The Witcher series has some of the best role-playing games ever made. While the dated nature of the first game might make it a little hard to play for fans, the sequels have been a marked improvement and show how CD Projekt Red has evolved from its humble roots to become one of the most popular video game developers. of all time. Even the controversial launch of Cyberpunk 2077 did not taint any of the previous work they had done.
There’s no denying that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt considered by most to be the best game in the trilogy by a country mile. That’s not to say it’s a perfect game, though – far from it. Most people find certain elements of The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings to be more captivating unlike the sequel, the most notable examples of which are listed below.
6 The variations in the development of the story are extremely impressive
During The Witcher 2, there is a constant conflict between the Scoia’tael elves and the human Blue Stripes. This culminates at the end of Chapter 1, when Geralt must choose either side for Iorveth or Roche. This decision has a major impact on the game, more than most players would expect.
Based on who players help out, the starting region and most of the objectives completely change in the second chapter. It’s a good reason to play the game again and see where the other path would have led, and show why The Witcher 2 was praised by so many developers and players upon its release.
5 The world expands in the second game
The first game teases players with a peek into the world of The Witcher, although it’s clear that the game just can’t dump too much knowledge from the get-go. That responsibility falls on the second game, where players are introduced to numerous elements present in the game witcher universe.
From the Lodge of Sorcereses to the nature of the political conflict between Nilfgaard and Cintra, the world feels really alive and fleshed out in the second game. The Witcher 3 owes much of its success to its predecessor, who laid an intriguing foundation on which to build.
4 Exploring the intricacies of the wizard’s lodge
Speaking of the Lodge of Sorcereses, there’s no denying that seeing this legendary group and its members was a treat for fans new and old alike. The Witcher 2 did a brilliant job building this group and showcasing most of the key figures that make up this committee of the world’s most powerful and influential people.
This makes it even more surprising to see them dismantled towards the end, with Nilfgaard showing how ruthless they really can be. Remnants of the Lodge appear in the third game and interacting with them makes for a great time that fans of the series are sure to appreciate.
3 Triss had a stronger and more assertive personality
One thing people didn’t appreciate The Witcher 3 so Yennefer pretty much took over Triss’ personality from the first two games. Meanwhile, the redhead appeared tormented by her guilt for not telling Geralt the truth all along when he lost his memory. While this makes for a compelling arc, it diminishes how strong and direct her character was early on.
In fact, Triss is actually the more assertive pick of the two romantic characters in the first game and maintains this attitude in the second game as well. Although she becomes a damsel in distress for much of the storyline, her personality was still very much intact. Fans of Triss hated how she was portrayed in The Witcher 3as the previous two games had the better version of this iconic character.
2 The game is much more challenging at the beginning
The witcher games are notorious for having reversed difficulty settings where the games are very hard at the beginning before letting gamers get into a rhythm as they complete missions and reach levels. That being said, The Witcher 3 was still quite forgiving at first, leading many players to think the game was pretty easy on the standard difficulty setting.
In the meantime, The Witcher 2 pulled no punches by pushing players into the middle of a war where soldiers strike like a trick. Quick dodge and efficient blocking were pretty much necessary for survival during this phase, and it took players a while to get used to the combat system and Geralt’s fragile nature as the world opened up.
1 The choices players made had more impact
There’s no denying that The Witcher 3‘s scope is huge compared to its predecessor. Everything from the stakes of the plot to the sprawling nature of the game’s world was on a whole different level. However, this also meant that the game had to take into account a lot of choices players made and reflect them in a meaningful way.
Of course, the game does an admirable job of accounting for all the choices the player has made in the game. That said, the smaller scope of The Witcher 2 meant that his choices had more impact. An entire chapter changes to accommodate a player’s choice, and the final boss can even be spared if players understand all about Letho. Given the many branching paths of this game, it’s easy to see why The Witcher 2‘s choice-driven role-playing is something superior.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
0 Comments