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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition |OT| They Call it Switchcraft

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Dancrane212

Dancrane212

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,962
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Platform(s): Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One
Release Date:
PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One - May 18, 2015 (Original Release)​
Switch - October 15th, 2019​
Genre: RPG
Price: $59.99/€59.99
Player(s): 1
Format: Digital/Physical
Developer: CD Projekt and Saber Interactive (Switch port)
Publisher: CD Projekt
Size: ~28 GB (Switch)

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What has changed to the visuals on Switch?
The game—to fit the Switch's hardware—has additional compression for the textures and audio, a lower rendering resolution, tweaked LOD, and a lower draw distance for things like NPCs.

Audio is compressed? How does that impact the quality?
The Witcher 3 on Switch has still has significantly better autio compared to ports with heavy compression like Dark Souls Remastered.

Differences between docked and handheld options
Handheld: Dynamic 540p @ 30fps
Docked: Dynamic 720p @ 30fps

How stable are the above frame rates?
Gameplay can dance between 20-30fps in visually dense areas and some cutscenes can drop further than that. Docked is more stable comparatively (about 3-4 frames on average).

How are the load times?
They are comparable, but still longer, to load times on a base PS4. For example:

Switch/PS4
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Gyro aiming?
There are no motion control options in the Witcher 3 on Switch..

Is the game content complete compared to other platforms?
Yes. No content has been cut from this port.

What's included in the physical release?
The game cart, a world map, some stickers and a Witcher universe compendium.

Is all the game content on the Switch cartridge?
Yes, aside from a day 1 performance patch.

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What is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
The Witcher 3 is an acclaimed action role-playing game by Polish developer, CD Projekt Red. You take on the role of Geralt of Rivia, a member of the monster hunting group known as Witchers, as he journeys to find his adoptive daughter.

How does the game play?
The Witcher 3 is a third person game where you control Geralt in real time, both in combat and exploration, as you journey through an open world. You'll encounter monsters, quests, side activities and characters all while making decisions on both the narrative and Geralt's skills, equipment and playstyle.

How long is the game?
Depending on difficulty, playstyle and how much you engage with side/expansion content the game can take anywhere from 50 to 200 hours to complete.

Do I need to play the previous games and/or read the book series to understand the story?
It is recommended that you are at least a little familiar with the universe but it's not a requirement to enjoy the game.

Is there a recap/primer for the game?
This is one of the more popular video recaps:

What is included in the Complete Edition?
The Complete Edition includes the two major expansions released for the Witcher 3, Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine. The game also includes all the free DLC released for the Witcher including a New Game + option, new outfits and equipment.

Can I access the DLC right out of the gate?
Yes, if you choose to you can even have the game generate a level-appropriate Geralt to jump into the DLC with.

Is the game enhanced on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X?
Yes.

PS4 Pro: Checkerboarded 4k @ 30fps
Xbox One X: Dynamic 4k @ 30fps with an optional uncapped FPS mode.

Does the game have HDR support?
Only on Playstation 4 and HDR compatible Xbox One consoles.

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Metacritic
Xbox One | PC | PS4 | Switch
Opencritic

Switch specific reviews are TBA.

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Official Site
Digital Foundry Preview
Digital Foundry Tech Breakdown
​
 
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Skittzo

Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
People in another thread are saying the performance is actually better than it was when it launched on PS4 and XB1.
 
Zedark

Zedark

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,719
The Netherlands
My personal impression (got the game yesterday) is that it runs very smoothly and looks quite good. I've noticed a grand total of two mild stutters throughout 8 hours of playing. I haven't been to Crookbag bog, but Novigrad run quite good and looks quite presentable as well. Great port, in short.

Characters models especially are impressive, they seem to have compromised very little on those.

Edit: as Shift Breaker said, cutscenes can have some stutters, although the infamous Wild Hunt village destruction one seemed pretty okay. The chase was a bit framey.
 
Shift Breaker

Shift Breaker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,483
My copy arrived on Friday, but I've been out of the house, so I've only started playing it today. So far it's like Doom, in which once you get past the resolution drop it's a fine game. The only notable frame drops seem to be in the cutscenes, gameplay-wise is actually fine. Early days, of course.
 

Deleted member 37917

Banned
Jan 10, 2018
7,207
Tokyo
I'm playing through it right now and it's nothing short of amazing; both handheld and docked. My home screen is a 1080p 32" viewsonic monitor, and while it's not the sharpest game in the neighborhood, it certainly retains lots of details and remains a very pretty game. I've mostly played handheld so far, and I expect to do something like 70%/30% (handheld/docked).
Performance has been solid through 5-ish hours of playing. My only regret is that the game does not include gyro aiming. There's so much care put in everything else that I'm willing to excuse it.
Oh, and I also own the game on PC, where I can easily run it at 1080p; but I wasn't able to finish it, because who has time to sit for 100 hours in front of a screen?
 

Imitatio

Member
Feb 19, 2018
14,560
So looking forward to it! Switcher 3's going to be a blast. Been contemplating whether to start over on PS4 a few times now, but replaying it like this seems way more pleasant.
 
