DO WITCHERS DREAM OF MUTATED SHEEP?
Nowadays it seems like part of gamer grammar school, but I remember how hard it was being a newcomer to the dense universe of The Witcher. Back in 2015, I was excited for the release of the upcoming The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and wanted to play through all the backstory. Naturally, I decided to start from the beginning with the first game. There was only one problem: It was not the beginning. The first game followed up an entire book series from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, and consequently was no less filled with foregone events than any of the sequels.
So, where to start then? The books would be the ideal answer, but that time investment is a lot to ask for from anyone impatient to start playing. The one major thing that makes a case for CD Projekt Red's debut game, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, is the decision to make the hero, Geralt of Rivia, an amnesiac. After coming back from the brink of death, his mind is a blank slate. This helps getting a grasp of the lore, as it allows Geralt to ask the most basic questions he otherwise couldn't have.
A major concern, however, is that the The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is the worst of the bunch. Anyone starting here runs the risk of being deterred from going further. It mixes great ideas with flaws in execution to make it a sort of diamond in the rough. If you care about writing, immersion and world building, this is your game. If you prefer great combat encounters, smooth controls, good quest design and well-staged cinematics, you might wanna reconsider. You have been warned.
This first part of the saga takes place in and around the plague-stricken city of Vizima, in the kingdom of Temeria. King Foltest is away fighting a war, and his absence feeds the power-hungry schemers of the court. Signs are pointing towards a coup d'etat, but whoever is pulling the strings has yet to make him- or herself known. Enter Geralt (voiced by Doug Cockle), who is there on a more personal matter, but cannot avoid the ramifications of the political situation.
Witnessing the state of the diseased Vizima and its surrounding marshes has Geralt repeatedly lamenting humanity's depraved ways, which seem to attract all manner of beasts. He lives in a world that, rather than rooting out the corruption that causes the disease, prefers to deal with the symptoms, i.e. the monsters. If he was a bit more opportunistic, Geralt would rejoice in the fact that he'll never be out of a job. He is a Witcher, a mutated human, specifically created to be the ultimate monster slayer.
For its time, the world building is top-notch. The Enchanced Edition cleaned up the voice acting and added highly detailed textures, making the game age with some dignity. Add to that a melancholy folk soundtrack reflecting the gloom of the world, and you get a sense of place that goes far beyond the confines of the maps. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is not a huge open world, but lays the groundwork for one.
The storytelling itself is a patchwork of great writing and really poor cutscene direction. Likely, the antiquated Aurora engine didn't support advanced in-engine cinematics. In certain scenes the camera has a mind of its own, sometimes entirely missing the action. Just transitioning between cuts seems to glitch out by default, as it is frequently hard to tell exactly what's going on. The often laughable character models do not help, nor does the flat and unconvincing voice acting, that frequently emphasizes the wrong word of a line.
If you focus on the writing, however, you might discover some true potential. The Witcher is an early example of a video game where you must make difficult moral choices, with some ramifications to the story down the line. The choices are not as good-versus-evil as you'd expect, but rather based on what knowledge you've been able to glean from research. Back then, this was a novel concept, unfortunately hampered by a lack of clarity.
The first chapter of the main quest, for instance, leaves it up to you to determine the fate of a villager accused of a number of misdeeds. Unfortunately, the evidence you uncover is shoddily presented due to the unskilled direction. Also, when you come across it, you do not yet know about the upcoming trial, so you will hardly register the facts. This makes your decision more a reflection of your own ideals and preconceptions than something deduced by Geralt's investigations. The well-written journal might fill you in, if you bother to read it - which you should.
The combat controls are a particular grievance. A botched attempt to create something unique, fighting is a confusing, unintuitive mix of automatic and direct control, executed like a rhythm game. It takes places in real-time, with you deciding whom and when to attack. Geralt then attacks automatically in a flurry of sword blows determined by hidden stat rolls. By timing your next attack properly, you might chain attacks for greater effect. As if that wasn't enough, you need to use the proper sword technique depending on the nature of your enemy - strong, fast or group style.
It tries to be both tactical and exciting but lands between two stools. Since monster slaying is a Witcher's livelihood, this becomes a major concern. Luckily, Geralt can specialize in basic spellcasting, which might make short work of the majority of battles. One spell is so destructive, I managed to defeat the final boss by spamming its effect for a couple of minutes, staggering him the entire time. I laughed my way through that fight, at the same time realizing it exposes a serious flaw in encounter design - you can spam the same few attacks the entire game. In fact, you would be wise to do so.
