\On May 19, 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released, and an open-world RPG has never been the same since. As for now, a decade later. It is nostalgia which keeps us talking about the CD Project Red Genre, making it a masterpiece.
Even with the 10 years of technical advancement and a parade of high-profile. The Witcher 3 did not be dethroned. Well, in the crowned pantheon of open-world action RPGs, it is the gold standard. The Yardstick of every new one is measured against.
An Open World of quantity and quality
The Witcher 3 launched it took a highlight way quickly. The Northern Realms were not just big, they were dense too. Each village, forest and backroad feels like it was born in history, with a history which could reach out and touch.
Well, the war-torn Velen to the misty isles of Skellige, the open world which could never fall into the trap of quantity over quality.
There was Toussaint in the Blood and Wine, frankly, the best-looking place in a video game ever. The tricky part is that there are very few games which have pulled this kind of thing. Many have even tried to outline The Witcher 3, but bigger maps have rarely become better ones. Even the CD Projekt Red own the follow-up, Cyberpunk 2077, with all the futuristic atmosphere and unforgettable characters, there could be no one to hit the same level of environment storytelling.
Quests with Consequences
As the Witcher 3 has cinematic cutscenes, monster hunting mechanics, and moody art direction also the heart of the game lies in the quests. The main story certainly delivered some of the most memorable moments in the RPG world.
The quest was not just a other direction but they were a whole story by itself. The choice carried the direction, as the NPCs remembered your decisions. Specially the contracts, were just monster of the week jobs , which had surprising moral nuance.
Few games have matched this kind of narrative density. As the Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which was released back in 2025 and which can be coming close to this. But to be honest, it cannot surpass the Witcher 3.
Beauty did not Age
The Witcher 3 was way ahead for hit time, which was in 2015. As 2022 had the next-gen console. Ot looks stunning in 2025. The sunset over Novigrand, the fog rolling through Crookback Bog, the stark beauty of Kaer Morhen in Winter, all this holds up remarkably well, even by today’s standards.
Most of the games have moved up in technical fidelity. Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Forbidden West and the Elden Ring all delivered great visuals in their own right. But when it comes to the combined graphical polish with a consistent artistic direction.
Looking at this over the decades,e the RPG genre haseenen shared of ambitious releases. The Assassin’s Creed Origins reinventing the Ubisoft formula, the Elden Ring Redefining the Souls Open world design. There are no shortage of great experiences. The Cyberpunk 2077 has a rocky start, we can say.
10 years is a long way for gaming to evolve. There were franchises which went up, and also there were few which went down. The Witcher 34 still remains the same as one of the best games which can be pulled without exaggeration.
Well, it has been a decade, and the other games have come close. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has not been bested. It is still on the and in the race. We can say the Witcher 4 might be the one which takes over.
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