Four years on from its big next-gen update with Complete Edition, The Witcher 3 is back — and this time, it's taken the form of an enhanced remaster.

At a glance, some may consider this an unnecessary refresh, as the aforementioned Complete Edition still looks pretty great on PS5 — but considering it's a totally free upgrade for anyone who already owns the base game, it's really difficult to disparage.

And so for the purposes of this review, I'll mainly be diving into what's new, and whether it actually improves the experience.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered doesn't feature any truly game-changing additions, although it does smooth over some rough edges to a surprisingly effective degree.

Overall, Geralt's adventure remains a landmark release, and a masterclass in its genre — but with Complete Edition, the title's age was starting to show in places. In particular, clunky controls could weigh the game down, both in and out of combat.

Remastered addresses this problem to some extent. Geralt's movement has been noticeably rejigged, to the point where he's far more responsive when it comes to turning, sprinting, and perhaps most importantly, stopping.

There's less weight to him, and it makes interacting with his surroundings less finicky. He no longer takes a couple of extra steps when you let go of the analog stick, and trust me when I say that's a very welcome improvement.

Animation transitions are more fluid as well, when you're hopping over waist-high obstacles and clambering up ledges. This is the kind of stuff that you may not even notice at first, but it does add up over longer stints of exploration.

While there's still an inherent sort of floatiness to our grizzled protagonist — he'll still just glide over rough terrain sometimes — this does feel like one of the remaster's most important tweaks, in regards to making The Witcher 3 feel like a more modern release.

It's a similar story with Roach, your trusty steed. The infamously unruly horse is also way more responsive, whether you're just trotting along or galloping at full speed. This makes a big difference during horse races, where Roach will no longer gravitate towards certain parts of the track; you've just got better control all round.

Unfortunately, I don't think Remastered's combat improvements are quite so prominent. Basically, there seems to be a little more magnetism to Geralt's sword swings, meaning that it's easier to connect attacks against wilier foes.

But there are still instances where Geralt's flashy contextual animations get in the way, and at times, he'll strike in the direction of a different enemy, even though you're pushing him towards a specific opponent.

When you're locked on, these issues don't amount to much at all, but when you're in a skirmish with multiple foes — where locking on and manually switching targets is a tall order — there's still the odd occasion where it feels like Geralt's got a mind of his own.

To be honest, I expected better from Remastered's combat adjustments given that The Witcher 3's system has always been contentious.

Having said that, I personally still enjoy the game's combat despite its flaws, and I do think that other improvements elevate it beyond its previous incarnations.

Most notably, changes to enemy behaviour eliminate some of the most frustrating parts of the action. For example, notoriously awkward foes like wolves and wild dogs no longer race around Geralt, dodging his blows and drawing battles out to an obnoxious degree.

An overhauled skill tree, and a reworking of its perks, also does some heavy lifting. In general, said perks are now much more 'active'. Geralt gains things like attack power buffs in combat if he adheres to certain perk triggers, like striking after a successful dodge, or using a heavy attack after a number of light slashes.

This rebalance, with a better focus on the action itself, makes combat feel more engaging and reactive. And on top of that, there are new visual effects that help you understand when a perk has activated, like glowing swords and wispy auras.

So if you've never quite gelled with The Witcher 3's combat, I'm not convinced that Remastered's additions and adjustments will change your mind. But if you're like me, and the clunky nature of the system's never been enough to put you off, I reckon this is the best it's ever been.

Likewise, this is the best the RPG's ever looked on console. Remastered's biggest visual improvements can be seen in its redone lighting system and improved environmental assets, both of which add even more depth to what was already a richly detailed open world.

Indeed, The Witcher 3's lighting, spanning a full day and night cycle, has always been dramatic and eye-catching, but here it's dialled up with volumetric effects and a more realistic contrast between light and shadow.

Meanwhile, the enhanced assets are primarily shown off outside of civilisation. In the wilderness, increased flora density puts in a lot of work, and from what I can tell, the draw distance on said assets has been bolstered, making for some fairly stunning views of the landscape.

Throw all of this stuff together and Remastered looks fantastic; the visual depth and clarity of its open world is up there with some of the best examples on PS5. And considering it's built on the back of a game that's originally from 2015, and the fact it so handily tops 2022's Complete Edition, this is an undeniably impressive achievement.

But what about technical performance? Do these various graphical enhancements come with a cost?

Thankfully, CD Projekt Red appears to have nailed The Witcher 3's optimisation, having worked on it for over a decade at this point.

Frame rates are rock solid across the board. On PS5 Pro, the dedicated ray tracing mode runs at 60 frames-per-second, and it's undoubtedly the best way to play.

But you can also opt for the performance mode, which boasts an uncapped, super smooth frame rate — assuming you have a display capable of 120Hz.

Missing out on the ray tracing, though, with all of its water reflections and realistic lighting interactions across character models and the like, is a kicker. Enabling ray tracing can often make a clear difference to the visual depth of a scene.

It's a shame, then, that on base PS5, you're stuck with 30fps if you want that juicy ray tracing goodness. It's a questionable trade off, given how far the remaster goes to ensure smoother gameplay.

My one and only problem with the game's performance is that Complete Edition's stuttering still hasn't been fixed. These momentary hitches occur when the title autosaves, and they really stick out now that everything else is so slick.

Beyond these broader gameplay and graphical improvements, Remastered incorporates a number of smaller additions that are certainly welcome.

This includes dynamic meditation, where you can now actually see time pass as Geralt takes a break. A minor thing, no question, but it's a thoughtful, immersion-friendly bonus.

Transmog is finally here as well, letting you change the appearance of your armour without changing its stats — but rather annoyingly, the transmog system itself isn't made available until later in the game, when Geralt gains access to a master blacksmith. An odd and arguably unnecessary caveat.

And then there are the all-new accessibility features, which fall under their own tab in the options menu. They're designed to reduce some of the game's mechanical friction; you can give Geralt infinite breath while underwater, for instance, and you can disable equipment durability and item weight.

Some might say that these options take away from the experience, but I think they're positive additions for such a narrative-driven RPG. If they can help more casual or disabled players progress through this amazingly well written game — seriously, the dialogue is still so far ahead of most of what's on offer elsewhere — then they can only be a good thing.

Besides, I've played through The Witcher 3 what feels like a million times at this point; if you give me the option of turning off equipment durability, I'm bloody well taking it.