WITCHING FOR SOME ANSWERS
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One can hardly accuse CD Projekt Red of taking the easy way out when following up their surprise debut hit The Witcher. Even before the first installment hit store shelves, they started working on a new game creation tool, the REDengine, to better accomodate their storytelling demands. They hired trained filmmakers to improve the direction, and finally got their money's worth with the release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in 2011. The aesthetics of the world, the soundscape, character models and animations all form an ambitious cinematic gameplay experience, set inside an enthralling world of grim fairytales and political scheming.
It's such a technical landmark that I can sense the impact it made even to this day. It brought the entire industry forward by leaps and bounds. The only major thing holding it back today is the lack of emotional impact. By making the game almost too dependent on player choice, the multiple narrative threads don't come together neatly enough to deliver the gut-punch you'd expect. I left the game feeling impressed, but not particularly moved. I guess CD Projekt Red saved that part for their greatest masterpiece (so far), which is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
MONSTERS IN COURT
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is your typical second part of any trilogy. Darker and grittier than the others, it follows a storyline all the way to an unresolved ending, that opens up to even bigger events. You once again control Geralt of Rivia (voiced by Doug Cockle), the stoic, white-haired monster slayer of dubious repute. After saving the life and reign of King Foltest of Temeria (Antony Byrne) in the first game, he's become the ruler's favorite bodyguard.Alongside his enchanting lover Triss Merigold (Jules deJongh), who acts as a royal advisor, he accompanies Foltest on a siege of the La Valette castle, said to house the king's young twin bastards. As the game starts, it's apparent the siege ended badly, with Geralt being imprisoned and tortured, falsely accused of regicide. The events of that day play out gradually, through flashbacks interspersed with scenes of Temerian special agent Vernon Roche (Mark Healy) interrogating a beat-up Geralt. Gaining Roche's trust and assistance, Geralt escapes captivity and leaves Temeria to search for the real culprit in the Pontar Valley.
I won't reveal too much of what happens next. To get the full scope of the main story one playthrough is not enough. It is a deeply complex drama, told in a three-act structure, made even more intricate by the way your choices can totally warp the outcome of the first act. These choices are not inherently good or bad, but a matter of political affiliation. Consequently, the second act can take place in one of two different locations, each one involving totally different maps, quests and characters.
The motto of "free" choice also influences gameplay and character builds. By streamlining combat into an action model, and by adding bombs, traps and ranged weapons to the alchemical mix, and by properly balancing the functionality of all magics, CD Projekt allows players to craft a playstyle to their own liking. The wonderful three-pronged skilltree, full of hidden potential, makes every level increase a possible game changer.
This should delight players craving replayability, but makes the work harder for game reviewers. How can one judge the content of a game when one playthrough omits so much, both in terms of story and gameplay? It boils down to one simple truth: Any player can only review their time with it. In my case, I've experienced two playthroughs, four years apart, choosing different builds and allegiances to sate the curiosity. I can safely attest to this game being excellent, however you choose to play.
ACTION COMBAT AT LAST
Much of the excitement revolves around REDengine's new action combat. Geralt can take only a few hits before dying, and must rely on reflexes, good preparations and his magical signs for protection. Each area you visit, you need to determine what enemies to expect and equip yourself accordingly.Studying your surroundings and getting your expectations right comes with great satisfaction - like quaffing an antidote in a swamp ahead of an insectoid battle and surviving by a hair because of it. Monsters vary wildly in design and size, but the amount of species is less than you might expect. Instead, you spend a lot of time in settled areas, fighting human, elven or dwarven opponents.
Combat is a display of acrobacy and reflexes, and a flurry of spell effects. You need to learn enemy behavior and find, or create, the windows in which to strike back. Because of this, certain bosses are very memorable, such as the giant, tentacled beast of the Flotsam river delta, who can basically one-shot you if you come underprepared. Or the end boss of the first chapter, who perfectly summarizes all you've learned up to that point. It can feel punishing, hard and unfair. Until you've mastered it, The Witcher 2 combat is essentially "the Dark Souls of the Witcher saga".
FEEL THE WORLD CLOSING IN
Whereas the first Witcher had promise but felt crude, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings aims for quality over quantity. A more consise, focused experience than what came before and after, it comes together nicely to form a dignified whole. The smaller, maze-like maps mirror the intricacies of the main storyline. This is true of the sidequests as well, that are fewer but appear more like puzzles. Some of them even lack map markers, meaning you have to carefully investigate the game world yourself.
Even though it's a dark fantasy, a hint of something life-like permeates The Witcher 2. The world shines with a peculiar light, maybe reflecting how a Witcher would perceive it. Every settlement layout makes sense beyond what you'd expect, with high palisades shielding the oppressed masses from the monstrosities beyond (but not from within).
All around you, people live by a daily schedule and converse about the political situation. Eavesdropping might fill you in on potential Witcher work. You can partake in their games of dice poker, arm wrestling and fistfighting. Every character model is unique, designed in astonishing detail down to every little seam of their costume. Extra care have gone into the major characters, and I feel inclined to try out every equippable jacket on Geralt just to pay my respects to this painstaking work.
This detail seeps into the character writing as well. Nobody in the Pontar Valley is perfect, nor totally corrupt, and the depravity of its heroes make them all the more relatable. It also makes them unpredictable, which could explain the scarcity of warmth and close relationships. As Geralt and Triss take a break from the political scheming for a raunchy sex scene in an ancient elven bath, there is finally room for laughter and bonding - two things in short supply in this world at large.
A SINGLE FLAW AND FLAWLESS SUMMARY
Apart from a few minor gripes, like clunky inventory management, some other interface issues and a few confusing quests, my only grievance involves the story. After an exceptional prologue and first act, it becomes almost too dispersed over branching plotlines and confusing moral choices. During the second and third act, I remain curious about the outcome, but I should feel more emotionally invested. And the optional 20 minute dialogue at the end, detailing every missing plot point, is not good storytelling. To me it somehow hints at the production team running out of time. An emergency exit, if you will, albeit nicely framed.Disregarding that, The Witcher 2 is a superbly balanced merger of gameplay and storytelling. Its ambitions are praiseworthy and it pulls most of them off. By reducing the scope of the game maps, CD Projekt Red paradoxically makes the world seem even bigger than its predecessor. It gives the design team space to create picture perfect, darkly atmospheric surroundings and horizons, strengthened by an evocative ambiance - the sounds of the bigger world.
Geralt cannot go everywhere he sees, but I do not miss that availability. In fact, it feels liberating and makes perfect sense. The urgency of the plot simply forbids it. Geralt needs to clear his name, time is of the essence and he still cannot remember much of his past. As he advances through the story, his memories gradually return. In the end the last puzzle pieces fall into place, and he remembers everything. What develops into the total freedom of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt mirrors his growth of character. With the shackles of a failing memory cast aside, he is finally complete.
I guess fate puts us all into our own corners of the world to fool around in, and all we can do is the best with what we're given. For the lucky bastards over at CD Projekt Red, the sky seems to be the limit. Their progress over but three games is astonishing. Stay tuned for my review of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the upcoming months. It once was my favorite game and who knows, maybe it could reclaim that title?
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