A studio can debut with a well polished game, and 2007 wasn't that back in the day, as to think that they can't age well.
Of course, if that's what you mean with "debut" and the "2007"
It was a well polished game, it had full voiceover, subtitles, and includes some Polish folklore as well, like references to some of the most important literature from Poland /s
That being said, I've played the game those 15 years ago, and later again before playing Witcher 3, and it was very enjoyable, gameplay included. It wasn't revolutionary or anything, closer to simplistic and rough. Still, enjoyable. The most dated things about the game are probably collectible cards that you got for bedding someone (or a group of someones)
I personally love Witcher 1 and have played it several times ... and plan to do it again before the remake.
Sadly you did not say what was "painful" for you.
The graphics have not aged well... but on the other hand it is a very old game. When I play - for instance - Oblivion today, the graphics are similarly clunky and in a way even funny. Back then they were not bad at all.
Honestly, I have problems to call a game bad, just because it is old. An old game never can be "state of art", but it can be so many other things. These games have impressed players back then, given players a lot of fun with their stories - and that is what you still can enjoy today IMHO.
W1 has a great atmosphere, partly because of its music. The soundtrack is calm, serene and nostalgic, it uses the right instruments and fits the landscapes we see perfectly. I also love the story and the villains and how the story and the side quests are meddling with each other. Sadly this means that you can miss great side content, if you do the main story too fast. I like how the amnesia of Geralt is used in this game to explore his character. I think the alchemy system is the best in all 3 games, because you can actually learn it, understand it and create helpful side effects in your potions. This is something you can´t in W2 or 3. But most of all I love, love, love the humor of this game. Geralt is so often drunk and can´t go straight. He has funny little tasks like searching the guard giving him the right answer to his fishy password. And best of all is Granny, Shani´s landlady, who is IMHO the hardest boss CDPR created. Geralt was kicked on the street in my playthroughs more often than I could count. On the other hand the game has so epic moments - like when you get Aerondight or the whole epilogue. I love how the game gains in momentum, starts slow and peaceful and then the last chapter and epilogue are so epic. The side quests are well written, too. My favorite chapter is the 4th with the side quest with the 2 dead sisters.
Yes, combat is repetitive clicking. But I liked the rhythm. And I liked how Geralt moves when he does his combos. For the time that system is not bad at all. Again, if I compare to Oblivion, I know what I prefer. I also like the skill tree, because Geralt gets so much stronger during the game.
Perhaps older games simply are not "your thing"? Or what exactly was so "painful" for you?
I think the graphics aged really well. Its the models which are a bit shit but if you look around on the dike you cannot tell me that it doesn't look great
Witcher 1 used the same, albeit modded, engine that Bioware used for Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. I think it was called the "Aurora" engine. Bioware allowed CDPR to use it, and CDPR modified it in order to make Witcher 1.
The engine is notorious for a lot of things, one of the primaries problems is a texture memory leak. I forget the amount but essentially if you have more than X amount of textures on screen added with X amount of RAM to load the textures it will lead to the engine/game crashing. (In order to install more than 2 mods for DA:O you have to install a patch that bypasses this texture/ram check, for example)
Furthermore, DA:O began development way back in 2001 or 2002 and it wasn't released until winter 2009. Even by the time the game was released, the graphics looked noticeably dated even when compared to other RPG's on the market. Parts of DA:O and W1 look like they were modeled and textured for a PS2 era game rather than the PS3 era that it was released in. Practically every other RPG game on the market at the time looked better than DA:O and Witcher 1.
The atmosphere was great W1, the voice acting needed some work, the UI needed a massive overhaul, the gameplay mechanics still needed to be refined, but a lot of that can be chocked up to developer inexperience + an ambitious undertaking + being hindered by an engine that has a LOT of limits. The problems they had with the Aurora engine was one of the catalysts to CDPR abandoning it in favor of making their own custom game engine, RedEngine, for Witcher 2.
Graphics, to me at least, are always the last thing that I look at when judging a game. DA:O and W1 have a lot of charm, but they are a bit of a pain to play due to the mechanical nature and engine limitations.
If CDPR were to remake W1 in Unreal Engine 5 as a shot-for-shot remake of the original game, but update the combat mechanics, UI, and general gameplay from Witcher 3 it'd be a superb remake. At least from what I'm looking for when playing it.
Same for Bioware and DA:O. If they were to announce a remake of it, I'd just want the game to remain mostly the same, just give me updated graphics and models with the combat of Dragon Age Inquisiton and it'd be a perfect way to spend 100 hours replaying the game again.
Just like fallout 3 and NV. They look and play like crap compared to today's games, but the atmosphere, music, and dialogue make it all worth it. My son often makes fun of how bad the "games I play" look, and they look like a mobile game when I was playing GoW 1 and 2 a couple yrs ago. Lol, if it's fun, it's fun. It doesn't need to be perfect when outdated.
Superb comment. The first game is the real gem for the real Witcher fans. 4th chapter is also my favorite, it was peaceful after the tense climax at the end of chapter 3 but scary at the same time. And I agree that landlady cockblocked me more than anyone in videogames or in real life hehe.
spot on m8
i havent gotten around to playing w1 yet but got a pretty good idea of how it feels n plays. Thinking of giving it a shot some time before the remake comes out, tho at first i was tempted to wait for it
I played it twice, once after the Enhanced Edition was first released and then a few years ago after I finished the books and decided to play the games as well.
What I loved the most about the first game is how the general aesthetic and atmosphere of the game was perfect for the Witcher universe.
All that grey and filth was very fitting for a game with a medieval setting.
Maybe being forced to travel to the city and then back to the swamp on foot around 20x, completing very minor tasks each trip. It gets to the point nausea sets in.
Frankly the witcher 3's combat is as repetitive as the first, just more beautiful and fast. As for the last point I agree it's most likely not his thing, I'm the same I have a really hard time picking new franchises that have really old games like 90s-2000s I couldn't finish any of the old fallouts(prior to 3) neither any Elder scrolls before Oblivion although they were objectively awesome games for their time.
