While it was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that brought CD Projekt RED worldwide fame, the studio had already created a brace of The Witcher games before then, with the original monster-slaying RPG of the trilogy released back in 2007.
The Witcher was built on BioWare’s Aurora Engine, which was most famous at the time as the engine that powered the studio’s own Neverwinter Nights series of fantasy RPGs. By using this engine The Witcher let players jump into the superhuman shoes of Geralt of Rivia in a story that, in the wider Witcher Saga timeline, takes place roughly five years after The Lady of the Lake, Andrzej Sapkowski’s fifth book.
CDPR’s original The Witcher release was incredibly ambitious, especially for such a young studio, but a result of that was a series of bugs, unoptimized systems, and a general roughness of finish. CD Projekt RED, as we’ve now come to expect from the studio, though, was not satisfied with that and followed up with an Enhanced Edition of the game that upgraded the original experience in a host of ways.
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition completely rewrote and re-recorded over 5,000 lines of dialogue, added in over 200 new animations and a NPC character differentiation system that randomizes the look of many characters and monsters. It also reworked the game’s inventory system to make it easier to use and manage, as well as deliver a smorgasbord of technical improvements to make the game run better and be more fun. Simply put, it was a massive overhaul and one that made The Witcher a significantly better game in every way.
Which is why when I saw that the censorship-free Director’s Cut version of the Enhanced Edition is now available for just over a pound in the United Kingdom, and just under a buck fifty in the United States, I thought I would bring it to the PC gaming community’s attention. This is the definitive version of The Witcher as CDPR intended, one that currently has over 57,000 ‘Very Positive’ reviews on Steam, and it is now half the price of a cup of coffee. Basically, I find it incredibly easy to recommend.
This version of The Witcher also comes with a series of bonus items, too, including: An interactive comic book, an in-game D’jinni Adventure Editor, an additional five hours of gamplay in two new adventures, the game’s official soundtrack, a dedicated ‘Music Inspired by The Wicher’ album, a suite of ‘Making of’ videos, an official game guide, and two maps of The Witcher’s world. Basically, for the new low price, it’s a huge package.
One word of warning, though. While The Witcher plays well today, and does share some systems and, in general, the same flavour as later instalments in the series, gamers should not go into it expecting it to play just like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, as it has some different combat and gameplay systems. That’s not to say it isn’t good, though, and with the ability to choose from over 250 special abilities, one of the game’s coolest things is that you can spec out your Geralt to best suit your style of play.
What I would say is, if you start playing The Witcher and find yourself bouncing off it due to your familiarisation with The Witcher 3’s combat and systems, then stick with it for a few more hours; soon it will feel surprisingly familiar and empowering.
CDPR would eventually follow up The Witcher with a 2011 sequel and, as you can see in PC Gamer’s official The Witcher 2 review, ‘it’s an AAA RPG with an indie soul, and a charged, exciting adventure you can really sink your teeth into, admire, and for the most part, love’. It’s a great game and, in my opinion, something any fan of The Witcher should play. But, why start at the sequel when the original game is so cheap? Exactly.