pani = Lady (by itself; ex. pani zamku = lady of the castle)/Mrs./Ms (in front of a last name ex. Pani Kowalska = Mrs. Kowalska) Panna = Maiden (by itself ex piekna panna = beautiful maiden)/Miss (in front of a last name ex. Panna Raj = Miss Raj)
This is an advantage of video games as art - it doesn't just tell you what you're supposed to think, the choice at the end compels you to consider it, appreciating its depth, and then actually answer questions presented to you.
From what I've played so far its incredibly upbeat and bombastic, it uses the much more lighthearted setting of Toussaint to make some thing really really funny but still have an intriguing plot in the style of a murder mystery. Its fantastic! It even opens with a fish out of water scenario to contrast how different the new setting is to what your used to. Also (and this is the greatest thing ever) there's a mission where you get new witcher mutations adn its called "turn and face the strange" and I was creasing. (If you don't get it just think of a song by a recently deceased british singer with those lyrics in).
As a Polish person I really appreciate the level of your in depth analysis, understanding of the references and research you've done. You mentioned the book "wesele" (wedding in English) which is also heavily tied to hearts of stone but its not that obvious as Pan Twardowski. This book isn't a simple reference to the wedding in the game, it is more related to the themes. It describes the Polish society post partitions of Poland when Poland did not exist as a sovereign nation. It describes a nation which is dormant and hopeless. It regards situation in which one of the characters fails because of his greed and carelessness, similar to Olgierd. This hero was supposed to bring back a golden horn which would be used to wake up polish people and start the next uprising which would fight for the independence. However when on his horse he loses his hat with beautiful feathers, beautiful object but without any real meaning and use. When searching for his hat he loses the golden horn which ruins the chance to wake up people and change something. Just because of his carelessness and selfishness he gets back something which isn't really that valuable to lose one of the most important things in the world. Similar to Olgierd, he asks gaunter to get back his wealth and to become immortal because he thinks that it will fix his life and make it meaningful. But he sells his soul and heart to the devil which makes him unable to feel anything and ruins his relationship with everyone. That's my own analysis but I think it makes sense. That's why there is this huge wedding scene in hearts of stone, it is a rather obscure reference to the polish canon of literature.
Gaunter 'o Dimm actually reminds me a lot of the man in black from Stephen King's Dark Tower. The names are similar, the behavior, the tricks and even the way he talks is how I imagined him.
Thanks! I'm itching to start playing it. Sadly I need to push back my time with the game until the middle of June. It's going to happen, just not right away!
thanks for commenting, because Arek said you were one of his favorites with George, i checked you out and subscribed! Good work man, also thanks for taking your time with games, much appriciated for reviews that are thought out and honest opinion.
As others have said, you are amazeballs George. Your insights and critiques are essentially genius. Never stop. ... I just finished and of course saw the man of glass as 'stan' from the outset.. but i didnt notice the spoon, devil or bloody 'g.o.d' references at all, lol. Right over my head. .. And definitely if there are any series that deserve your keen eye, it's this one. (and mgs of course). I would also recommend doing GTA is that's the only series i consider to be in at least a similar boat to the Witcher in terms of quality world building, if not story quality.
That hairdo is not "from the film". It's a typical hairdo of Polish nobles (szlachta) of the time of the legend. That's why the film character wears it and that's why the game character wears it.
witcher 3 might just be the best game ever made XD one year after it's release we got a massive QoL update and a delightful new expansion with a huge new map.
hey man, I just wanted to say that you do really awesome work. I'm reluctant to call it game journalism because you simply just breathe out truth and wisdom regarding the art of gaming, rather than reporting on the industry. You remind me of the videogame equivalent of Every Frame A Painting, which is another brilliant channel
Had this video in my To Watch list for a few days so i could finish HoS and then see what George had to say about it. I'm blown away right now by both the ridiculous quality of the expansion and George's insight. I remember dimly something about Twardowski and his influence on Faust and some of the romantic novels but this has kicked my CDPRED respect into a top gear. Absolute geniuses at writing and reference. And they reference with reverence xD. Awesome job George, you dug deep on this one and wow did you deliver.
Makro I can't remember them much but from time to time there are words and phrases that take out the immersion.Words like racism,bigots(that didn't exited during that time) or phrases like "It is 13th century after all".It is not big deal as a whole but it makes you give a curious look for a minute or two.
+MrJade12 They weren't. Racist might have appeared during that one sidequest where the human is being harassed by Elven cutthroats in Novigrad, but they kept political commentary to a minimum in the base game.
Kind of a nitpick, but at approx 4:51 you state that none of the English or German versions of the play had the devil being outwitted; but that simply isn't true. In Goethe's Faust-arguably one of the best known versions of the tale-most people stop at the end of book one which ends in Helen dying. However, at the end of book 2, the devil becomes overeager and kills Faust, breaking their contract and allowing Faust to ascend to heaven with his beloved.
For me the Hearts of Stone was the best written story in the whole witcher 3 . The blood and wine is bigger and there is more to do etc . But the atmosphere in the haunted mansion when you meet iris is heart wrenching . You can feel the sadness and her broken heart, this is a tragic love story that somehow got to me and I was sad for a couple of days after finishing it . I felt for both of them , he was willing literally to sell his soul to get what he wanted, and she went against any logic and her family to be with him and yet it all finished tragically. Just wow. The caretaker , the cat and dog , the sadness of the mention it left the mark on me, which is what you want
I preferred Heart of Stone. Granted, Blood and Wine was a lot bigger and it had it's own map, but from story perspective, Blood and Wine was a bit less than Heart of Stone. It did not have the same cleverness and thoughtfulness.
