Poll: What Review Score Would You Give The Witcher 3 PS5 Version?

Well, it's a 10/10 game (imo) but now even better

10/10 as it filled the gap that GOW: ragnarok left behind quite well!

9/10 for me

Would be an easy 10/10 if it wasn't for a 'few' performance issues, specifically in the otherwise beautiful RT mode. I'd happily give a 10/10 for those who are only going to be playing at 60fps as we get great performance and all the other myriad of improvements.

The base-level additions found across both modes are such a dramatic increase over the PS4 Pro version and even the original PC release at max setting. Very impressed. The RT GI+AO is also transformative in cities and indoors/under cover but CDPR have to put in the work to smooth it out performance-wise because it's just too choppy to recommend at the moment.

I'd say I'm surprised that TW3 still holds up so well today but it's been my favourite game of all time since its release in 2016. Outstanding storytelling and writing. Less so with the combat but it's more than serviceable for me. An incredible game for RPG lovers.

Giving a game a 9 or a perfect 10 (at least for me) doesn't always mean every element is great/perfect. TW3 is definitely shines far greater than the sum of it's parts and areas such as the writing and world building easily overtake any quibbles I have about combat, animation and bugs. The same would go for a game like Elder Scrolls. Each to their own when it comes to what's important in reviewing a game though...

Torn. On one hand they've given me the reason to replay this that I've been dying for. And I love it in 60fps, I really do.

On the other hand it still has some weird bugs that I shouldn't still be experiencing after all this time. NPCs floating in mid air. Pop in. Odd enemy AI behaviour. Some missions not triggering next steps therefore no ability to progress. Game crashes. And the controls are still hella clunky.

So I give it a 7.

An already 10/10 game now in 60fps. Couldn't be better

I’m just going to wait until they patch it first.

For me it's tied with Uncharted 4 and Ghost of Tsushima for game of the PS4 gen. It's the same game with better resolution, etc so... still 10/10.

1/10. Still the worst combat system in a AAA title I have ever played in 30 years of gaming.

The world and story holds up, but that combat…man oh man. No longer a fan.

8/10 for me, glad to berevisiting. The quality of life improvements and 60 fps performance mode are great, just a shame that the RT mode is highly unstable and not worth the performance tradeoffs, lesser resolution or the very slight lighting visual improvement.

I do find it irritating when I want to switch to the RT mode just to take a photo, only to have the game crash or the threat of that happening if I do hit that toggle while in game.

Overall, it's a great update to a beloved game that feels unstable and not properly tested. One that came years later than expected. Certainly not a redeeming moment for CDPR and honestly it is worrying that perhaps on a technical level they are not of a very high pedigree alongside their obvious management problems....

I would never have paid money for this update and will never preorder or day one purchase their titles again, but I do hope they turn things around and consider a complete management shakeup.

@brazzios_84 I'd understand a lower score for the combat but a '1/10' 😂 is it really that bad for you? How did you find the rest of the game elements?

I'm definitely enjoying this more than before, especially with the new cinematic camera for exploration and combat, the dualsense features, and quick casting but I still don't enjoy the feel of the gameplay. The impact when landing hits with your sword feels incredibly lacking. 9/10 for me

@brazzios_84 someone has to be THAT person….

What's with all the 10s ?
It's more bug and glitch ridden than the original, dreadful fps drop off,
Not much really changed either sure looks more pretty and a couple of QoL changes, still remains lack lustre combat clunky, slow and the " fast cast" just doesnt work sometimes quests not continuing, bloated map ( old problem but still), game crashing just running through the city, stops diving???
List goes on and on, so glad I didn't pay for this
And I tought this could be a small redeeming moment for cdpr, but nope
I feel the witcher 4 will suffer heavily from this companies crap output

@Loamy I don't really understand the combat complaint exactly. I don't like it cause it lacks impact but other than that it isn't too bad and now when there's quick casting it makes it much better than stopping, opening a weapon wheel, and choosing a cast sign.

I've been playing it in performance mode and it looks and runs beautifully. The storytelling and writing are best in class. The combat is serviceable but showing it's age.

I'd give it a 9/10.

@Nepp67 Yeah for sure. It's definitely not great in its feel, and there's much to be improved, but it never got in way and actively annoys like some games manage to offend with.

