Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

I am not a magic, lorcana, or gwent enjoyer, but this game somehow makes it fun. it goes on sale for very little so pick it up, it is for sure worth it

Great graphics, lovely voice acting, and, yes, there's even a card game, though it's a little wobbly in its mechanics. But super-enjoyable and even a bit chill and relaxing.

One of the best storyline in a game i have come across, worth playing.
This is different from GWENT in Witcher 3 its bit complex but battles can be skipped.
Its immersive and no technical issues.

An unexpected combination of gwent-inspired gameplay and witcher stories that works really well. It is also surprisingly long for a card-focused story game.

I don't know what the hype about this game is/was. I've played it for 8 hours and deeply regret getting it even with some huge discount. Storywise, It's just refill for the books, if you've read them you'll know where this is heading, although it adds some backstory for some characters and if you have played Gwent (which I have, reason why I got here) it also adds some backstory for some cards. -I'll leave the Gwent part to the end. The map is boring, merely point and click stuff, I wont deny it has a nice setting and the ambience is cool, but after a while it gets really boring travelling to point A to point B. Hint: don't waste gold on building scout tower or sending scouts, it's useless if you have a keen eye and know where to look for hidden treasure. Now, speaking about the GWENT aspect... gods, it's really painful. For starters, you are stuck with (personally) the worst faction of all, Northern Realms. If you enjoy playing NR that's ok, but this is nothing like the regular Gwent. You'll need to learn a completely new set of cards, synergies and abilities that are completely different, and you'll have no idea what your opponent's moves will do. So, if you win a match, you win by pure luck or gut-feeling rather than by strategy. That is, IF you win. Puzzle battles at first are "kinda" interesting, but there are some that you simply don't know WTH you'll need to do. Trying multiple combinations and restarting over and over sometimes get you nowhere. And the worst part is, if you replay them, you just simply need to repeat the same sequence of cards you did before, so there's no actual "AI" behind it, just a predermined set of moves you'll need to figure out only once. I've played it on the hardest difficulty because I'm a "seasoned gwent veteran" but I'll say it again, this is no Gwent. It's an entirely different take on it, so I personally won't keep playing this crap, maybe just look for the golden chests and get the premium cards for the real deal and that's where you'll find me. I hope Nilfgaard burns this to the ground. Glory for the Empire.

Good writing, characters, voice work and art work.

I was initially put off the game, due to the amount of puzzles at the beginning (this remains a problem throughout). But when it allows you to deck build, play gwent and enjoy a story, it's both enjoyable and novel.

Gwent with a cool story. Highly recommended!

If you love the Witcher setting and card battle games, then you will definitely be happily engrossed in this game. Countless hours will fly by in the various play modes.

i have to give this a thumbs up despite the fact that i do not like card game (i find the card gameplay feels like a chore half the time). HOLY F**K are the ost and story/narrative good, ESPECIALLYYYYYYYYYYY the late game ost

this is NOT worth 4$, cd projekt red is CRAZY with these discounts

if you're not a fan of card games just set the difficulty to the lowest and focus on the story

Honestly one of the best story games ever made, with a phenomenal card system to boot! Well worth playing - and replaying many times!
FOR LYRIA!!!

Overall score 8/10

Almost surprisingly good for what should be a card game. Decent (even if a bit generic) story, solid deck building options with several strategies at your disposal, nice visuals and music.
My only criticism would be around:
- balancing: a few puzzles and battles were much more difficult than the rest
- occasional laggy animations: especially during fights with multiple effects being triggered

Thronebreaker is an excellent expansion of The Witcher universe. The gameplay is a clear evolution of the well-known Gwent, featuring strategic combat that truly engages players. Each boss presents a unique challenge, almost like a puzzle to be solved. The exploration of environments is also very rewarding, and the choice system provides real consequences for your progress. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys deck builders and the world of The Witcher.

A outstanding title that provides a unique take on the Witcher world.

A great story, great music, a great card-game and a 10/10 narrative with decisions that make you feel immersed in the world and with consequences extending far beyond the typical white-black morality systems so popular in video games.

It would be perfect were it not for the fact the late-game is dragged down significantly by the fact battles get far too repetitive, especially if you wish 100% the game.
The last few chapters of the game are the best example of that. I found myself constantly asking in disbelief "There's more?".