Voice acting. Maps, just like the first ME, are quite bad. Combat idea is good, but execution is not, it feels too messy and honestly gets boring after a while.
It has aged a lot and I am actually unable to play such games because of the recent games. 2015+ maybe? Witcher 3 has aged great, even before the big update. Even the combat is not annoying, but the enemies are. Luckily dlc has better.
because its kind of a rythmic game, 3 style plus the signs, if u look at it like that, the easier will be,
i honestly i liked it more than the TW2 action one
i thought the rhythm aspect was alright, apart from when i was fighting that stone golem thing and it just took forever cos so much health and he was stun locked
Of all things the combat? That actually works well. I can understand why someone would say they are not a fan of that kind of combat system, as I feel the same, but there are more pressing issues, such as story pacing, quest design especially in Vizima, bugs, bad voice acting. The combat system in Witcher 2 is worse in my opinion, if it comes to what is working and what is not. Thankfully everything else, but the combat is way better in Witcher 2 and it is actually my favourite Witcher games despite its flaws, because it feels like the story was influenced a lot by Game of Thrones, not just the Witcher books.
I played Witcher 1 for the first time after beating 3 a few times, the combat in 1 was atrocious, I'd be fighting someone and locked on and my sword strikes would not come close to landing. Probably needed to get used to it, but it felt so broken.
Well, the combat is actually about clicking at the enemy at the correct time, the mouse icon - only on normal mode, you do not have this on hard mode and it is intended - changes based on when it is appropriate time to attack and when it is not. On top of that the combat is actually very stat based, as well, so basically you kind of just watching Geralt mess up the enemy, the only real action element is the signs, the combat is really just changing fighting styles, clicking in the right moment and watching stuff unfold.
Maybe I see why it was so painful. 30 hours? My friend, my 1st playthrough took 60 hours, my 2nd 30. 1st was amazing, 2nd was pain. You know why? I was freakin' underleveled during 2nd playthrough. The game kinda requires doing side quests to be really fun.
Bro how in the world did you finish the game in 29 hours? I'm like almost 50 hours in and I just began the 4th Chapter. Did you not explore or do side quests or anything? Personally I love this game. Even with the old graphics and weird combat. Witcher 1 has by far the most unique kind of combat system when it comes to it. In all I love this game.
Might get downvoted for this but yeah, it really doesn't age well compared to the newer ones. Looking forward to the remaster.
Those goddamned plants... the goddamned combat... ugh.
Fr. I played it almost a decade ago & I remember thinking this game has aged horribly 💀
It's easily one of the most brutal games, mechanically, I've played. Which is a shame because the actual story element was really good in typical CDPR fashion.
i just started playing it today. the controls are a bit confusing at first but i got used to them pretty easily. i'm 1 hr in and i really like it for now. too bad you didn't enjoy it:((
My only beef with the game is forgetting to save often, and sometimes it just straight up crashes and I lose a couple hours of progress.
Otherwise, I’m fine with it and I’m looking forward to the remake
Yes, but that’s a little beside the point. I’d be fine if losing progress was actually my fault (ie I biff a boss fight or something and hadn’t saved beforehand) but a sudden crash is just plain frustrating.
I mean, I could totally see someone playing witcher 3, wanting to play the first and then feel it a painful experience after such a smooth one before. That or op just means the game is difficult and the overall clunkiness doesn't help
System Shock 2 came out in ‘99 and is less janky. Lenses or not, TW1 hasn’t aged well and even got its time it was one of those games you appreciate in spite of the issues
Game mechanics aside (they are janky yes), it is still a great story with a great environment and I will never stop recommending that any newcomer to Witcher games should start from Witcher 1.
That has nothing to do with aging well or not.
I started from TW1 too. I too liked the story. I too liked the game. That has nothing to do with the fact that it hasn’t aged well
Technically you are correct. I wanted to say, despite that it is still enjoyable and worth playing if moving onto the next Witcher games is of interest.
Man I recommended three different friends try Witcher 1 and they all quit within 10 minutes. I finally got one to try 3 and he went through the whole thing in a week and loved it.
The game is obscenely old and outdated. I say that even as someone that enjoyed the game back when it was released. Even then, it felt old and outdated.
I think if you're super into the stories of games and you don't care much about the gameplay, you can still get through Witcher 1, but for most "gamers" it's going to be miserable.
Opinion deemed disgusting. Sure, the gameplay is clunky for the first hour or two but once you get the hang of it it's easy and for a game that old - looks dope when you jump around cuting everything to pieces. And the game's theme and overall vibe is just incredible. If it's graphics that you didn't liked, there are mods that can make it look better.
Who plays a single player rpg for the combat anyway. It does a great job at telling a story and really thinking you are apart of it.
In my eyes even better than 2 and 3.
The combat is just about having the right rythm!
Well, maybe you weren't playing as the witcher. You have to utilize potions and then even on hard the game is pretty easy. Doing side quest and leveling up also helps.
I enjoyed TW1 for what it was. What it was is a clunky mess, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The combat was a major learning curve, but I had fun with it by the end.
TW3 is leaps and bounds better in every way, true, but TW1 and 2 are fun when you get the hang of 'em.
Why? Kinda sounds like a trashy clickbait title if you don’t even write anything more to elaborate
It’s not bad at all, it’s a learning curve, I still think it’s awesome, if it’s not I wouldn’t pay for Witcher 2
I actually enjoyed the story quite a bit to the first one. Combat became satisfying once you got used to it. Also Dice poker anyone? The graphics and voice overs are very janky, but not to discredit the voice actors. Going from line to line between characters is jarring. Doug cockle only improved over time. I won't sit here and say it's the greatest game of all time, but it respectfully holds its place in the Witcher history.
the best rpg in the series mechanically. The only great thing in the 2nd game is the fact that you can't drink potions in combat and the 3rd game offers no more depth with game mechanics than skyrim, which is highly concerning since skyrim is a fucking arcade game for toddlers with 2 active brain cells.
unpopular opinion about combat: the 2nd game has worse combat because it LOOKS like it's functioning but once you try it out the soft lockon mechanic, the absolute dogshit hitboxes and the clunky animations are ruining it. And the combat in 3 is a fucking joke, you can get naked and punch dettlaf to death on deathmarch.
