The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut

A rough gem with an awesome story and a wonky/horrible combat system. Worthy for rpg fans and people who do not mind a bit of an old school jank

I did a replay in 2017 to export a 'personalized' save for Witcher 2/3, but I guess I didn't do it on Steam with screenshots and all, thereby not 'officially enough', so here we are : )

CD Projekt has a long history of releasing unfinished games, and this was no different in 2007. Witcher I uses the tried-and-true Aurora engine of Neverwinter Nights fame, so the numerous bugs in the pre-Enhanced Edition weren't really of the 'fall through the floor, crash to desktop' kind. There were unfinishable quests, scripted events that wouldn't trigger if you did things in a 'bad' order, etc. When the EE dropped, 99% of the bugs were gone, there was voice-acting in something like nine languages, and loading time issues were gone.

Mods I used:

- https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher/mods/256 - there are a lot of mailman quests, and being a quick runner helps. It's a bit of a cheat since you can outmanoeuvre enemies far too well, but I don't mind cheating. WeMod has good support for Witcher I, btw.

- https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher/mods/657 - they say there's a part of a quest missing, and this mod restores it.

- https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher/mods/659 - make Leuvaarden buy an infinite amount of Salamandra badges off you.

- https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher/mods/688 - I wasn't particularly impressed with dice poker, so this helped me get on with it.

I used this wiki not to miss anything: https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/The_Witcher_quests

A classic, to be sure.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second live for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

I lost all my money at poker, against a prostitute.
The world of the Witcher is truly a cruel, unforgiving place.

Edit: I later managed to defeat her and actually helped her with her quest and she didn't even let me smash. What a bïtch.

Don't listen to people saying to skip this game. Its a little flawed in comparison to the others, and the combats ass but you quickly get used to it. it has tons of charm and the quest lines and characters are great. Its really fun overall. I recommend playing this one first if you haven't played any witcher games before. Dont skip its actually a gem in my worthless and skewed opinion. I rate it 12 thumbs up so theres that.

Some games make the player ask questions about morality, science or life itself.
This one makes you ask different kinds of questions, such as:

What the hell is going on?
What the fuck am I doing?
How the fuck do I complete this mission?
What was that button again?
So... who is this character?
How can I bang her?

Regardless: Still one of the best fantasy RPGs out there.

I bought all 3 Witcher games as part of a bundle, and played them chronologically with no previous experience with the series. Boy, am I glad I trudged through this.
While the gameplay is janky and graphics a little lackluster (by 2020 standards, I'm a spoiled bih), I remain impressed by the depth of the writing and how the choices you makes reflect on the npcs around you.
If you're going into the Witcher for story, highly recommend buying and playing, especially since it goes on sale so often. The Witcher is a rare series that gets exponentially better with each release, so I feel that having the knowledge of 1 going into 2 really helped elevate the experience. 3 stole my heart and refuses to give it back.

Would I play this game again?
Hell naw. But I'm glad I did it.

Should you still play the Witcher 1 in 2020?

Cons

Pros

Conclusion

I've never played this game before so I've decided it's about time since I love The Witcher universe & I was looking for games to remind me of the good old times during this quarantine. What I didn't expect was to be quarantined in game due to "catriona". Coincidence? I think not.

But all jokes aside, this is a great game & it really gave me that nostalgic feeling I was looking for. Despite clunky combat, backtracking simulator, old graphics- it still has its charm & a great story that keeps me going. 7/10

Not just a game, but a lifestyle!

• My answer to that is simply YES !
  

1. Play the game on EASY.
   Trust me, it won't be that easy, but at least it will save you a bit of time.
   
2. Install some visual mods.
   Don't worry, it's easy to do and they make the game look a lot younger. Still old, but a lot easier to tolerate.
   

• Rise of the White Wolf Enhanced Edition (Nexus mods)
  
• The Witcher Overhaul Project (Nexus mods)
  
• Hi-Res Character Models (ModDB)
  
• Geralt Face Retexture (Nexus mods)
  
• Perfect Blood (ModDB)
  
• Realistic Moon (ModDB)
  
[*]Perfect Rain (ModDB)

~ DIFFICULTY ~

🔲 My 90 year old grandma could play it
🔲 Easy
✅ Normal
🔲 Hard
🔲 Dark Souls/Sekiro

~ GRAPHICS ~

🔲 MS Paint
🔲 Bad
🔲 Meh
✅ Graphics dont matter in this game
🔲 Good
🔲 Beautiful
🔲 Masterpiece