I think a big part of its overly negative reception by some people is partly psychological in that you go online to see everyone excessively praising a game as 'fantastic' or 'perfect', yet the combat is the obvious weak point in gameplay and it makes for easy criticism. Justified criticism but I'd say it's often a little OTT. Happens with a lot of critically acclaimed games.

Hopefully CDPR have understood combat as being the weak pillar of their games and aim to add some weight and meatiness to the combat in the next entries.

@brazzios_84 worst than God of War 2018 where you can’t even see the enemies and Kratos is a tank?

Can someone explain the combat thing to me? I always have enjoyed the combat, feels fair and takes a little bit of skill but not too difficult. Would much rather the way it is than something like eldenring/blood bourne which is just wayyy to difficult for me.
Only thing could be better is locking on and the weight of impact, but the finishers etc are great. Only directly comparable game is skyrim where the combat is a complete joke actually made me turn it off.

Shoutout for them actually using the DuelSense. I wish more developers would...

@Loamy Don't know, I haven't been able to force my way through White Orchard since it came out. I despise the combat THAT much.

@whizzkidd I'm certain I am not the only person who can't stand this games combat system. Not many are willing to get flamed for speaking their mind out of fear of losing internet points.

@brazzios_84 Fair enough. That's a real shame considering the rest of the game's quality is far above what you find with the combat itself. Still, if you really can't get on with it then I guess that's a write-off for the entire game. It's not like it's all that avoidable aside from some conversation choices.

@djhegzy I’ve tried to play it three times over the years and I do find the combat a little archaic. I keep trying though because I felt the same way about Red Dead Redemption 2 and I ended up loving that game. I’m counting on it clicking with me eventually 🙏

@Loamy Well the combat in Cyberpunk 2077 is very good. Definitely not incredible but better than the average game I'd say.

I'm playing it for the first time, currently lvl 6, and I'm having an absolute blast. I've had it crash one time so far after a death at the loading screen which isn't a big deal to me. I'm playing on the "Blood and Broken Bones!" difficulty and I'm pleased with the challenge in combat. Noticed last night that I was starting to use signs with the fast cast a lot more seamlessly and that was pretty gratifying as I've been dying a bunch lol. To me, so far, it's perfect.

@James_42 That is true. It's a marked improvement over TW3, that's for sure. I was a little concerned about their swap to FPS combat but I found Cyberpunk to be a joy to play throughout. Spells well for the future.

Out of curiosity, still haven’t played the game, but with mods supported, anything should be installed to get an even better experience or the mods don’t give much of an upgrade now that the game have been reworked?

Solid upgrade… and same for several folks here… the combats the weak point but not horrible.

I have not run into a single big or glitch so I suppose I’m lucky.

It’s aged amazingly well. I’d give it a solid 9. Still probably the best side quest game I’ve ever played.

My favourite game ever looking better than ever. A big fat ten.

8.

Witcher is a great game, story and quest side are just incredible and very well done. The world and ambience is also great. But the gameplay and some RPG mechanics aren't. They are mediocre. Small bugs and technical issues also don't go well, its the Achilles' heel of CDPR games. I wish CDPR patch this version so the 30fps raytracing is stable and without insane input lag, because it changes the light in a better way.

it’s the same game/10 😂

The very best game of the past generation made even better. Sure 10 again!!

I'll give it a 9/10 and i'm really enjoying it. I personally dont have any issues with the combat mechanics but i can see why some people might..

8. The first one was an 8 and the changes arent that drastic that it changed.

Still in white orchard but not enjoying it as much as i did upon first release. Finding controls & combat more irritating this time round and just finding it a bit of a slog.
Strange cos I loved it first playthrough. Plenty of hours to change my mind and i never did do the DLC.

@brazzios_84 im with you, i dont know why people rave so much about this game, controls and combat are awful and the main story is a borefest...couple of decent side quests but otherwise its a pretty average game!

Game stands the test of time as one of the greatest ever IMO. Happily rated and this will be an eternal 10/10 would play again.

7.

has issues.

and the terrible movement/combat isnt acceptable on modern console.

it would be slammed in reviews for it.

10/10, its a fantastic version of a fantastic game.

6/10 - pretty in places but everything about it is soulless.

Cannot rate, because still waiting for cross-saves (3 hours spend on trying to get save from Switch to PS5 and vice versa) and won't throw away around 100 hours on Switch while I have around 3 hours free for Switch daily VS 2 hours on PS5. If cross-saves work, than I'd give it a solid try on PS5.