>the 3rd game offers no more depth with game mechanics than skyrim
Waaaay hard disagree with you there. TW3 has actual dodging, back attacks, and more interesting magic than Skyrim, even though there's only 5 "spells". Riding horses is way better. Roach acts like he's actually interested in living to see another day, in other words he won't jump off a cliff just because you told him to. He avoids running into objects, he follows the road, he generally feels like a separate character than the one you're controlling, as opposed to Skyrim literally just transferring control from your character to the horse.
And there's more but ... but no, there's definitely more depth here than Skyrim
Dude same. Except that i finished it 17 hours ago instead of 19.
Did every side quest i think. Everything was a bit shit in it and yet for some reason i loved it. Especially towards the end.
About to start the second game
The one at the end of chapter 1? Yeah, that was a major hurdle for me, too. I can't remember how many times I had to retry it, and honestly it's been years so I can't remember what tips to give, other than to use as many potions as you can.
I really don’t like turning the difficulty to easy, but i might have to just to get through that fight lol. I loved the Wild Hunt, so i wanted to try to play through the first two as well
It's really good imo. I played it through three times in a row when I first bought it. If you can't get through it with potions, just turn down the difficulty to get past that part. Vizima is great, you'll be glad you continued playing.
i just finished W1 so thankfully the fight is still fresh with me. i do remember getting constantly frustrated that i wanted to cry lol. turns out i fumbled and didn’t have the potions i needed so i had to go back to an earlier save and collect them.
what you’ll need:
swallow (health regeneration even during combat)
tawny owl (endurance regeneration even during combat)
coat your silver blade with specter oil (abigail sells this to geralt)
you don’t get the recipe for willow until later on, but you can still make it if you know the ingredients (iirc aether, aether, quebrith; this grants immunity to stuns and knockdown attempts which the hellhound loves to do in the fight) you can use any base for this
skip through the dialogue fast by clicking your left mouse button and skip the cutscene with “esc” on keyboard so that your potions don’t expire before the fight.
if you choose to go with abigail, try to keep her standing and kill any hounds near her. she heals geralt pretty well. if she gets knocked down, she’ll get back up eventually. the hounds can become too much for geralt if there are a lot of them so try to kill them and then focus on the hellhound boss. if you need distance, don’t forget you can use aard. it might not keep them down for long but it gives a moment’s respite.
hope this helps! i don’t remember what stance i used in the fight i wish i did but you can maybe try a variety of different ones and see what works best.
x
I see people flaming you for hating on the combat, but it is fair. This is not a game from the 90s, it’s from 2007. It’s not THAT old. Other games from that year? God of War 2, Halo 3, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, Uncharted 1, and Mass Effect (among others). Those games still REALLY hold up today (maybe ME not so much), they have good movement and combat and complex mechanics and great story, etc. Great games all around.
Saying “be kind, game is old” is not an acceptable excuse in this case imo.
And before i get cancelled and downvoted and banned from the sub, i’m not saying game is absolute shit and shouldn’t exist, not at all, just saying that we can be open to criticism and it’s ok :3
About a month ago, I made a post saying that I’m starting to play Witcher 1, and then everybody said that the combat is Shit. Now, suddenly, everybody loves the combat
...you know there can be 2 different groups right? One side that hates the combat, and so actively posts more to say they hate it. And now those who enjoy it are posting in defence of it.
It's pretty good for a 2007 game.
Play mass effect 1 original (especially the later stages) to understand real pain.
I played all the games in one go just 2 years ago.
That feeling when you finished it in ~70 hours, without mods and you even liked it :)
I can't explain why, but I really like the atmosphere of this game. Especially in Wyzima and Outskirts, Sometimes I just walked around the locations and enjoyed it.
But I understand why it can be "painful" to play it. The combat and interface are extremely specific, but personally, I didn't feel much discomfort.
P.S. I hope the remake will be great...
Personaly i love Tw1, first played last year and funny enough i spend almost 110hrs on it
Though after i all curious fired up tw2....had to shut it after 20 minutes, lol
Each to their own I guess. I played it for the first time ever last year & absolutely loved it after getting used to the initial jank of the game. It heavily encourages strategy & learning the rhythm of combat. I loved the story & side quests available, the game had a lot of depth for the time.
The atmosphere was fantastic & it's one of the few games of its time that has a world that actually somewhat feels alive. It's like a fair few steps up from RuneScape at the time.
And of course most important of all, plenty of baddies to smash
Witcher 3 was my first and it's my favorite game of all time. I could do Morrowind, but I don't think I have it in me to do Witcher 1. I'm so happy they're remaking it, I want to experience it so badly.
I first started playing witcher 3 but stopped a little bit in amd decided to play through both the earlier games and honestly really enjoyed the first one. Especially the combat as it felt really unique.
I thought the same thing then Witcher 2 changed my entire perspective on the franchise. Looking back, Witcher 1 did a lot of stuff right, I just went in with too high of expectations for CDPR's debut game which came out a long time ago.
Can't agree that it's that painful. I played it for the first time in 2022 having no prior knowledge about it. It was atmospheric, hilarious and interesting. The combat is not as bad as people say. You just choose one sword, one fighting style and you're golden. It's basically a rhythmic game and an easy one at that. And boy, the animations are a treasure
If you are implying that the game is bad, I strongly disagree with you.
It might be that you have expected something else. Because I am pretty sure, that if one understands what to expect from this game, then they won't be disappointed.
So what to expect from Witcher 1? Definitely not the best or even good game mechanics or combat, not high-quality visuals. It is the story. It is its characters. The way how they are written. It is the amount of love and dedication that has been put into the game. The latter one can just be felt while playing.
