The Witcher Adventure Game Review (PC)

good
key review info
  • Game: The Witcher Adventure Game
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
The Witcher Adventure Game review on PC

The Witcher series may have featured just two games, but the franchise as a whole commands a loyal fan following with millions of people all over the world looking forward to the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is now set to take place well into 2015, due to a recent delay.

In order to make things a bit more bearable and to help those who've already completed the two full-fledged games in the series, developer CD Projekt Red has partnered with Fantasy Flight Games, the company behind many hit board games, to come up with The Witcher Adventure game.

After releasing it as a physical experience, the digital version is available worldwide on the PC platform, where players can easily embark on adventures with others or against the AI, while controlling iconic characters such as Geralt, Triss, Dandelion, or Yarpen.

Does The Witcher Adventure game manage to deliver an experience worthy of the series or should we pack up the dice and go home? Let's find out.

Story

The Witcher Adventure game doesn't have a story in the traditional sense, as players must complete a series of quests with their own actual plot. Throw in random occurrences and motivation for the different things that happen during the adventure and you're in for a decent time, although knowledge of The Witcher series is pretty much mandatory if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Roam the map
Roam the map

Gameplay and Multiplayer

The Witcher Adventure game closely resembles the action of another, classic experience, in the form of Talisman, and features both competitive and cooperative aspects.

It supports up to four players, and at the beginning of a match, you can select how many main quests must be completed, from 1 to 3 or 5, which in turn affects how long the game can actually take. You also get to pick what characters are in the game, controlled by either a player or the AI. Multiple people can play on the same PC, as it's a turn-based experience, but the game also has an online system that allows for matches to be played over the internet.

While the title plays a short tutorial video at the beginning, you absolutely need to go into the Options menu and watch the rest of the many different videos in order to make some sense of what's going on. Jumping blindly into a game will result in quite a bit of frustration, as there is a staggering number of things that need to be taken into account if you want to achieve victory.

First up, there's the nature of the characters. Geralt is geared towards fighting and has advantages when going up against beasts. Triss can cast spells and improve them, Dandelion can go the diplomacy route and use his bard skills to acquire money, while Yarpen can go both diplomacy or combat routes and is a Jack of all trades.

Unfortunately, the game is very combat-focused, and depending on your luck, it can throw at you multiple enemies in quick succession, which leaves characters like Dandelion at a severe disadvantage, as opposed to Geralt, for example.

Each player turn allows him or her to perform two actions, which can range from traveling to a different city to performing investigations that may or may not bear rewards, developing your skills, healing your wounds, or performing your own specific actions.

Main quests consist of traveling to certain locations and spending an amount of "proof," acquired by collecting leads, which are in turn attained by performing investigations. The whole process sounds complex, but after a few matches you'll start figuring things out.

While the game is mostly a solo affair, you can interact with other players in two ways. You can perform Support operations by reaching the same location and spending a certain amount of gold. This gives the supporting player 6 victory points, while the supported player receives just 3, although he can also pull off the Support action if he meets the necessary requirements.

The other way you can interact with others is by trying to mess with their quest by placing monsters and foul fate cards in their regions. Such obstacles must be completed before ending a player turn and can often impede your progress severely.

Battles and certain challenges rely on dice rolls and this is where the game feels the most unbalanced. Geralt has extra dice and this means that he can easily succeed in combat at different stages of the game. Meanwhile, other characters like Dandelion or Triss must first invest in development cards and resources in order to stand a chance in battles. If you're unlucky and get some monsters in the early game, you'll be stuck with healing your wounds and resolving Foul Fate cards that reduce your chances of winning significantly.

There are many such moments in The Witcher Adventure game, which really dampen the whole experience and make you feel like a pawn of the random number generator dictating all the other aspects of the game rather than someone who makes actions and choices.

What's more, the game doesn't allow you to save a match in progress, even an offline one with AI-controlled opponents, so if you need to leave the game, you lose all your progress and efforts.

Roll the dice
Roll the dice

Visuals and Sound

The Witcher Adventure game performs rather well in terms of visuals, adapting the artwork and the elements of the actual board game. The whole dice animation system isn't that great, however, and feels a bit strained.

The soundtrack is very impressive, managing to stay fun throughout a match. Some issues with the lack of sound during certain moments of the game are present, however. It would've been nice to hear quips or fragments from the four main characters, but right now they're all silent.


The Good

  • Good visuals
  • Comprehensive tutorials
  • Plenty of respect to the source material

The Bad

  • Lack of balance
  • Cooperation isn't that important
  • Dice roll effects aren't that great
  • Requires a lot of patience and luck

Conclusion

The Witcher Adventure game is a decent experience, but it's weighed down by its random nature and the lack of good early game options for less combat-heavy characters. Further balancing is needed, as is a more fleshed out first tutorial to ensure that newcomers aren't overwhelmed in their first match.

story 7
gameplay 6
concept 7
graphics 7
audio 7
multiplayer 8
final rating 7
Editor's review
good
 

The Witcher Adventure Game Screenshots (15 Images)

The Witcher Adventure Game review on PCChoose your charactersPick questsRoll the diceChoose your results
+10more