I Talk For Far Too Long About The Witcher 3 | A Retrospective 

How do you feel about The Witcher 3? ⚔ Correction: Strumpet in distress is about a couple role-playing, not rehearsing for a play.

Well this will make up for the fact we're never getting Joseph Andersons Witcher 3 vid

Joseph Anderson fumbled so my son could ball

Well there goes the next 4.5 hours. Been looking forward to this one. Thank you son

As someone who is color blind I really appreciated the “color blind Witcher senses.” A lot of the exploration, and the red colored tracking effect typically took you through shrubbery and thickets. As a result it made it super straining on my eyes and at one point it took me (embarrassingly) to find a tuft of werewolf hair about an hour. CDproject simply making that effect blue instead of red and not fucking up the whole color scheme of the game (like loads of other games do) legitimately brought a tear to my colorblind eye.

20:57 One thing I've noticed from almost everyone who thinks combat feels weird is that you're actually doing it 'wrong'. I don't blame anyone since the game never explains it, but anyway, here's how to do it. When fighting groups of enemies (humans and smaller animals and monsters), block is supposed to be your default stance. If you just hold block, Geralt will automatically block every attack from the front and side, even if several people attack you in quick succession. You can even keep holding block when you attack, and he will immediately return to that stance afterwards. This takes away the need to constantly jump around, which is what makes combat feel weird. Instead, you can wait for opportunities to either attack or to let your guard down and time a block for a counter attack. Occasionally you'll still need to jump out of the way, but that's only from heavy staggering attacks or when you're encircled by enemies. When I discovered group combat is actually designed around this function, the game became twice as enjoyable.

Sweet, one quick video before bed.

I've got to say, your delivery in these videos is really what makes them so magical. Theres slight humour, you don't go on tirades, and you stay on point. Other RU-vidrs that are covering games like this border on just being 5 hour videos of them COMPLAINING, and it's not fun at all to listen to haha. Your mood and overall delivery is perfect. Objective, but soft, and none of the negative appears to be personal which helps people watch the whole thing. No one wants to hear someone complain for 4 hours lol

When Joseph Anderson sees this he will get so many PTSD flashbacks...

A few quick things: 1. Great video. I appreciate the amount of work that surely went into it. 2. You mispronounced a surprising amount of names considering they're all said in the game itself many times. 3. You don't have the sail to any of the Skellige islands if you don't want. You can buy maps as soon as you arrive which will unlock at least one fast travel point on each island.

There's no such thing as too long when it comes to yours videos I'm so glad that you finally did this ❤

I think you missed a point with Witcher school armors. They are the best pieces of armor you can get and they have the best set bonuses. And you should pick your playstyle/build around them. Cat: fast atacks/crits Bear: slow hard hitting atacks Griffin: Sign build Wolf: All-around build mixing atacks with signs Viper: we dont talk about that one. It kinda sucks. Forgotten wolf: full Aard/Yrden build Manticore: Similar to cat's

43:04 no, he says he's been accepted and treated as one of them, but everything changed when Nilfgaardians arrived and forced him to work for them, the humans thinking he's doing it for money. Which is a far more complex approach than often seen in media. 2:11:50 Kovir? more like Whorevir. I love how this pun works in both polish and english. Also Djikstra has great dialogue. 3:42:00 no he's not innocent. He killed the owner of the house, thats why Olgierd executed him. 3:46:30 Iris made the painting

I feel like I’m the only person who doesn’t think TW3’s combat is janky, always been smooth as hell to me

The "Empress Ciri is the best ending because she can use her powers for good!" argument is so incredibly naive. The world is far more cynical than that, even more so the world of the witcher.

