CD Projekt Red has outdone itself once again. While player confidence took a hit following the turbulent launch of Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s free next-gen update is back on track, and the effort put into improving an already amazing game It is a good sign for the future of the saga.
What could have been a simple port for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S with improved graphics and a price of 20 euros has become a mission of self-reflection for CD Projekt Red, who has gone back to the drawing board to try and improve The Witcher 3 for real. Anyone who’s bought physical editions of The Witcher 2 or 3 in the past will remember the bundle of extras they included (like soundtrack CDs and maps), and CD Projekt Red has basically created a digital version of that with the update to new generation.
Whether it’s one of the new armor sets based on beloved book locations like Dol Blathanna, new story snippets, the new quest, or even the new Gwent card, the development team is trying to prove that worries. However, what really augurs a promising future is not only the effort behind these new additions, but the changes that CD Projekt Red has introduced in the previous mechanics.
For fans returning to The Witcher 3, the most notable of these changes is in the combat system. It’s something that a lot of people had complaints about in the original, as it could be slow and repetitive at times, but CD Projekt Red have made several small changes that bring real intensity and dynamism to every fight.
The new melee camera angle pushes players to the center of the battlefield, the sprint attached to L3 basically adds a new mechanic to combat, and the quick-launch cue system keeps you locked in the battle throughout. moment. Combine that with 60 frames per second gameplay and tactile feedback (at least on PS5), and the combat almost feels choreographed. Geralt throws Yrden to trap one enemy, dodges another’s blow, throws Igni to knock them both down, then dodges an arrow before running towards the archer and executing a brutal finisher. Every battle seems like a scene.
These changes would even a satisfying improvement if they arrived in The Witcher 4 (in the absence of an official name), so the fact that CD Projekt Red is revealing them now certainly suggests even better things are on the way. And his understanding of what the community wants is even more exciting.
CD Projekt Red did not stop there, as has included fan-created mods as official features in the next generation update. World map improvements, balance updates and even some texture improvements have been features added by the development team but made by the community. Especially after sidelining many players at the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, the fact that CD Projekt Red is paying attention to their community again shows that they won’t repeat the same mistake when The Witcher 4 comes out.
Of course, it will be the first (or second) of several new Witcher games, as CD Projekt Red announced earlier this year that at least five sequels and spin-offs are on the way. Although this increase in development is likely to present its own challenge, as long as CD Projekt Red puts the same effort and attention into their future games as they did in the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 (improving performance issues on PC that some players are experimenting, yes), fans of the saga will not have to worry.
