The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Nintendo Switch Review - Is It Worth It?

00:00:01.240hello there lovely people italics -

00:00:04.130Nintendo life here and today it is

00:00:05.990finally finally time for us to review

00:00:08.600the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt on the Nintendo

00:00:12.050switch all switchers many people calling

00:00:14.960it this review was originally written by

00:00:16.550the superb Robert Ramsay and has been

00:00:19.249adapted for video by me but anyway

00:00:21.650that's more than enough waffling let's

00:00:23.539dive right into things

00:00:27.110[Music]

00:00:49.320originally released on other platforms

00:00:51.100back in the space year of 2015 The

00:00:53.949Witcher 3 Wild Hunt arrives on intend to

00:00:56.199switch over four years later and it's

00:00:59.140somewhat surreal to hold such a gigantic

00:01:01.600game in the palm of your hands

00:01:03.699ported over by sabre interactive this is

00:01:05.950the Witcher 3 in almost all of its glory

00:01:08.710the same brilliant bass game the same

00:01:10.750incredible expansions it's all here hand

00:01:13.330it's an impressive achievement many

00:01:15.550would argue that The Witcher 3 is one of

00:01:17.140the greatest role-playing games of all

00:01:19.330time

00:01:20.580personally Alex yes you fill the shoes

00:01:23.020of Geralt an experienced monster hunter

00:01:25.210for hire who at the beginning of the

00:01:26.740game is tracking down a powerful

00:01:28.720sorceress and former lover named

00:01:31.030yennefer the initial scope of Geralt

00:01:33.100adventure is limited but after a couple

00:01:34.810of hours the story slowly begins to

00:01:37.179unravel producing a tangled web of world

00:01:39.670ending danger personal struggle and

00:01:41.860political intrigue the numerous

00:01:43.600narrative threads running through this

00:01:44.979100 hour-long journey are brought to

00:01:47.140life by some of the most expertly

00:01:48.850crafted characters in video game history

00:01:51.270undoubtedly the witcher three's biggest

00:01:53.350strength is its storytelling dialogue is

00:01:56.170detailed and nuanced yet delivered with

00:01:58.090pinpoint precision every quest whether

00:02:00.700it's tied to the main plot or just

00:02:02.470Geralt venturing out into the wilderness

00:02:04.149to claim some creatures head is

00:02:05.979considered focused and nearly perfectly

00:02:08.950paced we could spend hours gushing about

00:02:11.829the world building that cast and the

00:02:13.630writing of The Witcher 3 but the bottom

00:02:15.610line is that it remains an utterly

00:02:17.170engrossing experience it's worth noting

00:02:19.989however that the title tackles some

00:02:21.519especially heavy and mature themes right

00:02:24.220from the word go it's not an

00:02:25.810overwhelmingly dark game humor is a key

00:02:28.360component to The Witcher threes

00:02:29.590masterfully written script but when the

00:02:31.600situation demands it pulls no punches

00:02:33.630bloody violence strong language and

00:02:36.370scenes of a sexual nature are all part

00:02:38.769of the package

00:02:39.430this ain't your grandma's RPG if you're

00:02:42.190new to the witcher then don't worry

00:02:43.660about missing out on the first two games

00:02:45.430although while ton does featured

00:02:47.530numerous returning characters this is a

00:02:49.510self-contained story plus the title does

00:02:52.030a fantastic job of introducing garage

00:02:54.550acquaintances one quick conversation

00:02:56.800later and you'll feel like you've known

00:02:58.360them your whole life Kuralt himself is

00:03:00.580something of an established character

00:03:02.050his goals and his underlying grizzled

00:03:04.690personality are already set in stone

00:03:07.060ready for you to explore however you're

00:03:09.460still given the freedom to express

00:03:11.050yourself through the Whitehead witch's

00:03:13.000dialogue options sometimes these options

00:03:15.550bring additional flavor to an exchange

00:03:17.260and other times they can determine the

00:03:18.880outcome of a quest and can have a

00:03:20.920lasting impact on the world or its

00:03:22.780inhabitants there's an emphasis on

00:03:24.490choice and consequence throughout the

00:03:26.320witcher 3 and the decisions that you're

00:03:28.150forced to make a very rarely

00:03:29.620black-and-white ensure there's some

