I bought this game a long while ago but only played a few hours of it before I got bored, because at the time I played exclusively multiplayer games -- mostly competitive games such as CSGO and the like.

But then a magical thing happened. I reinstalled it, deleted my save, and started fresh this past week. And I fell in love.
I played Skyrim through twice way back when, and if you enjoyed that game, this is like that on steroids, daily protein shakes and crystal ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ meth. This game is incredible.

1) The stories are incredible -- and I don't just mean the main story line. Every single side quest has a story, this isn't some Ubisoft cookie cutter crap where every side quest falls under the categories "clear this outpost, kill this guy or climb this tower." Don't get me wrong, there are "outpost clearing" points on the map including bandit camps, people in distress, abandoned towns overrun with monsters, monster nests, etc; there are missions to kill a target and witcher contracts to kill specific hard-to-kill monsters. But these are a minority of the quests, only something to do when you pass by. No, the side (or secondary) quests each have well written dialogue, a full story line which often bleeds into the plot of other side quests and often the main quest, and each one is fulfilling. Rest assured, you will NEVER be bored in this universe; there is always something to do. For reference, I'm 60 hours in (not including my previous few hour session), and I'm only level 13 and haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the main quest line. At this point, with the two DLC stories (estimated 30 hours combined) and the 10 or so single DLC missions (WHICH ARE ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ FREE OH MY GOD WHAT KIND OF GAME DEVELOPER GIVES THINGS TO YOU FOR FREE IN THIS DAY AND AGE), I estimated I could spend 3000 hours in this game before I've completed everything. And I'm willing to put that time in over the next few years, because I know every single ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hour will be worthwhile.

2) Speaking of dialogue, it is great. I have yet to notice dialogue that was subpar, and almost every ounce of voice acting in this game is genuine and immersive.

3) Furthermore on the story: the lore is great. You get a beastiary that updates with information on monsters, including a quote about them, information on their origin, their habits, legends, etc, and what oils, bombs, and magic to use to best kill them. The history of this universe is enthralling. The locations are immersive and lively. There is always something to read into, especially if you're the kind of person willing to buy and read random in-game books and notes which you can find or even buy from merchants.

4) The graphics. This game is beautiful. Not only that, but there are HD texture packs and lighting reworks you can get on Nexus mods to make it look even better. Watching blood splatter (especially with a blood enhancing mod) as you slice up a group of bandits is satisfying, the reflections of the night sky on a lake is breath taking, and the sight of Igni (your fire sign) blasting flames at a pack of irritating wolves will never get old.

5) The gameplay is astounding. You have a light attack, heavy attack, short dodge, far dodge (combat roll), block, parry, signs (magic, including things like a fire blast, a magic shield, and a mind control sign that can calm people out of combat or stun enemies in combat). This isn't some boring number based "press left click over and over" ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, NO, this is fast paced "Soul's-like" combat. Weave in and out of enemies, slashing back and forth, using signs, ♥♥♥♥ is great. The point at which I found out I loved this game... well...

So I was surrounded. 3 bandits attacking me close, with one farther away being a pest with his bow. The arrows were starting to piss me off... I slashed the one ♥♥♥♥♥♥, bandit #2 comes at me from behind and I dodge backwards, end up behind him and give him a good slash for being a ♥♥♥♥. Bandit #3 comes in for a swing, and since I hit the block button at the right time, I performed a parry instead of a normal block, so I swung his sword out of the way, gave him a good throat punch, then a slash for good measure. Bandit #1 and #2 both came in with their blades, so I rolled backwards so I wasn't surrounded, and blasted all three of the whoresons with Igni. Then, as they danced, screaming in flames, I noticed out of the corner of my eye an arrow coming for my right ass cheek. I quickly hit the block button, right before it hit me, and instead of just knocking the arrow to the ground like a normal block, Geralt hit the arrow so hard it flew right back at the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with the bow and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ his day up.

I came in my pants. I didn't know that was something that could even happen, and I was so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ impressed (not at my skill but at the well crafted nature of this combat system) that I actually had to pause the game and stand up for a minute while my awe wore off.

I know this was an essay, but if you want a tldr, I'll sum up this review.

tl;dr: if you enjoy single player RPGs and you don't buy this game, you're ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid.