Daniel Cofour Yes, story wise, Blood and Wine is still damn good but it does lack HoS' intricacies. If we were judging two episodes in a TV series, HoS would take the cake. However, being expansions to a video game, I believe Blood and Wine to be FAR superior, not just in sheer amount of content, but quality as well. All sidequests and interactions are true to the theme of the expansion, dialogue is superb as always and the whole aesthetic and feeling is just perfect.
It depends on if you actually read the books, if you did, Blood and Wine felt like a tear and love filled goodbye to Geralt and the Witcher franchise in general, both books and games, it was simply beautiful.
***** That's right! I forgot to mention that! Blood and Wine takes anyone who read the books and gives them the most delightful fanservice ever, it's SO filled with references and even continuations of things that happened in those stories. So good!
This video is a masterpiece. I'm from Poland and haven't noticed half of the things you saw/researched during my gameplay... keep up the great work, love your content.
I think its also worth mentioning the huge tribute to Dark Souls on the mansion level, i mean come on the Caretaker Bossfight is stripped right out of a souls game, and it even dies on the same way with the same animations
george you are looking into this too much this is clearly a story about kickstarting macklemore's career In all seriousness, excellent video as always and I need to ask you a big favour - will you please be my real dad
this was a brilliant video. thank you for bringing this to more light, as really, this is one of the turning points that give me the nostalgia i had playing final fantasy 6, where i felt like i was going on a ride with characters, and having a real experience that pulled me in, like the opera scene.
"Twadorsky" made me giggle every time. Believe me, though - the conversion from Polish to English on the field of how the two languages sound is not much easier that the other way around. The two are pretty much polar opposites in the way you make the sounds and to a big degree, the mental process behind constructing a sentence.
I watched this video after completing the expansions, but now that I've begun my way through the books, just hearing the phrase "the lesser evil" gives me chills. The stories and the games are absolutely masterful.
This game has the perfect source material to do all kinds of expansion packs. We've seen multiplayer games live on years after release, imagine a single player game stay relevant for years to come by adding more and more side-stories. I mean Heart Of Stone was just so good, it reminded me why I love the short stories so much. I'm not saying CDPR should release these daily, but I feel like their missing out on doing more of these. It's pretty obvious they aren't going to do more, they've said it in interviews and how Blood And Wine is just chock full of fan service, and with a returning character from the books. It really is an amazing send off to an amazing that went through allot of bumpy roads along the way. But in the end they've created one of the best or perhaps the best RPG ever. And also one of the best RPG series ever.
After not getting enough witcher and watching a lot of related videos talking about theories and stuff about the game, I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel :) Nice voice btw.
Wonderful analysis. I was spellbound by this chapter in the Witcher 3. It was alternately hilarious and darkly disturbing. "The Scenes From A Marriage" was remarkable; the encounter with "The Caretaker" was something right out of Benicio del Toro. The night after I did my first playthrough (I let O'Dimm take Olgierd) I barely slept. I have never had a game seat itself in my consciousness like a good piece of literature before.
You did it again. You got me really hyped and fascinated. Last time you did it was with MGS3 and MGS2. When you go deep with your appreciation you really teach me to love these games :D
This is major difference betwin, polish writting and rest of world: World choice: A)Good ending B)Bad ending Polish: A)Few sides get good, others get bad B)Few sides get bad. others get good Bonus Bioware: A)Blue B)Green C)Red
Daniel Adamczyk what he means is thay only american/holkywood do the good/bad and that there are other countries the world that have just as nuanced and complex resolutions to their stories as polish ones
So you havent played fallout 1, new vegas, planespace torment, alpha protocol, walking dead season 1, wasteland 2 or pillar of eternity? All American btw
O dim torturing the professor and then killing his dream daughter was the most fucked up story anyone could imagine how do they come up with this gold.
George, you will LOVE Blood and Wine. No joke. It is incredible. It has all of the elements of Witcher storytelling that you mentioned taken to their logical extreme, with one of the best but most simple endings I've seen in a while. Bravo, CDPR.
I totally agree with you, I loved Hearts of Stone even more than the main story, and that's a pretty big achievement. Playing Blood and Wine now, not sure if it can surpass Hearts of Stone but I'm still really liking it so far. CD Projekt Red truly deserved the Developer of the Year title for 2015.
Close to 3 years after the video, but I just finished the main quest of this expansion. Great job on the video, I already loved the main quest of the expansion(found it leagues better than the base game main quest) this made me appreciate its writing and presentation much more, as all these cultural references were unknown to me. Also, good catch on the bit with the spoon and the initials.
It's one of the most satisfying game reviews I've ever watched. Not because I'm Polish and I enjoyed all the praise, but because it's witty, in-depth and spot on. Simply a great essay! That's what it is. Well, the game itself also played a role here, but kudos to Super Bunnyhop!
I'm sure that someone mentioned this in the earlier comments, but "pan" in polish is just "mister". Mr. Twardowski. Awesome video as always, love your work.
Hi there George, I just wanted to adress one thing that you said in your TOVG podcast #94. Poland wasn't a soviet country back in the 1936 when the movie Pan Twardowski was made. That period in our history is called Second Commonwealth of Poland as we were independent then as much as we are now. The soviet's invided Poland on 17 September 1939. Anywho, love your videos and I think is great that people in other sides of the world can learn a thing or two about slavic culture and mythos. Keep up the good work.
Coincidentally, I finished Hearts Of Stone just yesterday. I came to see if you had posted anything new and lo and behold it was a video on Hearts Of Stone. Man, it was an awesome expansion.
Between Hearts of Stone and now Blood and Wine, I see even more reason for another playthrough. Both expansions are awesome additions to an already awesome game. Keep up the awesome videos Mr Bunnyhop!