00:03:31.900gripping role playing to be had here in

00:03:33.970its ability to tell a story and present

00:03:35.800distinct personalities CD Projekt Reds

00:03:38.350finest release is almost unmatched but

00:03:41.290here in 2019 The Witcher threes gameplay

00:03:43.390does show its age at times take the

00:03:45.970combat system for example which has been

00:03:47.770a hot topic for years

00:03:49.240it's action based with girl table to

00:03:51.250attack using his swords perform evasive

00:03:53.230steps and cast magic known as signs

00:03:55.390fights tend to be fast paced but often

00:03:57.910patience is the name of the game

00:03:59.560learning the ins and outs of a monsters

00:04:01.840movements is the key to success and

00:04:03.730knowing when to strike or use a specific

00:04:05.830sign or alchemical potion can be the

00:04:08.050difference between life and death

00:04:09.820combat is designed to be fluid but

00:04:11.590fairly technical and for the most part

00:04:13.720it's well worked and rewarding the

00:04:15.820problem though is that girls own

00:04:17.350movements can be a little bit unruly

00:04:19.780witches swordplay is based on momentum

00:04:21.970and socarrat will often spin his way

00:04:24.010into a slash or slide into a stabbing

00:04:26.080motion it takes some getting used to and

00:04:28.690in particularly tricky battles

00:04:30.220it means the often having to compensate

00:04:32.200for girls lengthy animations don't get

00:04:34.450us wrong though combo is nowhere near as

00:04:36.100bad as some would have you believe but

00:04:37.660it does succumb to some annoying bouts

00:04:39.250of junk every so often

00:04:41.530speaking of jank The Witcher 3 launched

00:04:43.330with performance issues on consoles back

00:04:45.070in 2015 and while they were fixed a bit

00:04:47.680by bit it's always been clear that this

00:04:49.630is a technically demanding game it's by

00:04:52.120some miracle then that The Witcher 3

00:04:54.190runs as well as it does on switch the

00:04:56.770visuals obviously have taken a

00:04:58.210substantial its and we'll get onto that

00:05:00.220more in a moment but again this is the

00:05:02.320full fat uncut experienced running on

00:05:05.129significantly weaker hardware so let's

00:05:07.409start with the framerate capped at 30

00:05:09.239frames a second in both handheld and

00:05:10.949dock modes this release is surprisingly

00:05:13.289smooth even galloping at speed

00:05:15.389throughout the open world we only

00:05:16.860noticed minor drops it's honestly hard

00:05:19.199to fall performance during regular

00:05:20.879gameplay transitioning between

00:05:22.709exploration combat and conversation is

00:05:24.779pretty much flawless and the titles few

00:05:27.989load screens are quite short having said

00:05:30.659that there are times when the framerate

00:05:31.949briefly falls off a cliff this usually

00:05:35.339happens during especially busy cutscenes

00:05:37.439or when you're taking in the sights of a

00:05:39.269detailed location like the bustling city

00:05:41.459of novigrad it's rough but perhaps

00:05:43.939expected slightly inconsistent framerate

00:05:46.439aside sacrifices have of course been

00:05:48.569made to achieve this level of

00:05:50.309performance there's a distinct

00:05:51.929blurriness to the witcher 3 on switch

00:05:53.699and although it doesn't stop the game's

00:05:55.379top-notch art direction from shining

00:05:57.449through it does take the edge of certain

00:06:00.029environments and it can be difficult to

00:06:02.129pick out distant enemies or read an

00:06:03.779opponent's actions in battle this is

00:06:05.669less noticeable when docked but the

00:06:07.289trade-off is that on the bigger display

00:06:09.059muddy textures an asset pop-ins stand

00:06:11.429out an awful lot more than in handheld

00:06:13.439mode but make no mistake this is still a

00:06:15.389lovely lovely looking RPG when it wants

00:06:18.419to be the world loses atmosphere with

00:06:20.909dynamic weather effects trees sway in

00:06:23.279the wind storms light up the sky and

00:06:25.559stunning sunsets will have you mashing

00:06:27.809your switches capture button and adding

00:06:29.669to all of this is a superb soundtrack

00:06:31.559stuffed with incredible ambient music

00:06:33.539and the selection of intense battle

00:06:35.669themes to boot The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