The resource management mechanic feels like an unnecessary addition and it doesn't add enough to warrant its own existence in my opinion. You get more than enough resources to get all the upgrades and troops you need to win at the pace the story wants you to have them.

The addition of puzzle battles provides some uniqueness to the experience and helps break the tedium but some are quite confusing and I found it less headache-inducing to just search for the solution online, which is something you want in any game.

The Boss Fights... ten out of ten. Best Final Boss I have seen in years. No other words needed.

It's a genuine masterpiece, just take a break in between chapters. 9/10

Good game, manages to take Gwent and shape it in a more fun, focused direction fit to be the vehicle through which the game's conflicts unfold. At first, I was a bit disappointed that there is no punishment for failure, or different consequences for, say, succeeding at an assault versus flubbing it. After finishing the game, though, I've come to see it as necessary, since your draws are random. A particularly bad starting hand can mean watching the battle fail in slow-motion if you don't outright forfeit. The option to resign at any time (even in the middle of the AI's turn) and immediately retry is appreciated.

A lot of the gameplay is Gwent, as special matches with story cards and unique objectives, head-scratching puzzle fights, and classic 3-round card battles. There are a lot of Gwent battles - probably a few too many, though you have the option to walk past plenty of them too, which should make repeated playthroughs quicker should you choose to skip some content. There is also the option, on the easy difficulty, to skip the Gwent battles completely and get on with the story. I think this removes some of the narrative weight of victory, though, and it will probably start to feel contrived that Meve wins battle after battle so effortlessly if you don't put the effort in yourself as the player. I don't recommend this game to anyone who dislikes turn-based strategy games. Make no mistake - the story here is worth it, but so are the cards. They should be enjoyed, to the best of one's ability, as a package.

Player dialogue choices exist but do not drastically divert the narrative's direction, like they can (sometimes) do in the first two Witcher games. Instead, they can affect your Gwent deck (the in-game analogy for Meve's army), either by adjusting the resources with which you can make new basic cards, or upgrading and removing special Hero cards (that represent the side characters in the story). Like the other Witcher games, Thronebreaker has multiple ending variations based on the choices you've made in the story. Many choices will, in the classic Witcher fashion, have you picking between two or more evils. There is something to be said about Meve's status and perspective as a monarch as it relates to these choices, though. Unlike a witcher, Meve does not have the privilege of being neutral. In some respects, she has more capacity than anyone to be kind, but players will often find themselves feeling that cruelty - to enemies, but also to turncoats and deserters - is the more responsible choice.

The enemy, Nilfgaard, is itself an unflinchingly cruel invading force hell-bent on bringing the Northern Realms to their knees, enslaving their people, and resettling their lands. It is a refreshing, more lore-accurate depiction of the empire after the weirdly whitewashed version of it seen in the Witcher 3. Even so, the game manages to invoke moral tension in player decisions regarding Nilfgaard's subjects. In fact, these are some of the stronger and more memorable choices you can make.

One point of criticism I have is regarding AI deck variety: there are a lot of fights against Nilfgaard, especially near the end of the game. A lot of these battles feature very similar decks, if not actually the same. It doesn't help that some Nilfgaard cards are themselves anti-fun, having abilities that punish you for using special orders or placing units on certain rows. The units that don't do this tend to have rather boring abilities anyway (e.g. boost all copies of this card by 2 when played, damage an opponent by 2 each turn, etc.). I found battles against the Scoia'tael and Monsters decks to be much more cerebral and entertaining.

All that said, this is a fantastic game with an unwarranted amount of developer love and care poured into it. The visual novel sections are delightful, the card puzzles are thoughtful, and the voice acting is perfect. The soundtrack is likewise impressive, and will give you earworms for days after playing.

If you plan on playing the standalone multiplayer Gwent game, though, consider buying this game on GoG, since the exclusive cards you can unlock for multiplayer Gwent from this game only carry over on that platform.

The game has been a great story, plenty of exploring, a fair and fun action packed card game where choices have consequences. Puzzles and standard action battles utilizing cards. 10/10

Good story and Gwent. One minor annoyance was that some decisions are tied to gaining/losing cards, some of which are quite powerful. Though I suppose that kinda makes sense, since if you do stuff a character dislikes they might leave you.

