The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC Review

Of all the fun distractions, getting my own personal vineyard was perhaps my favourite, as finally Geralt has a place to call his own. It’s satisfyingly customizable too, and home to plenty of ways to busy yourself when you’re not out hunting down bloodsuckers.

Presentation:

Just before Blood and Wine launched CDPR launched a fairly comprehensive patch to the Witcher 3 that fixed lots of bugs, added plenty of helpful additions (including one particular book that should come in handy for Gwent completionists) and – most importantly of all – completely reworked the Witcher’s UI.

The menus were never terrible in the Witcher 3, but this update improves them all tenfold. Everything is smartly divided and I was no longer frustrated by the overly confusing inventory. Everything on your person is divided into helpful categories to help you find what you’re looking for without tearing your hair out and (often quest-vital) books and notes can now be read instantly upon being picked up. An hour with this new system made me wonder how I ever did without it, and I’m very envious of anyone who’s just about to start their first playthrough of the game as they’ll be able to benefit from all these fantastic changes.

Outside of the menus, Toussaint itself looks absolutely beautiful. Blood and Wine forgoes the muddy, bloody realism that coloured a lot of The Witcher 3 in various shades of dirt, and instead presents a lush countryside that looks absolutely stunning. Colour is everywhere, and it all makes for a stark change to the motley browns, greys and reds we’re accustomed to.

Conclusion:

‘Blood and Wine‘ is a great send-off to the gruff, loveable Witcher we’ve embodied over the last year. Geralt’s final tale is special because CD Projekt Red have taken care not to simply deliver more of the same – as there was already about two hundred hours of that and, be honest, you probably haven’t seen it all yet anyway – but instead subverted what we’ve come to expect from the Witcher 3. It’s a brave move, fixing what isn’t broken, but CDPR should be applauded for how much they’re willing to shake things up.

This unwillingness to stand still is exactly what makes them one of the best developers currently working within the industry, and what makes this expansion a fantastic and fitting end to a sublime game.