The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Reviews
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.
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.
An utterly engrossing slice of content, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stone is a superb addition to an already incredible RPG, and is further proof that developer CD Projekt Red is at the absolute top of its game.
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.
An impressive expansion that takes the best bits of Wild Hunt and adds great new ideas.
Hearts of Stone includes an absolutely masterful new story, a compendium of everything we love about The Witcher. A gripping plot and wonderful characters in an experience of a few hours that can be enjoyed completely independently of the main Wild Hunt story.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Hearts of Stone is the perfect example of DLC done right. There's not a better reason to get back into The Witcher 3 again.
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.
A stunning expansion to a fantastic game, Hearts of Stone builds expertly on the Witcher universe by introducing a compelling story and memorable battles.
The first addition to The Witcher 3 entitled Hearts of Stone not only invites you to participate in geralt's new adventure, but also proves that the DLC does not have to be lazy and uneasy.
Review in Polish | Read full review
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.
This first DLC of The Witcher 3 has passed with flying colors and is a must-have for those who play The Witcher 3 or want to play it again. Hearts of Stone is a rock-solid DLC from The Witcher 3 and more than worth every penny.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
There's no doubt that the guys at CD Projekt Red know how to do their job well, at least as far as design issues (both artistic and mission) and script are concerned. We are facing an expansion with an impeccable content and that surpasses in quality the main content of many games. A heady plot and subp plot, an admirable variety of situations, memorable "secondary" characters and a Geralt of Rivia capable of performing the impossible make up this wonderful expansion,totally recommended.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is at its best when focusing on individual characters and the stories that they have to tell, and that's exactly what Hearts of Stone provides."
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
The story in Hearts of Stone alone would make it worth getting, but it succeeds on other levels as well. The fun new enemies and bosses, along with the customization potential of Runewords make Hearts of Stone a very well-rounded package that shouldn't be skipped.
Hearts of Stone may not make any significant improvements to The Witcher 3's core gameplay, but it succeeds largely on the quality of its engrossing narrative.
CD Projekt Red's first paid expansion is well worth the return to the Northern Kingdoms.
Lasting ten to twelve hours with complex characters, diverse scenarios, stunning new locations, and memorable bosses, this ten dollar expansion stands out in a period when many DLC offerings feel like lackluster afterthoughts. Even though it's an expansion that returns to familiar areas, Hearts of Stone doesn't feel like it's merely piggybacking on the main game, but has its own worthwhile tale to tell.
Hearts of Stone is a metric ton of fantastic Witcher 3 content. It's a must for owners of the original game.