The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Preview

Rock, Paper, Shotgun is offering the first of what I suspect will be many write-ups on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, based on a Gamescom presentation. From what I can tell, the material covered is the same that was shown at E3:

Once the creature’s totems were burned, the fight could kick off, and it was a surprisingly dynamic sequence. The towering skull-headed horror could teleport by way of a flock of crows, while its grisly wolf minions darted in to attack as Geralt attempted to land damage on the creature. Occasionally blasts of roots came from the ground, knocking Geralt back and seemingly doing considerable damage. There were a few wobbles from the guy controlling the action targeting th wrong things, sending spells off in the wrong direction, but it was nevertheless a lavish scene.

On his return to the village, Geralt discovered that the woman who had been marked by the beast, herself innocent of any wrongdoing, had not been exiled, but had been murdered by the villagers. The resolution was, therefore, not a happy one. As The Witcher left to continue his quest, a voiceover revealed something even darker was to befall the village once he had departed. The Witcher 3 is going to be a deep and dark tale, said CDP, full of difficult decisions not just for Geralt, but for the other people living in his world.

All of which was encompassed in a single, optional sidequest. CDP went on to claim that sidequests such as these, in combination with the main plot, will offer around a hundred hours of game. A hundred hours. Man, I hope they give me a bit more time to get it reviewed this time. The Witcher 2 nearly killed me.