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I don't know where to go next as the land stretches out before Geralt. I could follow the path I'm already on accompanied by my faithful horse, Roach. Or I could make Geralt get in a boat and sail towards an island that sits off the coast, with mysteries yet to uncover. Another option is to walk into the woods and hunt down a monster that has been terrorising a local village; putting an end to it for a fee of course. In the end it doesn't matter where I choose to take Geralt because there will always be something waiting.

I mentioned in my Road To Review that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a huge game, and even after spending days in the boots of Geralt I still haven't come close to discovering everything that the vast map holds. With a lot of open world games there can be a feeling that a lot of the space is empty, used to pad out the size and playtime. That feeling is not present within Wild Hunt because of how the world has been crafted by CD Projekt RED, and the density of the little villages, swamps and woodland that populate it.

Nor do any of these feel empty, with villages having their own problems playing out, some that you can get involved with by, for example, helping to solve an arson case. Others you can't have direct influence over but they're still fascinating to observe as they play out, like seeing a husband and wife argue over whether they should comply with an order laid down by the army. Instances like this transforms the game's world from an open playground to a place where events matter, and choices have real consequences.

At the centre of all of this is Geralt of Rivia, witcher for hire. Though Geralt has a reputation he isn't seen as a hero by the majority of people. Instead some see him as welcome help while some as a necessary evil to keep even worse things at bay. You won't walk through the land with people shouting phrases of adulation, but instead a lot of the time people will be hostile and outright xenophobic. Geralt doesn't really let such attitudes get to him because he is used to it, and besides there are jobs to do and people to find.

The side quests are just as well crafted as the main plot, where some will require Geralt to interrogate people to solve a mystery, such as one about a missing frying pan which in turn uncovers a far bigger plot, or you can get involved with a lover's tiff that turns ugly. Even the instances that pop up within the world have their own mini stories that can be crafted for them. For example you'll see a broken cart with bodies around it while some people pick at it. It isn't a big leap to realise that a group of army deserters have hit a supply cart and killed everyone to get the provisions.

Geralt is an interesting character in his own right but he is not the most mysterious. Instead that title falls to his old ward and daughter by choice, Ciri, who disappeared long ago. The main plot of the game focuses on Geralt searching for Ciri who herself is on the run from The Wild Hunt, a group of spectres that take people and curse them to join the Chorus of the Damned. You don't learn much about Ciri at first but as the plot moves forward her story is told through flashbacks.

Instead of cutscenes filling the story in, these flashbacks have you take control of Ciri which allows you to form a better bond with her. She's a stand out character amongst a cast of exceptional co-stars, and is fun to control in the brief moments her life is directly placed in your hands. Her running animation is a bit odd though, almost dainty, which clashes against her personality of someone who is anything but. In a fight she is much quicker than Geralt, in part thanks to her ability to teleport short distances, making Geralt's own roll dodge seem a bit cumbersome.

You can't just rely on your sword to kill these beasts either but instead will be advised to read the beastiary Geralt carries. This encyclopaedia of monsters gives you information about where they come from and their weaknesses, so you can prepare better for a fight. This will mean crafting gear and also mixing up ingredients to create potions and oils in alchemy.

The potions help to improve Geralt's stats or abilities but also contain amounts of toxin. If you drink too many potions they will poison Geralt and sap away at his health eventually killing him. Oils are used to make weapons more effective against monsters, with different oils being useful against different types. You only need to craft these items once, and these can be replenished by meditating. You will have to find the ingredients in the wild, by looting places, or buying them from merchants. Some items are incredibly hard to find though and others will be out of reach of Geralt's finances for a while.

Spending ability points on these early, especially Quen, helps to give an edge in a fight which can be decided by effective casting should your sword fail or break. Yes, your weapons and armour can weaken from over-use so carrying some repair kits is advisable. Otherwise you should hope there is a blacksmith nearby who can repair your equipment, though you'll need money to pay for that. Money is actually pretty hard to save up within Witcher 3 as you pay for better equipment, food to restore health, or repairs. Even Witcher contracts aren't as lucrative as you expect.

While Geralt will collect small rewards for odd jobs the Witcher contracts are his main income, and there are a lot of creatures people will pay to have rid of. Far from being outright linear missions such contracts can either be picked up from a notice board, or you may run into a dangerous creature activating the contract anyway. In each area of trouble you'll hunt for clues using Witcher mode, which highlights clues in the area be it a body, a noise, or a scent. At the end of these trails is a creature of some kind that either has to be killed, or made to disappear in another way.

As mentioned in my previous article about Witcher 3: Wild Hunt there have been issues with frame rate dips, especially in cutscenes. The text also appears a bit small and hard to read at times too. However CD Projekt Red has confirmed it is working on a patch to fix these issues. Outside of those The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily among the best looking games to have released this generation, with the lighting being spot on, the character models looking detailed with brilliant expressive faces, and the world itself looks seamless.

Watching as the day turns to dusk with the sun's light casting an orangish glow on everything it touches is mesmerisingly beautiful. Even the actions and results of a fight are visually pleasing, if gory, for example seeing Geralt cut a monster in half with one swing of his blade and then moving straight on to another without giving that move a second thought. The enemies themselves range from looking monstrously elegant to revoltingly horrifying, with everything in between. You may find an enemy design disturbing but you're not going to forget it in hurry.

The soundtrack itself is memorable too providing battle music that adds tension to fights, and more upbeat folky music in areas that you can relax in. I actually found myself halting in such areas so I could hear a particular song play out. The music activates at perfect times and fades outs to play quietly in the background. The soundtrack is definitely a contender for best of the year.

Outside of your time killing monsters, chatting to individuals, or helping an old lady find a frying pan, Geralt can indulge in a game of Gwent. Gwent is a card game that takes cues from things such as Hearthstone, Magic The Gathering, and the Pokemon card game. There are four decks to build, done so by buying cards or winning them off opponents. Games of Gwent follow a best out of three round structure with the rules quite easy to follow.

A major issue I do have with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the way horse riding works, or in some cases doesn't. There's a mechanic in the game that allows for Roach to follow a path automatically, but sometimes he will just veer off into a random place. You can also summon Roach to you but this doesn't always work well either. On quite a few occasions where the horse has spawned only to get stuck in a place unable to navigate out. In these moments I've had to walk away then summon again so Roach can respawn in a better area.

The on-horse combat isn't as exciting as it could be either due to the almost random luck of being able to hit an opponent as you gallop towards them. Such fights start out exciting but quickly become tedious as you and the other horse riding enemy pass each other again, unable to strike once more. There is also an issue with button prompts not always registering or not appearing unless you're looking at a thing from a specific angle even if you're standing right next to it. Hopefully CD Projekt RED can fix that in a later patch.

1. The best looking open-world game.
2. Quests are varied and well detailed.
3. Characters are complex with interesting stories.
4. Voice acting and soundtrack is fantastic.
5. Gwent!

1. Roach won't stop spawning in idiotic places.
2. Horse combat gets tedious.
3. Button prompts need to be better.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily one of the most engrossing games I've had the chance to play. The story and characters are well worth the experience alone, and the world expertly draws on the desire to explore with its massive scale. You never know what will greet you or beat you just a few seconds down the path, and that's what is exciting about this game. There are some issues that will need to be improved. The combat is better than the Witcher 2 but isn't quite there either, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the first game in a while that has held my attention for so long that I don't notice the time pass. CD Projekt Red haven't just created a great game but a modern gaming masterpiece.