@JJtheTexan I've started my first run on Switch about month and half ago, so really won't give it up. Yes, loading times on Switch are real pain (still faster than Street Fighter V) and graphics is also terrible, but this game is proof, that great game is not about visuals or sound, but about story and presentation.

Everything good about this game came from the books (and gwent is alright). The rest is just average at best. Most overhyped game in history and is bettered by almost every AAA open world game out there.

Reviewers beware, because you look incompetent by endorsing this tripe as a masterpiece.

Edit: calling it tripe is as bad as calling it a masterpiece, but you know what i mean...

The Witcher 3 is a true masterpiece. There are side quests with more depth than main story quests in other games. The first expansion, Hearts of Stone, alone is better than most full games. This is factual.

@Loftimus
There's nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade, or, in this case, calling a masterpiece a masterpiece.

@TheCollector316 the side quest are the main quests just cut into pieces. The copy and pasting of buildings, the having to run around a river bank to get past a head high ledge, the unbalanced combat all say otherwise. It is a jank mess.

Dying light did everything better at around the same time.

Edit. Assassin's Creed 2 did it better on ps3.

9 for sure. I’ve never played a 10 game so 9 is the highest rating I give. Went back and checked my trophies and the last one I got for The Witcher 3 was January of 2018. Didn’t realize it’s been so long since I’ve played the game.

Edit: 1s and 10s are all relative. We’re all not going to like the same things. I know a certain 2022 title that I thought was very lacking but everyone raved about it. Anyway, I’ve never played a game that’s a 1, nor have I played a game that’s a 10.

Oh Geralt, you had me at the hello. 10/10

Great game but the RT implementation is ridiculous - so 3/10 for that version; you simply shouldn't see games in that state being released. If you received any other goods in that state you'd take them back, get a refund and if it was a widespread problem there would be a recall in operation.

Imagine getting a microwave that stutters, stops, just fails at times, cooks at half the intended speed intermittently - there would rightly be some complaints. We shouldn't put up with shoddy work just because its digital.

At 60 FPS its a good improvement on the base game though.

It's a lot more difficult than I remember it being. Started the hearts and stone expansion, the first boss fight against the toad prince is a real slog, spent two hours with him absolutely handing my arse to me. Haven't mustered up the gumption to go back to it in a few days! Think I'm perhaps still stuck in the god of war mindset and need to be more tactical in my approach.

@Slippship sure 1/10 is low but seriously its light attack and heavy attack and 1 single spell that does actually damage,.and if you think that's good for 80hrs plus good for you bit " simple" so who is really the simp here

Such a boring game thought I might like this after enjoying elden ring but it's just not for me.

@Slippship what are you on about " thrown down comment"
I dont care for COD cause its first person shooter I find them mind numbing,
Horizon have you played it ? I mean there's 4 talent trees and special abilities to use from each talent tree specific to that, full ranged, full melee, full machine control and stealth,
Each bow has different effects, fire types etc
Mass effect has good combat and also has ton of abilities when you progress through the talents
Having said that witcher is still one of my favourite games ever, as for dodge and parry
Well just 1 talent in the witcher allows you to dodge with 100% immunity regardless of late activation
I apologise if you felt i singled you out, but your also defending an well backed up well known complaint/problem whatever you want to call it,

It remains the same game at its heart: a white straight male geared fantasy with tank-like controls for the main character and cumbersome map and menu systems. Didn't like it then, don't like it now.

@Loftimus
We get it it’s not for you. Get over it FFS.

@Benjiro
Based on your assessment 10 out of 10 material right there.

@Benjiro Funny you say that when Yen, Ciri and Triss far outrank Geralt in most things including power and place in the world. Yeah Geralt is white because shocker it takes place in medieval Poland where the vast vast majority of people who lived there would have been white, Geralt is male because Geralt is male in the books.

Finally the map and menu aren't cumbersome and haven't been for years, they sorted them out just before Blood and Wine launched.

@Lumic I've made four comments over the course of a week on the subject so im going to say no mate, you get over it.

@Loftimus
You’re a jumped up little belter aren’t you? Mate.

@Lumic how dare you? I'm old enough to know the smell of hyperbole when its in the air.

@Loftimus
Boo hoo hoo cry me a river!!!

