Talking Point: Are You Enjoying The Witcher 3 on PS4 as Much as We Are?

I wish I could tell you. I've had the game since 10 am and have not yet been able to move past the first loading screen.

Still waiting on UPS to drop it off! Ahhh!

still waiting for the DLC and the update to drop

Just past tutorial and first few cut scenes, very good so far. Amazed how simple combat is and kinda glad.

No, I'm not having fun now as I was playing my first game of Gwent and the game crashed, cheers.

Dear pushsquare,

is this another bloodborne? Almost every headline has to do with witcher. Same happened to bloodborne. If there is nothing to write about...

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi not once had that problem played 3 games infact... try uninstalling it and reinstalling it... but other than that the game so far is simply amazing. Reminds me alot of the same fun i had with Skyrim... Ive played like 5 hours last night but only really did like 30 min of quests... alot of it is scavenging for items to sell and killing enemies... and graphically wise its beautiful, for it being a wide open game with no loading screens except when you die and fast travel it looks amazing...

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi Thats a common bug. Its happened to three of my friends at that exact same point. I was lucky enough to win the game with no issues. My game did crash later on, but thats to be expected with games like this.

This game lives up to the hype imo 9.5

Mine crashed the first time I tried to pass in Gwent, played it a couple more times with no issues and I've never played a huge open world rpg that never crashed or had issues. Absolutely loving the game and nothing seems inconsequential or filler as I found in the likes of skyrim oh and combat that I actually have to pay attention to

I would like to explain just how much of a hardcore witcher fan I am lol.... so first off I own a ps4 and Xbox one, but I have this game preloaded at home on my pc. Bought it long ago...

So yeah right now I'm currently away from home working a shutdown at a power plant working 12 hour night shifts. I won't be home until next week and I thought I'd he able to tough it out and wait until I got home to play it.... haha but I was just way too excited so I got off work at 7am this morning and went straight to walmart, bought a second ps4 and the witcher just so I could play it while I'm up here even though I have absolutely no need for another ps4 lol... ended up staying up half the day playing it omg it's so amazing. I've been in love with the witcher series for a long time. The books and games are incredible and I've read/played them all. Had to read fan made translations for the last few but am still super hyped to read on listen to the official book/audiobooks.

For anyone interested the first 4 books are on audiobook and the narrator is absolutely incredible. He brings the books to life like nothing I've ever seen with distinct great voices for all characters even female....

So yeah.. hopefully I can sell this extra console when I get back home though lol. :/ I can't get over how much they improved the combat over witcher 2. It really has a distinct dark souls vibe to it only sped up by about X2. I freaking LOVE it.

@Sanquine expect the same from Sammy when farm sim review hits

Its good and story/world seems interesting - i want to keep playing which is a positive but can't say im omfgzitsamazeballs just yet... Tho i felt the same with dragon age and that ended up as one of my favourite games last year.

Loving this game, i would give it a strong 9 out of 10. It is a shame that it isnt a true open world as in you can move from one sandboxed region to another without fast travel, but dragon age was the same and i still really enjoyed that game too. The atmosphere on this game though! Walk through the woods and hear the wind howl, the birds sing, branches crack. Tiny details make all the difference.

No...I'm not! I don't have my PS4 in my university city...so NO. THANK YOU.
only start playing friday!

@Mrskinner ?? I thought it was open world!!!

@get2sammyb. Im interested in this game. Thats not the problem but after reading article number 10 something... I lose interest thats all! Thanks for responding though.

@AFCC not a true open world, some areas are boxed off behind fast travel. Areas are huge though

I had the game crash during my first game of Gwent as well. After that one crash I have put about 10 hours in with no problems.

I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way because I'm in love with this game...

I have spent more time exploring the ? locations then anything else. I love not knowing what is going to be there. Sometimes it's loot or a skill point sometimes it's me running for my life haha.

@Sanquine

It's a Game of the Year contender, it's going to get coverage. The amount of b*tching whenever a big game comes out and steals the headlines is laughable. This is like when people complain to sports writers about focusing on the teams in the biggest cities. The bigger the game, the more coverage it's going to get, period. It gets even more attention if it's top quality.

"What do you like most about The Witcher 3 so far?
The atmosphere is amazing The visuals are stellar The combat has me gripped I love the loot I can't stop following the story The open world is just too good The music is glorious"

All of the Above :3 Lol

I think its great but when I realized the newest episode of Life is strange was out, I had to finish it first...Sorry, I really wanna know what happens next...