~ MUSIC ~

🔲 Bad
🔲 Not special
🔲 Good
✅ Beautiful

~ STORY ~

🔲 This game has no story
🔲 Like playing Temple Runners for the story
🔲 It's there for the people who want it
🔲 Well written
🔲 Epic story
✅ Imagine Kingdom Hearts but on crack

~ PRICE ~

🔲 Free
🔲 Underpriced
✅ Perfect Price
🔲 Could be cheaper
🔲 Overpriced
🔲 Complete waste of money

~ REQUIREMENTS ~

✅ You can run it on a microwave
🔲 Average
🔲 High end
🔲 NASA computer

~ LENGTH ~

🔲 Very Short (0 - 2 hours)
🔲 Short (2 - 15 hours)
✅ Average (15-50 hours)
🔲 Long (50-90 hours)
🔲 Extremely long (90-110 hours)
🔲 No ending

~ FUN ~

🔲 I'd rather watch paint dry
🔲 Hard to enjoy
🔲 Repetitive
🔲 Actually pretty amusing
✅ The kind of fun youll remember
🔲 Ride of your life

~ REPLAYABILITY~

🔲 It's a one-time experience
🔲 Only for achievements
✅ If you wait a few months/years
🔲 Definitely
🔲 Infinitely replayable

~ WORTH BUYING ~

🔲 No
🔲 Wait for sale
✅ Yes

I have owned these games for a long time, but after watching the Netflix series i told myself i was going to play through them. I am starting with the first game. The game is starting to show its age (12 years old) but once you get used it, and the controls/combat it's a lot of fun. 8 hours in and i just started Act 2.

The Witcher has a very special place in my heart because this game changed the way how I looked at RPGs. I can't describe this masterpiece but I'm here to give you a review so lets get started. I'll try my best to give you detailed pros and cons for the first Witcher game in the trilogy.

Pros

Cons

Should You Buy The Witcher??

My Rating: 8/10

Many think this game was bad, it's not. What people really mean is, "this is from 2008 and I don't like that."

Each of the three games had their pros and cons. The combat is a con for most folks but its really not that bad. You have to use certain sword styles against different opponents and you have to time your mouse clicks to keep the combo going. The difference being, in W2 you have to time your clicks but style doesnt matter as much and in W3 you just left click until dead or spin to win.

The alchemy portion is probably the best of the three. You have to learn your ingredients from books or people otherwise you just cant make your potions, and you absolutely need alchemy to survive. In W2 and W3 alchemy is great but the only thing you need to win is Cat and Swallow.

The story of W1 is wonderful you meet so many great characters that come back throughout the series and you can see how the relationships Geralt has made have lasted over the years. The main story is long, in depth, and very interesting. You begin to slowly unravel the mystery of the Wild Hunt and the White Frost.

The politics are ever present as well. Geralt always seems to find himself at the court of kings and you can learn about the political turmoil brewing in the region as Nilfgard starts to breath down the necks of Redania and Temeria.

All in all, don't just write this one off as aged garbage. If you are truly a fan of the series and the lore its a must. There are even small hints at subplots throughout the series that will reward you for playing them in order. I hope you enjoy the Witcher as much as I have.

Combat is not as bad as you have heard, but then again i grew up in the 80's and 90's so ive seen worse, and enjoyed worse! I actually like the combat, it is different from anything i have played in over 10 years.
For a dollar and some change?!?!?! seriously? why would you complain?!?!?! there are so many games for this same price that are shallow and boring, this has depth and more than 40 plus hours to play.

Multiple crashes, not SLI freindly at first. But after the intro (about 20 min) no crashes at all. let's be honest, its a good game. I LIKE IT. BUT you have to treat games like a new girlfriend: they are all different and you have to figure out how they work. ONCE you do this it is enjoyable. I see far too many people expecting it to be like witcher 3....it is not. Its not supposed to be.

But seriously its a dollar and some change: give it a shot! if you don't like it why complain? I have paid full price on tripple AAA titles that were far worse.

If you can throw a buck fifty for a soda pop, why not pick up something that will last hours and hours.

The Witcher was released almost nine years ago and regularly goes on sale for a couple of dollars or less. The question for today's player isn't so much if the game is worth your money but rather if it's worth your time. The answer, in true Witcher fashion, isn't entirely black and white.

The game for me was, overall, enjoyable. The combat system is unique, and regardless of it's mixed reviews, I found it to be a serviceable and even somewhat cool RPG combat system. The finishers tend to get a bit repetitive but add a nice, and gruesome, touch. Although the main story isn't incredibly epic, the decisions that you make along the way feel like they are, and have a significant impact on certain characters fates. I particularly enjoyed the economic system in the early to mid-game, when you actually feel like you need to put in work to earn those Orens, because everyone has their hand in your coin pouch, and everything you want to accomplish has a price. Unfortunately this fades towards the end of the game as there simply isn't anything left to buy and no one left to bribe. Graphically the game doesn't look bad, it’s got its hiccups sure, but nothing that interferes with playability.