Olgierd is not a "mass murderer." He's the leader of a mercenary band. Not to mention all of the "evil" he's done has been a side effect of the literal deadening of his emotions through the pact with O'Dimm. The only thing we know that Olgierd did himself, consciously, that was bad was sacrificing his brother, which he did out of a great deal of desperation. Not good, but understandable.
He never sacrificed his brother knowingly. Gaunter uses many "small prints" during his contracts which people miss. The professor tells you this and you also witness this for yourself.
About Olgierds (and his brother's too) inspiration, it's inspired not strictly by the film but Polish nobility. Actually, good reference for that is The Flood where one of the heroes, Kmicic, seems to have been inspirations for Olgierd's actions after he lost his feelings. During the fight in front of burning mansion, we actually see Olgierd quoting the book, although those are words of counterpart to Kmicic, Mr Wołodyjowski.
3:39 it don't need to be inspired from this movie. This is traditional clothing and hairstyle of polish nobel class. Check word "szlachta" or "sarmata" in Google Images.
Finally, I have finished Hears of Stone to watch your video. A very nice take on another example of the cultural and artistic relevance of videogames in this day and age. I am looking forward to play Blood and Wine.
Been waiting like 5 years to watch this and just now had time to finish this expansion. Worth the wait, I had no idea about the origins of the story. On to Blood and Wine now!
Hey, it's really cool you delved into our culture this much just to get background on an expansion pack! :) Did you actually read/watched Twardowskiego and Wesele? Wesele is actually required reading in the school, and it's noted to be one of the more hated ones by the students because of it's setting and literary style (it's also analyzed to death about it's real meaning)
Looking back at the DLC and re-watching this video, I come to understand, the biggest reason saving Olgierd is considered the "good ending" by fans, is because, much like what happened to the Bloody Baron, Olgierd is a complicated man. He asks for impossible tasks in order to avoid meeting his end of the bargain, but as you advance through his questline, you realize a good part of what you are doing on his behalf is help set his own loose ends in order (depending on your decisions ofc). You can put some of his old demons to rest, see how he was perceived by those who knew him in life, and while he's indeed not a good person, he's also not a bad person either, knowing his full story is what gave fans the context needed to know and decide if he deserved mercy or not. And that's the beauty of The Witcher and rpgs in general, that us as players piloting Geralt, we get to get directly involved!
All this videos that include spoilers! Mr. Hop I wish to watch, but cannot be spoiled as there is a slight chance I will play this one day. Good day sir
Great job explaining the connection to the Faust and good intention to detail, totally missed the spoon significance. So glade HoS is getting some love. Really was blown away by the main quest. The whole "Scenes from a Marriage" section is when I knew this may be one of the best plots I have seen in a video game. The game series and the books for that matter, really are best told in short story, episodic format. Hopefully Blood and Wine can hold up the incredibly high bar they created.
George, please accept my thanks for such an insightful review. I've seen nothing like this, and I doubt I ever will, because it sure takes some effort to do this so carefully and coherently.
Great video, the base game has even more Polish folklore in it ("The Tower of Mice" which you assumed was German, or "Forefather's Eve"). The Geralt vs Olgierd duel is also inspired by a sabre duel in a book/movie "Potop" between Kmicic and Wołodyjowski - two Polish nobleman. You can easily google it. Also, as someone stated before, the looks of Olgierd aren't based on Twardowski, it's just a typical look of a Polish nobleman.
Great vid SBH. I have to say that the Witcher 3 is probably the greatest game ever made. Especially with all the updates they've given it and the DLC. I'm loving Blood and Wine. Thanks for all your hard work man.
Hearts of Stone, for me, was similar to how you mentioned it being a choose your own adventure tale which I believe holds more meaning to a person who has to go through these decisions. If you take your time during the main story line quests you're shown different parts of both our supposed villain, O'Dimm, and whatshisface. You become invested in these characters through your interactions and not simply by reading about them. That is one of videogame's biggest strengths in my opinion. The ability to let the player become invested in this world and Witcher, with it's immense level of detail and storytelling, masters that art wonderfully.
Now that I've played through this DLC, I was surprised how I remembered O'Dimm was the same guy I ran into at the inn in White Orchard. In fact, going back to the main quest, seeing how The Bloody Baron, a man who did bad things, felt regret, and sought a way to fix his life was reflected in Olgierd's story, which no doubt helped in my decision to save his life.
I loved the main story to death and despite your criticisms of it -- many of which I'd agree with but never the less the game blew me away when I played it a year ago. now, with all the DLC available, I'm on playthrough 2 and just happened to finish Hearts of Stone for the first time this evening and it blew me away. I was expecting quality content, but I wasn't expecting to be affected as much as I was on an emotional level. I liked all the characters and despite this rather short expansion, I was sad to see it all come to an end. So much so in fact that I went off and did some sidequests before finishing the dlc once and for all. Great review and thanks for the video!
Its ironic that Oldgierds quest of avoiding the so called "void" of death leads to him to a hell far worst than that void - if Geralt choose not to intervene.
Walking through the paintings and seeing the story of Olgeird and Iris' marriage is one of the most haunting experiences I've ever experienced. So good. If they ever make a Witcher 4, (though this could be used in Cyberpunk as well) I hope they refrain from huge impersonal stories and make personal straightforward tales with harrowing questions.
The 1936 Polish film is even more harrowing since a large number of its cast and crew perished in the Second World War. The director starved to death in the Warsaw Ghetto, while the actor playing Pan Twardowski was killed during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Ironically, the actor who portrayed the devil in that film had a wife who made a Faustian bargain by becoming a Gestapo informant, and later her decision ushered terrible consequences for her and her husband once the Polish Home Army discovered her act of treason.
damn dude
Holy Molly
Holy shit, I don't know what to say... Thanks for looking up that information.