@Mrskinner @AFCC The game starts off with a training area. You can do this if you want or skip it if you are familiar but I don't think you can access this area again. The story starts off though in a large but relatively small section of the map for basically act 1. I think this is probably so you don't run into level 20+ enemies whist you are still a low level. In between Act 1 and Act 2, you are in a building that appears to be accessible only by fast travel but it seems the only reason to return maybe for a game of Gwent at the moment. Act 2 is a much larger open world area - whether that is the whole map or not, I personally don't know as I haven't explored it all or tried to see the full scope. I don't know whether or not I need to 'fast travel' back to the area of Act 1 or can just walk there - maybe it does require 'fast travel' at the moment but I don't know if it will once the main story is finished or if/when I get further into it.. Watching the Playstation Access video of them travelling south to north, it seemed they went near if not through the area of act 1 on their map and it didn't appear to be closed off behind a 'Fast Travel'

I think this game is amazing. What many don't see and comment on is how EasterN European this is, through and through (expertly made accessible to the western audience). I'm proud to be Polish playing this game and the architecture, vegetation, how people look, patterns on walls all look familiar to me, which just adds to my immersion.
More generally speaking, I love the combat and its less forgiving nature but satisfying when you nail it and the side quests; how you have to investigate the clues and then prep for the battle if it's a bounty quest. Everything just falls into place and encourages pacing yourself through the experience.

@finalstan You know I was just wondering if this game was Easter European?!

@Dodoo

I love even the finer things like written endings to your completed quests in the quest log by your ever trustful friend, Dandelion. And coming across little villages that seem alive with a community. The atmosphere really is spot on.

Game is great ! And my god its beatiful, Ultra settings are a sight to behold (but i do have to drop to high for 60fps)

@BAMozzy So far I am half way through act 1 and to get to White Orchard, The royal palace and the Skellige Isles it seems you have to Fast Travel from the world map. This was also pointed out in the official playstation Magazines review of the game. Granted it seems you can visit Novigrad and velen from the same map. This isn't me knocking the game by the way, I am really enjoying it. I just don't call a game with Fast travel only locations truly open world, the same way Dragon Age Inquisition isn't open world.

And then some. REALLY getting into Gwent. Any tips on how to find some good cards?Beat the tutorial dude at the inn, next guy is after I got the lice out of my beard at the castle & the dude is brutal.

@Splat The ? locations are amazing, also it encourages exploration which everyone should do in this game. The environments are wonderful.

@joseth418 If you search the Prima Games online guide there is a section for Gwent cards. Beware of spoilers that may be contained though, not sure if there are any

@Mrskinner Its not exactly a closed world either. Its not linear. The definition is 'Open world is a term for video games where a player can move freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how or when to approach objectives, as opposed to other computer games that have a more linear structure' and this is very much an Open World game by definition.
So what if some areas may require you to access them via a 'Fast Travel' system - its still your free choice as to when you access these. It doesn't stop you from going there. Would you rather have a much smaller area to 'free roam' in just to stop having a few loading screens. Maybe Generation 9 consoles will give you a free roam no loading map the size of the Witcher 3 but I wouldn't be surprised if they have areas behind loading screens even then.
I think you are struggling with what the term 'open world' means - it doesn't mean that games have no loading but it means you have the freedom to go anywhere in that world as and when you want

@BAMozzy Im not struggling with the term open world at all and obviously we both have different ways of looking at an open world. So in that case you class dragon age inquisition as open world also?

Anyway I am enjoying the game and I stick by my original quote that this game isnt a true open world as the areas in the game are not entwined as one map. Doesn't detract from the game, I have never said it does. Opinions will always differ

@Mrskinner I don't know about Dragon Age as I don't have it or played it. I guess if it allows you to go anywhere as and when you want and choose as and when I want to do missions etc as per the definition then I would. I guess everyone else would too but from what I gather it's not quite 'open world' as this or Skyrim is - kind of halfway between the two. Its not a 'black and white' thing as games can have an 'open world' aspect set in multi-regions. Some 'open world' games have loading to access certain buildings, caves/underground systems or even districts. Other games use 'cheats' to do this by having these areas accessible via narrow valleys, corridors etc to allow the next area to load and are only accessible through these. Even though the areas appear to have a large joining boundary, you can only access through 1 or maybe 2 points that are narrow corridors with little to no action/enemies etc to allow the next area to load. Its basically hiding the 'fast travel' loading with this - the bigger the next area, the longer the corridor. Cut scenes to travel to these areas also hide the loading too - do these make these games not 'true open world'?
I wonder what happens if you get into a boat and try to sail to Skellige? may have to try it when I get out of my current mission....

It's a fantastic game so far. While the visuals are beautiful, the atmosphere and lore of the world is what I really love about it. Great game and I can't wait until I get out of class so I can go spend more time on it.

@BAMozzy Yeah, definitely let me know what happens when you try to go sailing to Skellige, I am no where near ready to travel there yet!