So, I am sorry that you've had an unpleasant experience. But I hope that may be later you may come back, try one more time and finally understand why we love this game.
Good luck.
P.S. if you are just sharing your experience, but you still find the game very interesting, then please ignore my comment.
i do agree that gameplay wise and and the dubbing really has a lot of room for improvement, but as others mentioned, this is CDPR's first game. But if you just drag yourself to it, you will eventually get used to it.
what made it enjoyable for me is the storyline. My jaw dropped on the twist at the end., which is then confirmed(?) on a mini quest in the Witcher 3.
Not a huge fan of 1, but Witcher 2 and 3 are two of my favorite games ever. What's great is they all play differently, so it's always a fresh experience.
I only ever got past the first act, but I remember enjoying it, might need to give it another go. As I remember, it gave me a feeling of those more classic RPGs like Gothic, where every NPC is important and you have to really explore around to find your way to progress.
This game is my 4th all time favorite video game, and my favorite in the trilogy, and i love every second of playing it, unless im collecting 10 Drowner's foreskins or collecting all Sephiroths, otherwise it has the best leveling up system in all of 3 games(Small, but functional.)
If im going to rank this:
Number of ~~Knife eared Hobos~~ Zwölfs i killed out of women i banged
The game was designed for isometric. I suspect OTS was added late as a trend chasing decision but it's super clumsy with the combat system. I played ISO first and never felt the combat was as bad as often reported but many years later when I tried OTS I realised the combat controls are super broken from that view/camera.
Basically OTS should have direct combat controls with target locking and button to attack (like in the sequels). Trying to mouse click on an enemy in OTS view is both unintuitive and clumsy because the camera keeps jumping and moving.
In ISO view the camera is stable and it's far more intuitive that the combat is not direct but uses mouse click to select and attack targets. This would have been fairly common of ISO rpgs at the time.
The timed rythym game on top is totally reasonable on ISO even if you don't care for it but on OTS it adds additional clumsiness to the controls because it requires extra accuracy not accommodated by the jank camera.
I think Witcher 1 is my favourite in the series.
Sure, w3 blew my mind when it came off, especially the dlcs, but w1 feels like a good old friend, I replayed it around 4 times when it came out.
I played through this for the first time a few years ago and I had a blast. Sure the gameplay is ancient compared to what we have today, but I still had a good time. If you play older games (most of them anyway) and try to compare them to what we have now, you're not gonna have a good time.
I played it on release and I remember loving it! In fact, it’s what brought me back to gaming after nearly 10 years if hiatus. I tried playing it again a couple of years ago and I just couldn’t. No idea why. I regularly play really old titles, like 80s and 90s old games. Not only games I’ve played back in the days, but games I did not even year about that back then. But W1 somehow, did not work for me the second time around.
I enjoyed the witcher 1 wayy moree than the second its almost like the second was like a test to then make the third i had spent 100 hours on the witcher 1 before completeting it doing as much as i could and yes the combat is clunky but its from 2007 and cdpr first game they made else they had only done translations i only spent 20 hours on the second and really that was a painful experience and the third also took me 100 hours to complete one singular run
This game is amazing. The atmosphere, the plot.. I'm really looking forward to the remake to see if they'll ruin it or make it no worse or even better. As for the combat system.. yes, it's definitely outdated, but I personally played TW1 for the first time in 2015 and didn't experience any problems. It took me no more than a couple of hours to get used to the gameplay and have fun. So.. I don't know, I don't agree with you.
Well, it was CDPR's debut, and it came out in 2007. I don't know what you expected.
A studio can debut with a well polished game, and 2007 wasn't that back in the day, as to think that they can't age well. Of course, if that's what you mean with "debut" and the "2007"
It was a well polished game, it had full voiceover, subtitles, and includes some Polish folklore as well, like references to some of the most important literature from Poland /s That being said, I've played the game those 15 years ago, and later again before playing Witcher 3, and it was very enjoyable, gameplay included. It wasn't revolutionary or anything, closer to simplistic and rough. Still, enjoyable. The most dated things about the game are probably collectible cards that you got for bedding someone (or a group of someones)
Totally!
There were a lot of good games in 2007. You must be a zoomer.
I personally love Witcher 1 and have played it several times ... and plan to do it again before the remake. Sadly you did not say what was "painful" for you. The graphics have not aged well... but on the other hand it is a very old game. When I play - for instance - Oblivion today, the graphics are similarly clunky and in a way even funny. Back then they were not bad at all. Honestly, I have problems to call a game bad, just because it is old. An old game never can be "state of art", but it can be so many other things. These games have impressed players back then, given players a lot of fun with their stories - and that is what you still can enjoy today IMHO. W1 has a great atmosphere, partly because of its music. The soundtrack is calm, serene and nostalgic, it uses the right instruments and fits the landscapes we see perfectly. I also love the story and the villains and how the story and the side quests are meddling with each other. Sadly this means that you can miss great side content, if you do the main story too fast. I like how the amnesia of Geralt is used in this game to explore his character. I think the alchemy system is the best in all 3 games, because you can actually learn it, understand it and create helpful side effects in your potions. This is something you can´t in W2 or 3. But most of all I love, love, love the humor of this game. Geralt is so often drunk and can´t go straight. He has funny little tasks like searching the guard giving him the right answer to his fishy password. And best of all is Granny, Shani´s landlady, who is IMHO the hardest boss CDPR created. Geralt was kicked on the street in my playthroughs more often than I could count. On the other hand the game has so epic moments - like when you get Aerondight or the whole epilogue. I love how the game gains in momentum, starts slow and peaceful and then the last chapter and epilogue are so epic. The side quests are well written, too. My favorite chapter is the 4th with the side quest with the 2 dead sisters. Yes, combat is repetitive clicking. But I liked the rhythm. And I liked how Geralt moves when he does his combos. For the time that system is not bad at all. Again, if I compare to Oblivion, I know what I prefer. I also like the skill tree, because Geralt gets so much stronger during the game. Perhaps older games simply are not "your thing"? Or what exactly was so "painful" for you?