I respect the amount of work this must have taken! Amazing youtube content! Some of my thoughts about the negative aspects of the game you have. I feel like the critiques are all personal experiences rather than actual flaws so they are hard to argue against. Pretty much all your experiences with length, pace, and combat are in vast contrast to my own. For length, each small story is properly long enough to flesh out the characters so they become unforgettable, even to a first time player. For pace, considering how this game is structured, what you want to experience from the game will largely define it's pace. You can rush through this game very quickly if you want. However, the more you do, the less the world will feel lived in. Witcher 3 is unique in that you can pace it however you want depending on how much you want to get out from the game. Personally, I find most games are too short to become memorable. I spent around 150 hours completing this game and I love it for that. For mechanics, I always play on the Highest difficulty when entering a game for the first time, as that is what I believe makes full use of the mechanics, and I feel this video was lacking that extra understanding. For progression, I can see this argument. The stats for armour and weapons are there to compensate for the level increase. I don't think this is a strong point for the game though. Though my experience, I was never frustrated with this game, because almost every fight on the highest difficulty felt fair. If I died, it was often because of something I could've done better. I never died to the same enemy twice because of this. And, finally, Roach getting stuck on a tiny branch is just funny asf

I honestly believe this game is one of the greatest games of all time. I love it so much and hits me hard emotionally. I became a super fan, read all the books and drenched my self in the lore. It was almost like discovering ff7 when I was a child

Just a small note on the guy you can save when you first meet Olgierd: he’s far from innocent. He harassed the girls at the estate, killed the estate owner and was the cause of the fire. Olgierd, like the Baron, isn’t a good man, but he has a code. Still, great video. Glad someone is working to full Anderson’s boots

it is one of my fav games of all time but i will not claim it is the best game ever made, holds a special place in my memory and always will regardless of the issues it has

Watch a movie? Naaah, I dont have time for that. Watch 4.5h Witcher 3 retrospective? Count me in! Maybe I finally play the DLCs after I got refreshed on the plot.

IIRC It IS actually possible to keep both the Anna and the Children alive. If you find the tree and free him before starting tge quest you the wife will also survive along with the children.

Discovered your previous Witcher videos no sooner than this week, and I was wondering if you would manage to make a video about the 3rd game before J.Anderson. Looks like you did.

This is the first video of yours that I've seen and I'm really impressed at how succinct the whole combat/gear/skills segment is early on. You've managed to pack in a ton of information into really clear summaries of these elements without making them overwhelming or dull. Will be checking out your other videos, and I now have an itch to replay Wild Hunt after 4 years since my first playthrough.

Never understood when people complain about games being "too long" I'm so use to games ending just when things are getting good then being forced into MP microtransactions Games like Witcher 3 & RDR2 are some of my favorites because the games were given more time to breath

On the complaint about the sailing in skellige. The first merchant you ride by in the first few minutes in skellige sells maps of each island, including the main island ard skellig, giving free fast travel markers to all of them. So yea, invalid complaint. Video was enjoyable

Found you through your Yakuza videos, and love the vibe and game variety. This will definitely keep me entertained at work today!

The way you pronounce some names and things is just funny

Your mega videos are such a treat. Absolutely cannot wait for the next installment.

Dude I can’t wait on the metal gear solid retrospective, my all time favorite series. Keep up the hard work dude, it’s insane how much effort goes into these. Love the content, brother.

An incredible video, it took me a while to get through, but that just made me appreciate it more. Thank you!

Surprised not to see Leto in your roaster for the battle of Kaer Moren, considering you sparing him and regularly mentioning his presence in W3 in your previous video on the saga. Really great vid nonetheless !

Fantastic, i love your videos and a 4+ hr video on an amazing game is fantastic to see

Love The Witcher 3! It's unreal the amount of work that must go into making a videos like this. Great work and mad respect!

Been waiting for this! Thanks!

I’m about to watch this while I’m working. Please keep on making videos like this

I honestly like the amount of side quests, and they're not the gruelling kill x number of y monster type.

Ahhh I just finished watching the Witcher 2 video the other day, this is absolutely perfect timing!!!

Happy Sunday to me. Thanks for this!

Literally just finished watching your witcher 2 video 😂, awesome videos!

YESSS I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE thank you for the food

Can't wait to get into this video later tonight. I just watched your Dragons Dogma Dark Arisen video again recently.

You know your in for a treat when ten minutes in we’re still in the video introduction section

Been looking forward to this. Good work son

I still have yet fully play the Witcher 3, I always get pulled away every time I get a little past the abusive king. Great video as always though!

I've been waiting for this! I know what I'm doing while working today lol. Will you be covering the game Thronebreaker as part of your Witcher series reviews? Its combat is also mostly Gwent but a different iteration of it.

