The Therapist Gamer

The Witcher III is a massive, open world RPG where your main weapon is a sword - with a bit of magic mixed in.  The game world isn't as well developed as The Lord of the Rings, but it's not far off.

 

You play as a witcher named Geralt of Rivia.  Witchers hunt monsters for pay and are seen as outcasts in society.  This is because they are different than average people.  Witchers have undergone a mystic transformation that enable them to use certain types of magic and to live for an abnormally long time; they also have heightened senses, including superhuman reflexes.  Though Geralt appears middle aged, he's about a hundred years old.  He's considered one of the best witchers in the world by his colleagues.

 

The primary story involves the malevolent Wild Hunt, a group of supernatural warriors that would like to bring about the end of the world.  Your main objective is to stop them.  However, there are dozens if not hundreds of side quests and many of these quests have better storylines than most games or even game series.  For example, I recall a side quest wherein a Baron hires you to find his missing wife and return her home.  When you find her she states that she does not want to go back home because her husband has been physically abusive for years and that she finally left him.  When you return to the Baron and tell him of his wife's remarks, he breaks down and admits that he has treated his family very poorly for quite some time.  It eventually comes out that one of his fits of violence towards his wife resulted in a miscarriage.  This would of course be difficult for anyone, but in the world of The Witcher, children who die in utero transform into a horrible monster and can only be put to rest if one of their parents performs a specific ritual with the baby.  The father couldn't bring himself to do this and so buried his child without performing the ritual.  The Baron was too ashamed to tell his wife the truth, and has been living with the guilt of his actions for years - the guilt of lying to and abusing his wife and the guilt of denying his child rest.  He asks if you will help him to unbury his child so that another ritual can be performed that will kill the monster and allow his child to rest in peace.  He then hopes his actions will prove to his wife that he is a changed man and that she will return to live with him.  And that's just part of this quest.  I mean, games just don't approach heavy subjects like this.  I really enjoyed playing a game with mature storylines that were more complex than "do you save the innocent people or kill them?"  And The Witcher III is full of engaging storylines.

 

The combat is just shy of being perfect, but it's pretty good.  You carry two swords - one for mystical creatures and one for regular folk.  You can also use one of five main spells, which are upgradeable.  The combat is relatively easy on normal difficulty, but is very challenging on the hardest difficulty.  It mostly consists of dodging enemy attacks and striking at opportune moments.  Though the fight system is relatively simple, there are a huge variety of enemies that require unique strategies.  You can learn how to make specific oils that you coat your sword with, and they do significantly increased damage against specific enemies.  You could get through the game without using oils very much, but they're vital on the harder difficulties.

 

There is a fairly complex armor and weapon system where you can frequently use upgraded equipment.  However, there isn't really a central storage system - you use what you can and sell the rest.  This was a bit weird for me at first because I like hoarding items in large RPGs, but overall it wasn't really an issue at all.  (Edit: a patch added in storage chests.)

 

Not only is this game huge, but it is also beautiful.  The people who designed the landscapes are very talented and it is pleasant just to ride your horse through a field during a sunset.  There are a few main areas to explore, and there is decent variety between them all.

 

The Witcher III won dozens of "Game of the Year" awards, and with good reason.  It's one of the best games I've played and I am very excited for whatever comes next!