I find the amount of 10s quite surprising. There are some nice quality of life improvements, but the much lauded ray tracing mode has quite bad performance - often unable to hit 30fps. I just watched Digital Foundry's piece on it and going from 60fps to 24fps in the same area on the PS5 is appalling.
It's still a 2015 game and while the 60fps mode is nice, it does dip under that on occasion on the PS5, and the XboxOne X already had that - but CDPR never enabled a higher framerate mode on the Pro.
It's also been released with a number of bugs.
Again it's nice. It's free for this old game too, so that's super appreciated, but from a score perspective - I would give it a 6 or 7 at best with all of that added in. Scoring it on a technical level - I'd give it a 5-6.. it's an old game with some performance hitting polish and some bugs.
I'm playing it on my Steam Deck again, as I've already played it before on my Pro. I don't have the time to play through it again front of my TV when I have enough of a good-game backlog to make my way through. This update just isn't appealing enough to do that - except to play with its photo mode for a few mins I guess.

@brazzios_84
Combat is great on this game. Witcher 2's combat was worse, you had to guess what monster might appear as you couldn't use potions and oils mid-combat

@Uromastryx
Signs each have different jobs, and damage different enemies. Igni (which is what you meant) does Damage over time. Aard (especially when upgraded) does huge damage and can even knock enemies off cliffs. Yrden is for slowing down (and when upgraded) damaging spectral entities.
The use of the correct oils does extra damage to the specific type of monster you're fighting.
It sounds more like you don't understand the combat system, more than it is horrible to use.

@SolaceCreed Sure, combat might be great if you have never played any other game before it.

@Lumic .... Nice one!

I don't want to score the game as I never played this kind of game before.
I spent 8 hours on ps4 version then waited to get the ps5. I guess nothing to do with the game when I say, ps shows I played 1 hour instead of my hard work hours to getting to Novingrad.

Anyway, I have more bugs on this than on ps4 version, it looks different, I like the extra dualsense controller features. In short

If anyone else is playing it first time like me, I don't think you should wait for patches (if they come).
If I stop playing it: it will happen because the game genre is not my cup of tea instead of the bugs.

@SolaceCreed haha really ?? Aard piss poor damage when you put what 15 points into it other than oh it knocks people over or off cliff stop the press we have situational damage ok nice!!
I'm well aware how combat works man thanks.

@brazzios_84 play quite a lot of open world games and each one has it's upsides and downsides, even when the combat is good.
Matter of opinion, you can't get the hang of the combat, doesn't mean it's a bad game.

@Loftimus
Thanks mate. Look nothing personal you don’t like the game I get that - apologies for any offence caused. Have a nice Christmas and enjoy whatever games it is you enjoy.

@SolaceCreed It is the most overrated AAA game in existence. Worthy of absolutely no praise due to its garbage gameplay.

After playing God of War Ragnarok and Elden Ring, gosh this is painful to play. The combat system is absolutely the worst. Even AC: Odyssey and Valhalla have much better gameplay and combat like this.

The story is top notch, as well as the writing and everything. But definitely this game shouldn't be rate so highly with this combat system.

@brazzios_84
Again, that's your opinion, I enjoy the game, and I don't particularly care if others don't, but it is in no way as rubbish as you make it.

@Uromastryx clearly not, as you'd know that the signs aren't the most important part of the combat, but a cog of how the game is played. If you rely solely on signs, of course you'll have a bad time.

@SolaceCreed I'm sorry that you feel compelled to defend bad games so you think people will like your opinions on the internet. I urge you to throw out your rose tinted glasses in the trash along with this game. You'll fell better, I promise.

@brazzios_84
Pathetically trolling response, showing your immaturity

The game holds up well. I loved it upon release and this new patch makes a major difference. It is incredibly beautiful riding around Velen. So atmospheric at night. Some of the very first quests I have played reminded me why I fell in love with the game. The bloody baren, truly tragic story. (I got the bad ending for him) Keira Metz. Quite pleased to report I got the good ending with her and shipped her off to Kaer Morhen 😍

Yes the frame drops happen usually when entering a new area, it can be quite jarring. I haven't made it to Novigrad yet though, and heard it struggles there. But in all honesty so was Elden Ring when I played. I haven't played that in a while was that ever patched?

And in regards to the combat its a little clunky yes, but it's not nearly as bad as some people are making out. I've made a sign build and honestly it's really fun and overpowered. On the hardest difficulty it starts hard but soon becomes easily manageable.

In my heart it's a 10, but to be fair I gave it a 9. Some parts haven't aged well. Horse riding I'm looking at you.

Oh well off to find my boy Dandelion 😎