The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Reviews
Hearts of Stone is pretty much the best of The Witcher 3, at least prior to the release of Blood and Wine. If you enjoyed the base game at all, this is a must.
Heart of Stone continues the greatness of Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Well written dialogues, memorable characters and a much needed return to one of the best role playing games out there.
Review in German | Read full review
At 10 hours, Hearts of Stone is rather brief given the sprawling scale of Wild Hunt, but with that brevity, it never overstays its welcome. It melds well with the overall themes of the core adventure even if it feels wholly detached from it, but sometimes all you need is more Witcher-based antics.
Hearts of Stone is a metric ton of fantastic Witcher 3 content. It's a must for owners of the original game.
Hearts of Stone is a full-fledged add-on for a game that probably didn't need to be any longer. Thankfully, Hearts of Stone is a total blast for Witcher fans and packs more into its 10-15 hour campaign than most AAA games on the market. With its wonderfully paced story, mesmerizing characters, and gorgeous world to explore, Hearts of Stone demands to be played. It also raises the bar for what fans can expect from DLC for their favourite games. If you're itchin' for more witchin', then picking up Hearts of Stone is a no brainer.
In all, this is an expansion for The Witcher 3 fans who like the idea of returning to the world they once visited for one more self-contained meaningful story.The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stonemight not have a new land to explore, but that does not stop this from being a great addition to an already outstanding game.
Hearts of Stone is a fantastic addition to the Witcher 3 world that feels as if it was always a part of the game. It keeps up with the quality that one would expect. It's refreshing in dialog, hilarious at times, inventive in its quests, and even after 70 plus hours in the core story, coming back to this world was extremely easy and welcomed.
With new upgrades, new armour, new merchants, pretty much everything has a little bit of something new to it, Hearts of Stone is an add-on that you won't be disappointed with.
Hearts of Stone has pulled me back into The Witcher Universe with its finely crafted story and menagerie of clever side characters. A cat burglar acrobat, a suicidal Firestarter dwarf, a lifelorn ghost, and more are all people that will stick with you for a while even after you are done playing. While this story may only take you 10 hours to complete make sure to set aside more time than that because you will probably need it.
If Hearts of Stone were a full-length game, it would be perfect. The fact that it's an excellent expansion to an already excellent game in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is appreciable in a whole new light. Fan or not, if you crave a compelling action-adventure, Hearts of Stone is well worth the price.
CD Projekt RED once again provides a lesson in how to release expansions, and despite the inevitable glitches that accompany any open-world game, it more than delivers on narrative and content.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Yeah, you should get Hearts of Stone. It's pretty good.
The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone may skirt the line between DLC and Expansion Pack by merely adding more of what was already in Wild Hunt, but gets away with it by being sizeable and awesome. The story, quests, characters, choices, twists, gameplay and wild adventures on offer are well worth the extra money, and the return of Shani is a neat bonus for fans who have been with the series since the first game. If you're not completely sick of The Witcher 3 then it's well worth getting Hearts of Stone since the content here is some of the best and most memorable in the entire series.
This new adventure moves quickly, and feels like Wild Hunt in microcosm; cool moment after cool moment, condensed into a much shorter running time, with less cool distractions to pull you off in every which direction. Having less to do is no bad thing, and this story feels more focused and well paced as a result. Without adding an entirely new continent to explore - something the second expansion, Blood and Wine, promises to do in 2016 - CD Projekt Red still manages to ensure that this world feels interesting, that its characters are compelling, and that its stories are memorable and still have something to say, both narratively and thematically.
There's an old saying, you can never have too much of a good thing. This is false. Hearts of Stone doesn't offer that much new to the game, which is what the second expansion is supposedly meant to feature, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. What Hearts of Stone gives players is another reason to dive back into this world, and enjoy the stories that lie within.
If you enjoyed The Bloody Baron quest line in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, you will absolutely love Hearts of Stone. While it is the first piece of DLC with a price tag, the storyline justifies that at twice the price.
CD Projekt Red has lived up to its word and, apparently, this is just a taster of what is yet to come. The next DLC, Blood and Wine, will come in at double the cost, but promises double the content and a whole new land to explore. Admittedly, Hearts of Stone's content is very much focused on the story it is telling, resulting in a very narrative-focused final product with lots of dialogue and cut-scenes, but that is not much of a negative considering the quality of the story that is told. It's a truly original and fantastic piece of storytelling, filled with great moments and set pieces that any fan of the series truly needs to experience.
Witcher 3's first expansion, "Hearts of Stone" definitely packs a punch. Offering players up to 15 hours of story and gameplay. CD Projekt RED nailed their first true expansion for the Witcher 3, and with a price tag of only $10 it makes it awfully hard to pass up.
Overall, Hearts of Stone was everything that I wanted out of the first story expansion for Wild Hunt. I'm already anxiously awaiting the release of its follow-up Blood and Wine, which is said to consist of an additional 20 hours of gameplay. Whether you're looking for engaging combat with memorable boss fights, new interpersonal relationships and meaningful character development, or a mysterious and enthralling quest line that will keep you hooked until the very end, Hearts of Stone has it for you in spades. CD Projekt RED has once again outdone themselves and created an expansion that stands far enough apart from the original game to provide completely new adventure, but close enough to home to remind you why The Witcher 3 is one of the best RPGs of our time.
In the end, though, Hearts of Stone is a stirring good time and a great expansion the whole way 'round. It doesn't just give us a couple new missions spread out over the same areas, bringing in the same characters, and simply offering a few new pieces of equipment. This goes above and beyond, delivering an entirely new customization mechanic, excellent story missions, a boatload of surprising charm, fantastic variety in terms of objectives, activities and locations, and a new romance that's well worth pursuing.