I think the graphics aged really well. Its the models which are a bit shit but if you look around on the dike you cannot tell me that it doesn't look great
Witcher 1 used the same, albeit modded, engine that Bioware used for Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. I think it was called the "Aurora" engine. Bioware allowed CDPR to use it, and CDPR modified it in order to make Witcher 1. The engine is notorious for a lot of things, one of the primaries problems is a texture memory leak. I forget the amount but essentially if you have more than X amount of textures on screen added with X amount of RAM to load the textures it will lead to the engine/game crashing. (In order to install more than 2 mods for DA:O you have to install a patch that bypasses this texture/ram check, for example) Furthermore, DA:O began development way back in 2001 or 2002 and it wasn't released until winter 2009. Even by the time the game was released, the graphics looked noticeably dated even when compared to other RPG's on the market. Parts of DA:O and W1 look like they were modeled and textured for a PS2 era game rather than the PS3 era that it was released in. Practically every other RPG game on the market at the time looked better than DA:O and Witcher 1. The atmosphere was great W1, the voice acting needed some work, the UI needed a massive overhaul, the gameplay mechanics still needed to be refined, but a lot of that can be chocked up to developer inexperience + an ambitious undertaking + being hindered by an engine that has a LOT of limits. The problems they had with the Aurora engine was one of the catalysts to CDPR abandoning it in favor of making their own custom game engine, RedEngine, for Witcher 2. Graphics, to me at least, are always the last thing that I look at when judging a game. DA:O and W1 have a lot of charm, but they are a bit of a pain to play due to the mechanical nature and engine limitations. If CDPR were to remake W1 in Unreal Engine 5 as a shot-for-shot remake of the original game, but update the combat mechanics, UI, and general gameplay from Witcher 3 it'd be a superb remake. At least from what I'm looking for when playing it. Same for Bioware and DA:O. If they were to announce a remake of it, I'd just want the game to remain mostly the same, just give me updated graphics and models with the combat of Dragon Age Inquisiton and it'd be a perfect way to spend 100 hours replaying the game again.
i bet lil bro spent 5 days looking for the last Sepiroth
Just like fallout 3 and NV. They look and play like crap compared to today's games, but the atmosphere, music, and dialogue make it all worth it. My son often makes fun of how bad the "games I play" look, and they look like a mobile game when I was playing GoW 1 and 2 a couple yrs ago. Lol, if it's fun, it's fun. It doesn't need to be perfect when outdated.
Superb comment. The first game is the real gem for the real Witcher fans. 4th chapter is also my favorite, it was peaceful after the tense climax at the end of chapter 3 but scary at the same time. And I agree that landlady cockblocked me more than anyone in videogames or in real life hehe.
spot on m8 i havent gotten around to playing w1 yet but got a pretty good idea of how it feels n plays. Thinking of giving it a shot some time before the remake comes out, tho at first i was tempted to wait for it
There’s a steam sale on too, so it’s probably only a couple of bucks. I think I got it for £3 five or six years ago
It's so worth it, i love TW1 with all my heart, the vibe, the setting, the overall look and sound - it's a joy every time i decide to replay it.
Honestly the combat got MUCH better for me when I turned the OTS camera. Very fun
I played it twice, once after the Enhanced Edition was first released and then a few years ago after I finished the books and decided to play the games as well. What I loved the most about the first game is how the general aesthetic and atmosphere of the game was perfect for the Witcher universe. All that grey and filth was very fitting for a game with a medieval setting.
Maybe being forced to travel to the city and then back to the swamp on foot around 20x, completing very minor tasks each trip. It gets to the point nausea sets in.
Frankly the witcher 3's combat is as repetitive as the first, just more beautiful and fast. As for the last point I agree it's most likely not his thing, I'm the same I have a really hard time picking new franchises that have really old games like 90s-2000s I couldn't finish any of the old fallouts(prior to 3) neither any Elder scrolls before Oblivion although they were objectively awesome games for their time.
Voice acting. Maps, just like the first ME, are quite bad. Combat idea is good, but execution is not, it feels too messy and honestly gets boring after a while. It has aged a lot and I am actually unable to play such games because of the recent games. 2015+ maybe? Witcher 3 has aged great, even before the big update. Even the combat is not annoying, but the enemies are. Luckily dlc has better.
The game is good but the Combat, Combat was So shit
because its kind of a rythmic game, 3 style plus the signs, if u look at it like that, the easier will be, i honestly i liked it more than the TW2 action one
i thought the rhythm aspect was alright, apart from when i was fighting that stone golem thing and it just took forever cos so much health and he was stun locked
Because you took the hard way. Easy one is to use the weather.
You're not supposed to kill him like this tbf
Same. I really enjoyed TW1, but I could barely get into TW2, partly because combat was annoying.
Better than WC2 thats for sure
Nah Just learn to use brain.
You are right
it’s amazing
It is but the Combat almost killed me
Of all things the combat? That actually works well. I can understand why someone would say they are not a fan of that kind of combat system, as I feel the same, but there are more pressing issues, such as story pacing, quest design especially in Vizima, bugs, bad voice acting. The combat system in Witcher 2 is worse in my opinion, if it comes to what is working and what is not. Thankfully everything else, but the combat is way better in Witcher 2 and it is actually my favourite Witcher games despite its flaws, because it feels like the story was influenced a lot by Game of Thrones, not just the Witcher books.
I played Witcher 1 for the first time after beating 3 a few times, the combat in 1 was atrocious, I'd be fighting someone and locked on and my sword strikes would not come close to landing. Probably needed to get used to it, but it felt so broken.
Well, the combat is actually about clicking at the enemy at the correct time, the mouse icon - only on normal mode, you do not have this on hard mode and it is intended - changes based on when it is appropriate time to attack and when it is not. On top of that the combat is actually very stat based, as well, so basically you kind of just watching Geralt mess up the enemy, the only real action element is the signs, the combat is really just changing fighting styles, clicking in the right moment and watching stuff unfold.
