CD Projekt Red is breathing new life into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with two upcoming releases: a free remaster of the base game and the expansion “Songs of Past.” While the latter promises new content, it’s the combat upgrades in the remaster that are generating serious buzz. After a behind-closed-doors preview, it seems like this could be the perfect excuse for lapsed Witchers to return to the Continent.
A More Fluid and Responsive Combat System
The preview, a joint effort between CD Projekt Red and co-developers Fool’s Theory, focused heavily on the combat, movement, UI, and role-playing reworks coming to the base game. And, as always, we’re operating under the usual hands-off disclaimers, but it certainly looks like this remaster could be a more appealing package for those who haven’t played The Witcher 3 in a while – especially considering it’s free for owners of the original.
The most noticeable change is the fluidity and responsiveness of the combat. Geralt strings together combos with greater grace, and his attacks appear significantly faster. While I couldn’t count animation frames, he undeniably looks like a more agile swordfighter. Smarter camerawork also provides a better sense of which enemy is being targeted when they’re grouped together.
While it might not reach the level of polished brawling seen in games like Batman: Arkham, there’s a clear intention to improve upon one of The Witcher 3’s lingering flaws. This upgrade also synergizes perfectly with the new tools introduced in “Songs of Past.” For example, the remaster includes new finishing moves centered around a silver chain that Geralt acquires during the expansion. In one instance, he latches onto a wasp-infested monster, drags it into blade range, and decapitates it in a single, clean motion.
“Songs of Past”: New Content with Big Questions
The desire to perform such moves is strong! It’s definitely more appealing than the sluggish spinning attacks in the base game. However, I didn’t see anything in this demo that truly ignited my excitement for “Songs of Past” as much as the combat rework did for the free remaster.
That being said, it doesn’t look bad at all. The new region, Letten, is a beautifully verdant corner of the Continent, and its inhabitants are more concerned with brewing booze and frolicking in crop fields than engaging in war. The disappearance of Dandelion adds a personal hook to the main plot, and when Geralt ventures from the Lands of Plenty into a classic Witcher-style haunted forest, there are suitably creepy beasts to fight using those enhanced moves. Thornblooms, despite looking like reskinned Archespores, attack with more visual ferocity, and Swarmions – those bee boys – pack shields made of densely swarming hornets.
Justifying Another “Last Adventure”
Ultimately, the biggest question surrounding “Songs of Past” is: why does it exist? Even for a dedicated Witcher fan, it feels strange to have another “Geralt’s Last Adventure” following the previous one. It’s like BioWare releasing a sequel DLC for Mass Effect 3: Citadel, with the first preview only showing Shepard flying off to Space Gloucestershire alone.
“Songs of Past” needs to justify its existence, both to players and to itself. The upgrades in the Remastered edition might be smaller in scope, but right now, they seem like a much more compelling reason to reinstall The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
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