Apart from a lot of raunchy, hilarious sex, there's a couple of romance options that might lead Geralt to consider giving up his trade to settle down and start a family. This results in an easily missable scene that I found strangely touching, where Geralt asks a scholar of Witcher mutations if he'd found a way to cure Witcher infertility. Given Geralt's usual misanthropic disposition, subtle moments like that caught me off guard. They reveal some fine-print qualities that even the rough cinematics cannot subdue.
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition handles such elements so well I can disregard most of its shortcomings and enjoy myself. I've tried to detail them and will leave it up to you to decide whether you can disregard them as well. Hopefully, you will end up with a taste for more. Rest assured you will get it in the sequels.
Just bear in mind: Your estimation of your first Witcher game, wherever you choose to start, might take a blow because of the sheer volume of the universe, backstory and mechanics. If you plan on playing all of them, you should consider starting here, and spend that blow on the worst game in the series.
You also have the option to play on easy difficulty and just soak up the story. It doesn't fix the flaws of the Aurora engine cutscenes, but should help with the combat. Although I never tried it myself, if it means spamming the same spell for one minute instead of two, it should be a worthy tradeoff for your loss in gamer prestige.
So, where to start then? The books would be the ideal answer, but that time investment is a lot to ask for from anyone impatient to start playing. The one major thing that makes a case for CD Projekt Red's debut game, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, is the decision to make the hero, Geralt of Rivia, an amnesiac. After coming back from the brink of death, his mind is a blank slate. This helps getting a grasp of the lore, as it allows Geralt to ask the most basic questions he otherwise couldn't have.
A major concern, however, is that the The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is the worst of the bunch. Anyone starting here runs the risk of being deterred from going further. It mixes great ideas with flaws in execution to make it a sort of diamond in the rough. If you care about writing, immersion and world building, this is your game. If you prefer great combat encounters, smooth controls, good quest design and well-staged cinematics, you might wanna reconsider. You have been warned.
A CORRUPT WORLD
The Witcher universe draws inspiration from The Lord of the Rings and Slavic folk lore, mixing traditional humanoid creatures like elves and dwarves with nightmarish beasts stemming from cautionary tales. CD Projekt Red wisely decided to make it a role-playing adventure heavy on the action, giving you a deeper familiarity with the world and the characters. It was made using Bioware's Aurora-engine, which was created specifically for Neverwinter Nights (2002), but in appearance, The Witcher more closely resembles later Bioware games like Dragon Age: Origins (2009).This first part of the saga takes place in and around the plague-stricken city of Vizima, in the kingdom of Temeria. King Foltest is away fighting a war, and his absence feeds the power-hungry schemers of the court. Signs are pointing towards a coup d'etat, but whoever is pulling the strings has yet to make him- or herself known. Enter Geralt (voiced by Doug Cockle), who is there on a more personal matter, but cannot avoid the ramifications of the political situation.
Witnessing the state of the diseased Vizima and its surrounding marshes has Geralt repeatedly lamenting humanity's depraved ways, which seem to attract all manner of beasts. He lives in a world that, rather than rooting out the corruption that causes the disease, prefers to deal with the symptoms, i.e. the monsters. If he was a bit more opportunistic, Geralt would rejoice in the fact that he'll never be out of a job. He is a Witcher, a mutated human, specifically created to be the ultimate monster slayer.
GOOD STORY TOLD POORLY
In the prologue, you're forced to defend the Witchers' secluded stronghold of Kaer Morhen against an assault led by a renowned criminal called The Professor and an unfamiliar, powerful mage. Regardless of your actions, the invaders succeed in breaking into the basement, escaping with the equipment used for Witcher mutations in their possession. The entire first game is about finding out the whereabouts of the invaders, as well as their motives, and stop them if you can. This is what takes Geralt to Temeria, along with his friend and lover, the enchanting sorceress Triss Merigold (Jules de Jongh). It's a long tale of mystery and deceit that spans five long chapters and an epilogue.For its time, the world building is top-notch. The Enchanced Edition cleaned up the voice acting and added highly detailed textures, making the game age with some dignity. Add to that a melancholy folk soundtrack reflecting the gloom of the world, and you get a sense of place that goes far beyond the confines of the maps. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is not a huge open world, but lays the groundwork for one.
