14 DAY TRIAL // Tomorrow is May 19, the day millions of role-playing game fans have awaited for quite some time. Tomorrow, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is finally released by developer CD Projekt Red for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One platforms.
It's been one heck of a ride so far, and while quite a few controversies have appeared surrounding the RPG experience, the effort made by the Polish studio as well as the high quality game delivered to its fans deserves respect.
One lengthy ride is coming to an end
The Witcher 3 was presented to the public way back in 2013, when the PS4 was barely introduced to the world and the Xbox One wasn't even official. At that time, CD Projekt Red promised a next-generation role-playing game that would set the benchmark for such experiences in terms of the open world, the mechanics, or the story.
Unfortunately, the developer wasn't able to meet its different estimated release periods. First, The Witcher 3 was set to appear in early 2014, then it got pushed back to fall of 2014, and then to February of 2015.
Even with the many months of extra development time, the studio wasn't satisfied with the quality of the RPG, so it operated the final delay, establishing a May 19 release date for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One platforms.
Controversies, including the downgrade, shouldn't weigh it down
In the meantime, the studio kept on showcasing different videos, filled with both cinematic and gameplay footage, to keep the hype going, not to mention screenshots depicting protagonist Geralt of Rivia, the enemies he'll face, and the massive environments he'll get to visit in the RPG.
While the different videos got a lot of people excited, they also got others thinking about the final quality of the game and how it can possibly match the pretty stellar gameplay presentations made until then.
As we’ve seen in recent weeks, the graphics and the overall visual quality of The Witcher 3 have taken a turn for the worse, but as I emphasized in last week's editorial, many things could have been changed since 2013 and until now.
Sure, the downgrade is inexcusable, especially when coupled with the multitude of denials offered by CD Projekt Red in the face of evidence, but it shouldn't completely tarnish the merits of the actual game.
The studio should be respected, even with its faults
The Witcher 3's reviews have already come in. Unfortunately, we weren't offered an early copy of the RPG, so my own impressions of the actual RPG won't arrive until later this week. Even so, the general consensus is that the game provides a stellar experience in terms of story, mechanics, and general tone.
Take into consideration that this is a niche RPG, coming from a Polish studio based on Polish novels that arrived, up until now, only on PC, when it came to The Witcher 1, or on PC and Xbox 360, as far as The Witcher 2 is concerned.
Now, The Witcher 3 is available across PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and is eagerly awaited by millions of RPG fans around the world.
The performance of CD Projekt Red deserves respect and congratulations. Very few developers manage to work their way into the triple-A business and even fewer retain control over their projects, without making sacrifices due to external publishers.
Yes, CD Projekt Red has stumbled in recent times, but even so, it seems that The Witcher 3 is going to delight most people tomorrow, when it's going live across its three platforms. As such, if you have fun with the game, examine its visuals, or just ignore the whole thing, there's no denying that CD Projekt Red deserves a pat on the back for all its work.