The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)

I've just finished playing the sequel, to the 2007 released version of "The Witcher" and from that start I can say that this one is an improvement. "The Witcher II - Assassins of Kings" truly feels more dynamic, more modern and its only real setback is the fact that is much shorter than the previous one.

Talking about the storyline, well, the story in this one is shorter, yes, but it has its own tangled plot lines and twists and I must say, the sequel is much politically oriented than the previous one, which is not really a bad thing, it just sets the tone for the third part. If you are learning in the first game about Geralt and its origins, in this one you get to know the world, you are learning about its history, about its political lore and you get too see how the events from the game are directly linked to the main plot of The Witcher III. The story is not weak, but it's much shorter and of course, it has its own tensioned moments and the chance of making the right choice is still present in the game, it's even more meaningful.

From the gameplay perspective, this is not as "sluggish" as the first one, but it's even more harder and challenging. The game it also owns an insane difficulty mode, which means a permadeath for the player. The combat feels very dynamic and just like I said, much more modern, with the game also adding the possibility of using ranged weapons, like knives, traps and lures. In this game, especially if you are playing on a higher difficulty, the constant use of potions, blade oils and buffs is mandatory, because the game is ruthless from this point of view. The difficulty bar is also set through the fact that the potions and blade oils doesn't persist as much as in the prequel.

Talking about its other elements, the soundtrack is not bad, but not excellent either, the skill tree is much more simple and intuitive, the crafting system is important, but the quantity and variety of substances and monster parts is lower and personally for me, the inventory space still remains a problem, because I am collecting everything and I like to explore everywhere.

Of course, "The Witcher II - Assassins of Kings" is much shorter than the first one, but it's still one of the best games I've ever played, by a franchise greatly loved by me. The first part and this one are not mandatory, if you wish to play the third part, but it really sets the tone and it helps you to understand more about Geralt, about the world and of course, about The Wild Hunt, which is very often invoked and described during the second part.

Intro

Like the first game, TW2 is a game in which you travel to several medium-sized areas and kill/talk your way through quests.

The Good

• It looks great, especially for a fairly old game.
• The setting is still fairly interesting.
• There are some nice dilemma's.
• Inventory management is better (weight instead of slots).
• They got rid of the annoying combo system.
• There's nothing like the ferryman/Shani's landlord in TW1 (travel w/ unavoidable dialogue).
• No need to buy books to get all the loot.

Basically, i still like all the same things i did in TW1 and some elements were improved. Of course, they did add new bad stuff.

The Bad

• Combat is still worthless. There were only a couple of interesting fights.
• Since you get so few skill points you basically have to focus on melee or magic, making combat even more boring.
• Literally nothing is explained. Stealth, signs, looting (Space collects all), etc.
• I sided with Shani in TW1. She's not in TW2 and you start out in Triss' bed. Wtf?
• Button-mashing and QTEs. Why, oh god, why?
• Tons of backtracking... again...
• Still no fucking fast travel.
• The worst verticality in a game ever. You have to walk to a specific point for the climb trigger to show up. It completely kills the flow and sometimes make you seasick with its janky camera movements.
• I had to look up how to reach the queen harpy. You have to climb up 50 meters from the waypoint and jump horizontally, which never happens until that point.
• Vergen seems to have been designed by M.C. Escher.
• The minimap rotates which messes up all sense of direction.
• Constant doors everywhere in Flotsam. Seriously, did they order too many doors or something?
• They keep mispronouncing Roche's name as "Roach". Took me a while to realise they were the same person.
• At the start of Act II you regain all your items, easily putting you at nearly double the weight limit. There doesn't seem to be a storage or shop nearby, forcing you to crawl to town.
• Multiple sleep-inducing sections in which you have to stay inside a mage's magic bubble while not being able to do anything other than walk.
• Utterly moronic conclusion to the story. They decide to murder all of their mages because some guy presented by their greatest threat claims the Mages hired him? Lmao.

Conclusion

TW1&2 have the same strengths and weaknesses. The gameplay elements are bad, the other stuff is decent and should have been the focus. Without the bad combat, dreadful navigation and related nonsense (inventory/trading/crafting) these could've been passable games. Or they could've just added fast travel and made combat even just interesting-adjacent (not bloody likely).

A really cool fantasy rpg game with great mechanics and interesting story.