I know how its sounds but he is telling the truth. If you chceck Pan Twardowski actors bios you can find those information.
Woah that's pretty crazy, Marek is a family friend of mine. Strange to see him referenced in a youtube comment
Iris Von Everec's story was one of the most heart breaking story I have seen.
RedgraveGilver she chose her husband pretty poorly
I think I cried almost that time
I loved that quest it was so heartbreakingly good
I want to make it very clear that it takes a lot to stir my emotions. I practically feed on horror, whether its movies or books.... But that fight scene by the red lit fireplace in a dark room was genuinely disturbing.
"I'll remember you, Iris von Everec."
"That no longer matters. Farewell."
Replayed HoS recently, the couple who gets married, whose wedding you and Shani go to have money problems similar to Olgierd and Iris. But the difference there is that the families accepted their kids choices despite this but Iris's didn't. Neat parallel that I didn't quite catch the first time.
nice catch, I didn't notice that until now.
Hadn't noticed that, thanks for pointing it out. HoS' writing is phenomenal, the main Ciri quest looks like a fanfic compared to it.
Geez, the depth is amazing.
The MK There were a bunch of parallels like this. Another example is the Borsodi brothers and how they compare to the von Everecs.
About the song at the end: Children constantly sing this in places while playing after you met Gunther.
Only hours later you realize this is the devil's song, basically.
So subtle, but so good.
I heard it while roaming around doing ?s during my main quest run. I stopped, listened to the whole thing and found it creepy before moving on and mostly forgetting about it. Then I began Hearts of Stone and heard the melody from that song as Gaunter's theme and I was like "wellp"
WARNING: DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME UNLESS YOU WANT TO FEEL A VAST VOID OF EMPTINESS MONTHS AFTER COMPLETING THIS GAME.
Simon Cornelius P Umacob everyone felt it, I felt it. I had to restart the game asap to calm down.
This is what im feeling right now T.T Such a good game.
nah man, if you get the best ending on your first try (or the one you consider best) you will feel completely satisfied and slightly sad, but in a good way. see the worst ending though and that will leave you broken.
I think the original commenter is pointing out that after playing such an incredible game...most games will feel hollow in comparison (im enjoying Nier automata right now tough)
yeah, i got that but to me it felt like such a complete experience that i was satisfied. i didnt want more of it because i felt that what i got was just right, and thats super rare.
HoS was a godsend in this age of shitty, short DLC's
As is Blood and Wine.
dude blood and wine is a whole new game for an extra $20 lol
Clayton Aitken And it's brilliant.
damn straight it is!
they also included some references to Gaunter O' Dimm as well in B&W
Picked Witcher 3 up after watching this video (unrelated events, I just upgraded my system), was surprised to find O'Dimm sitting in the very first inn of the main game and giving your quest of finding Yen a kickstart.
Yes that's what I found immediately cool about the first expansion, a seemingly unimportant yet strange character from the beginning of the original game was written into this seamlessly.
A bit sad that you spoiled Hearts of Stone for yourself, but at least it made you buy the game.
The Witcher series is pure genius, and despite its success I feel it's still way underrated for the content and care that goes into these games. I enjoyed HoS immensely, and just last night picked up B&W and can't wait to dive in again. Great video. subbed.
Witcher 3 is good, don't get me wrong, but it is not by any stretch of the imagination underrated. Believe me.
Are there a bunch of Bioware fanboys talking crap about Witcher 3? Hope not Because Witcher 3 kicks there ass in more ways then one.
If anything I think that Witcher 3 is overrated. It's a good game but not anywhere near as good as fans are making it out to be.
Harald Ulrichs
then what is 'great' to you? mass effect andromeda??
Well, he either has bad taste, or doesn't like RPG's, which reinforces the bad taste argument.
Mr Weidman,
This will likely never reach you, but it is my intention to express the following. You may comment on your work all too often in a self deprecating fashion, but videos like this really do push the envelop for gaming writing, and even for art critique in general, whilst inspiring a number of people to - in the one hand - appreciate and analyze their experiences even more, and in the other hand, try to pursue the creating content of the same level.
Thank you so much.
Felt like an idiot when you showed o'dim as god. Never picked up on that.
Yeah I got shivers when I realised it.
Well I kinda already realized that. I mostly just thought of him as the Devil, when you consider how he gives people all their wishes a desires, at the cost of their eternal soul. But then again, it's hard to say he isn't god when his initials spell it out.
same
I would say that his name identifies him even further as Satan - after all, no one but the devil wishes to be worshiped as God.
Same. Especially since I managed to pick up D.R.M and G.O.G in the magic tower quest... G.O.D should have been so much more obvious then those.
George Weidman, you are definitely THE MOST eloquent video game reviewer living today.
Along with Mathewmatosis
This is why I haven't given up on internet videos yet. This guy researches his shit and talks to us like we have a brain. Instead of the shitty culture of "HELLO UA-cam!!" **waving arms violently in front of a camera** This kind of person is like the CD Projekt Red of UA-cam - still making great content even if everyone else is making cookie cutter shit for easy profit.
I found HOS to be incredible. Olgeird is a complex and interesting character, the absurdity of the tasks required, the constant contemplation of odimms reasons for doing any of this or exactly who he is if he is the devil or something else. The writing of iris's story was true and the mansion was one hell of an atmosphere.
Olgierd looks like David Beckham.
Pølse og potetmos er så jævla guffent. Smaker bare svett balle
He's sporting a pretty classic cossack/polish haircut.
... which became trendy lately.
But his voice is much less annoying.
Yeah it was pretty lazy of the artist. He even sported an identical haircut + facial hair combo.
First thing I noticed. Thought he looked like Beckham and Cpt. Price from the Cod series.
