The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Preview

With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt being destined for a PlayStation 4 release, the editors at the Official PlayStation Magazine have put together a two-page, commentary-laden preview of CD Projekt RED’s latest RPG endeavor. Lead gameplay designer Maciej Szczesnik is on tap for the commentary this time around:

(Remember that witchers are bred for combat,) Szczesnik says. (Their mutations give them the upper hand when it comes to fighting the monsters they’re paid to kill. Since we’re introducing the new Monster Hunting Quest mechanic, we decided the presence of these senses needs to be emphasised, hence the additional way Geralt sees the world.)

It remains to be seen if Wild Hunt will be bigger than Skyrim commercially, but CD Projekt RED spawned many a web article when it confirmed that its open-world is roughly 20% bigger than Bethesda’s epic RPG in terms of sheer size. That’s an impressive statistic, but it could easily prove a liability if Wild Hunt doesn’t furnish that space with enough excitement to make it feel dense and alive.

“We fill each region with stories that are just around every corner,) Szczesnik assures us. (It’s something very characteristic to Slavic mythology that partially inspires the game. In Slavic mythos, you don’t need to venture to far away lands to experience adventures something really amazing can live in a nearby forest or hide deep in the cave you pass by when you travel. We populate the world with adventure and this glues everything together.) Huge worlds also mean big commutes, but in addition to your own two feet, Wild Hunt gives you the option of horseback, fast travel and even a boat for traversing its frigid oceans. We’ve been told those bodies of water are treacherous (and not only because of the weather) either.