Geralt, despite being one of the ugliest human beings I've ever seen in this particular game, somehow manages to slay more women than monsters--quite an accomplishment considering aptitude for his profession. The dude simply can't miss, and it's undeniably entertaining to see just how many naughty cards you can collect. It also adds an interesting layer of complexity to Geralt's ongoing romance with a certain red-haired sorceress. No matter how serious their relationship tries to become, the White Wolf simply can't stop banging other women. Relationships are hard. Players unfamiliar with the series may find Geralt's character at first take to be bland, dull, or flat out boring. However, once you begin to understand his complexities, his sarcastic and cynical nature, and his convictions, you'll surely come to appreciate this incredibly rich and interesting character as so many others have.

The world map by today's standards is pretty small but the game easily has 50 hours of content. This translates into A TON of backtracking. By the end of Chapter II I was more familiar with the streets of Vizima than my own neighborhood, which is great because the mini-map is zoomed in way too far and makes navigation a little frustrating. I often found myself needing to open the world map just to find a house that was actually ten feet away. NPCs carry on with their daily lives, which at first seems pretty cool, until you're searching for one for twenty minutes because he's not getting drunk at the inn for once and he's slipped off his magical RPG quest-tracking bracelet. Because Geralt's a Witcher, monster contracts play a role in the game, unfortunately most of them are simply kill X number of Y monster and turn in their eyes/teeth/skins/whatever. One of them even has Geralt collecting flowers...??! That's like hiring Agent 47 to assassinate a weed in your garden.

The recycling of NPC textures is somewhat distracting but doesn't ruin the experience. Expect though, to see the same fat guy, skinny guy, and half-naked hooker models reused over and over throughout your adventure. The game also suffers painfully from a gear shortage. I found myself using the same armor and two swords throughout most of my adventure. The difficulty on normal is average, as it should be, but does have some frustrating moments. Too many enemy groups have to ability to stun-lock Geralt, causing him to stagger like a drunken derelict as you helplessly pound on your peripherals for way longer than any doctor recommends.

Mini-games are present; dice poker has you playing poker by rolling dice instead of drawing cards and is ok at first but you'll quickly get tired of it. There are also fist fights which pit Geralt against an array of fighters of supposedly increasing difficulty, however, once you figure out the somewhat wonky fighting mechanics you'll be able to beat the crap out of even the strongest opponents with virtually no effort. Overall, the mini-games felt like they could have been left out and, much like me at a party, no one would have even noticed they weren’t there.

Now, we circle back to our original question; is The Witcher worth your time in 2016? As a fan of The Witcher 3 I certainly found it to be worth mine. Despite it's age and other concerns, the game is still pretty darn good. If you're completely new to the series it would seem like the obvious place to start but I would actually recommend starting with the Witcher 3 and working back to this one. Many may not agree, but the game is 50 hours long and sometimes feels like a slog. If you're not already invested in these stories and characters, and the lore of this world, playing this game first, as a contemporary player, could potentially turn you off to the entire franchise and that would be a shame. If you're a fan of the Witcher 3, like me, and want to experience more content from this world, then there's no reason not to give this game a spin.

Final score: 7/10 RECOMMENDED.

Thank you for reading and good hunting

This game....

Ok. If you haven't played any of the witcher games before I seriously recommend you play this first, so you don't get thrown off by the combat system. The combat in this game is a combination of left-click qtes and right-click spells. When you attack in this game, you click once, wait for the attack animation to near completion, and then click again when prompted to keep fighting. If you click too fast, you screw up the attack and need to start over. If you do it too slow, you have to do the first attack set again dealing less damage, and possibly getting you killed.

The graphics are from 2008, and it shows. The graphics are 8 years old, so don't expect much. I recommend the rise of the white wolf mod to update some of the character models, and if you so choose, the UI.

Now for the good stuff. The Witcher games are based on a series of books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, so naturally the story is packed full of lore to discover. The story is pretty awesome, and end game events serve as a direct lead in to the next game. There's a main story focused on justice/revenge, and a secondary civil war-esq plot between the humans and non-humans in the kingdom.

When you get down to it, there really isn't a game like this, and despite it's initial akwardness and age, it is a fun game overall with lots of side missions that have an effect on the next game should you import your save.

