The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine (2016)

Itselläni on ollu hieman monimutkainen suhde Witcher 3:seen. Pelasin peliä jo pelin ilmestyessä vajaa kymmenen vuotta sitten, tykkäsin pelistä, mutta sisällön määrä alkuperäisessä pelissä oli niin ylitsevuotava, että homma jäi pitkäksi aikaa kesken. Hieman hammastakin purren pelasin pelin kuitenkin myöhemmin läpi, todetakseni että peli oli ihan kiva, mutta se ei koskaan noussut omille top-listoille. Netflixin Witcher sarja taisi olla se tekijä, joka sai minut palaamaan Noiturin maailmaan myös pelimuodossa ja silloin alustaksi valikoitui Switch. Uudella läpipeluulla ja handheld-muodossa peli loisti, ja nousi samantien top-listallani sijalle 13. Hearth of Stone tuli pelattua miltei heti pääpelin jälkeen, mutta Blood and Wine jäi herkkupalaksi odottamaan. Ja voi pojat, mikä herkkupala se olikaan!

Pelasin lisärin PC:llä ns. "next gen"-päivityksellä, mutta Switchillä aloittamallani hahmolla (kiitos cross-save). Lisärissä matkataan uudelle alueelle Toussaintiin, johon on otettu vaikutteita Ranskan maaseudusta viinitiloineen ja vehreine maastoineen. Toussantissa on myös iso ja värikäs Beclaurin kaupunki, joka tarjoaakin hyvää vaihtelua maaseudun rauhaan. Toussantin miljöö ja värikylläisyys yhdistettynä säteenseurantaan ynnä muihin graafisiin herkkuihin oli niin upeaa katseltavaa, että huomasin monesti jääväni vain katselemaan Toussaintin upeita maisemia ja vain fiilistelemään pelin tunnelmaa. Hyvin harva peli on tuohon aikaisemmin onnistunut.

Pelimekaanisesti lisäri on pääasiassa tuttua huttua, mutta se tarjoaa mm. uuden "kykypuun" koluttavaksi, jolla hahmoa saa muokkailtua aika rajustikin haluamaansa suuntaan. Oma hahmoni oli jo alunperin hyvin paljon noiturin taikoihin (Signs) perustuva ja sitä suuntaa jatkoin vain pidemmälle. Lisärissä tuntui olevan kuitenkin tosi hyvä kehityskaari. Lopussa hahmo tuntui olevan jo aikamoinen tappokone tietyissä tilanteissa, mutta ei peli silti tuntunut liian helpolta pelatessa normaalilla vaikeustasolla.

Päätarina seuraa Toussaintissa tapahtuneiden murhien ratkaisemista. Tarina oli heti alusta asti mukaansa tempaava ja pelasinkin päätarinaa ensin alkuun noin puoleen väliin, ennen kuin aloin tarkemmin tutkimaan maailmaa ja sen monia sivutehtäviä. Loppupuolella lisäriä nähdään yksi pelihistorian mieleenpainuvimmista osioista (tietäjät tietää), joka toi myös kepeyttä ja huumoria pelin loppupuolelle. Loppubossi ja saamani loppu lisärille olivat molemmat todella tyydyttäviä ja antoi, ei pelkästään lisärille, mutta myös koko Geraltin matkalle arvoisensa päätöksen. Geraltin voi nyt hyvillä mielin jättää eläköitymään.

Sivutehtävien osalta joukossa oli tosi hyviä ja muistettaviakin tilanteita, mutta loppupuolella 4-5 isohkoa sivutehtävää olivat hyvin paljon itseään toistavia. Tapettiin yksittäisiä monstereita tai vallattiin bandit camppejä siellä sun täällä ja palkintona ei oikein ollut mitään tarinallista sisältöä. Tein kuitenkin ison joukon näistä tehtävistä, mutta ainakin yksi isompi toistotehtävä jäi tekemättä tästä syystä.

Kaiken kaikkiaan tämä menee kaikessa Witcher-sisällössä selkeästi ykköseksi omalla listalla ja tämä on myös yksi kaikkien aikojen parhaimmista lisäreistä.

5/5 Erinomainen

5/5

Finishing off a 100 hour playthrough of The Witcher 3 that spans 3 years, starting in November 2021. My third playthrough of the main story and second playthrough of the two expansion packs. This game is such a gem.

Blood and wine in particular stand out to me - there is zero filler. I'm not sure if I just didn't notice it in the base game but cinematography here on the cutscenes is gorgeous and adds visual intrigue to every sequence. The story itself is compelling and mysterious, and ends satisfyingly if you get the good ending. Gameplay is great combining all the different witcher abilities and equipment.