Loved the story and experimenting with my deck. Be warned, this is just Gwent. If you don't like Gwent then you wont like this.

one of my favourite games ever. one of the best games ever made imo. i found this deeply stimualting, interesting, engaging, complex and emotional. meve as a main character was the perfect choice and the story was very compelling and painful, in a very good way. fucking reynard (i mean this positively). maybe it's just because i'm always a simp for blond middle-aged women in positions of authority, but hey... can you blame a woman for lovin'

this game deserves so so so so so so much more money and recognition and attention and praise <33333333333333333333

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales offers a solid single-player adventure that incorporates Gwent's card game mechanics into its combat system. The story is engaging, especially for fans of The Witcher universe, though it's not necessary to have prior knowledge of the series. The game takes place long before the events of the first Witcher game, telling a tale parallel to one of the stories in the books, which provides valuable context to events in the Witcher games.

As you explore the map with your "army," you'll engage in a variety of combat encounters, meet a various NPCs who may join your party and gather resources to upgrade your camp, which grants useful bonuses as you progress. The puzzles can be challenging on the hardest difficulty, but they’re fairly accessible on normal, even for those who are unfamiliar with Gwent or digital card games.

Overall, Thronebreaker is a well-rounded game that should offer around 30 hours of fun, especially if you’re aiming to complete the main story and most side quests on a higher difficulty. If you're seeking a story-driven adventure with puzzle-solving, strategy, and RPG elements, this game is definitely worth a try. It’s a good idea to wait for a sale of 30% or more for the best value.

This game worth going out of my way to 100% achievements, as a sign of respect for the labor of love it is. Literally every aspect is flawless: the story, the writing, the voice acting, the gameplay, the music, the visuals are so uniquely relevant to this world it's ridiculous. It is truly a beautiful work of art, and a brilliant experience. A must buy especially for Witcher universe and/or Gwent fans.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is an incredible blend of storytelling, strategy, and card-based combat set in The Witcher universe. The game nicely combines exploration and decision-making with engaging Gwent-style battles. The art, voice acting, and writing are also very good, delivering an experience that feels both immersive and rewarding. Whether you're a fan of the Witcher franchise or just love strategy RPGs with card game elements, this game is a hidden gem well worth playing.

This game is truly marvelous. The art style is incredible, and the voice acting is amazing, there is such soul and care in every aspect.

The gameplay is incredibly fun and addictive. Its so easy to get wrapped up in making the perfect deck to punish enemies.

Its fantastic as a standalone story, and adds some very interesting background to the Witcher series (and the books) which is a bonus. Can't recommend this one enough.

Unparalleled storytelling, impressive artwork, delightful puzzles and just an all-around incredible experience I'm trying my hardest to prolong. I really do not wish for it to end...

Great lore for witcher fans. Very good gameplay too.

Story and decision making done to perfection. Must play for GWENT and Witcher lovers.

Excellent story, lovely art direction, so-and-so gameplay.
As a deck builder, it is a bit lacking. The game often gets bogged down in puzzles or in other battle modes that do not really befit (or even utilize) the deck you have built. There also seems to be no way to save decks, so every time you wish to try a new strategy, you need to do the hard labour of removing and adding cards – and same if you want to return to the deck you had. The game really could have done with a lot of “quality of life” updates.
But all that being said, I loved the game and can recommend it to anyone who likes the Witcher series. Or simply a good story.
I don’t know if deck-builder people will find much amusement in the game.

Peak. I never got into gwent in TW3, but if this is whats it's like I've been missing out. I really liked the puzzles. The story and choices are very good, you'll get a lot out of it if you've read the books. Freaking epic lore.

Great game, great story, great choices that actually feel meaningful, great voice acting, great addition to the Witcher lore and games universe. Just great.

One of the best stories I've ever experienced in a game! Love how brutal some of the decisions are and how fun the Gwent battles are! A+Soundtrack!!

If you love a good story with unexpected twists, Thronebreaker delivers big time! The writing is fantastic, and the choices you make actually feel meaningful.

The card-based battle system is great—if you enjoy RPGs and card games, you'll have a blast. Plus, if you’ve played The Witcher, read the books, or just love GWENT, this game is a must-play.

I also really enjoyed the puzzles scattered across the map. They’re a fun break from the main battles and make you think outside the box.

That said, the mechanics can feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially if you’re new to GWENT. But if you stick with it, that initial struggle turns into a really satisfying challenge—finding the best combos and strategies is part of the fun!

Highly recommend giving it a shot!

The game was on my radar for a long time and I’m glad I finally got around to it! It was surprisingly long, probably took me a bit under 40 hours. It was very good though. Definitely felt like a Witcher game, especially the early ones, and it’s basically the only one we’ve gotten in like 10 years.

The Gwent battling was a bit too easy, to the point it became a slog. Especially in the later chapters where the puzzles seem to disappear and there are a lot more standard battles. The last battle was the first time I felt like a match was close and it was because I had been running a bare minimum deck the whole game. The puzzles were mostly very good. They all used the Gwent board but mostly felt nothing like Gwent.

Aside from that the art, music and full voice cast was really good. It was more like an interactive book. Shame they probably won’t ever make another one because it didn’t sell well. I went looking if there are any other games out there like this and there’s basically nothing else out there.Hopefully they make more Witcher tales one day.

Well written and ideal expansion of Witcher universe.

good
haven't experience with Gwent but am quite experienced with Hearthstone so wasn't hard for me
to play it my recommendation is to be very well known at least with Wild Hunt better with witcher lore

Damn, I can't believe that a Gwent game is this amazing.

The history it's fantastic and the moral decisions are amazing, and they have actually a lot of consequences

My only "complain" is that Geralt in the cover is just clickbait, he only appear in a very tiny part of the game, is just a cameo, but aside that all the other characters are fantastic.

If you like gwent, this is the single player experience you need.

The battles are difficult and there's a lot of puzzles to solve.

Really great game, fantastic writing and presentation, and a must play for any fan of the world of Witcher.
Wish we got more games like this from CDPR, all their strengths as a studio shine in this game.

Extremly underrated rpg and a great story

Thought I would enjoy this game since I enjoyed Gwent in Witcher 3. Turns out this game offers:
- boring card games that are more like puzzles
- boring storyline that requires tons of reading
- boring protagonist and side characters
- boring navigation across the boring map just for something to happen
- boring resources management and upgrading stuff
- boring generic OST/BGM/SFX

Not worth it even at 80% off.

If you like Gwent buy it, If you do not, don't buy it but it is witcher so you should buy it anyway

Love this game. Completed it twice.
Amazing characters, gripping story, interesting camp development and battles, hard choices and their consequences. Absolute must try for any witcher universe fan. Card gamers and pretty much anyone else can try, for what it's sold these days it's a steal.

Boring. It's a "Gwent" game where half the fights are puzzles, and even when they’re not, you can’t enjoy the card game because of the endless yapping after every action.

got witcher 3 for the story but stayed for gwent,
got thronebreaker for gwent but stayed for the story.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales has an interesting story and there is a nice variety of puzzles and matches. Good game!

Lost for words although It takes years for me to touch this game, due to clearing backlogs, playing this game expanded my The Witcher world knowledge and history. Although this is not for everybody (deck/card game) hard to understand mechanics, this is truly enjoyable once understand.

Game with amazing story, well written characters, beautiful visuals and somewhat okay gameplay will take you through the world of Witcher once again, this time as Queen Meve, who fights to reclaim her homeland from the Nilfgaardian invaders.

Amazing game. I was mainly here for the story and as a big fan of the world as told by both the Witcher books and games, I can say it really delivered. When it comes to the mechanics, I had fun - and if you're of the sort that could play gwent for ages in Wild Hunt, then this is a game for you. For me there was just one part in the fourth act where it seemed to me like there were too many battles forced on you and so I grew slightly tired of the mechanics but that could also be due to me not changing my roster of cards very often. Either way, the story then picked up hard after that one and I had a blast until the end. Sooo all in all, highly recommend :D

A very good game, with interesting story worthy of the series.

