The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine Reviews
However many little nagging issues I have with Wild Hunt (the combat is still a bit too simplistic), Blood and Wine is the best The Witcher has ever been since the first game. I came in merely expecting a bigger Hearts of Stone, but ended up getting something more expansive in nearly every sense of the word.
Blood and Wine takes The Witcher 3 and expands, evolves, and turns conventions on their heads for a fantastic adventure that not only is a must-buy as DLC, but makes The Witcher 3 even more of a must-own game for those that don’t already.
Blood & Wine is so long, vast, and packed with content that it feels less like a major expansion and more like a small sequel
Blood and Wine feels like it was made as a loving goodbye to both Geralt and the Witcher series in general, as there’s so much attention to detail that it’s impossible not to regularly be in awe of it all. It’s the perfect bow on a game that has been nothing short of a gift that keeps on giving, and I expect it will continuing doing just that for all who fancy an adventure with a certain Witcher.
In Blood and Wine, things are quite different. Rather than a war ravaged wasteland, or an archipelago on the brink of civil war, famed monster hunter Geralt of Rivia travels to the southern region of Toussaint - a gorgeous unspoilt stretch of countryside. It truly is a wonderful place to be, lush with colour and an ever present orange sun that bathes the landscape in a warm glow. Its vineyards - famed world-over for their iconic wines - dot the landscape, while its beautiful capital of Beauclair sits visible from almost every point in the land, perched atop an elven ruin on a huge hill. After visiting Toussaint, the rest of the Witcher’s world feels unnecessarily depressing - you won’t want to leave.
I didn't expect anything different, given hearts of stone's performance, but The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine is so wide and well done that it looks like a giant trolling to the triple-A system. After the generous free DLCs, the exceptional story of the first paid DLC, the addition of NG+ and a lot of technical optimizations, Blood & Wine exploits and amplifies Geralt's power at the highest levels – from 34 onwards – and blows it up on a gigantic, colorful and varied scenario, with the addition of special equipment and deflagrant mutagenic talents.
Review in Italian | Read full review
This is an absolutely brilliant adventure, which alone can match the giants of the genre. At the same time, it is also with a certain melancholy that we are now waving goodbye to The Witcher 3.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
CD Projekt Red has released three masterpieces within the space of a year. Alongside Hearts of Stone, Blood and Wine ensures that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is, without question, the role-playing game to beat going forward. Toussaint provides a gorgeous new location that's a joy to explore, and the sun-soaked land houses enough engrossing content to put many fully priced retail releases to shame. Geralt's last hurrah is a pleasure to experience; a fitting end to a stunning achievement.
Blood and Wine feels like a fitting end to Geralt’s story.
If we never get to step foot in Geralt’s shoes again, I’m fine with that. The time spent in his boots, the adventures had, the memories created, will stay with me forever
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine is a great sendoff, not only to Geralt, but to the Witcher franchise as well. CD Projekt Red have crafted a masterpiece in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and have changed how additional content should be presented with Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. At $20 you are already getting a better deal than most full priced games. If you are fan of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Blood and Wine is a can’t-miss.
Geralt goes out on a high note. Developer CD Projekt Red, once again, raises the bar for every other company making an expansion pack.
CD Projekt Red has raised the bar on what it takes to make a high quality story driven RPG. They did not fail to deliver on Geralt’s final tale either. If this is our last hurrah with the White Wolf it was time well spent.
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine is a fitting farewell for Geralt. We do not know when we will see him again, if he returns to video games. But as a letter for his goodbye he left us a story in the most classic style of his adventures. Because, in the end, it is much more than video games. Although, without a doubt, it is thanks to them that we have been able to discover a story full of magic and class.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Blood and Wine is a delicacy, not necessarily difficult to chew but raised just right so that fans keep an unforgettable memory of their time spent in the company of Geralt de Rivia.
Review in French | Read full review
Blood & Wine is hands down one the best expansions in the whole videogame history. Thousands of quests, a new fascinating region to explore, original gameplay mechanics. And it brings solid improvements to the user interface and the combat system. There wouldn't have been a better way to say goodbye to the Witcher.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Though there are a few wrinkles in the fabric of Blood and Wine, it delivers a final chapter unlike any you’ve seen before.
In a time where an expansion pack is regularly nothing more than a new map or a couple of character gadgets, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine brings us something hearty and filling enough to prove that there's hope for DLC yet. Geralt's adventure in stunning Toussaint is an absolute triumph.
If you are a fan of the original Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and feel the need to embark on a new journey, there is certainly a lot here to offer with Blood and Wine. The large-sized new area, dying armor, and the incorporation of mutations present a sufficient amount of new gameplay elements to play around with. However, it is the thirty hours of new adventures tied in with the amount of new quests and point of interests that will get players back into the game. Blood and Wine even offers a dynamic point of interest system that will affect the number of enemies in a certain area based on your actions. With the game being standalone, it could sell by itself. Being able to import a previous character, however, will certainly bring a lot to the table for fans of the series as The Witcher 3’s core gameplay is still in tact.
A triumphant return to the world of the Witcher and the most fitting of farewells. Blood and Wine is the swansong the franchise so richly deserves. An epic tale worthy of greatest theatres and even Dandelion himself!