How is this game so big?

[butternubs]

I thought the world map was the first area you start in but now it shows that each region has its own map. WTF this so f**kin cool!

[Living Broscillograph]

And for those who think that it is too small, one expansion adds territory to Velen and one adds a whole region! :P

[viktorhallo]

its insanely big. 3.5x bigger than skyrim. and bigger than gta with no cars lol.. the first area is white orchard is like 1/30 of the game, and velen+novrigrad is like half of the game world...
biggest game of all time yaah.

[MaximumEffort]

Originally posted by viktorhallo:

its insanely big. 3.5x bigger than skyrim. and bigger than gta with no cars lol.. the first area is white orchard is like 1/30 of the game, and velen+novrigrad is like half of the game world...
biggest game of all time yaah.

Yeah... no

[MaximumEffort]

Also, its not that big TBH.
When you take in accoubt Skyrim interior/special locations they are quite the same.

[BenJ]

Textures.

[Cryiox]

You actually don't realize how big the game is. Without spoilers, when it seems like the game wil end (about 5 times), it still doesn't end.

The starting zone at the beggining, the dream? It's a huge map.
The 10 hours tutorial zone? it's a huge map.
Velen? It's freakin' huge.
You see that small city on the map, Novigrad? It's humongous.
You'll see you can't do everything in Velen, because some of the map is high-level, end game stuff. (Hearts of Stone).
You finish Novigrad, you go to Skellige. It's as freakin' big as Velen. You might as well have a heart attack.
[SPOILERS]
You play Blood and Wine. You get a zone a third as big as Velen. Jesus Christ.
[SPOILERS]

The map size in Witcher 3 .... never ... stops ... getting bigger. You really don't know what you are going to experience.

[xsys]

Originally posted by Peter Capaldi:

You actually don't realize how big the game is. The map size in Witcher 3 .... never ... stops ... getting bigger.

My rig seems fat now.

[gawaind]

It's not just big as in map size ! the quests, story line , cut scenes with word class voice acting and script is mind bogglingly gargantuan the amount of quest and possible threads that you can follow all interconnect and it's genius . It's the type of game that seems eternal or almost never ending . The word big does not do it justice , it's the best game ever made I think and it's pure genius. Amazing acting and character development you really get emotionally involved , plenty of boobs and bums as well , I made out with Triss Yeniffer and Kiera . Game is GENIUS !!!

[Jac]

It's not just big in terms of scale it's the amount of stuff that is packed into the map. Little details, like in Toussaint I went behind one of the vintner's yards and there was a little garden complete with a statue. Or in Beauclair I was looting houses and found lots of areas of interest - in one house I found what I believe is the only toilet in the game. Another house was obviously owned by a rich sailing captain with a ship's wheel on the wall and model ships in glass cases.

Stuff that you would have no reason to ever see.

[Rafael Freeman]

Originally posted by Jac:

It's not just big in terms of scale it's the amount of stuff that is packed into the map. Little details, like in Toussaint I went behind one of the vintner's yards and there was a little garden complete with a statue. Or in Beauclair I was looting houses and found lots of areas of interest - in one house I found what I believe is the only toilet in the game. Another house was obviously owned by a rich sailing captain with a ship's wheel on the wall and model ships in glass cases.

Stuff that you would have no reason to ever see.

It's pretty insane. The roads are often in poor condition at corners and sometimes people have used wooden boards to ensure that cards don't sink into the sand. There is a complete industry around Novigrad. I really liked the inscription on a gravestone that referred to something that was only mentioned in optional dialogue. There is so much detail everywhere in the game that most people will see only a small percentage of all the stuff that is going on.