Probably the greatest DLC ever made and will remain so for a long time, I think.

There is not much to say about this DLC... It is true that the main story of this DLC it is 'relatively' short (more or less like Hearts of Stone), but the new Toissant zone is big, with a lot of new contracts and quests. So you will be quite a long time in this DLC. Moreover, even short, the main story is really intense, interesting and really nice when arriving at the end. I loved the 'world of thousand stories'¿? (sorry, I don't know the name in English) and the easter eggs inside. The final battle is really cool too. I wish all DLCs were like this one.

The only thing that you need to be careful is that it would be interesting to play it AFTER the Wild Hunt story because there are a couple of conversations that can give you a couple of 'light' spoilers. For me, it is a 10/10. Must play it.

This is my same review written on the main game's page, but I thought I'd post it here if people decided to check!

The second DLC, Blood and Wine, is probably the best DLC I have ever played. It incorporates a new and unique story like the first DLC, but also includes new mechanics, monsters, mutagens, and by far the most beautiful map I have ever seen in any game, let alone a DLC. Blood and Wine also serves as the perfect conclusion to The Witcher series as a whole. This DLC is a must play if you have done everything before it.

4.75/5.00

Full Review: https://watchreadgame.com/the-witcher-3-blood-and-wine/

As a famous steam reviewer said "CDPR makes a full game and calls it a DLC"

Just a few hours into this DLC and i was astonished at the huge world and the content it has, it felt like i was in a direct sequel to the game. As the time passes and by progressing the DLC i was constantly thinking "How could such a huge and well made world be released as just an expansion? considering and comparing it to other expansions?" The best answer i found to this was "Generosity" This is by far the most generous DLC i have ever played in my entire 21 years of gaming.

So....What makes this so good? Judging a DLC from my perspective is about how much this specific DLC improved on the main game, and Blood & Wine improved on pretty much everything.

Toussaint

The newly world added, a super gorgeous, bright and beautiful area, with so many amazing scenery to look at, the nature in this world is simply breathtaking, the water the trees the small villages, i believe it was inspired by one of my favorite countries in the world (Switzerland). The Main city Beauclaire is one of the most amazing cities i've come across, i love walking around the city and its palace and admire the amazing view.

Story & Characters

For such a long series to see that the quality of writing never drops is mindblowing, the story is well written as i expected and the characters are equally interesting, dare i say i like them even more than the main characters, the pacing of the story is a perfect example to other open world rpg to follow, its just the right pacing, the premise well written and explored, the climax, the conclusion, never felt the game rushed at any point. The content makes sense, i dont think i noticed any plot hole or stupid asspulls or cheesy moments in the story, when i had a confusion i read about it and the explanation is there at some point in the game, a very damn plausible story, there is certain part in the story which i wont spoil where you will experience a parody/humor of the best of its kind, i really enjoyed that part and it was creative and fun. The choices are many and give different ending with different outcome and as you expect from a mature series..there is no good/bad, its all shades of grey. Characters are some of the best, well presented and well developed, each with its own personality and traits.

Sounds

An additional full OST just like a full game, a very nice music to listen to, a gwent tracks as well, and the voice acting...oh my god, the different accents, its simply marvelous, one of the best voice acting ever.

Gameplay

The DLC adds a lot of gameplay, very interesting monsters and bosses, places to explore, some cool weapons and armor (finally got some nice knight heavy armor) a whole addition of gameplay comes when they added mutations, the abilities are extra cool, the side mission and treasure content is huge for a dlc and very much worth doing, its well done, some encounters are also super interesting. A whole new faction for the awesome card game - Gwent.

Lore & World-Building

The land of Toussaint is not just some beautiful place, you will also encounter and learn its traditions its folklore and its history, the world is carefully made, from notes and books you find and read to hidden elven caves. Just like the main game every corner is well explained and established. Excellent job!

A Quick Summary:

• Adds: Huge interesting beautiful world to explore with many side quests/contracts/random encounters.
• Adds: New well written story which marks the end of Geralt's journey.
• Adds: Great cast of new awesome characters.
• Adds: New gameplay with: Bosses, Monsters, Weapons, Armor, Mutation system, House for the player to decorate, Gwent deck.
• Adds: A whole new atmosphere, rich lore and indepth world building.
• Adds: New OST and superb voice acting.
• Insane value for money (as i said very generous)

An expansion where everything it adds makes the game even better, a really big expansion worth a lot of time and enjoyment, this is the epitome of what a great dlc should be like, in my opinion this is the Perfect DLC.

Easily the best expansion I have ever played, Thank you CDPR.

5/5