Triss had a nude photoshoot for Playboy as promotional material for the game. The Witcher 2 was CDPRs first massively successful game.
Coincidence? I don't think so.
Booba? Maybe.
Hotel? Trivago.

After enacting his judgment on the Salamandra organization and saving the king from a witcher assassin, Geralt sought to spend his remaining years with his face firmly planted in the majestic bosom of the sorceress Triss Merigold, turned adviser for the king of Temeria, Foltest. But stuff happens, red-haired booba gets abducted, and many people die as a result. The reason? Well, the title of the game pretty much gives you a clue - kings die. But why are heads rolling? I guess that's a mystery only a professional monster slayer can solve.

Personally, I really enjoyed this story more than that of the first game. There was political intrigue, romance, the sex, and lots of revelations for our dear Geraldo. But above that, it's the characters and their personalities that give the story that it factor. They feel unique, and it's super fun to interact with and listen to their wisdom. My favourite is the furry and the troll couple. Their dialogue was simply gold.

But, your decisions also impact the path Geralt's story takes. And believe me, they actually matter. While the overarching plot is the same, some characters, stories, revelations and events are "gone" depending on what path you walk. This gives the game great replayability, as you won't see everything nor experience the full story with a single playthrough.

A drastic departure from its predecessor; From automatic attacks with a simple mouse click, stiff movement, combos tied to pressing the left mouse button at the right moment, to the 3rd person action RPG combat many mainstream games employed. And, it's decent. It's too reliant on rolling away and the restricted motionless guard for my liking. And yes, you heard correct - you aren't able to move while blocking incoming attacks. Thus, combat was more challenging because of the poor gameplay decisions made. The stances are also gone, and in their place, we got light and heavy attacks. Disappointing, not gonna lie. The system in the first game provided combat with more depth than simply pressing a light or heavy attack button, with the only difference being how hard you hit.

But, it's not all bad. I liked the way they executed sign combat. It's fast, easy to use, and switching between them doesn't interrupt the flow. They feel more actiony and no longer take half a minute to cast. Prep time is now crucial since potions can't be drank mid-combat. So to come out on top, you must use the bestiary and study your opponent before engaging them. Find their weakness and exploit them. But Geralt can now employ many different bomb variations in his monster-slaying career without needing skill points, which is nice. They can come in clutch when you are getting swarmed, especially those that provide a huge blast.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2654203759

As for exploration, it's still pretty limited; Each level is a small semi-open area with plenty of NPCs to talk to, play dice with and complete notice board quests. There are a few points of interest in each area, all part of quests, so there is zero chance of you missing them. One new "addition" is the sporadic stealth segments. They are pretty wonky, and you'll most likely get spotted on your first try.

The equipment variety greatly improved. Geralt only carries two swords, one for humans, both for monsters. You can find most of them through quests, but the best ones need a master craftsman who knows how to work a shaft. Besides new weapons, the armour department offers plenty in the way of customization. You can select individual parts that cover your head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. There are special Dark items tied to the new difficulty in the enhanced edition - Dark difficulty. I really liked them. They inflict passive penalties to your stats if you arent wearing a complete set. Sometimes even with those penalties using them might be beneficial, as they are quite strong. They are costly and require rare material, so wisely spend your hard-earned orens. And lastly, quests. They were excellent. Even the most mundane looking ones were a joy to complete, thanks to the games exceptional writing. I never felt like skipping a quest because they were boring or uninteresting. Each was like a small piece of lore revealed to me, and I simply couldn't get enough.

Looking at the time between the first game and this one, it's still mind-blowing what CDPR achieved in such a short time. They weren't a powerhouse back then, and yet, they built their very own engine, RED Engine, and produced visuals that could rival some of the biggest AAA games at that time. And boy did they melt GPUs in 2011, especially that UberSampleing option. Like, who was that even for? There are some issues tho; Many faces are the same for fodder NPCs, pop-in is very noticeable, not just for textures, but colours as well, on grass most of all. And since it's, well, everywhere, it can be an eyesore. Saturation also seems to be turned to eleven, with colours way too bright at times, making certain situations appear cartoonish. But, the game still holds up great, even with some rough edges here and there. And I prefer its tone to that of the newer entry, The Witcher 3. It feels more gritty.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655235408

The soundtrack and voice acting also improved, especially the latter. I can't even begin to explain how much this impacted my enjoyment of the first game. It felt wooden, emotionless. But here, the voice actors finally made these characters their own. Doug Cockle did an excellent job as Geralt, delivering an "emotionless" performance. The supporting cast was great as well. Dandelion, Zoltan, Letho and Dethmold were the most noteworthy of the bunch. And with the games improved animations, combining these two produced great cinematic cutscenes. There is one tiny nitpick; Due to their budget, many NPCs had to be voiced by the same person. It wasn't that significant or immersion-breaking for me, but your mileage may vary. As for the soundtrack, it's fine. It's an improvement from the first game, but still, I don't remember many of its tracks. There is some nice combat and ambient music, but nothing that stuck with me, even after three playthroughs.

Look. I am approximately 10 years late to the praise Geraldo party. But you know what they say about those fashionably late to the party: That's right, they didn't leave on time, and that's why they were late. So thanks for reading, sweat dreams and buy the game.

If you enjoy this review, come and read more wisdom from the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije.

