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Note: At the time of this review, I’ve played all the games and read all seven novels.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition.

Something ends, something begins…
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is a fantasy RPG, based on The Witcher book series (1993-1999) by Andrzej Sapjowski. The game goes to great lengths to bring the world and thematic concepts of the books to life, and does so impeccably well, while also adding an original folk-fantasy flavor to the experience. TW:EE thoroughly invests the player with its meticulously crafted philosophical abstractions and emotionally involving character stories; the game’s faults paling in comparison to these strengths. But enough broad banter my fellow Witcher, let’s hit the path.
You, are Geralt of Rivia - The Witcher. A Witcher is a genetically modified human, altered for the purpose of attaining superhuman abilities, which allow them to slay monsters that plague the human race. You’d think this would make Witchers revered as heroes amongst society, but their incredible physical attributes are ironically viewed as unnatural, making them social outcasts and a perceived necessary evil by most. In TW:EE, the mutagens which produce genetically altered Witchers have been stolen, by a secret organization known as Salamandra. It becomes your quest, as Geralt; to track down, expose, and destroy this conglomerate, as well as recover your Witcher’s secrets.
As stated before, The Witcher video games are continuations of The Witcher novels, of which there are two anthologies of short stories, and five books in the main saga. They expand upon the world of The Witcher with infinite levels of depth, and reading them before you play will enhance your emotional connection to the events of the game ten-fold. TW:EE contains copious references to the books through its quotes, themes, and lore, and catching these call-backs is a real treat. CDPR handled the subject matter of the books with expert hands, and this game is a true sequel to the novels as a result of their hard work and care.
In terms of the look and sound of The Witcher: EE, I’d say it fares pretty well almost a decade later. The graphics were high-end for their time, and still have a certain art-based allure to them, however they don’t compare to anything released today. The environments are sweepingly beautiful and realistically structured, but the finer details; especially human faces, don’t hold up at all. On the other hand, the music is near-perfect. The soundtrack always fits where it’s presented, and the vibrant, exotic melodies are highly responsible for crafting the incredible atmosphere and folktale vibe that TW:EE is known for.
The world of The Witcher is designed to resemble a gritty, pastoral mid-European country, and is divided into distinct, free-roam levels that change each chapter. It’s not an open world game, but the places it gives you to explore are vast, and interconnected with other locations, interiors, and dungeons. The NPCs add a lot to the personality of the world too, as they’ll react to the circumstances of their environment, such as getting under structures when it rains. Its little things like this that help make the game world feel like a living, autonomous place. This brings to light a central tone of The Witcher: the convoluted complexity of life.
Much of what you do in TW:EE can be blanketly described as “questing”, and every quest is enjoyable in some way. There are monster contracts which immerse you in the role of Geralt as a Witcher, character/conflict quests which bring you closer to the intriguing personas found in the Kingdom of Temeria, and slow-burning main quests that lead you to your overall goal. Completing these quests earns you experience points used for perks in a slightly over-complicated leveling system, but the progression feels meaningful regardless, due to Geralt’s rising mastery of his skills.
Speaking of Geralt’s skills, combat is where he applies nearly all of them. The swordplay in The Witcher gets a lot of hate, and while to an extent it’s antiquated due to being a semi-turn based system, there’s still a ton of variety. As a Witcher you carry a silver sword for monsters and a steel one for humans, using strong, fast, or group fighting stances depending on your opponent(s). Witchers also have five magical “signs”, which are essentially simple combat spells. There’s an extremely in-depth and lore supported potion brewing system as well, which really authenticates the gameplay side of being Geralt. These elements come together cohesively, and function best at higher difficulties.
Though this somewhat undercuts everything I’ve said so far, I feel it’s important to mention that The Witcher’s game engine makes everything feel kind of wonky. Minor bugs run rampant, and there is a rare crash or frame drop every now and then. The physics system is weak and the facial animations are too, as well as the delivery of the dialogue by the voice actors on occasion. However, none of that could take away from the valid praise I’m about to sing about various narrative elements of TW.
One of the hold-overs from the books that found its way into the narrative of The Witcher: EE, are deep, philosophical and intellectual concepts. For example, Geralt often grapples with his identity as a Witcher. He believes his role is to fight evil (such as murderous monsters), but finds that as humanity progresses, evil has embedded itself within society through ideology, and impurely motivated; morally grey conflicts. Not only does this make him second guess his purpose, but also whether or not he should even get involved in human conflict; as taking a side in a morally grey situation can only mean choosing a lesser evil, which is still evil; the antithesis of what Geralt seeks to propagate. It’s these types of complexities that make The Witcher so enthralling, and the narrative so elaborately layered.
Another phenomenal aspect of the writing are the characters. Every person in TW:EE is special and indispensable for one simple reason; they are all presented realistically, with the flaws and emotions of real people. No one is reduced to solely being a stereotypical fantasy archetype, as everyone has hidden complexities to their backstory, and morally questionable motivations for the things they want; which are always logically justifiable in the proper context. These characters drive the storylines, and motivate the player to care deeply about their decisions.
To top off the narrative adventure, player choice is omnipresent throughout the entire game. There are multiple gut-clinchingly difficult decisions to make about major events, and several reasons to favor any given path. This puts weight behind your choices, as every decision you make could bring devastation; each choice could lead to a greater evil. The game deftly shows that it understands the importance of consequence, as the epilogue is nothing if not a scathing trial of you as Geralt of Rivia, and the choices you’ve made throughout the duration of your playthrough.
I’ll reveal now that I believe TW:EE may have the best writing of any game I’ve ever played, and I’m not ashamed to say that in the least.
While I’m admittedly heavily biased due to my obsession with every iota of this franchise, replaying TW:EE has helped me realize that it’s one of my top ten games of all time. Though in some ways a blatant mess, there’s so much narrative expertise and atmospheric charm wholly unique to this game, that I can’t deny being both justifiably, and irrationally in love with it. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is like your first dog; it’s fussy and a handful because it wasn’t trained right, but you love it unconditionally because of the personal connection you formed with it. The Witcher is an absolute classic, and always will be, in my eyes.

Personal Rating: 10/10 - Practically Perfect