The Witcher series has managed to garner almost universal praise from the gaming community. Developer CD Projekt Red has managed to not only entertain but to completely immerse so many people in the world of Geralt of Rivia. This is in no small part to the incredibly strong source material but that’s only part of the overall picture. What is it about The Witcher’s story and the game’s construction that has managed to successfully bring so many into the fold?
The answer is all in the way the developers have laid the story out. They were not simply seeking to adapt a book. Using the source material as a springboard they have managed to build a story that anyone can easily jump into and be completely entertained no matter where they start.
Looking at some other games with sequels such as Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed and certain Final Fantasy titles we start to notice a trend. Yes, the stories themselves are all pretty enjoyable on their own. But we run into a little bit of a snag. The stories themselves aren’t as enjoyable as if you had been a long time fan. These stories require continuity and fan investment incredibly heavily. Garrus is a very interesting character but if you have not played the previous two Mass Effect games the way he has grown throughout the series will not resonate with you which is one of the major strengths of how he was written nor will you as a player really understand the entirety of the Commander’s struggle. Desmond Miles is interesting but unless you’ve been playing since the first Assassin’s Creed most of his importance would be lost as well as the severity of the battles against Abstergo. Cecil is really strong and magnificent in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years but there’s no real appreciation for him or that world if you haven’t played the original.
The Witcher really does not have this problem. And due in no small part to how the game and its story are constructed. Anybody can simply jump in to The Witcher 2 and find that they enjoy it. I did so myself. But why is this?
Looking at The Witcher 2 it’s apparent that it is divided into three acts. While we do have the overarching threat of The Kingslayer touched upon in every single act that is but a small part in each act’s enjoyment. Every single act of The Witcher 2 is constructed as its own standalone story. One can play through but a single act and play through a very well written tale from beginning to middle to end. Each act has its own finality. Each act seems as though it could’ve been its own short, standalone title.
For example let’s look at Act I in the town of Flotsam. Throughout the whole act you are treated to what is pretty much a story about the town. It’s just a simple story following the “Stranger Comes to Town” formula that so many pieces of fiction utilize. And it executes it incredibly well. While you personally don’t find much on the overarching issues with The Kingslayer (as that is saved for Act III) you are treated to an interesting story about a town and its problems. There’s an oppressive regime that runs the town, Iorveth’s Robin-Hood esque band of Scoia’tel attacking merchants this way and that and plenty of other little problems that a town would suffer from in Geralt’s world all leading up to a climactic final battle with the imposing creature known as the Kayran. It’s a tight, well written story that feels as though it could simply be its own game. And each other act is stand alone as well, but I won’t mention them to avoid going into spoiler territory.
But this is not just limited to the acts. Even the sidequests within the acts all manage to follow this really tight storytelling. Once a sidequest is finished there’s always that satisfaction that a story has ended. There’s never really those slight feelings of “what if” going through the player’s head.
There are indeed memorable characters from other games that make appearances like the titles I’ve mentioned above. That part is true. But prior knowledge of them is not what primarily heightens the enjoyment of the game. The Witcher is not a story about a band of characters. The Witcher is a story about one character, Geralt, and the world he inhabits. It is a story about towns in trouble, monsters to be slain and bandits to be found and how one man, how you, choose to tackle those problems. The story is one that really lives in the moment. it doesn’t need you to know hundreds of different things to establish and interesting tale. The tales themselves are written as stand-alone. They’re interesting without any other input. And that everyone, is why The Witcher makes the case for quality game storytelling.
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