Publisher and Developer: CD Projekt Red
Genre: RPG, strategy, fantasy
Release date:
PC: October 23rd 2018
Xbox One/PS4: December 4th 2018
System Requirements:
OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10 (64 bit)
Processor: Intel Celeron G1820 / AMD A4-7300
Memory: 4GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 / Radeon R7 240
Storage: 15 GB
Price: Varies by your area
US: $29.99
EU:
UK: £23.39
As Meve, you'll explore various parts of the Witcher world in isometric 3D, battle using Gwent matches, uncover main story events and side quests, as well as engage in other features like upgrading your camp, managing your army (deck) and finding hidden treasures and secrets. As a queen you will also be required to make difficult decisions and the choices you make will effect the story, as is the case for Witcher world games.
The writers of Thronebreaker's story are some of the writers responsible for memorable quest lines from the Witcher 3, such as the Bloody Baron story. In total, Thronebreaker has more dialogue lines than Witcher 3's expansion Hearts of Stone.
- A huge adventure: Explore 75 quests in over 20-30 hours of content across 5 maps with 20 game end states. More than 250 cards and over 100 battles have been designed for the story.
- Three difficulty modes: Story, Normal and Hard. Story mode allows you to skip any Gwent battles if you lose them, so you don't have to be stuck at a fight you are struggling to beat.
- Five kingdoms: You'll explore five regions in the Witcher world throughout the story, such as Lyria and Aedirn. Each one is a fairly large map with a variety of quests and secrets to discover.
- Battle rule variety: Gwent matches make up all the combat, and will have a variety of rules tailored to the situation. Some may be puzzles that require a specific goal, while others like a boss fight can be more demanding. Some might have optional objectives that can alter the story, while others may just be simple changes like having only one round instead of Gwent's usual three.
- Manage your camp: Your camp is your main base, and here you will be able to improve existing units, recruit new ones, speak to important characters and hear their stories, or check letters and treasure maps you have collected.
- Build your army: Your army is your deck. Recruit new units and characters using resources you've acquired, fulfill quests and people might provide aid to your army. Outside of unique characters and regular troops, trophies and trinkets you collect add another layer of strategy to your army composition.
- Customise Meve: Unlock various weapon cards for Meve, allowing her leader effects in battle to fit your needs or playstyle.
- Resource system: As the game progresses, you'll collect gold, wood and recruits. These are used to further build your army and camp, or to make decisions during quests or while exploring. Morale is also another resource that affects the strength of your troops, and can be improved or reduced depending on whether your army likes the choices you make.
- Choice and consequence: Decisions you make as Meve will change the story and your army along the way. If you make decisions that important characters don't like, they may even leave your army.
- Meet both old and new faces: Meve encounters a lot of characters on her journey, some will be familiar to Witcher fans, while others will be totally new. Getting these characters to join your force will improve your army, but they won't all see to eye, or agree with certain decisions you make as Meve.
- Explore: Find treasure maps to collect scraps of cards, collect all the scraps to complete the card and add it to your deck. You can also find hidden secrets too. If you play the Gwent multiplayer game, golden chests offer rewards that can also be shared to your Gwent account, such as cards and cosmetics.
Combat (2):
Exploring (4):
Dialogue (2):
Videos:
Official gameplay trailer (embedded above)
Story trailer
37 minute gameplay with CDPR
Thronebreaker with the developers
Yes. No physical copies.
Is Thronebreaker on Steam?
Will there be a preload?
Yes, check here. Preload is available 24 hours before the release time.
Do I need to play or know anything about Gwent to play Thronebreaker?
No, it's a completely standalone single player game. You don't need to play Gwent or even download it to play Thronebreaker - Thronebreaker is separate to it. If you play both they can be linked together for some benefits in Gwent, though.
Is this Free-To-Play?
No. While Gwent is F2P, Thronebreaker is a fully priced game with 20-30 hours of single player content. No microtransactions either.
Is this only a Gwent campaign?
Basically, yes. While it's an isometric RPG, it uses the card game for all the combat.
When does the game take place?
It's set before the Witcher games, and is the same time as the book saga. It's not the same Nilfgaardian war in Witcher 3, that was the Third one, this one is the Second.
Do we play as Geralt?
No, we play as Meve. She's a character that was mentioned and appeared in the books.
Are there any rewards for pre-ordering or purchasing?
None for pre-ordering, but for purchasing (even after the release date) you'll get:
- Official Thronebreaker Soundtrack
- Digital version of GWENT: Art of The Witcher Card Game artbook from Dark Horse.
- Concept art, including the map of Lyria
- The Witcher graphic novel "Fox Children" by Dark Horse
- 2 in-game GWENT: The Witcher Card Game Player Titles
- 2 in-game GWENT: The Witcher Card Game Player Avatars
- 5 premium kegs for GWENT: The Witcher Card Game
Yes, in addition to the Gwent specific rewards listed in the answer above, you'll also get 20 cards from Thronebreaker to use in Gwent. You can also find golden chests with various cards and cosmetics that will be shared to your Gwent account.
Review thread
GOG page
Official site
CDPR Thronebreaker/Gwent forum
Official Gwent site
Thronebreaker/Gwent reddit
Pre-release press:
PC Gamer: Thronebreaker is a true Witcher RPG and a surprisingly sharp card puzzler
PCGamesN: How CDPR is expanding on the Witcher legacy
Gamespot interview with lead writer
IGN 30 minutes of gameplay
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