The Witcher -- A Conquest Finally Completed

Year 2009 was memorable to me for several reasons. It was the year I got married, and it was also the year when I started playing role playing video games seriously. Both are totally unrelated, and yet, highly significant events in my life. 

I don't ever deny the importance of video games in my life. Simply put, I love playing video games, and I don't see any good reason to quit playing. I have playing since my childhood, and I still enjoy the odd hour of beating up random foes. 

So Witcher, the video game, was an "unfinished business" for me. If memory serves me well, I started playing the game back when it got released--this is 2008 we are talking about. I tried playing it like an action game, but failed miserably. I would skip most dialogues and only look for action, but unfortunately, I could not get the hang of the very cleverly designed, intricate fighting mechanisms. 

Fast forward 9 years, and here I am now, well equipped with life experience that gives me more patience and endurance, and RPG experience that made most of the doables much easier than they seemed. 

People who follow the Witcher sage (there are 3 games out now), knows how different this game is from other games. In addition to fighting and talking, Geralt of Rivia, the hero of the game also brews potions and uses different magical abilities. 

I actually started playing Witcher 3 on my PS4 and after a while, I thought I should really revisit the first game to get a better idea on the characters and lore of the game. NPCs and allies kept no referring to events from the past, of which I had little idea. 

So I got myself a copy of the first game, and did not repeat the mistakes I did the first time. I learnt the fight mechanism, and now that I've beaten the game, I must say it is one of the best swordplay mechanics in any game. Also, I learned which potions are important and how to make them before major fights. 

It took me almost a whole month to finish the game, and I loved most of it. There are some annoying battles and problematic level designs, but overall, the game was enjoyable, despite of being almost a decade old. 

It was a joyride, and loved every bit of it. 

Anyone who skipped Witcher 1 and went directly to 2 or 3 is missing a lot. Everyone should play the game. A DRM free version can be purchased from GoG.com at a very cheap price. 

This is highly recommended for all RPG fans.