JCizzle

JCizzle

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
7,302
Zedark said:
My personal impression (got the game yesterday) is that it runs very smoothly and looks quite good. I've noticed a grand total of two mild stutters throughout 8 hours of playing. I haven't been to Crookbag bog, but Novigrad run quite good and looks quite presentable as well. Great port, in short.

Characters models especially are impressive, they seem to have compromised very little on those.

Edit: as Shift Breaker said, cutscenes can have some stutters, although the infamous Wild Hunt village destruction one seemed pretty okay. The chase was a bit framey.
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Were you playing handheld?
 
FutureLarking

FutureLarking

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
787
Playing handheld is actually quite nice, but docked for me on my 55" OLED LG TV is... not pretty, even with the extra AA smoothing with mClassic. Perhaps I would be more agreeable with it if I actually liked the player controls, but I've always hated the looseness and stick acceleration the controls have on gamepads for Witcher 3. But even though I don't like the graphics much, have hit frequent slow down, and own the Xbox One X Enchanced version... I'll still finish it on Switch I think. Eventually. Probably next year.
 
Zedark

Zedark

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,719
The Netherlands
ManCityX said:
Very tempted to get this.

How good are the missions and what sort of stuff do they usually involve which makes the game so loved?

Sell this to me.
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The writing in all quests, side or otherwise, is amazing, best in the industry for open world games. The lore is very interesting as well. The combat is decisive, but it's not an active hindrance for many I think. You go in for the world, story and the fun of Gwent and the RPG elements.

IMHO, the combat is pretty fun. But don't go in expecting Bayonrtta-tier combat: it's a simple combat system.
 
sleepnaught

sleepnaught

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,538
Anyone have some handheld pics or clips they'd like to share? Curious to see how blurry it is. Thinking of picking it up for it isn't TOO bad.
 
Zedark

Zedark

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,719
The Netherlands
sleepnaught said:
Anyone have some handheld pics or clips they'd like to share? Curious to see how blurry it is. Thinking of picking it up for it isn't TOO bad.
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Zedark said:
Witcher 3 Switch Handheld pictures

I think it looks brilliant on the Switch screen (OG Switch,not Lite). This is by far the most impressive Switch game visually in my opinion, a great accomplishment by Saber and CDPR.

Edit: Some more:
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Zedark said:
Novigrad screenshots:


Bonus: A look at Yennefer on handheld:

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Character models are superb throughout. Yennefer's such a captivating appearance and personality, a brilliantly designed character.

Edit: A few more:
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.
 
CarlSagan94

CarlSagan94

Member
Nov 3, 2018
946
I still can't believe this is real. Witcher 3 is my favourite game of all time, I may pick it up just to play handheld.
 
YolkFolk

YolkFolk

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,212
The North, England
Zedark said:
The writing in all quests, side or otherwise, is amazing, best in the industry for open world games. The lore is very interesting as well. The combat is decisive, but it's not an active hindrance for many I think. You go in for the world, story and the fun of Gwent and the RPG elements.

IMHO, the combat is pretty fun. But don't go in expecting Bayonrtta-tier combat: it's a simple combat system.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If you consider story a secondary consideration then how's the actual game overall?

Say if you took the story out of BotW it would still be a great game. Does the same apply here?
 
Edgar

Edgar

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Oct 29, 2017
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ManCityX said:
If you consider story a secondary consideration then how's the actual game overall?

Say if you took the story out of BotW it would still be a great game. Does the same apply here?
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nah. Witcher relies on atmosphere, contextualization , writing, character interactions, the feel of its world rather than combat mechanics, leveling up, gameplay loops. Basically you do a quest in witcher 3 because you want to know the problems of this particular person in particular town , rather than engaging combat encounter and a great reward
 

Deleted member 3017

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17,653
The audio is compressed like Dark Souls on Switch, yet it sounds good? That's not possible. I'm not using hyperbole when I state that the Switch version of DS has the worst audio quality I have ever heard in my life. I'd be interested in reading some audio impressions from those who are currently playing the game.

Edit - oh wait, I read that wrong. Apparently, the audio quality is fine. Great!
 
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Deleted member 7051

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Oct 25, 2017
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So it's basically blurrier and that's it? It might even load faster? I hadn't really considered double dipping for this but maybe I will.
 
JigglesBunny

JigglesBunny

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Oct 27, 2017
31,065
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Have my physical copy pre-ordered, having this all on a single cart with no downloads required is too damn good to pass up. Looking forward to... uh... actually finishing the game now.
 
Laserbeam

Laserbeam

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,441
Canada
Also got my game on Friday (Amazon Canada) and have only had a chance to play a couple hours at most, but I've been REALLY impressed with how the game looks and runs.

I have never played the game before and went in with realistic expectations and this feels like a really crazy achievement to me.
 

Deleted member 864

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Nice OT!

I'll probably pick it up at some point in the future, having the game on the go is really enticing and it seems like the port is great all around.
 
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