What VIDEO GAME(s) have you been playing?

Years later I'll still start up Diablo III Adventure Mode on my PS4 now and then to just play for a bit.

I’m pretty interested in Cyberpunk 2077, however I’ve never really played an open world game, so I decided to try The Witcher 3 as a trial run of that type of game from the same developer. I’ve only played for 3 hours and I think I’m hooked. I took on a super basic, early side quest to deal with a ghost in a well and doing the investigating to find out what it was and the best ways to deal with it was really fun. I ran around looking for the right herbs to make the appropriate oil for my sword. She killed me a few times but I’m still getting the hang of the combat and managed to dispatch her after a few tries. It felt real good. I already think this is going to be a problem. Getting all excited for a single basic side quest? I know it’s a well-worn issue for open world games: having a billion options and wanting to do them all. Maybe I should stick to the monster hunting and ignore the more mundane quests. I’ll figure it out I’m sure.

Witcher 3 is one of the few games where the side quests not on the main line are often as well characterized as main quest missions and the hunt mission. Definitely don't miss the main witcher hunt missions, they are the real deal, but a shocking number of the small weird little quests have cool character moments or insights into the Witcher himself. Like it actually consistently rewards you with more than just a different colored loot drop.

What a game the Witcher 3 is.

Also, don't let yourself get stuck in that initial area for too long. Feel free to push ahead. You can go back to that area any time on the world map.

There was one side quest in Witcher 3 where he has to get a pan for an old woman and the voice acting on the exchange was so perfect. It was memorable because of the trivial nature and his exasperated tone. I also like how some quests have results that ripple through the world depending on your solution.

Witcher 3 has amazing side quests. I fell off of the game after about 25 hours. I think it wore on me because after that amount of time, it still felt like I had gotten nowhere. It is a very good game; I realize the problem was my own.

This is going to sound weird and I've sort of said this before here, but I think the Witcher is one of the best games about work that has been made.

That sounds like a critique.

Disgustipater wrote: I’m pretty interested in Cyberpunk 2077, however I’ve never really played an open world game, so I decided to try The Witcher 3 as a trial run of that type of game from the same developer. I’ve only played for 3 hours and I think I’m hooked. I took on a super basic, early side quest to deal with a ghost in a well and doing the investigating to find out what it was and the best ways to deal with it was really fun. I ran around looking for the right herbs to make the appropriate oil for my sword. She killed me a few times but I’m still getting the hang of the combat and managed to dispatch her after a few tries. It felt real good. I already think this is going to be a problem. Getting all excited for a single basic side quest? I know it’s a well-worn issue for open world games: having a billion options and wanting to do them all. Maybe I should stick to the monster hunting and ignore the more mundane quests. I’ll figure it out I’m sure.

Be sure and pick up the Gourmet skill, unless repeated deaths are your thing.

Witcher 3 is the best open world game that I've played. Better than Mass Effect. Way better than Skyrim.

YMMV on this, but cranking the difficulty up at least one, I think, shows Witcher 3 off at its best. It makes regular fights not that big a deal when you're broadly within your level zone but it makes those hunt fights challenging. That's incredibly important thematically because it means you actually need to do the busy work to get the things to prepare for whatever that particular beast is. If you play on normal, you can just hack your way through most of the hunt fights and such without much preparation. I think the game loses something thematically.

Gary Sax wrote: YMMV on this, but cranking the difficulty up at least one, I think, shows Witcher 3 off at its best. It makes regular fights not that big a deal when you're broadly within your level zone but it makes those hunt fights challenging. That's incredibly important thematically because it means you actually need to do the busy work to get the things to prepare for whatever that particular beast is. If you play on normal, you can just hack your way through most of the hunt fights and such without much preparation. I think the game loses something thematically.

I'd agree with that. Bump it up to "Blood and Bloody Guts."

I’ll bump it up one since I don’t really know the difference yet. I can always go down if I’m struggling

Absolutely. Some people do disagree on this advice but it really enhanced my game.

It's been awhile since i dipped into anything other than a brief blast at a Cave Shmup but MORTAL SHELL has lured me in with its souls-like atmosphere. It's brutal as hell though. I miss the option of a dedicated 'block' mechanic but am adjusting slowly as my corpses mount.

Gary Sax wrote: Absolutely. Some people do disagree on this advice but it really enhanced my game.

I bumped it up and it hasn't been a problem. Maybe I'm just getting used to combat but I've been doing pretty well.

@RobertB - Thanks for the tip on Gourmet. It's awesome.

Some more Witcher 3 advice:

• Interacting with players does have consequences on the ending. Perhaps not as severe as Dishonored's was, but it's there.
• You'll need bigger saddlebags. Keep an eye out for them.
• Early on you'll need to keep all the loot that drops, because you're going to be constantly broke. But the constant poverty will go away eventually, and you'll be flush with cash.
• Give Gwent a try.