Great eye for detail and almost perfect source analysis. Only thing that you've missed (and it was outright impossible to catch without indepth knowledge of Polish literature) is a fact that while Olgierd is 50% Pan Twardowski he is also 50% Kmicic from XIX century historical novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz (mostly "Deluge"). Almost his whole character comes from there, even name of Iris that we learn from marriage contract in the house (Bilewitz) matches the name of the love interest of Kmicic. Their story matches as well. Same goes for the portrayal of Kmicic in 1974 film adaptation (google it!). As for the dress it is a bit of a broader category since it, along with quite a few cultural details from the expansion, matches the world of XVII Polish-Lithuanian nobility.
You really deserve more subscribers mate. Your reviews are so good that it is like you're reviewing a painting or a poem. Thank you!
Here is something that should help your pronunciation: replace W with V, since that how 'w' is pronounced in polish. Tvardovsky, it's that simple. Also 'Pan' is not a name, it's Mister Twardowski or Sir Twardowski.
bump
As an English person learning Polish I found it quite endearing haha.
My only observation is that if he considers himself as a professional [fill in blank] he should do some research on the pronunciation.
I was just about the comment on that. He made a good effort, and I am not sure if he was referring to the legend, the title of which is Pan Twardowski, or implying that the character's first name was "Pan" like the Greek God.
Polish honorifics simplified:
Pan = Lord (by itself; ex. pan zamku = lord of the castle; Pan i wladca = lord and master)/Mr. (in front of last name, ex. Pan Nowak = Mr. Nowak, Pan Sapkowski = Mr. Sapkowski)
Pani = Lady (by itself; ex. pani zamku = lady of the castle)/Mrs./Ms (in front of a last name ex. Pani Kowalska = Mrs. Kowalska)
Panna = Maiden (by itself ex piekna panna = beautiful maiden)/Miss (in front of a last name ex. Panna Raj = Miss Raj)
he makes A LOT of errors in ENglish pronunciations too. He said "Grindil" instead of GRENDEL. like, wtf.. ?
I'm late to the party, but "pan" origin is much simpler. It's a thing you'd add before nobleman's name, whether he was a lord or not. Cheers all
This is an advantage of video games as art - it doesn't just tell you what you're supposed to think, the choice at the end compels you to consider it, appreciating its depth, and then actually answer questions presented to you.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Blood and Wine, George.
oh, it's amazing. even though it's not out yet. ha.
+breasthound it is in America. I've already played it. It's very good... I was just remarking on my interest in this person's opinion.
From what I've played so far its incredibly upbeat and bombastic, it uses the much more lighthearted setting of Toussaint to make some thing really really funny but still have an intriguing plot in the style of a murder mystery. Its fantastic! It even opens with a fish out of water scenario to contrast how different the new setting is to what your used to.
Also (and this is the greatest thing ever) there's a mission where you get new witcher mutations adn its called "turn and face the strange" and I was creasing. (If you don't get it just think of a song by a recently deceased british singer with those lyrics in).
As a Polish person I really appreciate the level of your in depth analysis, understanding of the references and research you've done. You mentioned the book "wesele" (wedding in English) which is also heavily tied to hearts of stone but its not that obvious as Pan Twardowski. This book isn't a simple reference to the wedding in the game, it is more related to the themes. It describes the Polish society post partitions of Poland when Poland did not exist as a sovereign nation. It describes a nation which is dormant and hopeless. It regards situation in which one of the characters fails because of his greed and carelessness, similar to Olgierd. This hero was supposed to bring back a golden horn which would be used to wake up polish people and start the next uprising which would fight for the independence. However when on his horse he loses his hat with beautiful feathers, beautiful object but without any real meaning and use. When searching for his hat he loses the golden horn which ruins the chance to wake up people and change something. Just because of his carelessness and selfishness he gets back something which isn't really that valuable to lose one of the most important things in the world. Similar to Olgierd, he asks gaunter to get back his wealth and to become immortal because he thinks that it will fix his life and make it meaningful. But he sells his soul and heart to the devil which makes him unable to feel anything and ruins his relationship with everyone. That's my own analysis but I think it makes sense. That's why there is this huge wedding scene in hearts of stone, it is a rather obscure reference to the polish canon of literature.
Gaunter 'o Dimm actually reminds me a lot of the man in black from Stephen King's Dark Tower. The names are similar, the behavior, the tricks and even the way he talks is how I imagined him.
2:55 "Spending a year living with dudes wife" This sounds like a great premise for a sitcom.
Good video today, George! I think this is one of your best.
And here's second of my two favourite game reviewers. Can't wait for your thoughts about Witcher expansions, EG.
Thanks! I'm itching to start playing it. Sadly I need to push back my time with the game until the middle of June. It's going to happen, just not right away!
thanks for commenting, because Arek said you were one of his favorites with George, i checked you out and subscribed! Good work man, also thanks for taking your time with games, much appriciated for reviews that are thought out and honest opinion.
As others have said, you are amazeballs George. Your insights and critiques are essentially genius.
Never stop.
... I just finished and of course saw the man of glass as 'stan' from the outset.. but i didnt notice the spoon, devil or bloody 'g.o.d' references at all, lol.
Right over my head.
.. And definitely if there are any series that deserve your keen eye, it's this one. (and mgs of course).
I would also recommend doing GTA is that's the only series i consider to be in at least a similar boat to the Witcher in terms of quality world building, if not story quality.
That hairdo is not "from the film". It's a typical hairdo of Polish nobles (szlachta) of the time of the legend. That's why the film character wears it and that's why the game character wears it.
I mean, the comparison was as much about the moustache, facial features, costume, and prop as it was the hairdo.
