The Witcher 3 – 100+ Hours Later and I Still Haven’t Found Ciri (But I Found Myself)

I booted up The Witcher 3 thinking, “I’ll just do a couple side quests.”
Cut to 100+ hours later, Geralt has a better skincare routine than I do, my moral compass is permanently bent, and I’m emotionally attached to at least three virtual people and one horse with questionable pathfinding.

This game doesn’t have side quests. It has main quests pretending to be side quests. You show up to kill a monster, and suddenly you’re mediating a divorce, uncovering a generational curse, and questioning the ethics of free will—for 12 XP and a pair of boots worse than the ones you’re wearing. And yet? Worth it. Every time.

Combat starts off as “button mashing with optimism” and slowly evolves into “pre-buffing like I’m about to file my taxes.” Oils, potions, decoctions—Geralt is basically a medieval chemist who drinks mystery liquids and calls it strategy. Sometimes I win fights through skill. Sometimes I win because Quen exists and I refuse to fight fairly.

The world is absurdly alive. Villages feel miserable in a charmingly authentic way. Everyone is dirty, sad, and deeply suspicious of you, which honestly feels right for a man who shows up armed to the teeth asking about drowners. Monsters aren’t just monsters—they’re metaphors, trauma responses, or the result of someone making a very bad life choice 30 years ago.

And then there’s Gwent. A side activity so powerful it briefly hijacks the entire genre. I did not save the world because I was noble. I saved it because that guy had a card I didn’t own.

After 100+ hours, the map is still full of question marks, my quest log is a philosophical essay, and I still occasionally fall to my death from a three-foot ledge. But that’s the magic of it. The Witcher 3 isn’t about completion—it’s about wandering, choosing badly, choosing better later, and occasionally punching a god because a contract said so.

Final verdict:
Come for the monster slaying.
Stay for the existential dread, elite card game addiction, and the realization that you would absolutely survive in a fantasy world by aggressively avoiding the main quest.

10/10. Would ignore Ciri again.

The Witcher 3 – 100+ Hours Later and I Still Haven’t Found Ciri (But I Found Myself) I booted up The Witcher 3 thinking, “I’ll just do a couple side quests.” Cut to 100+ hours later, Geralt has a better skincare routine than I do, my moral compass is permanently bent, and I’m emotionally attached to at least three virtual people and one horse with questionable pathfinding. This game doesn’t have side quests. It has main quests pretending to be side quests. You show up to kill a monster, and suddenly you’re mediating a divorce, uncovering a generational curse, and questioning the ethics of free will—for 12 XP and a pair of boots worse than the ones you’re wearing. And yet? Worth it. Every time. Combat starts off as “button mashing with optimism” and slowly evolves into “pre-buffing like I’m about to file my taxes.” Oils, potions, decoctions—Geralt is basically a medieval chemist who drinks mystery liquids and calls it strategy. Sometimes I win fights through skill. Sometimes I win because Quen exists and I refuse to fight fairly. The world is absurdly alive. Villages feel miserable in a charmingly authentic way. Everyone is dirty, sad, and deeply suspicious of you, which honestly feels right for a man who shows up armed to the teeth asking about drowners. Monsters aren’t just monsters—they’re metaphors, trauma responses, or the result of someone making a very bad life choice 30 years ago. And then there’s Gwent. A side activity so powerful it briefly hijacks the entire genre. I did not save the world because I was noble. I saved it because that guy had a card I didn’t own. After 100+ hours, the map is still full of question marks, my quest log is a philosophical essay, and I still occasionally fall to my death from a three-foot ledge. But that’s the magic of it. The Witcher 3 isn’t about completion—it’s about wandering, choosing badly, choosing better later, and occasionally punching a god because a contract said so. Final verdict: Come for the monster slaying. Stay for the existential dread, elite card game addiction, and the realization that you would absolutely survive in a fantasy world by aggressively avoiding the main quest. 10/10. Would ignore Ciri again.