Plot
The game tells the story of Geralt of Rivia, who at the opening of the game is tasked to cure the mentally-handicapped daughter of King Foltest of a curse which causes her to transform into a feral monster. Geralt successfully cures her, introducing the player to the nature of witcher-work. A period of years mysteriously pass ending with Geralt being transported to the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen by fellow witchers who had discovered him unconscious in a field. Geralt remembers almost nothing of his life before returning to Kaer Morhen.
The game's story is separated into five acts, each representing a different area and distinct set of quests. Geralt meets many former friends and foes throughout the plot who help him to recover information about his mysterious past. Through the storyline, Geralt discovers that he had died five years earlier while attempting to defend an oppressed group of non-humans from a racist mob. He also learns that he is actually a renowned witcher referred to in prose as "The White Wolf."
Through the player's choices and actions, Geralt redefines character relationships and navigates political intrigue in the changing landscape of Temeria. This allows the player to make decisions that affect the plot progression, and ultimately the game's ending. The concept of the freedom of player choice was intended to be showcased by the developers.
Gameplay
There are three camera styles available when playing The Witcher. The game can be played from one of two top-down perspectives, in which case the mouse is used to control everything, or it can be played from an over-the-shoulder view, which brings the player closer to the ingame combat, but limits visibility. In all the views the controls can be changed to be primarily mouse focused or a combined keyboard and mouse approach.
The combat system in The Witcher represents a departure from most RPGs. Players choose one of three fighting styles. The quick style allows for faster, less-damaging attacks with a greater chance of hitting faster enemies; the heavy style deals more damage in exchange for a slow attack speed, and a lower chance to hit faster enemies; and the group style features sweeping attacks best used if Geralt is surrounded.[5] The player can switch between the styles at any point. Both of Geralt's main swords also have distinctively different combat styles from other weaponry, and serve very distinct purposes. The steel blade is used to fight humans and other flesh-and-blood beings, while the silver sword is more effective against supernatural monsters and beasts (against some of which steel may have no effect whatsoever). The player can, with precise timing, link Geralt's attacks into combos to more effectively damage enemies.
Alchemy is a major part of gameplay. The player can create potions that increase health or endurance regeneration, allow Geralt to see in the dark, or provide other beneficial effects. The recipes for these potions can be learned through scrolls, or by experimentation. Once the player creates an unknown potion he can choose to drink it, but if the potion is a failure it will poison Geralt. Each time Geralt drinks potions they increase the toxicity level of his body. This can be reduced by drinking a special potion or by meditating at an inn or fireplace. In addition to potions, the player can also create oils used to augment the damage done by weapons, or bombs as weapons in combat. Neither can be created until talent points have been allocated into the corresponding skills.
A time delayed decision-consequence system means that the repercussions of players' decisions will make themselves apparent in plot devices in later acts of the game. This prompts the players to put more critical thinking into making each decision, and circumvents a save-reload approach to decision making. It also allows the game to have a unique approach to replay value, as the consequences resulting from the player's decisions can lead to great difference in the events that take place later, and ultimately a very different gameplay experience than in prior play-throughs.
The nature of the options faced when playing the game rarely falls into the typical black-and-white morality present in most computer RPGs, and the players often find themselves choosing from the lesser of two evils rather than making a clear choice between good and evil, a situation more reflective of real life morality.
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