Old Composer Reacts to The Witcher 3 Main Theme Video Games OST Reactions 

😎Hey Gang!!! Thank you for hanging in there through that intro. Old guy just gets excited for this new journey with video game OST's. THANK YOU for the comments, likes, and shares :)🙏

The composer of this piece, Marcin Przybyłowicz, is Polish. The game is also developed by a Polish studio and is based on The Witcher series of books by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski. So it makes sense that the music would evoke a sound fitting of that cultural space

The entire Witcher 3 soundtrack is a masterpiece

We Poles are very proud of all Wicher books, games and ost. Happy to hear so many people around the world appreciate them aswell :) .

This wasn't the main theme but I'm still glad you covered it. The actual main menu theme is called "Geralt of Rivia". Depending on the additional content you have for the game, the main menu theme can also be "Hearts of Stone" or "Blood and Wine", which are alternate versions of the original

A lot of the witcher soundtrack is based on songs from a Slavic Folk band called Percival, hence the instrumentation and style you hear

Not exactly the main theme, this song was used for the main trailer of the game. This is my favourite game of the past 10 years. This game does ambient music really really well. People love just listening to “the fields of are skellig” to calm down. But a ton of music has the same kind of vocals in it that are repeated over and over, and it’s a bit of a meme now. Whenever this game is mentioned someone will say “LELELELELELELE” or “banana tiger” and it’s funny to me every time.

About some of the things you've been wondering about: Soundtrack was made in collaboration with Polish band Percival Schuttenbach (fun fact: the band was named after dwarf from one of the Witcher books long before the first Witcher game was released). They're using such instruments as long-necked lute, Byzantine lyra, bodhrán and davul, so these are probably what we hear in this OST. Books with source material were highly influenced by Arthurian legends with some Slavic themes. Game developers reversed proportions, so the games in series are highly influenced by Slavic myths - and that's most likely why Percival were chosen to co-wrote this soundtrack, since they're known for being highly inspired by the Slavic folk music. They even released three different albums dedicated specifically to the Eastern, Western and South Slavic music. Some tracks from the OST are even simply instrumental versions of their previous work. During the vocals there is exactly one sentence with words, in the beginning: it's "słyszę tętnią [kopyta] koni", which is in Polish and means "I hear the beat of the horses' [hooves]" (I write it like this because it misses the word "hooves"). These are basically few words taken from another Percival's song (and that's most likely why they left out "hooves"), which was also adaptation of Polish poem "Upalne południe" ("Hot noon"). I guess that "hearing horses' hooves" was left in soundtrack because it quite well resonates with events happening during intro when this track is played Thanks for reacting!

I had one of my strongest musical moments playing this game. In the story you shipwreck on this sort of Nordic archipelago and an OST piece called "fields of ard skellig" starts to play while you look around this new world. The song itself is very different to the previous music being much more serene and calming. I recommend you listen to it, it is really a nice calming for piece of music.

The ambient music that plays in the background while exploring is worth checking out as well. Especially the Skellige stuff is beautiful.

They did a live concert in 2016 of the witcher 3 OST and I encourage everyone to watch it. It's fantastic

The string instrument in that theme is "Saz" traditional long-necked folk instrument known well not only in Slavic folk music. The band that play this song is Percival (only 5 people) but have amazing power :)

That's some Slavic folklore for you 😊 Same game, other two themes that are great are "steel for humans" that actually includes a folk song from Bulgaria. Sounds AWESOME! And another one, "silver for monsters"... Also great...

I like how he listens to the piece then talks about it instead of other musicians who pause every 10 seconds.

As a gamer I love the way games introduce me to new music. For example; I'm a huge Black Angels fan thanks to GTA V. As for The Witcher; they introduced me to the wonderful works of Thomas Bergersen. Just one example of how enriching video games can be.

I love this song but it isn't the main theme, I'd say it's the track *Geralt of Rivia.* Also *Silver for Monsters* is a must listen and one of the best songs in the game. Thanks for the reaction!

I want to say something about this soundtrack because Witcher 3 is my favourite single player game and it is also made by my countrymen from Poland. So the Music itself is made by Percival Shuttenbach a Polish folk-metal band. This particular track is not any language, it has some Polish words at the begining but rest is just singing, there are some tracks of soundtrack with words like "The Song of the Sword Dancer" where there is Belarussian text or "Steel for Humans" (which is their song Oy Lazare) with Bulgarian words also "You're Immortal" from Heart of Stone expansion have Polish words. I strongly recommend you checking out more Witcher OST like these mentioned above, or others like "Hunt or be Hunted" "Silver for Monsters" and "Kaer Morhen" soundtrack. And also a game with very very good soundtrack is World of Warcraft, you can check out this one too.

