14 DAY TRIAL // Hearts of Stone, the first expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the huge and insanely successful RPG from CD Project, has been released for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. We're calling it an expansion because it's the first one that costs money, and it's a big one.
The CD Project studio has been careful with its marketing strategy and it looks like they did an amazing job. Soon after they launched The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt back in May, they started to release a free DLC every week. Some were just items, but there were a few new quests as well. They all added up to the overall experience and the community loved them for that.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt now gets its first expansion, and that's vastly different. You might notice right from the start that they call it an expansion and not a DLC, and this is a very important distinction. This doesn't just add a few quests here and there, it's a completely different storyline, with new characters, enemies, and a few locations. It's what gamers used to call add-ons in the old days.
Limited Edition has actual Gwent decks
In Hearts of Stone, the witcher Geralt is contracted to take out a bandit called Olgierd von Everec, which is supposed to be immortal. The players will get a lot of content for their buck ($19.99/€19.99), including new Gwent cards and a new Runewords system that is supposed to change the gameplay significantly.
"Along with the digital release, gamers will also be able to purchase a special, limited boxed edition of Hearts of Stone available at selected retailers worldwide. The box contains a digital download code for the expansion, two masterfully crafted physical decks of Gwent, the card game set in the world of The Witcher, and a detailed manual explaining the rules. With two unique sets of cards, Monsters and Scoia’tael ready to go, you and your friends can now engage in tactical combat on a grand scale outside of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt!" say the guys from CD Project.
A second expansion named Blood and Wine, which supposedly is double the size of the first one, will be released next year, concluding the story of Geralt and opening the way for CD Project to give us other games and new IPs.
Also, as a side note, it looks like the players from North America who want the boxed edition of the game will have to wait, as GameStop has messed up some things, and the title will be delayed for "a few days." Players can still buy the digital edition, of course.
When it comes to Witcher 3's original campaign the best way to describe it is like this:
