When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released last year it was met with incredible acclaim, pushing the boundaries of fantasy and story-telling. It’s first expansion set a new standard for DLC, featuring a densely pack adventure for less than the asking price. Blood and Wine does the same, shooting Geralt into one more captivating tale filled with good times and difficult challenges for the last time. This is more than a final adventure, it’s a tribute to Geralt of Rivia.
The new destination is Toussaint, a place bathed in warm light and covered with vineyards. The environment is drastically different from other locations in the main campaign, giving off a calm almost serene atmosphere. Here Geralt isn’t a famous Witcher, instead the tale separates itself from his lore and successfully crafts its own identity. It’s ebullient, mixing together dark and light hearted humor into a melody of excitement and delights that feels distinct.
It’s a shame that Toussaint is inhabited mainly by humans, racism and xenophobia has always played a large role in The Witcher’s universe but here it doesn’t seem out of place but simple ignored. However the strong writing and excellent voice-acting more than makes up for this. Each character throughout your adventure is full of life, easily distinguishing themselves.
Don’t expect to journey to Toussaint before hitting level 35, as the land is littered with unique hostile life. These beautiful creatures are sometimes intertwined with quest. This is where Blood and Wine shines; quests that combine the humor from the people, combat with new enemies, and creative quests. For example a side quest has you involved with some hallucinogenic mushrooms, this quest alone easily surpassed anything in Hearts of Stone.
The new mutation system grants new bonuses and skill slots. If used properly Geralt can become an unstoppable force, pushing hordes of enemy forces away with a simple Sign. It’s overpowering at lower difficulties but turning up the difficulty quickly resolves this issue, especially for those looking for a challenge.
The biggest addition is the ability to upgrade and model Gerald’s estate. That’s right this Witcher finally owns a home in this expansion, developing your own wine and designing your home. Provided you have the coin this minor addition can become time consuming quickly.
However this wasn’t simply an addition, it fits into the story. As you progress through the wine country Geralt will content in tournaments, celebrate with wine among the company of notorious figures, and become a hero among the people. Blood and Wine doesn’t tell a story of a monster hunter, instead Geralt is seen as a hero; something that was always fickle within Gerald’s tale. It’s clear that CD Projekt RED wanted a proper send off for the old Witcher, and regardless of how you decided to play Geralt is given a reward when Blood and Wine concludes.
Blood and Wine marks the end of a legendary tale, and if this is the last time we’ll see The White Wolf at least he leaves on a high note. It does suffer from repetitive combat and the notable moments here pale in comparison to the main campaign, but these are dismissible issues. From dark beginnings Geralt journeyed across the world in search of answers, fighting deadly creatures, and accomplishing impossible feats; now its time for him to rest.
Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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| Platform(s): | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
| Publisher(s): | WB Games |
| Developer(s): | CD Projekt RED |
| Genres: | Role-Playing |
| Themes: | Action-adventure, Fantasy |
| Release Date: | 2016-05-31 |
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