The Witcher is an action role playing hack and slash game developed by CD Projeckt RED and published by Atari – being released on PC in late 2007. This is the first game in the Witcher Series.

The gameplay in Witcher a split between focusing on the hack and slash, and the other on the heavy dialogue scenes. The game can be played in one of three camera angles, there are two top down angels, and one over the shoulder view – I mainly used the third person view as it suited the gameplay more than the others. Combat in this game is something that sometimes receives criticism but I found it to be a nice change from the regular combat you see in RPGs – you have three different styles of attack, a quick, heavy and group attack – each of these attacks have three stages of attack and you have to click at the right time in order to continue your combo of attack. This does feel a little like a QTE, but for me it is disguised well enough that you don’t really notice it. The Witcher also comes equipped with two different main weapons – one sword which deals more damage to monsters, but is less effective against humans, and another weapon which is the opposite. Another major portion of the gameplay is based on alchemy, you will be spending a lot time collecting herbs in order to make an assortment of potions in order to help you progress. This is one of the first games I have played that your actions really do have a massive impact on how the story flows and concludes. A lot of the dialogue options when conversing with other characters will also affect the story and how that character in particular interacts with the player.

This game is eight years old now, so you would expect the graphics to be a little on the dated side, however when wracking the resolution up to 4k, the game still has a current gen look to it; whilst some of the textures may be on the lower quality scale still, the open worldness of the game means that you can’t really expect mind blowing graphics at the time of its development. The game also has some very nice looking special effects, such as water effects.

On release of Witcher, the game’s voice acting was supposedly one of the worst that has been seen, however the Enhanced Edition of the game, which everyone got who purchased the original version, greatly improves the voice acting to acceptable levels – whilst it is still not the best by today’s standards, every single character in the game is catered for and has a voice to be heard. The game has a couple of sound tracks that are really iconic too, and the sound effects are all really on par.

Witcher’s plot is one of my all-time favourites – it is very rare that a game is able to completely suck me into the story right from the word go. The game is split in to various chapters, which allows the game to create sub plots whilst also progressing the overall main story line at an acceptable pace. A lot of the quests in Witcher will bear no importance to the main story, and often are there to add an extra layer of depth to the world in which you are in. The immersion levels are sky high in this game as you will find yourself caring greatly for the characters.

This game comes with three levels of difficulties; Easy, Medium and Hard. I was playing on medium on my run through the game and was still challenged to the point where I had to replay a few parts due to death. Hard mode is seriously for the hard-core RPGers out there; you will need to take full advantage of the alchemy system in the game as most of the more advanced fights will 100% require the use of multiple potions. Your average Joe gamer will get a great amount of enjoyment and challenge from the medium settings though.

Witcher is one of the longest games I have played. Having just finished the whole game with the majority of side quests, and exploring done, it has taken me eighty hours to complete. Although the replay ability in Witcher is quite high given you can change the middle part of the game and outcome quite heavily depending on how you act and play; you would seriously have to be a huge fan to want to be putting eighty hours into another play through. I am very happy with the longevity of the game; you cannot complain about a game this good having a huge amount of content available.

Technically, the game is sound. I didn’t have any problems running the game at higher resolutions, with a fairly nice selection of graphic options available to optimize your game for your computer. The game needs to be played with a keyboard and mouse though – there are mods which you can install for controllers but the gameplay really needs a mouse to be completely effective.

In conclusion, The Witcher Enhanced Edition is easily one of the best games to ever been made and every RPG fan needs to experience it. The low regular price of £6, 99 makes this game an absolute must buy. It has been known to go as low as £1, 39…which you would have to be brain dead to not pick it up for that price. Eighty hours of stellar gameplay and amazing story line, makes The Witcher one of my top 5 games of all time.

Tom's Score Card
1) Stay away
2) Not Recommended
3) Only recommended when on sale
4) Recommended
5) Highly recommended
6) This is a must play

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http://store.steampowered.com/app/20900

The Witcher: Utterly brilliant, but rough and over-ambitious

The game's greatest strengths: the world, the story, the choices

The game's problem: it tries too hard to be the best rpg in the world

Final thoughts

I got this game on a sale for 1.49 EUR and it was the best deal ever, it turned out to be amazing. It's not for everyone however, as it's quite long, you need to pay attention to the story and get used to the clunky combat - you'll either love it or give up in the first few hours.

I started the game to see what it's like, struggled with the fighting, played half an hour until it suddenly crashed and I realised I didn't save the game. I didn't really like what I saw first, but I decided to give it another chance. Fortunately, the dialogues are skippable, so I could continue almost immediately and this time I read the tutorial more attentively and managed to find out how to properly kill enemies. As the story progressed, I got more and more into it and started to enjoy the game very much.