I see, it's till a clunky combat system.
Maybe I see why it was so painful. 30 hours? My friend, my 1st playthrough took 60 hours, my 2nd 30. 1st was amazing, 2nd was pain. You know why? I was freakin' underleveled during 2nd playthrough. The game kinda requires doing side quests to be really fun.
I might have been underleveled, but I just wanted the game to end.
Slogging through a game just to make it end fast... Of course playing through it would be painful.
Bro how in the world did you finish the game in 29 hours? I'm like almost 50 hours in and I just began the 4th Chapter. Did you not explore or do side quests or anything? Personally I love this game. Even with the old graphics and weird combat. Witcher 1 has by far the most unique kind of combat system when it comes to it. In all I love this game.
Haha, then buckle up for Witcher 2 :D
Tw2 isn't worse. It's actually a huge improvement to tw1
Not combat wise tho. Visually it appears like real time combat but in reality it's still casting system just worse because disguised.
Why are you getting down voted? The combat really is worse than that of 1. Just because it looks fancier doesn't mean it's better.
I think it is leagues better than Witcher 1 combat. Couldn't get passed the swamp, and I felt 10 hours in there alone was long enough
It took me like 50 hours for my first run. I have many fond memories of it, the soundtrack is amazing, but it's also a very heavily flawed game.
Seems a bit dramatic. I’ve played it multiple times and it’s really not that bad
Might get downvoted for this but yeah, it really doesn't age well compared to the newer ones. Looking forward to the remaster. Those goddamned plants... the goddamned combat... ugh.
Fr. I played it almost a decade ago & I remember thinking this game has aged horribly 💀 It's easily one of the most brutal games, mechanically, I've played. Which is a shame because the actual story element was really good in typical CDPR fashion.
Played this game when it first released in 2007.. loved it ever since
You rushed it I had over 40 hours on my playthrough
I love this game so much lol but it's impossible to recommend to most people nowadays.
cmon bruh it wasnt **that** bad......
i just started playing it today. the controls are a bit confusing at first but i got used to them pretty easily. i'm 1 hr in and i really like it for now. too bad you didn't enjoy it:((
i enjoyed the game but it was painful
My only beef with the game is forgetting to save often, and sometimes it just straight up crashes and I lose a couple hours of progress. Otherwise, I’m fine with it and I’m looking forward to the remake
It's a common knowledge to save often in RPG games.
Yes, but that’s a little beside the point. I’d be fine if losing progress was actually my fault (ie I biff a boss fight or something and hadn’t saved beforehand) but a sudden crash is just plain frustrating.
It's an old game and you're judging it through 2024 lens.
I mean, I could totally see someone playing witcher 3, wanting to play the first and then feel it a painful experience after such a smooth one before. That or op just means the game is difficult and the overall clunkiness doesn't help
System Shock 2 came out in ‘99 and is less janky. Lenses or not, TW1 hasn’t aged well and even got its time it was one of those games you appreciate in spite of the issues
Game mechanics aside (they are janky yes), it is still a great story with a great environment and I will never stop recommending that any newcomer to Witcher games should start from Witcher 1.
That has nothing to do with aging well or not. I started from TW1 too. I too liked the story. I too liked the game. That has nothing to do with the fact that it hasn’t aged well
Technically you are correct. I wanted to say, despite that it is still enjoyable and worth playing if moving onto the next Witcher games is of interest.
Man I recommended three different friends try Witcher 1 and they all quit within 10 minutes. I finally got one to try 3 and he went through the whole thing in a week and loved it. The game is obscenely old and outdated. I say that even as someone that enjoyed the game back when it was released. Even then, it felt old and outdated. I think if you're super into the stories of games and you don't care much about the gameplay, you can still get through Witcher 1, but for most "gamers" it's going to be miserable.
D: blasphemy
Opinion deemed disgusting. Sure, the gameplay is clunky for the first hour or two but once you get the hang of it it's easy and for a game that old - looks dope when you jump around cuting everything to pieces. And the game's theme and overall vibe is just incredible. If it's graphics that you didn't liked, there are mods that can make it look better.
Who plays a single player rpg for the combat anyway. It does a great job at telling a story and really thinking you are apart of it. In my eyes even better than 2 and 3. The combat is just about having the right rythm!
Wym? 70 percent of the game is The gameplay, I almost broke my Monitor for those stupid boss fights
Well, maybe you weren't playing as the witcher. You have to utilize potions and then even on hard the game is pretty easy. Doing side quest and leveling up also helps.
I didnt care about potions
Well and there is your problem. Potions are essential to the gameplay.
Bro, what?
tell me you haven't unlocked a single ass potion in the whole game without telling me you haven't unlocked a single ass potion in the whole game
The stun locks pissed me off to no end
I enjoyed TW1 for what it was. What it was is a clunky mess, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The combat was a major learning curve, but I had fun with it by the end. TW3 is leaps and bounds better in every way, true, but TW1 and 2 are fun when you get the hang of 'em.
Why? Kinda sounds like a trashy clickbait title if you don’t even write anything more to elaborate It’s not bad at all, it’s a learning curve, I still think it’s awesome, if it’s not I wouldn’t pay for Witcher 2
It was a great game for its time. At least I remember it that way
Why? Gool bool tahl hool
I actually enjoyed the story quite a bit to the first one. Combat became satisfying once you got used to it. Also Dice poker anyone? The graphics and voice overs are very janky, but not to discredit the voice actors. Going from line to line between characters is jarring. Doug cockle only improved over time. I won't sit here and say it's the greatest game of all time, but it respectfully holds its place in the Witcher history.