This is a really well put together CRPG where you control Geralt of Rivia - the Witcher. Unlike the first instalment which I just couldn't bear this one both looks and plays great.

The combat system is really good - a bit of dexterity and strategy is required to perform. The combination is just right. You need to keep in mind which sword you use - iron for humans and silver for monsters. The signs in certain situation prove a great help while in others are pretty useless. The use of potions also adds to the strategy level of the combat. It's not just mouse clicker - where you select enemy and click constantly. You need to dodge, use throwables and time your attacks just right. This is probably the best part of the game.

The story is really good and makes you care about the choices you do make. I'm not a fan though of the Sapkowski world entirely - some dialogues do break the character of the setting and make you remember this is a game (i.e. when elf says "Piece of lembass" and shrugs it when asked for details). This is not the game developers fault but the witcher author and it is just something that doesn't feel right for me - other people might and probably have different opinion.

Voice acting is well done, although a bit too vulgar in my opinion - but again that is witcher's novels trademark so I can't blame game developers for it.

The levelling up system does provide quite a few options. Shame the game does not have enough content to upgrade everything. But that makes for interesting choices.

Overall really did enjoy the game and it's story. Would without problem recommend this title to any cRPG enthusiast.

10/10

I wasn't sure if I'd rate it a 9 or a 9.5, but really it came down to how much the little flaws bothered me. You see, the Witcher 2 is awesome but it's not as polished as it could be: people walk through doors one by one and shut the door so that's awkward, you have to be in an exact spot to pick up items or jump down off a ledge, I don't like that I can't pick up things if there are enemies around me because it means you have to fight sometimes when you don't want to. I feel like there should be an action button as opposed to using the mouse (same button as attacking) to pick things up. The voice acting is usually strong but sometimes wonky. The controls are a little hard to deal with at first but I got used to them.

But despite those flaws, that are minor on their own but could possibly become more when put together, I loved the game. I didn't overly care about the flaws when playing because the rest of the game was so good.

The story is mature and told well. It's a little confusing following all the geopolitical factions and all the characters, but that's okay because it's really interesting. It's a fantasy RPG that tells a genuinely fascinating and adult tale, both with and without sex, because y'know, you can sex people up in this. The story is endlessly compelling and Geralt is a good character.

The choices you make also matter. This is important. It made me think about each choice that I made because I wondered what the consequences would be. There isn't any real right or wrong, just the choices you make... and they have a direct impact on the game world. Some reactions are more subtle, but some are blunt such as picking which path to go down and who to ally with.

The combat as depth but it's not overly confusing. It can be hard, especially at the beginning and it makes you use tactics. You can dodge, block, use Signs (which are thankfully unlocked right at the beginning) and slice people with one of your two swords (the swords being used for different types of enemies -- humans or monsters). You can use potions before battle but not during, which is a great mechanic. It makes you think about every attack.

I don't think every RPG has to be an open-world one. We live in a world where people think that these days. The Witcher 2 is mildly linear... the places you visit seem huge at first but you quickly realize there are only a few places to go and you will backtrack. Normally backtracking with no fast travel bugs me, but it's really not that bad of a walk... plus you might find something interesting your second way through. If you're observant, you may not have to backtrack so much. Pick up everything, basically. I actually enjoy that while it's not a huge world, there are a bunch of side-quests to do.

And the side-quests are interesting. What may start as simply collecting things or picking them up will turn into something more, more often than not. It's because of this that the quests feel special, and while there are only a few each Chapter, they're great and a lot of fun to do.

It also helps that the game is beautiful, both graphically and artistically. The areas are wonderfully realized, with a lot of detail. Walls aren't just walls, but they have intricate details. This applies to everything. It looks and feels like a real fantasy game. From a technical perspective, it's a little demanding, especially when the game was first released.

The soundtrack is awesome too.

The game doesn't hold your hand either. Sure, it may only give you a few little text boxes here and there as a tutorial... but it forces you to explore and experiment. You can miss certain things entirely if you don't collect an item earlier in the game... but I'm okay with that because it adds to the experience. Like the choices you make, you have to just accept it and move on.

Leveling up is fun. You have 4 skill trees for different things like your magic, alchemy, swordsmanship or some generic skills. You can also mutate certain skills so there is some customization. It's not real in-depth but it's good enough to be interesting and not just a chore.