Really? I thought somebody at CDPR just wanted to give him a douchy typical 10s haircut, I had no idea it was actually period appropriate.
@@salsamancer This type of haircut existed in polish culture since early middle ages and it remains somewhat popular even in the modern day.
witcher 3 might just be the best game ever made XD
one year after it's release we got a massive QoL update and a delightful new expansion with a huge new map.
If it's not the best game, it's "up there" with the best ones. :)
I hold it in a very high standard as well.
hey man, I just wanted to say that you do really awesome work. I'm reluctant to call it game journalism because you simply just breathe out truth and wisdom regarding the art of gaming, rather than reporting on the industry. You remind me of the videogame equivalent of Every Frame A Painting, which is another brilliant channel
Had this video in my To Watch list for a few days so i could finish HoS and then see what George had to say about it. I'm blown away right now by both the ridiculous quality of the expansion and George's insight. I remember dimly something about Twardowski and his influence on Faust and some of the romantic novels but this has kicked my CDPRED respect into a top gear. Absolute geniuses at writing and reference. And they reference with reverence xD.
Awesome job George, you dug deep on this one and wow did you deliver.
I can't wait to see your review video on Blood and Wine.
Gaunter and Olgierd were fantastic in HoS.
The Blood and Wine is better except the few preachy political/social commentaries that felt totally out of place.
+Mitachia For example?
Makro
I can't remember them much but from time to time there are words and phrases that take out the immersion.Words like racism,bigots(that didn't exited during that time) or phrases like "It is 13th century after all".It is not big deal as a whole but it makes you give a curious look for a minute or two.
Pretty sure those were in the base game too.
+MrJade12 They weren't. Racist might have appeared during that one sidequest where the human is being harassed by Elven cutthroats in Novigrad, but they kept political commentary to a minimum in the base game.
Kind of a nitpick, but at approx 4:51 you state that none of the English or German versions of the play had the devil being outwitted; but that simply isn't true. In Goethe's Faust-arguably one of the best known versions of the tale-most people stop at the end of book one which ends in Helen dying. However, at the end of book 2, the devil becomes overeager and kills Faust, breaking their contract and allowing Faust to ascend to heaven with his beloved.
it is the best simply because the way it was written and goethe is arguably the smartest person that ever lived
For me the Hearts of Stone was the best written story in the whole witcher 3 . The blood and wine is bigger and there is more to do etc . But the atmosphere in the haunted mansion when you meet iris is heart wrenching . You can feel the sadness and her broken heart, this is a tragic love story that somehow got to me and I was sad for a couple of days after finishing it . I felt for both of them , he was willing literally to sell his soul to get what he wanted, and she went against any logic and her family to be with him and yet it all finished tragically. Just wow. The caretaker , the cat and dog , the sadness of the mention it left the mark on me, which is what you want
Blowing it out of the park George. Can't wait to see what you have to say about Blood & Wine.
Jesus christ I am yet to find a better story discussion of HoS, I keep coming back to this video for the past 2 years. Good job
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Blood and Wine. Literally the best expansion/DLC I've ever played.
I preferred Heart of Stone. Granted, Blood and Wine was a lot bigger and it had it's own map, but from story perspective, Blood and Wine was a bit less than Heart of Stone. It did not have the same cleverness and thoughtfulness.
Daniel Cofour Yes, story wise, Blood and Wine is still damn good but it does lack HoS' intricacies.
If we were judging two episodes in a TV series, HoS would take the cake. However, being expansions to a video game, I believe Blood and Wine to be FAR superior, not just in sheer amount of content, but quality as well. All sidequests and interactions are true to the theme of the expansion, dialogue is superb as always and the whole aesthetic and feeling is just perfect.
It depends on if you actually read the books, if you did, Blood and Wine felt like a tear and love filled goodbye to Geralt and the Witcher franchise in general, both books and games, it was simply beautiful.
***** That's right! I forgot to mention that!
Blood and Wine takes anyone who read the books and gives them the most delightful fanservice ever, it's SO filled with references and even continuations of things that happened in those stories. So good!
This video is a masterpiece.
I'm from Poland and haven't noticed half of the things you saw/researched during my gameplay... keep up the great work, love your content.
Love your deep analysis videos like this. So so good!
This was no ordinary DLC. It was a work of art.
I think its also worth mentioning the huge tribute to Dark Souls on the mansion level, i mean come on the Caretaker Bossfight is stripped right out of a souls game, and it even dies on the same way with the same animations
george you are looking into this too much this is clearly a story about kickstarting macklemore's career
In all seriousness, excellent video as always and I need to ask you a big favour - will you please be my real dad
You ever thought about doing a Writing on Games by using Heart of Stone?
*Would you wait sir, for the dribble to subside?*
*Makes no difference to me.*
is a line from the historical polish film "Deluge"
how about no.
I think this is by far one of your better videos yet, George!
It may be “lower stakes” to u but I’d like to see wild hunt go against the mirror man lol
this was a brilliant video. thank you for bringing this to more light, as really, this is one of the turning points that give me the nostalgia i had playing final fantasy 6, where i felt like i was going on a ride with characters, and having a real experience that pulled me in, like the opera scene.
Thank you for making this. Hopefully this will make people understand why The Witcher is so great.
"Twadorsky" made me giggle every time.
Believe me, though - the conversion from Polish to English on the field of how the two languages sound is not much easier that the other way around. The two are pretty much polar opposites in the way you make the sounds and to a big degree, the mental process behind constructing a sentence.
Amazing video. I can't believe I missed the G.O.D. thing.
Same... man great writing.
I watched this video after completing the expansions, but now that I've begun my way through the books, just hearing the phrase "the lesser evil" gives me chills. The stories and the games are absolutely masterful.