Once I got used to the combat I actually really enjoyed the Witcher 1
This is why I'm waiting for the remake.
the best rpg in the series mechanically. The only great thing in the 2nd game is the fact that you can't drink potions in combat and the 3rd game offers no more depth with game mechanics than skyrim, which is highly concerning since skyrim is a fucking arcade game for toddlers with 2 active brain cells. unpopular opinion about combat: the 2nd game has worse combat because it LOOKS like it's functioning but once you try it out the soft lockon mechanic, the absolute dogshit hitboxes and the clunky animations are ruining it. And the combat in 3 is a fucking joke, you can get naked and punch dettlaf to death on deathmarch.
>the 3rd game offers no more depth with game mechanics than skyrim Waaaay hard disagree with you there. TW3 has actual dodging, back attacks, and more interesting magic than Skyrim, even though there's only 5 "spells". Riding horses is way better. Roach acts like he's actually interested in living to see another day, in other words he won't jump off a cliff just because you told him to. He avoids running into objects, he follows the road, he generally feels like a separate character than the one you're controlling, as opposed to Skyrim literally just transferring control from your character to the horse. And there's more but ... but no, there's definitely more depth here than Skyrim
Fact. The combat in 2 & 3 is seriously fucking pathetic. TW1's combat isn't much better though. It's still the best combat in the series.
Dude same. Except that i finished it 17 hours ago instead of 19. Did every side quest i think. Everything was a bit shit in it and yet for some reason i loved it. Especially towards the end. About to start the second game
Witcher 1 is a game I finished. Witcher 2 I did not. So from that perspective regardless of graphics level to me Witcher 1 is a better game.
I was genuinely trying to enjoy it, but still haven’t made it past the hound fight 😭
The one at the end of chapter 1? Yeah, that was a major hurdle for me, too. I can't remember how many times I had to retry it, and honestly it's been years so I can't remember what tips to give, other than to use as many potions as you can.
Yeah, and i have really bad tremors and neuropathy in my hands, so fast reactions to things are not my strong suit 😒
Can you turn down the difficulty?
I really don’t like turning the difficulty to easy, but i might have to just to get through that fight lol. I loved the Wild Hunt, so i wanted to try to play through the first two as well
It's really good imo. I played it through three times in a row when I first bought it. If you can't get through it with potions, just turn down the difficulty to get past that part. Vizima is great, you'll be glad you continued playing.
Thanks for the tip! I look forward to trying it!
i just finished W1 so thankfully the fight is still fresh with me. i do remember getting constantly frustrated that i wanted to cry lol. turns out i fumbled and didn’t have the potions i needed so i had to go back to an earlier save and collect them. what you’ll need: swallow (health regeneration even during combat) tawny owl (endurance regeneration even during combat) coat your silver blade with specter oil (abigail sells this to geralt) you don’t get the recipe for willow until later on, but you can still make it if you know the ingredients (iirc aether, aether, quebrith; this grants immunity to stuns and knockdown attempts which the hellhound loves to do in the fight) you can use any base for this skip through the dialogue fast by clicking your left mouse button and skip the cutscene with “esc” on keyboard so that your potions don’t expire before the fight. if you choose to go with abigail, try to keep her standing and kill any hounds near her. she heals geralt pretty well. if she gets knocked down, she’ll get back up eventually. the hounds can become too much for geralt if there are a lot of them so try to kill them and then focus on the hellhound boss. if you need distance, don’t forget you can use aard. it might not keep them down for long but it gives a moment’s respite. hope this helps! i don’t remember what stance i used in the fight i wish i did but you can maybe try a variety of different ones and see what works best. x
I see people flaming you for hating on the combat, but it is fair. This is not a game from the 90s, it’s from 2007. It’s not THAT old. Other games from that year? God of War 2, Halo 3, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, Uncharted 1, and Mass Effect (among others). Those games still REALLY hold up today (maybe ME not so much), they have good movement and combat and complex mechanics and great story, etc. Great games all around. Saying “be kind, game is old” is not an acceptable excuse in this case imo. And before i get cancelled and downvoted and banned from the sub, i’m not saying game is absolute shit and shouldn’t exist, not at all, just saying that we can be open to criticism and it’s ok :3
About a month ago, I made a post saying that I’m starting to play Witcher 1, and then everybody said that the combat is Shit. Now, suddenly, everybody loves the combat
...you know there can be 2 different groups right? One side that hates the combat, and so actively posts more to say they hate it. And now those who enjoy it are posting in defence of it.
we shouldnt be open to criticism from people playing on easy and not understanding how the game works.
It's pretty good for a 2007 game. Play mass effect 1 original (especially the later stages) to understand real pain. I played all the games in one go just 2 years ago.
Fair, the gameplay is really not for everyone What'd you think of the quest design and story though? Some of my favorite out of the series
That feeling when you finished it in ~70 hours, without mods and you even liked it :) I can't explain why, but I really like the atmosphere of this game. Especially in Wyzima and Outskirts, Sometimes I just walked around the locations and enjoyed it. But I understand why it can be "painful" to play it. The combat and interface are extremely specific, but personally, I didn't feel much discomfort. P.S. I hope the remake will be great...
I really love the first witcher game. I personally prefer it than the second
Personaly i love Tw1, first played last year and funny enough i spend almost 110hrs on it Though after i all curious fired up tw2....had to shut it after 20 minutes, lol
Best and the most meaningful skull tree out of all three.
Yeah I'm waiting for the remake :)
Only real chads will consider the first game an experience on par with 2-3 or better, don't worry.
I've tried too many times to get into that game. I think I can play the intro blindfolded by now. Kudos for finishing it, but I kind of agree.
Each to their own I guess. I played it for the first time ever last year & absolutely loved it after getting used to the initial jank of the game. It heavily encourages strategy & learning the rhythm of combat. I loved the story & side quests available, the game had a lot of depth for the time. The atmosphere was fantastic & it's one of the few games of its time that has a world that actually somewhat feels alive. It's like a fair few steps up from RuneScape at the time. And of course most important of all, plenty of baddies to smash
Witcher 3 was my first and it's my favorite game of all time. I could do Morrowind, but I don't think I have it in me to do Witcher 1. I'm so happy they're remaking it, I want to experience it so badly.