Oh God, thank you for this reaction! The music from The Witcher are one of the best, and this one in particular is the very first song that you hear when you're starting a new game, is breathtaking, and your comentary is top notch; I'm learning a lot from you. From The Witcher 3 I'll suggest the "Gaunter O'Dimm" OST. I'm so happy that I discovered your channel. Keep on!

Everything about this game gives me chills. What a masterpiece

I love how often you dare to say "I don't know". That tells me that you really know what you know.

Thank you for the reaction. The music in this game is really unique and deep. If you have 4-5 minutes take a listen to another track from the game which is my favorite “The Fields of Ard Skellige”

I know you’ve done Ezio’s Family, I’d love to hear you react to the main themes from one of the latest games (Valhalla, Odyssey or Origins), and how it’s evolved over the years to fit the game series ❤

The entire Witcher 3 soundtrack is incredible, one of my favourite soundtracks and it's absolute beautiful when playing the game.

I like to think of it as „What is the core content of the game?“. It is about a mutant who kills most dangerous monsters for a living while being tied by fate to certain person, the latter being in constant danger and peril and whom the mutant ist constantly trying to protect. Both themes have the vibe of a dance (esp swordplay, it is all about going in and then retreat to give you room to analyse your opponent and for planing your next step, then strike again; true for both humans and esp for monsters), hence the 3/4 rhythm. It’s like a Waltz, never really standing still but have a brief pause. It really summarises the core element of the story and its main protagonist.

Haha, yeah I can imagine you are getting assaulted with requests since you started reacting to videogame OSTs. The well of really affecting videogame soundtracks is endless so don't expect them to let up any time soon. Even with me unleashing a few of my own in a previous video I have to restrain myself from dropping even more on you here.

almost every track of this OST is worth a listen, especially those of the "Blood and wine" Extension !

I hope you could do the Kaer Morhen theme. I know it is fairly simplistic, but it is my favorite Witcher related track and always brings a huge amount of nostalgia.

Fields of Ard Skellig is a great one, if you havent already checked it out I highly recommend

If memory serves, this is also the track that plays when Geralt has his final duel with Eredin

Has anyone requested any of the Studio Ghibli soundtracks yet? Joe Hisaishi is a genius.

We use the Witcher 3 soundtrack as background music during our Pathfinder sessions. Works brilliantly.

Suggestions: take your pick. :D Hades Soundtrack - Darren Korb - Supergiant Games: 1. "In the Blood" - (Finale / Orchestral - *Chef' Kiss*) 2. "The Unseen Ones" - ( basically one long metal solo.) 3. "Scourge of the Furies" - (Note: slow at beginning --> must see transition at 4:15...) Love your stuff man, keep up the good work!

Nealy all the music in the Witcher 3 is based around the dance you perform with enemies, and I think your analysis confirms this is present in the music as well.

I love you man! This feeling when person love what he doing!

i feel like video games music, thats made specifically for games just like this is, are some of the very best musical pieces in the world

Thank you RU-vid for this recommendation!!!!

Percival (band that recorded some of the tracks) is using hand made instruments which doesn't exist anywhere.

Farcry 3 Blood Dragon is an OST i still listen to in my car to this day.

This song feels like it can crush mountains or lift them

You mentioned hearing an Eastern European influence in the music. The game developer studio (CDPR) is Polish, and the Witcher games are actually based on a series of books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Like many fantasy authors, Sapkowski takes a ton of inspiration from various mythologies and legends, but most of the Witcher world is inspired by Slavic folklore. I would highly recommend the Witcher books to anyone with a taste for fantasy and/or romantic fiction in general. If I recall correctly, I read an interview where Sapkowski mentioned that he had always enjoyed fantasy stories, but that the genre wasn’t largely respected in the USSR as it was in the west. He said it was widely considered to be droll nonsense only suitable for young children. So he essentially set out to write mature, thoughtful, complex novels to prove that fantasy should be taken seriously as art. They really are incredible books, and they inspired some of the best video games ever too. Just don’t watch the Netflix show; the characters are all bland, one dimensional shadows of their original selves, and the plot line is a confusing approximation at best. I legitimately feel sorry for Henry Cavill because I know he was a big fan of the series before being cast as the protagonist, Geralt.

This game and musics are masterpiece.

man, oped he actually watched the opening scene. it adds so much more to the music.