This game has the perfect source material to do all kinds of expansion packs. We've seen multiplayer games live on years after release, imagine a single player game stay relevant for years to come by adding more and more side-stories. I mean Heart Of Stone was just so good, it reminded me why I love the short stories so much. I'm not saying CDPR should release these daily, but I feel like their missing out on doing more of these. It's pretty obvious they aren't going to do more, they've said it in interviews and how Blood And Wine is just chock full of fan service, and with a returning character from the books. It really is an amazing send off to an amazing that went through allot of bumpy roads along the way. But in the end they've created one of the best or perhaps the best RPG ever. And also one of the best RPG series ever.
After not getting enough witcher and watching a lot of related videos talking about theories and stuff about the game, I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel :) Nice voice btw.
damn dude...i thought i figured a bunch of stuff out and knew a lot about this expansion..but here you are with this magnificent piece. Thank You.
Wonderful analysis. I was spellbound by this chapter in the Witcher 3. It was alternately hilarious and darkly disturbing. "The Scenes From A Marriage" was remarkable; the encounter with "The Caretaker" was something right out of Benicio del Toro. The night after I did my first playthrough (I let O'Dimm take Olgierd) I barely slept. I have never had a game seat itself in my consciousness like a good piece of literature before.
Holy shit. You've made some fantastic videos, but this is another level. The research and concepts are fascinating, very well done.
You did it again. You got me really hyped and fascinated. Last time you did it was with MGS3 and MGS2. When you go deep with your appreciation you really teach me to love these games :D
This is major difference betwin, polish writting and rest of world:
World choice:
A)Good ending
B)Bad ending
Polish:
A)Few sides get good, others get bad
B)Few sides get bad. others get good
Bonus Bioware:
A)Blue
B)Green
C)Red
Murrica is not "rest of the world".
Drogon
I didin't mention that.
Daniel Adamczyk what he means is thay only american/holkywood do the good/bad and that there are other countries the world that have just as nuanced and complex resolutions to their stories as polish ones
So you havent played fallout 1, new vegas, planespace torment, alpha protocol, walking dead season 1, wasteland 2 or pillar of eternity? All American btw
Walking Dead S1 choices isn't that ambiguous tbh
O dim torturing the professor and then killing his dream daughter was the most fucked up story anyone could imagine how do they come up with this gold.
Another awesome quality video. Love your channel dude keep it up.
i felt the wedding and the heist quests alone were worth playing the expansion for.
Watching this makes me want to play the Witcher 3 again.
good thing the new expansion's waiting for ya
Quality content as usual Bunnyhop. Keep making 'em and I'll keep watching 'em.
George, you will LOVE Blood and Wine. No joke. It is incredible. It has all of the elements of Witcher storytelling that you mentioned taken to their logical extreme, with one of the best but most simple endings I've seen in a while. Bravo, CDPR.
Wow I guess there was a lot there that flew right over my head, thanks a lot for these awesome videos!
Once again, great video. Thoughtful, funny and informative at the same time. That's why I love your channel. Keep up the great work :)
I totally agree with you, I loved Hearts of Stone even more than the main story, and that's a pretty big achievement. Playing Blood and Wine now, not sure if it can surpass Hearts of Stone but I'm still really liking it so far. CD Projekt Red truly deserved the Developer of the Year title for 2015.
Close to 3 years after the video, but I just finished the main quest of this expansion. Great job on the video, I already loved the main quest of the expansion(found it leagues better than the base game main quest) this made me appreciate its writing and presentation much more, as all these cultural references were unknown to me. Also, good catch on the bit with the spoon and the initials.
That moment when you re-play the game and find gaunter O'dimm in white orchard
Ataman Olgierd also share similarities with
Ataman Kmicic from "Deluge"
(Nowel and film)
Wolf school plebeian, bear school is the only true armour
Corpse Jr school of the bear for life.
if you get it right ng+ wolf school build beats everything
It's one of the most satisfying game reviews I've ever watched. Not because I'm Polish and I enjoyed all the praise, but because it's witty, in-depth and spot on. Simply a great essay! That's what it is.
Well, the game itself also played a role here, but kudos to Super Bunnyhop!
I'm sure that someone mentioned this in the earlier comments, but "pan" in polish is just "mister". Mr. Twardowski. Awesome video as always, love your work.
Hi there George, I just wanted to adress one thing that you said in your TOVG podcast #94. Poland wasn't a soviet country back in the 1936 when the movie Pan Twardowski was made. That period in our history is called Second Commonwealth of Poland as we were independent then as much as we are now. The soviet's invided Poland on 17 September 1939.
Anywho, love your videos and I think is great that people in other sides of the world can learn a thing or two about slavic culture and mythos. Keep up the good work.
My only gripe with HOS were the huge enemy spiders. Nothing should have that many legs.
Coincidentally, I finished Hearts Of Stone just yesterday. I came to see if you had posted anything new and lo and behold it was a video on Hearts Of Stone. Man, it was an awesome expansion.
Between Hearts of Stone and now Blood and Wine, I see even more reason for another playthrough. Both expansions are awesome additions to an already awesome game. Keep up the awesome videos Mr Bunnyhop!
Olgierd is not a "mass murderer." He's the leader of a mercenary band. Not to mention all of the "evil" he's done has been a side effect of the literal deadening of his emotions through the pact with O'Dimm.
The only thing we know that Olgierd did himself, consciously, that was bad was sacrificing his brother, which he did out of a great deal of desperation. Not good, but understandable.
He never sacrificed his brother knowingly. Gaunter uses many "small prints" during his contracts which people miss. The professor tells you this and you also witness this for yourself.
Really appreciate the research you do it sets you ahead of other channels.