I bought this game a long while ago but only played a few hours of it before I got bored, because at the time I played exclusively multiplayer games -- mostly competitive games such as CSGO and the like. But then a magical thing happened. I reinstalled it, deleted my save, and started fresh this past week. And I fell in love. I played Skyrim through twice way back when, and if you enjoyed that game, this is like that on steroids, daily protein shakes and crystal fucking meth. This game is incredible. 1) The stories are incredible -- and I don't just mean the main story line. Every single side quest has a story, this isn't some Ubisoft cookie cutter crap where every side quest falls under the categories "clear this outpost, kill this guy or climb this tower." Don't get me wrong, there are "outpost clearing" points on the map including bandit camps, people in distress, abandoned towns overrun with monsters, monster nests, etc; there are missions to kill a target and witcher contracts to kill specific hard-to-kill monsters. But these are a minority of the quests, only something to do when you pass by. No, the side (or secondary) quests each have well written dialogue, a full story line which often bleeds into the plot of other side quests and often the main quest, and each one is fulfilling. Rest assured, you will NEVER be bored in this universe; there is always something to do. For reference, I'm 60 hours in (not including my previous few hour session), and I'm only level 13 and haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the main quest line. At this point, with the two DLC stories (estimated 30 hours combined) and the 10 or so single DLC missions (WHICH ARE FUCKING FREE OH MY GOD WHAT KIND OF GAME DEVELOPER GIVES THINGS TO YOU FOR FREE IN THIS DAY AND AGE), I estimated I could spend 3000 hours in this game before I've completed everything. And I'm willing to put that time in over the next few years, because I know every single fucking hour will be worthwhile. 2) Speaking of dialogue, it is great. I have yet to notice dialogue that was subpar, and almost every ounce of voice acting in this game is genuine and immersive. 3) Furthermore on the story: the lore is great. You get a beastiary that updates with information on monsters, including a quote about them, information on their origin, their habits, legends, etc, and what oils, bombs, and magic to use to best kill them. The history of this universe is enthralling. The locations are immersive and lively. There is always something to read into, especially if you're the kind of person willing to buy and read random in-game books and notes which you can find or even buy from merchants. 4) The graphics. This game is beautiful. Not only that, but there are HD texture packs and lighting reworks you can get on Nexus mods to make it look even better. Watching blood splatter (especially with a blood enhancing mod) as you slice up a group of bandits is satisfying, the reflections of the night sky on a lake is breath taking, and the sight of Igni (your fire sign) blasting flames at a pack of irritating wolves will never get old. 5) The gameplay is astounding. You have a light attack, heavy attack, short dodge, far dodge (combat roll), block, parry, signs (magic, including things like a fire blast, a magic shield, and a mind control sign that can calm people out of combat or stun enemies in combat). This isn't some boring number based "press left click over and over" bullshit, NO, this is fast paced "Soul's-like" combat. Weave in and out of enemies, slashing back and forth, using signs, shit is great. The point at which I found out I loved this game... well... So I was surrounded. 3 bandits attacking me close, with one farther away being a pest with his bow. The arrows were starting to piss me off... I slashed the one fucker, bandit #2 comes at me from behind and I dodge backwards, end up behind him and give him a good slash for being a cunt. Bandit #3 comes in for a swing, and since I hit the block button at the right time, I performed a parry instead of a normal block, so I swung his sword out of the way, gave him a good throat punch, then a slash for good measure. Bandit #1 and #2 both came in with their blades, so I rolled backwards so I wasn't surrounded, and blasted all three of the whoresons with Igni. Then, as they danced, screaming in flames, I noticed out of the corner of my eye an arrow coming for my right ass cheek. I quickly hit the block button, right before it hit me, and instead of just knocking the arrow to the ground like a normal block, Geralt hit the arrow so hard it flew right back at the asshole with the bow and fucked his day up. I came in my pants. I didn't know that was something that could even happen, and I was so fucking impressed (not at my skill but at the well crafted nature of this combat system) that I actually had to pause the game and stand up for a minute while my awe wore off. I know this was an essay, but if you want a tldr, I'll sum up this review. tl;dr: if you enjoy single player RPGs and you don't buy this game, you're fucking stupid.