00:06:37.679remains a masterpiece and being able to

00:06:40.289take such a grand and engrossing

00:06:41.669adventure with you on the go is

00:06:43.110something well worth celebrating the

00:06:45.300switches complete edition is truly an

00:06:47.519impressive achievement and although

00:06:49.379performance isn't perfect it's still an

00:06:51.749incredible and impactful role-playing

00:06:53.969experience The Witcher 3 set the bar for

00:06:56.639modern RPGs back in 2015 and this port

00:06:59.519is a startling reminder that it is yet

00:07:01.679to be bettered

00:07:03.400[Music]

00:07:21.129crumbs and blimey it's time for my

00:07:23.559personal thoughts yes Alex me that's

00:07:26.619it's my personal thoughts hello now I've

00:07:28.749got to be brutally honest when I first

00:07:30.279saw footage of The Witcher 3 running on

00:07:31.989switch I was who was a little bit

00:07:34.389disappointed I thought it looked really

00:07:36.399muddy and blurry and to be honest you

00:07:38.529may even be getting that in that

00:07:40.449experience as you watch well as you

00:07:42.729watch the review and as you're looking

00:07:43.959at it you know the footage now but

00:07:46.209honestly I couldn't really tell you what

00:07:48.669it is I'm guessing maybe it's um well

00:07:50.949I've got an idea of what it is but when

00:07:52.749you actually playing the game yeah it's

00:07:55.240it's still blurry it's still muddy and

00:07:57.459the resolution is not very high however

00:07:59.879you know what it really stops being an

00:08:02.800issue amazingly quickly I think maybe is

00:08:05.529just because the world itself is so

00:08:07.449engrossing and things like shadows and

00:08:09.789lighting effects are still so there you

00:08:12.759just your brain just sort of just just

00:08:15.129ignores it and it's just late just

00:08:16.569starts filling in the blanks and just

00:08:17.829like that it's the witcher that's that's

00:08:20.169a drowner and it just gets on with it

00:08:22.179you find or at least I did personally

00:08:24.550that it just it wasn't an issue knowing

00:08:27.579near as much of an issue as I thought I

00:08:29.669would like it obviously to look better

00:08:32.409you know when I take a look at the

00:08:33.909footage and stuff like that but honestly

00:08:36.159when you're playing the game and if the

00:08:38.500switch is your only console or you want

00:08:40.269to be able to take it on the go this

00:08:42.789this is an insane achievement and more

00:08:45.819importantly it's an insanely good game I

00:08:48.519mean just from reading reading this

00:08:51.490review I'm Ivette watching this review

00:08:53.560this isn't the written one you'll be

00:08:55.750getting an idea of what the games about

00:08:57.220and if you've played a little bit or

00:08:59.410seen a little bit of footage online you

00:09:00.819may think that you've got a good idea of

00:09:02.699what the witcher 3 is about but honestly

00:09:06.339unless you've actually played the games

00:09:07.810significantly you're only gonna be

00:09:10.060scratching the surface and realistically

00:09:12.490I'm still I'm still after all my time

00:09:16.509playing it on ps4 I'm still finding

00:09:19.750things that are brand new and unexpected

00:09:21.699and it's just it's just absolutely

00:09:24.310wonderful the game continues to surprise

00:09:26.380you at every single turn and if you're

00:09:29.139an RPG fan frankly this is an absolute

00:09:32.620no-brainer get this game

00:09:34.760I mean there are so many reasons to

00:09:36.320support this kind of thing as well

00:09:37.430because it's a colossal game that really

00:09:39.860shouldn't be running on the switch but

00:09:41.390is and more importantly CD Projekt RED

00:09:45.710they got it all on one cartridge they

00:09:48.260could have done a digital download you

00:09:49.700know edition or something of a bird no

00:09:52.010the whole game is here it's all on one

00:09:53.840cartridge and I think that is not only

00:09:55.340to be celebrated but to be rewarded with

00:09:58.520financial monies so by it