The storytelling itself is a patchwork of great writing and really poor cutscene direction. Likely, the antiquated Aurora engine didn't support advanced in-engine cinematics. In certain scenes the camera has a mind of its own, sometimes entirely missing the action. Just transitioning between cuts seems to glitch out by default, as it is frequently hard to tell exactly what's going on. The often laughable character models do not help, nor does the flat and unconvincing voice acting, that frequently emphasizes the wrong word of a line.
If you focus on the writing, however, you might discover some true potential. The Witcher is an early example of a video game where you must make difficult moral choices, with some ramifications to the story down the line. The choices are not as good-versus-evil as you'd expect, but rather based on what knowledge you've been able to glean from research. Back then, this was a novel concept, unfortunately hampered by a lack of clarity.
The first chapter of the main quest, for instance, leaves it up to you to determine the fate of a villager accused of a number of misdeeds. Unfortunately, the evidence you uncover is shoddily presented due to the unskilled direction. Also, when you come across it, you do not yet know about the upcoming trial, so you will hardly register the facts. This makes your decision more a reflection of your own ideals and preconceptions than something deduced by Geralt's investigations. The well-written journal might fill you in, if you bother to read it - which you should.
COMPLEXITIES BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
As far as I know, the codex and the way it's symbiotic to Geralt's combat performance is unprecedented. In order to defeat some of the monsters, Geralt needs to study them and learn about their strengths and weaknesses. You can obtain the information in books, by a specific skill obtained through leveling up, or by befriending knowledgeable people. This range of possibilities is not detailed in any tutorial, a fact that demonstrates just one of the many hidden complexities of The Witcher.
The combat controls are a particular grievance. A botched attempt to create something unique, fighting is a confusing, unintuitive mix of automatic and direct control, executed like a rhythm game. It takes places in real-time, with you deciding whom and when to attack. Geralt then attacks automatically in a flurry of sword blows determined by hidden stat rolls. By timing your next attack properly, you might chain attacks for greater effect. As if that wasn't enough, you need to use the proper sword technique depending on the nature of your enemy - strong, fast or group style.
It tries to be both tactical and exciting but lands between two stools. Since monster slaying is a Witcher's livelihood, this becomes a major concern. Luckily, Geralt can specialize in basic spellcasting, which might make short work of the majority of battles. One spell is so destructive, I managed to defeat the final boss by spamming its effect for a couple of minutes, staggering him the entire time. I laughed my way through that fight, at the same time realizing it exposes a serious flaw in encounter design - you can spam the same few attacks the entire game. In fact, you would be wise to do so.
QUEST DESIGN AND SUBTLE TOUCHES
Anyone allergic to backtracking should know that The Witcher: Enhanced Edition holds some of the worst quest designs I've seen. In an attempt to be free and open, several interlinked quests will be open and unresolved for a long time. To finish them, you need to solve a chain of lesser objectives, forcing you to traverse back and forth endlessly through the world. It's a shame, since it might prompt you to skip some optional, finely written sidequests.
Apart from a lot of raunchy, hilarious sex, there's a couple of romance options that might lead Geralt to consider giving up his trade to settle down and start a family. This results in an easily missable scene that I found strangely touching, where Geralt asks a scholar of Witcher mutations if he'd found a way to cure Witcher infertility. Given Geralt's usual misanthropic disposition, subtle moments like that caught me off guard. They reveal some fine-print qualities that even the rough cinematics cannot subdue.
AN ACQUIRED TASTE
I would not unabashedly recommend The Witcher: Enhanced Edition to just anyone. Even for me, it is an acquired taste. All its best qualities happen to align with most of my personal preferences: writing, atmosphere, role-playing mechanics and choice. It's a world worth considering in all its dreariness. Some of the monsters look so gruesome, they'd feel right at home in a horror game. Even the occasional outburst of humor seems stone-faced, as if the game laughs at the characters, not with them.The Witcher: Enhanced Edition handles such elements so well I can disregard most of its shortcomings and enjoy myself. I've tried to detail them and will leave it up to you to decide whether you can disregard them as well. Hopefully, you will end up with a taste for more. Rest assured you will get it in the sequels.
Just bear in mind: Your estimation of your first Witcher game, wherever you choose to start, might take a blow because of the sheer volume of the universe, backstory and mechanics. If you plan on playing all of them, you should consider starting here, and spend that blow on the worst game in the series.
You also have the option to play on easy difficulty and just soak up the story. It doesn't fix the flaws of the Aurora engine cutscenes, but should help with the combat. Although I never tried it myself, if it means spamming the same spell for one minute instead of two, it should be a worthy tradeoff for your loss in gamer prestige.
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