While in a lot of ways, the first game really didn't age well (graphics and combat being prime examples), it is still a great introduction into the character and the world for those who did not read the books (story-wise it's a bit of a "greatest hits" situation for those who did).

Character progression is great and versatile, but pretty much all the build stuff is locked in Geralt's abilities as gear-wise in the first game you can only do so much.

Beware though, if you're a person who likes to quick save a lot this game's gonna eat your hard drive as, for some reason, every single quick save you make is saved separately - which is great if you want to go back a few hours and replay a decision, but not great otherwise :D

PS: yes, you do get to smash. A lot.

Просто топчик, а не игра! Играл только во 2 часть, и она меня значительно порадовала, думал уже приступать к 3... Но знакомый посоветовал попробовать первую - и не капли не жалею!

I played The Witcher 3 and love it. This is horrid though. Unplayable waste of money. Can't get past the combat system, its terrible, graphics bad too, some NPCs slide not walk. So disappointing after W3 which is fantastic.

Amazing story. The combat was a weird one but you get used to it eventually. I really enjoyed it.

ambience top, easy fighting system, hard difficulty poses a challenge, completion rewarded, for witcher saga fans absolute gem, fine and naturalistic portrayal of misery and race driven hatred, 10/10 definitely, not usual RPG, first hour of playing can be a little chaotic but then its top

Finished my third playthrough since the game released back in '07. Its an older game and doesn't really hold up, but only because its a little all over the place and unfocused gameplay wise. Very much a KotoR-like or Dragonage-like ARPG/TRPG hybrid. The reason I recommend it is because the story is actually original with some very gorgeous set pieces and daunting yet brutal enemy designs. Its very whimsical at times, taking itself extra seriously while giving you some very strong one liners and hilarious quips. Its also a bit of a dating sim, but thats just Geralt of Rivia for you.

I don't recommend it at all if you have no interest in dealing with the older gameplay style (again, basically a direct rip of KotoR/Dragonage) but it is a worthwhile playthrough if you can stomach 20-40 hours of dialog trees and a bit of rng based ARPG/TRPG hybrid mechanics.

Some graphics might look old for today standards but game dynamics is amazing, imho!

This is for my fellow Steam Deck players! Witcher 1 is entirely playable from start to finish! The community control layout was a bit jarring at first, but it was 100% worth picking up to get to experience the story CD PROJEKT RED began back in 2008. But beware! There is a couple hiccups to keep an eye out for. Firstly, make sure you save. A lot. I got through all the way to Chapter III with little issues. Once we got to some larger group fights my game was not having it. In order to get past the black screen I had to reduce my graphical settings to the equivalent of a semi-warm microwaved potato in the game menu, limit the frame rate to 15 within the steam deck menu, and turn off the steam cloud saves. Once I got through the encounter I was able to bring my settings back up to max. I had two more issues similar to the one I described and knew to reduce my settings beforehand so I would not be stuck in a crash loop. Secondly, I don't know how playable the game would be on more difficult settings. I personally played on the easiest and I am glad I did. The combat in my opinion is not the strong point of this game. The community control layout works, but it doesn't exactly flow with the point and click combat on a track pad. The only win for the combat system is the combat preparation. This leads into my third, and last point. Make potions! The game provides so many plentiful ingredients. Being on a steam deck is already a slight disadvantage, use every tool in the arsenal to make encounters less of a time sink. Learn the debuffs and how to counteract it so you can spend more time experiencing the superb bleak atmosphere and morally gray storytelling we know and love the Witcher for. Much more enjoyable than being stuck in a stun lock with a save from 30 minutes prior, hoarding ingredients like a loot goblin. (That was my bad.)

Definitely really good game at heart especially w. this being the first of its entry. Although its game-play is really outdated nowadays and can be repetitive at time its story i feel like makes up for some of those flaws. i'd say trudge through its first 2 chapters to really gets the story going (imo).

W game