Awesome video you make really good quality videos YourFavoriteSon and your awesome 😎🥳😎

3:08:27 I'm sure Geralt really needed to deal with that sleepy dwarf and couldn't kick in his greatest nemesis, a shitty wooden door. That nonsense slightly spoils an otherwise heartbreaking scene until she awakens.

The djinn quest is one of my favourites for the narrative and character development. Sapkowski invented an unbreakable relationship and the devs STILL found an incredibly elegant way to break it if you so wish. If you like Yen and want to keep her as Geralt’s love interest, you just need to confirm his feelings after the spell is lifted. If you don’t like her, the devs allowed Geralt to be free to go. It’s THE perfect way to either develop or conclude this relationship - simultaneously! - and I can’t think of a better way to do it.

4:18:04 Fun Fact: Oriana is the vampire that Geralt hunts in the "A Night to Remember" Launch trailer and is (IIRC) Geralt's final hunt as a Witcher.

Thank you, I look forward to your videos and I love the witcher!

well this should be interesting. Considering i place Witcher 3 in my personal top 15 games i have ever played. Writing dialog voice acting the world design top notch and the dlcs just up that even further. Will have to see why you are less warm on it than most people are. The only issues i really had were the diving question marks in skelly and the times your not playing as geralt always feel off.

Well thats my bedtime story sorted for the next two weeks

Thanks alot for your hard work Son 🙏🏽

remember when joseph anderson said his witcher 3 video would come out in like january 22

Damn I literally just started a new playthrough last week. What great timing!

The Empress ending is certainly the most divisive one. Ciri never comes across as wanting to improve the world with a seat of power in the books, more wanting to emancipate herself from her father’s influence and be her own person. And yet full positive points and Nilfgaard’s victory results in her taking the throne. Clearly someone at CD Projekt Red thought that was the best outcome for Ciri’s arc. And yet I know very few players who like that ending. I’m more split on the Witcher and Empress endings so I’m glad to see someone else like you who’s willing to see the sides of both endings.

I’m only about 1/6 of the way through the video but thank you for your incredible effort. You put a great deal of work into all of your videos and I’m shocked how fast they’re released. About Witcher 3 and its status that you discussed briefly at the start. I was thinking about this and while it may not be one of the greatest games ever I do think it is one of the greatest achievements in games. I’m a classic CRPG fan and was always someone who was mixed on the direction of Witcher’s gameplay after 1, I enjoyed the more rpg focus of that game. But 3 does manage to accomplish many great things, like capturing world wide interest, making an open world that felt more purposeful than most others of its time, and finally bringing back organic side quests from old rpg styles that weave throughout the narrative so that it feels like the side quests happen along the main story, not in spite of it. And to top it all, it made this type of genre more accessible to a wider audience. Witcher 1 will always be the top for me but I admire what 3 accomplished. It will be fun to finish the rest of this video.

Thanks for the quick retrospective son!

Just played through it but I like to hear what you think

Oh yes, let’s go. Been looking to this!

The timing of this is insane im just finishing up another playthrough of the game since i beat it at launch

Will have to clear my calendar for this one, Son.

Fun fact about "ragh nar roog" This is actually the Old Norse pronunciation of the word Ragnarok. We are the ones saying it wrong (or at least differently).

Can't think of better birthday program than watching 4+ hours video about The Witcher (yes, I'm old) Thank you, Son

The Witcher is now formally known as “The Switcher” 😂

Get this man his crown! 👑

This will get me through most of my train ride back home

Will Need multiple sitting for this

I have to disagree, for me, I thought it was one of the best of all time when I first played it and in hindsight my opinion hasn't changed years later.

Man, that intro was cold

havent had a chance to watch any of the witcher vids yet so nows the perfect time since i have the next two days off (inb4 one big upload of all three happens)

When Geralt found Ciri after the sacking of Cintra it was through a contract for a lone caravan merchant in which Geralt invoked the Law of Surprise - only the second time he’d ever done so. Ciri had escaped her Nilfgaardian captor, Cahir, and fled into the wilderness where she was taken in by that very same merchant’s wife, such that Ciri became the surprise the merchant found waiting for him at home. You probably condensed this to simplify the exposition, but it’s such a satisfying conclusion to the backstory and segue to the novels that I thought it worth mentioning here. Loving the video btw. 2 hours in and I’m with you for everything so far.

