Why The Witcher 3 Is Popular: 10 Reasons Its Loved By Millions

The witcher 3, The witcher 3 the wild hunt, reasons to play

Updated:

02 Mar 2023

The third in one of CD Projekt Red’s greatest series, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has captivated gamers since its release in 2015. Here and now, in 2023, the game still has a stranglehold on many gamers, new and old….how is this possible? What about playing as Geralt in this game is so captivating? The graphics? The characters? The gameplay? No need to wrack your brain that hard…we’ll happily do it for you. Here’s just 10 of the best reasons you should embark on playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

10 .Graphics

I promise our wonderful witch consented to me sharing this photo....

The signs and mystical creatures aren’t the only thing that are magical in this game; the graphics are as well. Get ready to get computery for this one.

The start of this graphics upgrade lies in using real-time ray tracing to create realistic lighting in worlds that already look great in terms of polygon counts and environmental meshes. The PC version features ray-traced reflections and shadows along with Nvidia DLSS that contains double the full suite of ray tracing efforts available on PS4 or PS5 or XBOX. Check out some of the PC comparisons and the use of Low VS ultra settings here and here.

9. Story Line

Henry Cavill denied to comment on how attractive he is in this game....but we all know it.

Come for the graphics, stay for the story line. If it’s good enough for Henry Cavill, it’s certainly good enough for us. A quick overview of the plot: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt concludes the story of the witcher Geralt of Rivia, the series' protagonist, whose story to date has been covered in the previous versions. Continuing from The Witcher 2, the ones who sought to use Geralt are now gone. Geralt seeks to embark on a new and personal mission, whilst the world order itself is coming to a change. Geralt's new mission comes in dark times as the mysterious and otherworldly army known as the Wild Hunt invades the Northern Kingdoms, leaving only blood soaked earth and fiery ruin in its wake; and it seems the Witcher is the key to stopping their cataclysmic rampage. The story line captivates all who play, those new to the Witcher and those who have played the first two games.

Feel free to check out the full breakdown of the story line here.

8. Expansion DLCs

I promise you these mystical centipedes are LESS friendly than they look.

When you just can’t get enough of the base game, feel free to turn to The Witcher 3’s two DLCS, Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone. Here’s an overview of them.

While the Witcher 3 has an intense campaign pathway, once you’re 15 or so hours in, the ancillary adventures have been as rewarding as pushing the main story ahead. Yes, the vast majority of NPCs you may run into don’t add much besides coughing or spitting in your direction, people who are willing to give Geralt the time of day have made it worth our while. If you commit to methodically doing every side mission you come across, you can help bust criminals, right a few past wrongs, and solve a few mysteries, while, most importantly, not having to collect a dozen cockatrice feathers or silly grocery list tasks to accomplish any of it.
One of the reasons those side missions have been interesting is that many of them require Geralt to make an on-the-fly decision about what comes next. Take one of those criminals, who appears in an early mission. After confronting an arsonist with evidence of his crime, he offers to pay me off if Geralt lets it go. If you elect not to, the outcome is surprisingly brutal. Many side quests lead to dangerous situations, so proceed with caution and intrigue!

7. Map Expanse

In the Globe, it's views for days.

Fair warning, you’re going to be using your map in this game about 50% of the time. Honestly, it’s beautiful enough it doesn’t even suck to do so. CD Projekt Red says the island world of The Witcher 3 is THIRTY-TWO times larger than The Witcher 2, with a great drawn, distant,expansive, explorable landscape reminiscent of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. So if you’re a Skyrim fan, definitely check out the map in this game for more similar gameplay. With 32 times the space, it’s fair to assume there are 32 times more adventures, characters and monsters to discover, giving you more bang for your buck. Check out a review of this globe sized map here.

6. Gwent

Scars included, Ciris' "gwent face" is pretty unbeatable.

A very easily avoidable game throughout, many players face some frustration with the game of Gwent. But trust this author, take an hour or two in a local pub to figure out how to play, and you’ll be hooked.

Gwent emphasizes playing your opponent and playing your hand, instead of just playing around your opposing deck’s power cards or auto-piloting your own deck’s built in powers. The best rounds of Gwent played have always been with people who care about both lore and tactical play, combining their favorite factions with their favorite characters in ways that are still competitive, but are less about ruling the entire game. Check out how to play more intensely here.