The way this man goes into "the zone" as soon as the music starts playing. Check out his face and more specifically eyes. A true connoisseur of the art of sound.

When I listen to this song, i imagine i am Geralt riding Roach through Velen whilst the Orange dusk sky illuminates the grass and trees

I'm seeing a lotta people mention that this is the trailer/intro music instead of the actual main theme without naming what the main theme is, it's titled 'Geralt of Rivia' on the OST

He is old and he is a composer. What did I expect.

You should listen to more of it. There are so many good tracks with a range of emotions to be had when listening.

Awwsome.. Btw i am from Poland, and W3 its a piece of good work and ours culture

This one isn't the main theme, but it's good enough. The actual main theme is that motiv rising in the end of this track, called Geralt of Rivia. My suggestion next is to listen to V, from Cyberpunk 2077

I get chills everytime I heard this song. Just gives me so much nostalgia for when the trailer came out. Little did I know it would go down as my favorite game ever

From Poland with love :) gerat game, great music, great novel.

Witcher 3 has the best soundtrack of video game history. Nothing else comes close, although there are some serious ones out there! The music is so iconic. So pure. Literally. When u feel a bit down, just turn it on for 20 minutes, relax a bit, and u'll be well

Loving your videos on video game ost. As an artist I've found video games to be the complete package of all mediums of art and great games really get me moving. I'm happy to see you listen to great stuff you'd likely never experience otherwise.

Seeing how the Witcher depicts fantasy different from more common western epics, but as a smaller, more mundane view on living in fantasy central /Eastern Europe is shown in how the music is composed, with as little instruments used to create a dark, brooding, but still grounded, soundtrack

The Witcher 3 OST - On the Champs-Désolés have a Medieval France vibe and The Fields of Ard Skellig its Scandinavian

I am so glad that the Poles released such a masterpiece and glorified their culture and falkler !!!

Some of my favorite OST's from the game are "The Fields of Ard Skellig", "Whispers of Oxenfurt", "Spikeroog", "City of Intrigues", "Seeking Resonace" and "Geralt of Rivia". I remember with the first mention back in the day when just doing whatever on the computer I found a 15 min extended version of it on YT, downloaded it and put it on repeat. So soothing, a Zen-like feel to it.

I dont know why i have your video in my recomandations, but thx! You just put words on my feelings when i'm listening this theme.

For a few of the best themes from this game, _A Gifted Man brings Gifts Galore_ is great in a very chilling, creepy way, and _Hunt or Be Hunted_ is pure hype

Geralt.... of freaking Rivia. The best quote of the videogames .

Percival is just awesome, when working with Przybyłowicz they were told "do whatever you do normally". So they did, and Przybyłowicz made it into, this for example.

The "blablaflafla" is a fantasic instrument Sir ;-)

Im so glad I stumbled into your vids. These guys also did the Cyberpunk 2077 sound tracks too.

Some of the mournful pieces from Witcher 3 can bring you to tears, they have the quality of a lilting, hauntingly beautiful lament.

This is the music from The Witcher 3 game trailer. You should have watched it along with the music, it's so awesome.

JUST STARTED playing this game this fall! Been listening the soundtrack 25/7. Amazing

This makes me so happy that he enjoys this specific content. It was probably foreign to him at first but he welcomed it and loved it

Silver for monsters is my favourite track from the OST.

Highly recommend a song called "The Fields of Ard Skellig" by Christine Slagman. Also part of the Witcher 3 OST!

Honestly, for me the love song/theme (Yes, I do) is my favourite piece in the game. I love how they use a multitude of strings with a violin (i think) and then the flute (i think) is genuinely amazing, the piece brings me to tears everytime i hear it for unexplainable reasons

oh man, you need to do the Witcher Blood and wine intro song. Lullaby of woe. It is absolutely hauntingly beautiful

He needs to hear LELELELELELE (Silver for monsters). Best song in the game.

tha Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine variation is also one of the best main theme of the Witcher

Thank you so much for the videos you're making

Hey I heard you have multiple channels, if this is the content we're talking about I'm jumping in headfirst. Liked and subbed Geebz, thanks for taking the time with this one, it's a beautiful piece.

I ❤️TW3! This piece is from the prologue which kind of sets the scene for the game. Gives me chills. I haven't played the two previous games, but I hope to, when I have the resources.

I'd love to see Your analysis/reaction to "The city must survive" track from the game Frostpunk. Recently composers pick it up for the reaction and I can't get enough of it. Great video as always!

