'Hearts of Stone is a powerful argument for shorter content in video games вЂ“ stories meaty enough to sink your teeth into, yet easily digested before your next birthday.' CD Projekt RED has helpful populated the map with more open world markers complete with high level beasties to test your new tricks and tools against. Going in with a level 34 character and endgame gear, I nevertheless managed to find plenty of challenges and new loot to explore. It's impressive to see a developer willing to ask players to devote time to engaging with the setting, events and characters rather than just bashing away idly at enemies because that's what focus groups tell us gamers want, or whatever.Д«ut there is that bashing out there, and plenty of it. Most of my interaction with the world came not at the end of a sword but with a pointed quip, shaping my story by giving Geralt a voice and perspective unique to my reading of his character (Witchers do not go back on contracts Witchers do not give false comfort Witchers are nevertheless pretty funny people). When I took survey of my adventures in Hearts of Stone I realised I'd actually spent very little of my time fighting my way through dungeons. Hearts of Stone is a powerful argument for shorter, perhaps even episodic content in video games - stories meaty enough to sink your teeth into, yet easily digested before your next birthday. Wild Hunt was a story I wanted to see through to the end, but its sheer length made it impossible for my enthusiasm to gallop on completely unchecked, and it didn't always manage to keep up the momentum on its end, either. In this regard, Hearts of Stone is, perhaps, better than Wild Hunt itself. If you are the kind who listens closely and pores over optional materials, you'll likely be even more intrigued by the tangled flurry of plots and subplots that Geralt navigates, either subtly and with cunning or with the slicing edge of a blade. Although the mystery at the heart of the story is only shallowly buried, it remains a pleasure to dig up. At no point did it stop pulling me along, seducing me into pushing on to see the next set piece, face the next challenge, solve the next puzzle. I never stopped wanting to play Hearts of Stone.

Too many add-ons just feel like padding, filler content, non-essential, missable an invitation to keep playing, without providing any motivation to do so. You didn't want to tick off another 45 fetch quests or collect another 150 figurines. Too many expansions and DLC packs add in more of the same, with the unfortunate consequence of making you realise you didn't want it. This is an elegant and unusual feat, and speaks well of CD Projekt RED's development approach and project management, but it's doubly impressive in that it manages not to be boring. Every time somebody made a reference to someone else having a stick up their arse, it was like coming home.

The same loving fingerprints are all over it. At no point do you feel like you're playing something developed by anybody other than the original creators.

The quality of the storytelling and mission design ranks alongside that of the main game. That's not to say it feels like a missing piece, something that ought to have been in the main storyline from the get-go it is entirely discrete, telling a self-contained story with few ties to the rest of the game's content.Д«ut despite its standalone nature, it's very much embedded in the world. At no point did it stop pulling me along, seducing me into pushing on to see the next set piece, face the next challenge, solve the next puzzle.'Д®xcept for the fact that Geralt's not constantly under a cloud due to the looming end of the world, Hearts of Stone feels of a piece with Wild Hunt. 'I never stopped wanting to play Hearts of Stone. It's more than just a game like that, it's more of the same game. If you finished The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and thought to yourself 'Dang, I wish there were more games like that,' then Hearts of Stone is here to save the day. If you liked The Witcher 3, come on in to Hearts of Stone: the water's fine.

Wild at heart the witcher