THE WITCHER

A dodgy RPG propped up by a now popular universe.

- Lauren Morton

Even in its late-2000s prime, CD Project Red's first The Witcher game could have been accurately (but affectionately) referred to as eurojank. It was, at the time, an overly-ambitious homage to a niche fantasy series with atrocious voice acting and even worse character models that had no business becoming the success story it is today. I can't even pretend it's aged well - not when its peers are buggy but enduring classics like the original Mass Effect and Fallout 3. And especially not with CDPR announcing that a remake of the original game is now in the works.

For years I've told any friend who asks me about the original Witcher game that they should start with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and then circle back to the beginning of the series after they feel some investment in Geralt and the world around him. I'd still not recommend it as anyone's first experience, but the success of Wild Hunt, the renewed interest in the Witcher books, and Netflix's series adaptation makes it so much less likely for it to be anyone's first time watching Geralt battle a striga and a lot easier for me to recommend with that in mind.

FIRST BLOOD

I roasted The Witcher the first time I played it and I'll not pretend it didn't deserve it. As a first introduction to the universe, the charm was sparse. The Witcher intentionally begins with Geralt being inflicted with amnesia, as is plenty common for RPG protagonists, and then misses the point of that trick entirely by introducing proper nouns at an untenable pace for anyone who hasn't already heard names like Oxenfurt and Stregobor tossed around. It got confusing.