Love the vids so far, seems like most videos you listen to the music on camera and give your immediate thoughts, ever thought of a second part of the video where maybe you review it again and give some more collected thoughts?

The band that did music for this game is called Percival and they made an album for each of 3 Slavic subgroups (east, west and southern Slavs) covering songs from all Slavic nations and a lot of people put them in the genre of folk metal which is to me awesome considering they play only traditional instrument. also if someone here never heard of folk metal..... y'all are missing out!

Percival Schuttenbach stream live on YT from time to time, it's worth listening to their music.

The entire soundtrack for this game is legendary really, on par with the greatest film ost's in my opinion. Personal favorite song is "You're Immortal..."

if you ever get a chance to, please check out some more music from the Witcher 3, a lot of it is simply beautiful. Kaer Mohren & Priscilla's Song (Wolven Storm) come to mind instantly. thank you for doing this.

Video game OSTs are so fantastic. It really is one of the things that takes a game from good to great. Having to balance the music in a way that is meant to keep you hooked on a game and give you ambiance during exploration but not distract from the story or gameplay really lends to some hidden gems across game history. Even looking back at the early "8 bit" era where they had to make music that was limited by the power of the game console and the sound card they could put in them is pretty fascinating. Some of the early Legend of Zelda or Metroid music might make for a ride of a reaction. Thanks for the videos as always! 🤘

The main string instrument being used is a Byzantine Lyra I believe, common in Eastern European folk music.

I think there's a behind the scenes video somewhere, where they show the musicians doing their thing, interview them, interview CDPR (the developers of the game) all about how the soundtrack came to be. I would recommend checking that out because I found it super interesting, you might too. Not even necessarily for you to react to, but just for you, on your own time. I think it was fairly short, and it's just really a neat peek into how it came to be.

There are only a few OSTs I can listen to any track at any time and in any mood (I often listen to OSTs when working) and those OSTs are all Witcher games, Thronebreaker, Nier Automata, and Morrowind. The Witcher 3 OST was performed with a symphonic orchestra and a Polish medieval folk group. This track is the intro to the game. It's very powerful and instantly evokes memories of the more than 1000 hours I sunk into that game.

The Witcher 3 soundtrack was made in conjunction with Polish folk bands.

The Soundtrack is sooo good. The orchestra even went on tour

you gotta check out the whole "bully scholarship edition" soundtrack. it's a masterpiece.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt OST - Sword of Destiny listen to this song, very cool

7:32 I love this part, it always reminds me of the sound effect during the THX intro :D

Listening to this paints the exact picture of yennefer running up the hill when i first booted the game,,,,,,, god it's so good🤤

interestingly, the main theme only shows up in the last few bars. Which are sung by the female vocalists. That's the actual The Witcher's main theme since The Witcher 1 and it's the main theme that plays on the main menu and the tutorial section. The most complete version of this theme is in the song "Geralt of Rivia".

I've enjoyed many of these reactions. Thank you for making them!

Such a wholesome and mature channel. As a 44 year old gamer I need more of this. Btw, I'm going to start over The Witcher 3 when the PS5 upgrade is out next week. 😁 Can't wait!

Yout background changed and its great. Nice video, I love the witcher series and this song is like a trip back to the hours and hours playing the game =)

The mood in this track cames from polish folk band called Percival (they performed a lot of other "Whicher" tracks as well as took part in composing the whole OST). Vocalists use an old technique of singing called "biały śpiew" (don't know how to translate to English, literally it would be "white singing" or "white voice"). It's basically a technique of singing an open voice - the "brightness" and intensity of the voice are superior to the careful control of timbre and articulation and the maximum use of the body's natural resonators (with an emphasis on the nasal and frontal register) is aimed at.

Fun fact: During one of the Polish Fantasy convensions I was able to hear the story of Percival creating soundtrack for WItcher 3 from the band memebers themselves. Mikołaj Rybacki, one of the main memebers told audience that he constructed the string instrument himself to achieve this kind of characteristic tune/tone. He of course based this instrument on some folk string instruments from central and eastern Europe. PS As Polish person I will translate the lyrics here :P the only understandable word is right in the beginning : słyszę which means (I) hear.

Witcher 3 is my favorite game, can't wait for you to get to the Halo 3 OST

One fun trivia is the music department of the studio has two sides in this game. There's the companies own music guys, who are industry pros of course, but also they have contracted traditional polish minstrels who (correct me if im wrong) are not educated at all in modern music education, and couldnt tell you where individual notes are on their instruments. A lot of the songs in game are remixes or reimaginings of traditional eastern european (polish, bulgarian etc) folk songs as well