As for the definition of an open world it also states "Open world and free-roaming suggest the absence of artificial barriers" which in my personal opinion, a fast travel loading screen is an artificial barrier. I agree the game is not linear, but in my personal opinion the whole game is not true open world either. I understand what you are saying though.

@GraveLordXD @get2sammyb I do not think I have played another game where I have enjoyed the combat as much as Bloodborne. I think it is because you have to live on your instincts to succeed in Bloodborne and the controls are totally geared for that.

My only other criticism of the Witcher is the camera. It feels too close to Geralt when I am playing but that could be because I usually play first person games and like having full view of what is going on. I like the camera distance from the character in Bloodborne slightly more.

@Mrskinner To me 'open world' refers as much to the style of game play as to the environment. Until technology allows, I doubt we will see a truly open world in the sense you mean but this is by far the biggest I have encountered. I doubt the game play will be much if any different though....

Nope, I have £70 in my PSN wallet and it's for ESO,can't wait, Witcher's release is at a dodgy time tbh with a game like ESO round the corner I know a large number of people that have put off the witcher for ESO. I'll be getting this game sooner or later it sound's pretty good.

to be honest I didn't like witcher 2 so I haven't got witcher 3 although I only played the 360 version of witcher 2

but witcher 3 did lok a lot better so I might pick it up once the price goes down

i like everything so far. really great atmosphere. although some npc voices are a bit grating. one thing i dont like is how your character movement is controlled, its AWFUL. trying to get the icon to show up to loot things is a chore. the walking animation overpowers the the direction you are pressing. so sometimes you have to let your character just come to a complete stop in order to go a different direction. oh man it bugs me something fierce. how could they ok this? i wish SO badly that it did EXACTLY what you tell it to do. ie 1st person controls. most games (even 3rd person) use that these days and everything you do is 100% precise. might as well be using resident evil tank controls lols. buuuuut despite this im loving it. anyone else agree with me?

Please add an option to increase text size!

Played for 2 days now. Game of the year hands down.

Combat does seem clunky compared to games like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate or Bayonetta 2- Games I have sunk countless hours into and have precision response times for every action.

But that's about the only gripe I can muster. And I think you adjust to it with a little time.

@Mrskinner
No, I agree. The camera actually does seem a little close. I was having trouble performing actions like snuffing out the candles because I couldn't see- big old Geralt was in the way which only added to the clunkiness of the controls.

I'm sure I'll get used to it with practice

I just killed the first big monster. So far I am really enjoying the choice available. Unfortunately I have work and a family so I haven't had a marathon session yet, that will change tomorrow night.

@JaxonH the controls do seem a little off, but not to the point of being a deal breaker. The Witcher has so much else going for it that it's easy to look past.

@get2sammyb

So between this and Bloodborne which game would you go with? I'm still trying to decide between the two.

@Gamer83 For pure combat and control Bloodborne, for atmosphere, lore and story, Witcher 3

@Gamer83 But both are excellent games for different reasons in my opinion

@Mrskinner
Thanks, I'll have both eventually, just trying to decide which to get first. I'm guessing Bloodborne might also be a little shorter, so it'd be easier to get through before Batman: Arkham Knight is out.

Is this anything like Dragon Age: Inquisition? I read rave reviews about that game, but, I found it thoroughly boring and too fiddly to play. I'm not sure whether to get this is wait until ESOL comes out!

@Gamer83 Yes Bloodborne is the shorter game depending on how much of a perfectionist you are. I would say you could sink 40-60 hours into Bloodborne easily. Witcher 3 I have sunk around 20 hours already and hardly scratched the surface.

@stupidget It is like DA:I as in it is an RPG but I am finding Witcher 3 a lot more satisfying. I did enjoy DA:I as well though

@JaxonH It gets worse for me when you go into witcher detective mode and seems to be even closer! It thankfully isn't a game breaker though

@Gmork___ I agree, it has been a slightly difficult transition not stopping as soon as I want to stop moving haha

@zeldagaymer93 This would really help.

@Mrskinner Yeah I already found that. My issue isn't so much with knowing how to play the game but actually finding some better cards. The guy I am trying to beat is literally impossible to beat with the cards I have atm. I bought a few cards off the first shopkeep you find in the game before I even played Gwent, so am trying to find out where some good shops/loot for Gwent is.

I REALLY like Gwent..used to play Magic The gathering

@joseth418 The guide does tell you every card and how they are hidden but not who and where by the looks of it

Framerate on PS4 is killing me right now... I don't know how they failed to maintain at least stable 30 fps like DA:I did. I just hope that their next "600 fixes" patch would address those issues... Damn... Game is really good, but fps issues bother me BIG TIME!