Rally an Insurgency, Play Some Cards

TL;DR: If you have enjoyed Gwent in another title, and like narratives with choice and consequences, then there is a lot to love in this game. If either of the above is untrue about you, then steer clear.[hr][/hr]
For some reason, I came into this game under the impression that it was a Telltale-style adventure game with branching choices. I don’t know why I thought that, but I was only mostly wrong. Thronebreaker weaves a fairly linear standalone tale set in the world of The Witcher, and features plenty of meaningful choices that will impact the plot, but rather a cinematic adventure, the card game Gwent is front and center. If you haven’t played Gwent before, go play The Witcher III and come back to this if you want more.

Thronebreaker weaves a fairly compelling narrative. The story takes place before the time of the first Witcher game, and you are Meve, the battle-hardened Queen of Rivia & Lyria. Returning home from a foreign military campaign, you find that your teenage son and heir has made a mess of things domestically as he ruled in your stead. Compounding this, a massive betrayal leaves Meve branded a criminal, and at the mercy of former foes. You’ll spend the game exploring a number of large overworld maps, gathering recruits, resources, and allies as you scramble to retake your throne amidst a Nilfgaardian invasion. Meve is a constant underdog, and you can opt to use the desperation of her situation to justify some heavy-handed decisions, but know that your choices matter, and there can be fairly drastic consequences for your actions.

Outside of exploration, you can slowly build up your camp’s infrastructure to provide various benefits, and you’ll spend recruits and resources to create a deck that you’ll use during skirmishes. Unlike in The Witcher, Thronebreaker’s Gwent isn’t a simple pastime; it represents the actual battles of Meve’s army. Moreover, many situations present you with special puzzle-style preset boards and win conditions. Though just about every encounter plays out via the Gwent board, this variety keeps things fairly fresh. That being said, if you don’t like deck-builders or turn-based tactical games there isn’t going to be anything here for you.

Over the course of the story, Meve will recruit new companions, make new alliances, and gain access to new troop types that allow plenty of opportunity to try out radically different builds. I enjoyed leading her guerrilla insurgency against the black-clads, and was overall pleasantly surprised by the depth of this title. If you’ve any interest in the world of The Witcher (and only the world; Geralt himself makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo), and enjoy Gwent or other strategic deck-builders, pick this up for a compelling story, and to see corners of the world that the main series hasn’t yet illuminated.

10/10 Would recommend

That is if you like Witcher 3 Gwent-style gameplay, which is the main mechanic in the game. Even if the story is good. You might get stuck in a battle and get frustrated if you aren't good at Gwent. I think some have not finished the game because of that reason. There are also puzzles using cards on the Gwent battlefield view. That isn't such a problem since you can find the solutions on the web.
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The rest consists of moving the character around and the story. Moving around allows you to skip some things if you want, to gather loot and it triggers story moments at random spots. The story is absolutely brilliant. It reveals a cool fact at one point, at least for someone who hasn't read the books yet (I assume it's on the books). You are also making decisions that have an effect on the story. Sometimes you will regret your decisions. While the game has checkpoints/saves. You can't reload to choose differently. It can be painful, but part of the experience. This is why I recommend thinking when you make the decisions. :) That makes the game somewhat replayable. Not maybe right away since the main story arch is the same.
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One thing I didn't like. Was not being able to get all the optionally gatherables. They don't affect the gameplay or story, but I think both two I missed. Were because of the story choices I made... Some of the other ones had few possible locations based on what you do. Just don't get why not all of them have it.
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I bought the game for 3,99€ on a sale so absolute steal for 77 hours I spent on it. If I would do a second play-through. I could do it faster, especially skipping some dialogue, but I think it could still take 50 hours. Either way as an after thought I could have spent closer to 20€ on this game which is the basic cost I believe. Anyway enjoyed the game from start to end.
-Nano

Fun fact: I played this game for a few minutes, refunded it, bought it again after some time and currently having a real blast with it. If you just looking for good crpg, don't hesitate. If you're into witcher's lore - don't make my first mistake thinking that this is again Gwent with walking around. Cards are story-driven here and almost every battle has only 1 round with special tasks to achieve, which keeps it fresh and different. Foremost, really good story and memorable characters make TB another classic - filling nicely gap between Witcher's open worlds and Gwent deckbuilding, while being quite unique game on it's own.