About Olgierds (and his brother's too) inspiration, it's inspired not strictly by the film but Polish nobility. Actually, good reference for that is The Flood where one of the heroes, Kmicic, seems to have been inspirations for Olgierd's actions after he lost his feelings. During the fight in front of burning mansion, we actually see Olgierd quoting the book, although those are words of counterpart to Kmicic, Mr Wołodyjowski.
3:39 it don't need to be inspired from this movie. This is traditional clothing and hairstyle of polish nobel class. Check word "szlachta" or "sarmata" in Google Images.
This was just so much interesting, keep up the great work George
I always knew that the guy you met in the first tavern was gonna have a story centered around him. He just seemed too damn interesting to pass up.
Your journalism is simply astounding, good sir.
Finally, I have finished Hears of Stone to watch your video. A very nice take on another example of the cultural and artistic relevance of videogames in this day and age. I am looking forward to play Blood and Wine.
Been waiting like 5 years to watch this and just now had time to finish this expansion. Worth the wait, I had no idea about the origins of the story. On to Blood and Wine now!
Hey, it's really cool you delved into our culture this much just to get background on an expansion pack! :) Did you actually read/watched Twardowskiego and Wesele? Wesele is actually required reading in the school, and it's noted to be one of the more hated ones by the students because of it's setting and literary style (it's also analyzed to death about it's real meaning)
Looking back at the DLC and re-watching this video, I come to understand, the biggest reason saving Olgierd is considered the "good ending" by fans, is because, much like what happened to the Bloody Baron, Olgierd is a complicated man.
He asks for impossible tasks in order to avoid meeting his end of the bargain, but as you advance through his questline, you realize a good part of what you are doing on his behalf is help set his own loose ends in order (depending on your decisions ofc). You can put some of his old demons to rest, see how he was perceived by those who knew him in life, and while he's indeed not a good person, he's also not a bad person either, knowing his full story is what gave fans the context needed to know and decide if he deserved mercy or not.
And that's the beauty of The Witcher and rpgs in general, that us as players piloting Geralt, we get to get directly involved!
All this videos that include spoilers! Mr. Hop I wish to watch, but cannot be spoiled as there is a slight chance I will play this one day.
Good day sir
Great job explaining the connection to the Faust and good intention to detail, totally missed the spoon significance. So glade HoS is getting some love. Really was blown away by the main quest. The whole "Scenes from a Marriage" section is when I knew this may be one of the best plots I have seen in a video game. The game series and the books for that matter, really are best told in short story, episodic format. Hopefully Blood and Wine can hold up the incredibly high bar they created.
can't wait to hear your thoughts on blood and wine now. This is going to be very interesting.
George, please accept my thanks for such an insightful review. I've seen nothing like this, and I doubt I ever will, because it sure takes some effort to do this so carefully and coherently.
Great video, the base game has even more Polish folklore in it ("The Tower of Mice" which you assumed was German, or "Forefather's Eve"). The Geralt vs Olgierd duel is also inspired by a sabre duel in a book/movie "Potop" between Kmicic and Wołodyjowski - two Polish nobleman. You can easily google it.
Also, as someone stated before, the looks of Olgierd aren't based on Twardowski, it's just a typical look of a Polish nobleman.
FYI they reference O'Dimm in Blood and Wine
The quest is 'La cage au fou'.
They even play his tune, depending on your choices
It's one of my favourite quests in the entire Witcher trilogy.
Great vid SBH. I have to say that the Witcher 3 is probably the greatest game ever made. Especially with all the updates they've given it and the DLC. I'm loving Blood and Wine.
Thanks for all your hard work man.
Would love to hear your thoughts on Blood and Wine soon. First time subscribed to your channel!
Your work humbles me. I respect it greatly.
Hearts of Stone, for me, was similar to how you mentioned it being a choose your own adventure tale which I believe holds more meaning to a person who has to go through these decisions. If you take your time during the main story line quests you're shown different parts of both our supposed villain, O'Dimm, and whatshisface. You become invested in these characters through your interactions and not simply by reading about them. That is one of videogame's biggest strengths in my opinion. The ability to let the player become invested in this world and Witcher, with it's immense level of detail and storytelling, masters that art wonderfully.
Seeing Regis in the new expansion was just awesome. Gotta love these developers.
why would you spoil that !
Because the trailers did.
Dahmi Awbasheer ...Sorry... but it was so fucking awesome!
Oh, jesus. I didn't know I'd need this.
This'll help me with my thirst to get my hands on Blood and Wine.
Now that I've played through this DLC, I was surprised how I remembered O'Dimm was the same guy I ran into at the inn in White Orchard. In fact, going back to the main quest, seeing how The Bloody Baron, a man who did bad things, felt regret, and sought a way to fix his life was reflected in Olgierd's story, which no doubt helped in my decision to save his life.
I loved the main story to death and despite your criticisms of it -- many of which I'd agree with but never the less the game blew me away when I played it a year ago. now, with all the DLC available, I'm on playthrough 2 and just happened to finish Hearts of Stone for the first time this evening and it blew me away. I was expecting quality content, but I wasn't expecting to be affected as much as I was on an emotional level. I liked all the characters and despite this rather short expansion, I was sad to see it all come to an end. So much so in fact that I went off and did some sidequests before finishing the dlc once and for all. Great review and thanks for the video!
Its ironic that Oldgierds quest of avoiding the so called "void" of death leads to him to a hell far worst than that void - if Geralt choose not to intervene.
The O' Dimm character is a reference to Stephen King's The Dark Tower series
Walking through the paintings and seeing the story of Olgeird and Iris' marriage is one of the most haunting experiences I've ever experienced. So good. If they ever make a Witcher 4, (though this could be used in Cyberpunk as well) I hope they refrain from huge impersonal stories and make personal straightforward tales with harrowing questions.