The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Retrospective, Part 1

The “good bits” of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings are the focus of the first part of this Richard Cobbett-penned retrospective for the game, published by Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Here’s a bit on how the game improved on its beloved but ultimately cult-ish predecessor:

2) It improved everything about the first game

While the number 2 in the name does rather give it away, it’s hard. in the best possible way. to look at The Witcher and its sequel and imagine them being from the same company, never mind the same series. The original was distinctly ropey in just about every way, from its writing to quest design to its production values, particularly before the Enhanced Edition came along to salvage the slashed up script. Even with its problems, it was a game that marked CD Projekt Red as a company to watch, but Witcher 2 instantly made it a top tier RPG developer. It was a confident game in a way that few others without major backing can dare to be, from its high system requirements that harkened back to Origin in being based around what the game needed rather than what the majority of the players were going to have, to a powerful start that set both the mood and expectations with a very tight series of vignettes ranging from dragon attacks to non-glorified torture.

On top of that, it’s hard to think of a sequel that seemed so willing to learn lessons instead of doubling down. No longer demanding things like buying books before hunting monsters. Making alchemy a higher-skill level thing to worry about so that the game wouldn’t constantly stop to search for flowers. Nowhere near as much backtracking. Far more attention given to the characters and the flow of the story. An opening chapter that kicked everything off with a bang, rather than the original game’s two or three chapters of pure tedium before the actual game starts.

Looking at the early materials for the third game, Wild Hunt, it seems unlikely that we won’t see an equally impressive jump with its move to open world design (hopefully a little deeper than Bioware’s implementation in Dragon Age Inquisition). Even now, another game using The Witcher 2’s engine, approach, and its graphical fidelity would be more than enough to be a AAA game. The fact that CD Projekt Red has actively avoided churning something out to prove that fact is a great sign. The changes made in the Enhanced Edition also show a willingness to learn from mistakes.