Graphics

The Witcher manages to be one of the best RPGs that I have played in spite of many little flaws. There are times the game will frustrate you in minor ways, and yet the game deserves the cult classic status it enjoys. The story is dark and engaging, the world is deep and lore filled, and the moral ambiguity will have you racked with doubt about the choices you have made. But make no mistake, you will make choices in this game, and you will have to bear the responsibility those choices bring.

If you dont mind working through a clumsy interface, and like a game that makes you work for it: The Witcher: Enhanced Directors Cut may be the game for you.

See my full review here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSb1Z380XCM

When I first played The Witcher, I was in middle school and I had pirated the game. Like most middle schoolers, I wasn’t very smart and the only thing I really looked for in a game was how many bad guys I could murder. I finished the game and quickly forgot about it. Only after I was in college did I realize to the full extent the awful choices that I had made during my first playthrough of The Witcher. My crimes were beyond description. I killed street dogs and innocent travelers just to loot 2 orens worth of stuff from their corpses. I slept with women and promptly abandoned them to be murdered by angry mobs or overzealous knights. I killed a fellow witcher. I walked away from a chance to have a happy family with a woman who loved me in order to sleep with my sex buddy sorceress who I thought looked hotter. I helped commit mass genocide, murdering dozens of non-humans fighting for freedom.

By chance I happened to see The Witcher: Enhanced Edition on sale during Steam Summer Sale 2014. I took it as a sign from heaven. Lord Gaben the Redeemer was speaking to me through my computer, offering me a chance to atone for my sins of the first playthrough. Now I could do what I had not done in middle school. I would uphold justice and help the weak. I would be the hero that Vizima needed, but not the one it deserved. And I could do it with 75% off. I clicked buy and my $1.99 ascended to the heavens while the face of Lord Gaben smiled down upon me.

The first time I played Witcher enhanced edition I cried. The story is better than the bible and Geralt is fresher than the prince of Bel-Air. I bought extra copies for all of my friends and family so they can experience the greatness that is this game. After spends days of rewatching the sex scenes and making the romance cards in real life I realised I am become The Witcher. I now spend several hours a day at the gym working on my physique and I even have bleached my hair white. Tomorrow I am going to get my named changed to Geralt and my middle name changed to WHITE WOLF. My wife fully supports my decision and she is getting her name changed to Triss. I am now studying kenpo under the tutelage of Sensei Masumura Nobunaga as to learn the art of the sword. I have been going to a Wiccan Herbalist as to learn how to cast spells and how to brew mutagenic tonics. I am close to being able to cast the Wiccan equivalent of the Igni sign but I still need more training. Also I have taken out a loan to purchase replicas of the Witcher's pure silver and steel swords. My mom is worried about me but I told her that this is now my life and she should support my decision and I hope one day to hunt down monsters like the ghouls and drowners in witcher just like Geralt.

The Witcher : Enchanced Edition ( Director's Cut ) :

After playing a single playthrough, I highly recommend this game!
The first Chapter is a little slow, however, it helps you build an understanding of the main character and gives you a understanding of the game itself.

One thing I truly loved about this game, the decisions you made effected your gameplay, whether it would be a minor impact or a game changing impact. It was a great to not just play a game, but also be part of that game as well.

I picked up both Witcher 1 & 2, where -some- decisions you made in the first game can transfer over ( as well as minor gear change ) ; I recommend to get a copy of both!

Don't let all the features in the game "scare" you away. As to maximize the game, you use all talents/features ( Alchemy, Signs and Weapons ). During the slow impact of the first Chapter, you get a chance to work on all your options. Honestly speaking, I only used 2 weapons ( monster/human ) 2 signs ( Fire/Push ) and a handful of potions.

There are some glitches (mostly) during combat, but not game challenging. ( ex. Boxing or attacking mulitple adds with single attacks )
The major complaint I received about this game was people felt overwhelmed with the decision making mixed with talents. Don't let them is all I can recommend. Enjoy the overall gameplay. You don't need to worry about using everything at once and like mentioned above, the first chapter is a great tool to learn it all from.

When you start playing this game until when you stop, you feel as if you're part of the game itself. The Witcher does have replay value so you may learn each outcome of game impacting decisions.

Pros :
- Good graphics
- Controls are easy to get a handle of
- Amazing Storyline
- Decision making with impacts

Cons :
- Minor Glitches with combat system
- Repetitive combats

Rating : 8.5/10