Triss had a nude photoshoot for [i]Playboy[/i] as promotional material for the game. [i]The Witcher 2[/i] was [i]CDPRs[/i] first massively successful game. Coincidence? I don't think so. Booba? Maybe. Hotel? Trivago. [h3][i]"My favorite type of magic, [b]Lesbomancy.[/b]" - Skalen, a horny dwarf[/i][/h3] After enacting his judgment on the Salamandra organization and saving the king from a witcher assassin, Geralt sought to spend his remaining years with his face firmly planted in the majestic bosom of the sorceress Triss Merigold, turned adviser for the king of Temeria, Foltest. But stuff happens, red-haired booba gets abducted, and many people die as a result. The reason? Well, the title of the game pretty much gives you a clue - [i][b]kings die.[/b][/i] But why are heads rolling? I guess that's a mystery only a professional monster slayer can solve. Personally, I really enjoyed this story more than that of the first game. There was political intrigue, romance, the sex, and lots of revelations for our dear Geraldo. But above that, it's the characters and their personalities that give the story that [i]it[/i] factor. They feel unique, and it's super fun to interact with and listen to their wisdom. My favourite is the furry and the troll couple. Their dialogue was simply gold. But, [i][b]your decisions also impact the path Geralt's story takes.[/b][/i] And believe me, they actually matter. While the overarching plot is the same, some characters, stories, revelations and events are "gone" depending on what path you walk. This gives the game great replayability, as you won't see everything nor experience the full story with a single playthrough. [h3][b][i]Bombs away![/i][/b][/h3] A drastic departure from its predecessor; From automatic attacks with a simple mouse click, stiff movement, combos tied to pressing the left mouse button at the right moment, to the 3rd person action RPG combat many mainstream games employed. [i][b]And, it's decent.[/b][/i] It's too reliant on rolling away and the restricted motionless guard for my liking. And yes, you heard correct - [i][b]you aren't able to move while blocking incoming attacks.[/b][/i] Thus, combat was more challenging because of the poor gameplay decisions made. The stances are also gone, and in their place, we got [i][b]light[/b][/i] and [i][b]heavy attacks.[/b][/i] Disappointing, not gonna lie. The system in the first game provided combat with more depth than simply pressing a light or heavy attack button, with the only difference being how hard you hit. But, it's not all bad. I liked the way they executed sign combat. It's fast, easy to use, and switching between them doesn't interrupt the flow. They feel more actiony and no longer take half a minute to cast. Prep time is now crucial since [i][b]potions can't be drank mid-combat.[/b][/i] So to come out on top, you must use the bestiary and study your opponent before engaging them. Find their weakness and exploit them. But Geralt can now employ many different bomb variations in his monster-slaying career without needing skill points, which is nice. They can come in clutch when you are getting swarmed, especially those that provide a huge blast. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2654203759 As for exploration, it's still pretty limited; Each level is a small semi-open area with plenty of NPCs to talk to, play dice with and complete notice board quests. There are a few points of interest in each area, all part of quests, so there is zero chance of you missing them. One new "[i]addition[/i]" is the sporadic stealth segments. They are pretty wonky, and you'll most likely get spotted on your first try. The equipment variety greatly improved. Geralt only [i][b]carries two swords,[/b][/i] one for humans, both for [i]monsters[/i]. You can find most of them through quests, but the best ones need a master craftsman who knows how to work a shaft. Besides new weapons, the armour department offers plenty in the way of customization. You can select individual parts that cover your head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. There are special [i][b]Dark items[/b][/i] tied to the new difficulty in the enhanced edition - [i][b]Dark difficulty.[/b][/i] I really liked them. They inflict passive penalties to your stats if you arent wearing a complete set. Sometimes even with those penalties using them might be beneficial, as they are quite strong. They are costly and require rare material, so wisely spend your hard-earned orens. And lastly, quests. They were excellent. Even the most mundane looking ones were a joy to complete, thanks to the games exceptional writing. I never felt like skipping a quest because they were boring or uninteresting. Each was like a small piece of lore revealed to me, and I simply couldn't get enough. [h3][i][b]UberSaturation[/b][/i][/h3] Looking at the time between the first game and this one, it's still mind-blowing what [i]CDPR[/i] achieved in such a short time. They weren't a powerhouse back then, and yet, they built their very own engine, [i]RED Engine[/i], and produced visuals that could rival some of the biggest AAA games at that time. And boy did they melt GPUs in 2011, especially that UberSampleing option. Like, who was that even for? There are some issues tho; Many faces are the same for fodder NPCs, pop-in is very noticeable, not just for textures, but colours as well, on grass most of all. And since it's, well, everywhere, it can be an eyesore. Saturation also seems to be turned to eleven, with colours way too bright at times, making certain situations appear cartoonish. But, the game still holds up great, even with some rough edges here and there. And I prefer its tone to that of the newer entry, [i]The Witcher 3[/i]. [i][b]It feels more gritty.[/b][/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655235408 The soundtrack and voice acting also improved, especially the latter. I can't even begin to explain how much this impacted my enjoyment of the first game. It felt wooden, emotionless. But here, the voice actors finally made these characters their own. Doug Cockle did an excellent job as Geralt, delivering an "[i]emotionless[/i]" performance. The supporting cast was great as well. Dandelion, Zoltan, Letho and Dethmold were the most noteworthy of the bunch. And with the games improved animations, combining these two produced great cinematic cutscenes. There is one tiny nitpick; Due to their budget, many NPCs had to be voiced by the same person. It wasn't that significant or immersion-breaking for me, but your mileage may vary. As for the soundtrack, it's fine. It's an improvement from the first game, but still, I don't remember many of its tracks. There is some nice combat and ambient music, but nothing that stuck with me, even after three playthroughs. [h3][i][b]Final Thoughts[/b][/i][/h3] Look. I am approximately 10 years late to the praise Geraldo party. But you know what they say about those fashionably late to the party: That's right, they didn't leave on time, and that's why they were late. So thanks for reading, sweat dreams and buy the game. [quote]If you enjoy this review, come and read more wisdom from the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40407656-Gospel-of-Sv.-Prolivije/]Gospel of Sv. Prolivije[/url].