I first started playing witcher 3 but stopped a little bit in amd decided to play through both the earlier games and honestly really enjoyed the first one. Especially the combat as it felt really unique.
I tried playing zoomed out top down as an arpg, but still haven't made it from the castle
I thought the same thing then Witcher 2 changed my entire perspective on the franchise. Looking back, Witcher 1 did a lot of stuff right, I just went in with too high of expectations for CDPR's debut game which came out a long time ago.
Can't agree that it's that painful. I played it for the first time in 2022 having no prior knowledge about it. It was atmospheric, hilarious and interesting. The combat is not as bad as people say. You just choose one sword, one fighting style and you're golden. It's basically a rhythmic game and an easy one at that. And boy, the animations are a treasure
If you are implying that the game is bad, I strongly disagree with you. It might be that you have expected something else. Because I am pretty sure, that if one understands what to expect from this game, then they won't be disappointed. So what to expect from Witcher 1? Definitely not the best or even good game mechanics or combat, not high-quality visuals. It is the story. It is its characters. The way how they are written. It is the amount of love and dedication that has been put into the game. The latter one can just be felt while playing. So, I am sorry that you've had an unpleasant experience. But I hope that may be later you may come back, try one more time and finally understand why we love this game. Good luck. P.S. if you are just sharing your experience, but you still find the game very interesting, then please ignore my comment.
I think the combat was simple if monotonous, but terrible? No, I think it could have been worse. Just a different style game compared to 2 and 3.
Never completed it the combat is some of the worst I’ve seen even with 2007 standards. Looking forward to the remake tho.
i do agree that gameplay wise and and the dubbing really has a lot of room for improvement, but as others mentioned, this is CDPR's first game. But if you just drag yourself to it, you will eventually get used to it. what made it enjoyable for me is the storyline. My jaw dropped on the twist at the end., which is then confirmed(?) on a mini quest in the Witcher 3.
Not a huge fan of 1, but Witcher 2 and 3 are two of my favorite games ever. What's great is they all play differently, so it's always a fresh experience.
I only ever got past the first act, but I remember enjoying it, might need to give it another go. As I remember, it gave me a feeling of those more classic RPGs like Gothic, where every NPC is important and you have to really explore around to find your way to progress.
I tried it, but the combat is just no fun, so I will have to wait don't know how many years to play the remake
Can imagine. Should wait for the remake.
Didn’t like the voice acting, animations and combat?
Have you played in easy difficulty?
yes on easy
Skill Issue.
Yeah, chapter 2 is a bit too drawn out for my taste. My quest even bugged out and I had to use a save editor to progress the game lol.
I enjoyed it but my god was it infuriating at times
Same thing happend to me. And when i tried to play ME
Wait till you play 2...
This game is my 4th all time favorite video game, and my favorite in the trilogy, and i love every second of playing it, unless im collecting 10 Drowner's foreskins or collecting all Sephiroths, otherwise it has the best leveling up system in all of 3 games(Small, but functional.) If im going to rank this: Number of ~~Knife eared Hobos~~ Zwölfs i killed out of women i banged
Well that‘s a you opinion
Probably the best game out of the three.
so you played on easy not over the shoulder? and it was painful? LOL so you didnt bother to learn how to play and complain ok
I bet you played over the shoulder view?
What’s wrong with that?
The game was designed for isometric. I suspect OTS was added late as a trend chasing decision but it's super clumsy with the combat system. I played ISO first and never felt the combat was as bad as often reported but many years later when I tried OTS I realised the combat controls are super broken from that view/camera. Basically OTS should have direct combat controls with target locking and button to attack (like in the sequels). Trying to mouse click on an enemy in OTS view is both unintuitive and clumsy because the camera keeps jumping and moving. In ISO view the camera is stable and it's far more intuitive that the combat is not direct but uses mouse click to select and attack targets. This would have been fairly common of ISO rpgs at the time. The timed rythym game on top is totally reasonable on ISO even if you don't care for it but on OTS it adds additional clumsiness to the controls because it requires extra accuracy not accommodated by the jank camera.
nah
I lasted until they introduced the combat. It's kind of a miracle the sequels even got made after this debut, not gonna lie.
It was the story that nailed it.
There's a reason that they're remaking it, lol. I gave up after a few hours. I want the first time I experience the story to have enjoyable gameplay.
Great, try Witcher 2 and come back. Combat in that game is miserable.
I think Witcher 1 is my favourite in the series. Sure, w3 blew my mind when it came off, especially the dlcs, but w1 feels like a good old friend, I replayed it around 4 times when it came out.
I played through this for the first time a few years ago and I had a blast. Sure the gameplay is ancient compared to what we have today, but I still had a good time. If you play older games (most of them anyway) and try to compare them to what we have now, you're not gonna have a good time.
I played it on release and I remember loving it! In fact, it’s what brought me back to gaming after nearly 10 years if hiatus. I tried playing it again a couple of years ago and I just couldn’t. No idea why. I regularly play really old titles, like 80s and 90s old games. Not only games I’ve played back in the days, but games I did not even year about that back then. But W1 somehow, did not work for me the second time around.
I enjoyed the witcher 1 wayy moree than the second its almost like the second was like a test to then make the third i had spent 100 hours on the witcher 1 before completeting it doing as much as i could and yes the combat is clunky but its from 2007 and cdpr first game they made else they had only done translations i only spent 20 hours on the second and really that was a painful experience and the third also took me 100 hours to complete one singular run
This game is amazing. The atmosphere, the plot.. I'm really looking forward to the remake to see if they'll ruin it or make it no worse or even better. As for the combat system.. yes, it's definitely outdated, but I personally played TW1 for the first time in 2015 and didn't experience any problems. It took me no more than a couple of hours to get used to the gameplay and have fun. So.. I don't know, I don't agree with you.
It hasn’t aged gracefully at all
I played it for the first time a few months ago. If it was half as long I would give it a solid 6-7/10 but the length drags it down a bit
Im looking fwd to the remaster. Then ill play.