41:00 Excellent insight! I think that point is what separates a truly excellent RPG from all the other open worlds with mediocre fetch quests. The only other RPGs that I played as if I were really there, was Mass Effect 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance, and Baulder's Gate 3. Everything else didn't quite immerse me as the player. And I think that the way to measure how well crafted an RPG is, is whether or not the player instinctually treats NPCs as people or "Quest Givers" with awards. Excellent Insight. I never considered that before.

Best Game of all time? No. One of the best games I have ever played: Yes. My personal favourite of the last decade: Also yes.

great work! I found 2 mistakes: 1) the "strumpet" in Novigrad that was being harassed wasn't reharsing a play, she was actually roleplaying a kinky fantasy with her lover. 2) Orianna is a bruxa in the cinematic trailer, but she is clearly an high vampire on par with Regis and Dettlaf in the game.

About 90% of the character design is just absolutely top notch… swords😂

YES 🙌 cheers man 🍻

Hey Son I’m just curious, do you plan to do videos on Like A Dragon Gaiden and Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth? Since you did videos on the others

I feel like I have a hard time ranking games now that I'm older. Older games I played used to be simple and much more digestible in a day or two. This game, cyberpunk and rdr2 all gave me 100+ hours of differing feelings but they were basically all I did for the weeks it took me to playthrough them. Gameplay wasn't my favorite but I think the feelings given from finally hugging Ciri and also settling down with Yenn at the end of blood and wine were priceless. Will also say the music in this game is perfect. I've listened to the soundtrack so many times and it paints the atmosphere of the game in my head anytime I hear it.

I loved my Poison build...god I miss playing that game.

Hmmm, I must say that I never had so much fun with a combat system in a western RPG as I had - and still have - in Witcher 3.. so much fun

Heart of Stone is a story that is highly focused on bits taken from polish literature, far more than rest of game. Just to mention Potop, Wesele and Pan Twardowski ;)

Is this game worth replaying? I finished it & the dlc’s when it got the ps5 upgrade. Been thinking about a replay but I feel like I’ll end up making all the same choices lol

I’ve been playing on story mode for a while just to play with the story and I have to say that, while the monster fights aren’t much fun, it’s much cooler than I thought and frankly more realistic to cut down humans with 1-2 swings just like Geralt would be able to do.

Best moment in whole game. Stepping on thumbelina.

‘The quest is higher quality than the Netflix show…’ LMAO 😂

With regards to side quests having all epic side quest makes the world unbelieveable you need some grunt work to flesh out the world if every contract is a grand quest that only geralt can complete it makes everything about him

Spring son shines once again.

2:28:00 Makes sense but when I first did it I instantly went for the kill on that piece of shit so I fucked up the quest.

Hope you talk about Thronebreaker in your future Gwent video. Such a great game, it’s a shame it didn’t sell very well.

ur MY fav REAL man

Yet another Witcher retrospective completed before Joseph Anderson, and a high quality one at that. Well done, Son. But seriously, what is with your name pronunciation? You hear them say these names aloud how many times in the game and you choose to pronounce them differently?

Tbh me personally I don't think letting Niellen kill Margaret is right, she didn't intend to get her sister killed and after he kills Margaret he asks Geralt to kill him anyway so it's a needless extra death I'd say.

My favorite video game expansions are mostly older stuff which you pointed out, alongside the expansions for this game. Control had 2 really good expansions as well. But Phantom Liberty threw itself right up near the top of that list for me

well.. might just as well change your name to Joseph now 😅 I'm just joking, this will be a great listen while grinding Grim Dawn! Thanks son, proud of you!!

Why didn’t you cover the Letho sidequest?

dear mr. son, hello. thx for the video. best regards,

Oh shit boys here we go

3:34:23 This is mostly true, but Monster Hunter is definitely still trucking along with this. Iceborn and Sunbreak were almost entire sequels as expansions

if I had a nickel for every time I got invested in a retrospective on the Witcher that didn't get to the third entry I'd have two nickels which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice