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"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" (hereinafter referred to as "The Witcher 3") is a very memorable role-playing game. There are so many highlights and surprises about it that when I started writing this article, I felt that I didn’t need to put any redundant endorsement information here: if you don’t know it yet, just browse the store comment area of steam.
It is a coincidence for me that seven years ago, when I just joined the company, I wrote a very naive review for it. Unexpectedly, I would have the opportunity to come to the restored White Orchard today and experience the sunrise and sunset here again with Geralt .
Seven years have passed. The world we live in and the environment around us have undergone many changes. The changes in the next-generation version of "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" make me quite happy and emotional. This trip was really not in vain.
Hardware upgrade: a richer immersive experience
The PBR technology based on physical rendering in the original version of The Witcher 3 has been replaced by ray tracing in the next-generation version. This also brings an additional "ray tracing" option to the PS5 version. Whether it is performance mode or ray tracing mode, both can be upgraded to 4K dynamic resolution through AMD FSR 2.1 technology on PS5, and the anti-aliasing effect is also significantly improved compared to the original version.
It’s also thanks to Geralt’s love of wearing all kinds of equipment with metal elements and carrying two swords with him, uh...
Therefore, after turning on light tracing, we can intuitively feel the changes in the texture of the objects on Geralt’s body. Of course, it’s not just Geralt. Corresponding to dramatic lighting situations such as sunrise and dusk in the game, as well as various scenes with metal and water, the ray tracing mode brings a more realistic and vivid picture look and feel.
The ray tracing mode on PS5 has also been somewhat restricted. In performance mode, the next-generation version of The Witcher 3 can maintain a stable operation of 60 frames almost throughout the game, but once ray tracing is turned on, you can basically only play in 30 frames or even lower mode; normal town exploration is okay, but when riding a horse or fighting, this frame rate is not enough for me.
However, even if light tracing is not turned on, the picture quality of the next-generation version has been greatly improved compared to the original version. In the next-generation version, CDPR has applied Screen Space Reflection (SSR), which was originally only used on water surfaces, to the whole situation. Therefore, Geralt’s weapons (especially the texture of the iron part of the sword hilt can be paid more attention to) and metal armor pieces, and even the texture of leather boots, have been greatly improved. At least when I played the next-generation version of The Witcher 3 on PS5, I almost didn’t feel that it was actually a game that was launched seven years ago.
The facial texture of the character is also very good
I also know that for many players, ray tracing and the performance of its fusion effect with DLSS/FSR are more meaningful. This part of the content will be added after we complete the PC version experience, so please stay tuned.
Although the PS5 version cannot unlock the upper limit of image quality of The Witcher 3 Era Edition, it also brings new surprises.
In various game scenarios, such as being hit, attacking, riding a horse, or falling, I can feel that the PS5 DualSense controller has matching vibration feedback, especially the delicate vibration feedback during slashing and combos, which adds a not-to-be-ignored enhancement to the original version’s hitting feel that was not to my liking.
Localization: The dubbing was more careful than I thought
Yes. Like "Cyberpunk 2077", all voices in The Witcher 3 now have Chinese dubbing, and are produced by the original crew of 2077 (another thumbs up to you!).Combining and comparing the actual play process and content volume of the two games (especially The Witcher 3 also has two DLCs with considerable capacity), you should also be able to feel that giving The Witcher 3 a full set of Chinese dubbing is definitely not an easy task.
In 2077, CDPR fully proved its sincerity in treating Chinese culture
It was not easy just to complete the dubbing, and what makes me even more happy is that in the face of such a huge amount of text, the production team still worked hard on localization considerations this time.
The first is the character's voice. Geralt's Chinese dubbing carefully refers to the English version's deep and slightly hoarse voice, so this time we can also hear a Chinese version with very similar intonation and voice. The same goes for other main characters such as Shirley and Yennefer;
It is not easy to "translate" a Central European-style worldview into the Chinese context. CDPR has maintained a sense of balance very well in the next-generation version. I can hear the [***]-type speeches of country gangsters and robbers, including the rough baron. These idioms are very familiar to the Chinese Internet environment, and there is no sense of isolation caused by the translation; and when facing the Nilfgaardian soldiers, the Nilfgaardian German is quite completely preserved without Chinese cultural translation; among the choices, one can feel the thinking of the relevant workers.
What amazes me even more is that this time I can hear the completely Chinese version of Priscilla's Song in the next-generation version - believe me, even just for this song, the next-generation version may be worth playing.
Chinese dubbing has caused a lot of controversy this year due to the addition of Internet memes. The next-gen version's performance at this point is quite restrained but brilliant, allowing me to experience many unforgettable moments. One of the things that amazed me the most was the child singing a children's song in Willen Village. Can you believe that this children's song was not only translated into very Chinese rhyming words, but that the child could also sing it gracefully?
and the witch doctor he met when he was helping the baron find his wife and daughter. The man's eloquent chatter turned into a very Zen-like rhyme here - almost every sentence the witch doctor said was in rhyme, and he spoke very slowly. It really sounded like a crazy and unpredictable tone, which was amazing.
highly matches the voice of the original character, and has an appropriate localized translation. If I could rate the Chinese voice of the next-generation version separately, I would not hesitate to give it a full score.
To me, compared to the upgrade of the screen, the Chinese dubbing is the most soulful content that the next-generation version brings to us. Compared with English dubbing, I believe that for most players, the native language can bring a more burdenless listening experience, and it will undoubtedly allow people to more immersively experience the characters' emotions, personality and other dramatic elements revealed in the dialogue. At least for me, even just walking around and listening to what the villagers are chatting about gives me the excitement of playing a new game.
Relive the adventure and get new rewards
Do you still remember the days when you were searching for the Witcher armor from several schools of thought in The Witcher 3?
These are also some new benefits brought by the next-generation version. For example, the demon hunter armor in the Netflix series and the mysterious Chinese armor can all be explored and discovered in the game.
Due to limited play time, I did not collect the new armor of the next generation version. Of course, even if I find it, I won't talk about it here. It's better to leave the joy of exploration and discovery to you, hehe.
Photography mode: It’s not easy to say I love you
Yes, in the previous promotion, the official mentioned that the next generation version will add a new photography mode, which is also one of the things I am most looking forward to this time. Many friends may think that this is just a small bonus feature, and most 3A products are equipped with it.But I have to say that this photography mode is relatively rough and can only satisfy simple snapshots and cannot provide stronger support for content creation.
The main reason for saying this is that the photography mode itself has relatively few functions. After I spent some time calling it out (PS5 is L3+R3), I found that I can only perform relatively basic camera movement and screen zoom. Although there is focus , but the focus of the autofocus function does not only capture the main subject of the picture, and is basically useless; I don’t know if it is due to camera translation, but the commonly used "focal length" in photography terminology is replaced by "angle of view" in the photography mode, and it is contrary to traditional photography. "The larger the value, the wider the picture." The reverse logic.
The viewing angle is stretched to the farthest, which is close to a super wide-angle picture. Perhaps it is better to use photography terms such as "focal length" to express it.
Secondly, the next-generation version of the photography mode cannot be customized. There is no way to adjust Geralt's posture, expression, or NPC's posture and expression, and there are no various textures provided in 2077, not even a filter mode. This made me quite disappointed as I wanted to take a photo with the Baron after finally meeting him.
Sunrise in Barony that I recorded using photography mode
Can't adjust Geralt!
In short, for the next-generation version, the photography mode is more like a "point-and-shoot camera" for snapshots and landscape notes, but it does not support deeper creations, which is a bit regrettable for (perhaps very few) game photography enthusiasts.
Conclusion
In fact, CDPR has made far more changes in the next-generation version than the above.
Before the official release, CDPR conducted several live broadcasts of content demonstrations. During the live broadcasts, players actually discovered that the next-generation version of the CDPR demonstration had also undergone large-scale repairs on the face models and clothing of passerby NPCs. The reuse of NPC faces has been improved, and the details of clothing have also been improved visible to the naked eye.
This kind of improvement seems so insignificant in the eyes of CDPR that they did not mention at all - I found a lot of small changes like this in my game.
For example, Geralt was very easy to fall to death in the original version, but in the next-generation version, the height from which he fell to death has been increased a lot, and when encountering some uneven roads, Geralt will slide down the slope instead of falling directly to death (my version of the original version) (I fell to death several times like this), or the convenient binding of magic seals allows people to quickly cast the bound magic seals directly in battle without having to switch repeatedly...
Look, there may be many things that CDPR did not mention. And at this point, haven’t I mentioned that the next generation of The Witcher 3 is actually a free version of updated to ...
I can only say, CDPR, you are indeed a good brother to everyone.
Of course, the next-generation version of The Witcher 3 not only means replaying it for old players, but in my opinion, it also has a layer of value, that is, in the span of seven years, when the player group has ushered in a new generation, it is an invitation letter to new players.
Every year, new players come of age, which is why there are always people buying it - the same is true for The Witcher 3.
As the game of the year in 2015, it is also one of the most loved RPGs by players so far. The Witcher 3 has many shocking moments, and many stories that I still find unforgettable when I think about it today. Such a legendary role-playing game is held tightly by players who have played it, and its warmth is attached to it, and then passed on to new players. This is one of the biggest implications of the next-gen version, and it makes people feel cool just thinking about it.
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