Gwent has also introduced a nice progression system, where if you complete objectives, you can unlock a currency which grants you rewards, and unlocks lore entries for certain faction leaders, telling you a bit more about them. This author thinks the combination of lore and play is apparent in features like this, and it’s honestly what makes Gwent really special. In spite of the occasional balancing issues, it’s brilliant at everything else, whether being quicker, more straightforward, or less pay-to-win than other big free-to-play mobile deck builders. So get out there and get Gwent-ing.

5. Monsters and Villains

Hereeeee Leshy Leshy Leshy!

If you’ve never heard of a Leshen, you’ve been missing out. Big time. While bears and wolves/wargs are abundant in some of your first battles, this third installment has also expanded its categories to Cursed Ones. Werewolves, Beserkers, Botchlings, and Lubberkins will haunt your gameplay and your nightly dreams long after you’ve conquered them in battle. There’s great expansion in the Draconid category with wonderful graphics to accompany. We also see a large expansion in Elementia monsters while retaining monsters who have run the course of the Witcher games, like the Djinn and some Elementals, with some new twists to keep even seasoned players on their toes (or butts, if you’re like this author fighting the Frog Prince….) The best fights come from the story line’s new creation: the hounds of the Wild Hunt. Whichever of even more numerous categories you like to fight, there’s enough battle to go around.

Check out some of the more notable enemies you’ll have to take on here.

4. Character Design and Abilities

Expand your Character abilities to harness the full power of the Witcher.

With many of the above categories, it becomes only logical that character build and ability choices are going to be so important. And oh, the choices you’ll make! This part of the game is the most interesting to this author as it defines how the story will unfold in a lot of ways for your gameplay decisions. If you invest in mutations that favor vitality, you may be able to take down some more Elemental enemies, but you’ll pay the price for lacking Sign abilities when fighting Necromancers and magical enemies of the globe. So choose wisely, as although you can reset your abilities, it will cost you a lot of time and coin to do so.

3.Expansive Sets of Weapons and Armor

Ready to hit the runway or the mystical lands of the Globe?

An already attractive guy, Geralt sure knows how to style himself throughout this game. Armor sets in this game have very different effects on the outcome of different monster battles, so be sure to choose armor that best aligns with your playstyle. We love the interaction that these armor sets can also add to weapon selection. Overall weapon selection is limited to mostly medieval weapon choices such as swords and crossbows, but there is an EXPANSE of options and looks within those categories. You better WERK, Geralt.

2. Combat Sequences

Slashing, smashing and killing...combat in this game is a fantastic blunder.

CDProjekt has created a fascinating blend of authentic and fictional swordplay, one which rethinks several recently established frameworks for melee combat, resulting in a coherent fighting style specific to the needs of your character. The Witcher’s attempt to portray swordplay excels in ways most modern games don’t address, even updating this since the first game of this series. Over the course of the series, CD Projekt have consulted with experts who have studied Western martial arts extensively in order to better grasp how swords and sword-fighting work, and rebuilt the combat each time in a continuing process to figure out the best way to portray swordplay in-game.The Witcher 3 is one of the only games to successfully communicate the lightness of a sword and its efficiency. Not simply in its grislier moments, but in how Geralt moves lightly on his feet and wields his blade with such ease. It isn't like a big club he uses to bludgeon opponents with, as you might see in Skyrim or a lot of JRPGs. It's more like an extension of his arm, easy to hold, to adjust, and to strike with. Sword-fighting is all about skill, not strength, and Geralt epitomizes this notion when he fights.There's no point fighting a pack of wolves in the same way you'd fight a man wielding a club, so the game adjusts accordingly, and if you try to block a strike from a monster that would easily shatter all the bones in your arm, well, the game is going to punish you for it.

1. Replayability

Ever been between a rock (troll) and a hard place?

If you can get to the end of the list and not see this as a great final reason, you’re as dumb as these rock trolls and need to reread. Try new playstyles based on new ability choices, new weapon choices, new armor, new map discoveries, new side quests, new DLCs…the choices are ENDLESS. There are so many paths from which to choose, playstyles to select and places to start your story that can change the trajectory of your gaming experience in The Witcher 3. Check out this link if you’re curious which base game and DLC endings are the best, and worst, you can get.