Switch has the pick of extraordinary, open-world RPGs. With Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from Bethesda, both story-led and user-guided experiences are gloriously catered for. While Switch gamers may have held out hope for anything remotely similar to The Witcher 3, being this multi-threaded and mature-themed colossus among RPGs, the closest we’ve seen is Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey – and only in Japan via cloud streaming, suggesting complexity far beyond Switch capability.
Ever since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition was announced for Switch in June, we have tempered our expectations somewhat. Resuscitating Skyrim, first launched in 2011, is not quite the same feat as reprising the 2015 recipient of prestigious technical accolades alongside untold creative and Best Game awards. We need not have worried, not even a bit.
Our hands-on experience with ‘Switcher’ in Handheld mode was utterly convincing, and best summarised as: Hey, it is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition on Switch! However, we did also get chance to speak with Senior Producer at CD Projekt Red, Piotr Chrzanowski, to learn more about how such dark arts were even possible. So, here’s how that all went…
When In Velen
At some point during our interview, we put Chrzanowski on the spot to reveal what he is most proud of with Switcher (which we can reveal is what the game is affectionately known as at CDPR). Partly to know what we should be looking out for, beyond any practical impossibility of existing in the first place. His response was modest. “First and foremost, getting the full experience on the cartridge,” smiled Chrzanowski. “It’s the same as you’ll find on other platforms, how it looks and feels.”
Broadly this is true. We did not have the opportunity to compare Switcher side-by-side in docked versus handheld modes, but the latter runs smoothly and handles so securely that we swiftly lost ourselves to the quests at hand. With save slots provided at The Skellige Isles, White Orchard, Kaer Morhen, Novigrad and Velen, our hands-on tour consistently upheld Chrzanowski’s claims that Switcher is “precisely the same game, based on the latest version available on other platforms.” Initially, the only noteworthy concession made is the control scheme, which favours the A button for most selections, but this can be changed if needed.
We did also ask if there might be any specific Nintendo features, along the lines of Skyrim, but learned that there are no exclusive armour sets (e.g. The Legend of Zelda), nor are there any motion-sensitive additions. It should be enough that the game looks this solid and handles so well. Blocking, parrying, spell-casting and world navigation feels almost identical to PS4 and PC.
What Sorcery Is This?!
When nudged to share some tech specifics, Chrzanowski guardedly referred to across-the-board optimisation, taking into account the onboard memory especially. “We had to cut down a little bit on texture resolution, for example,” says the senior producer. “Technically we did some work with the density of the foliage. We had to adapt to the processor versus those in stationary consoles – there are differences, but the experience is the same.”
In terms of performance enhancement when Switch is docked, Chrzanowski advises that “it’s mostly resolution. You’ll probably get some other performance improvements as well, but we’re trying to make sure it’s a stable performance on both.” There are also tweaks to the user interface, “to scale this properly depending on whether it’s handheld or docked.” Audio too is impressive, with the orchestral score present complete with intoxicating vocals, all the while allowing for atmospheric detail from the wind rushing to wildlife mutterings.
“There were some adjustments [to audio],” Chrzanowski explained. “On the other consoles, you could have a separate thread for audio. On the Switch, you have only three threads, so there was quite some work put on the audio system to make sure that it works well, plays all the sounds, not cut anything out. We worked a lot on that, and I think you can hear it.”
Our Witcher Senses Activated
Most sincerely, we did scrutinise every scene while playing Switcher for a robust 2 to 3 hours. Holding clear memories of Kaer Morhen, we started a new game with Yennefer and Ciri in the tutorial for an easy-going impression of mostly untroubled tech. Character models and special effects – particularly Geralt’s Witcher Sense – differed minimally from PS4, harsher around edges owing to lack of high-end rendering passes, missing some subtlety of lighting. The scale of the castle is unchanged, with every detail present, only in lower resolution.
Upon taking Roach for a ride in pursuit of lilac and gooseberries the heart-stopping beauty of the wilds is hardly compromised. There are regular instances of pop-up, which is really only to be expected, but it’s in the middle-far distance and not a distraction. Besides, the game is being optimised on an ongoing basis. We could yet see more polish in this regard.
Toussaint has the same visual impact, albeit judiciously restrained, as greeted on the ‘larger’ consoles. The spruce trees waver in the breeze, we can spy the distant mountains, flocks of birds swoop and soar. Right now, and likely permanent, the blades of grass and crops of wheat do not bend was Geralt wades through, on horseback or on foot. The light-refracting subtleties of water seem absent to a degree, though that’s trickier to explain at this stage.
Where Switcher really starts to surpass expectation, to the point of being dumbfounding, is upon reaching Novigrad city, where banners flutter against brightly-lit building façades. Stained-glass windows glisten with glassy contours minutely rendered, the textures contrasting with the matte finished walls. The folk music of street artists grows louder as Geralt approaches. It’s enjoyable just to step from the shadows into light as NPCs bustle all around. By the way, all NPCs are present in Switcher, playing an essential role in the experience – as anyone who has played The Witcher 3 will tell you. The most valued of adventures are off the beaten track, sometimes delivered by the unlikeliest of bystanders.
The game does appear to hold steady around the 30fps mark, and certainly didn’t dip low enough to distract from battles against heftier beasts. During the confrontation with the Beast of Toussaint, no lag was tangible, every hit felt satisfying while the creature did its utmost to trap and disorientate our Geralt in full flow. This truly is The Witcher 3, people.
Needles... Haystacks…
Considering that we’re being graced with all DLC and both expansion packs contained in the Complete Edition, Switcher hardly deserves to be torn apart from the tiniest of seams. That said, you do need to prepare for a lot of reading of particularly tiny text, which includes the necessary item descriptions alongside early tutorials, quest directions, bestiary secrets and so on.
Also, if you're going digital, then bear in mind that Switcher requires a 28.1GB install, meaning that an SD card is essential to accommodate it (Skyrim is 14.3GB, Zelda is 13.4 GB). It’s likely that you already own at least one, to be fair. However, in case you are buying Switch just to plough through Switcher...
Switcher In Another Case For Switch
Could The Witcher 3 look any better on Switch? Sure, CD Projekt Red might’ve opted to go the cloud-streaming route adopted by Ubisoft for Odyssey. But, aside from performance issues such as stuttering and input-lag, there’s a huge reason why CDPR went native.
“We wanted to bring the full experience of the game, and for people to enjoy it ‘on the go’, even when they may not have internet access,” advised Chrzanowski. “This is the best way to do it. Witcher is an immense experience, it’s a lot of hours to play the game fully and enjoy all the possible options. Not everyone has the ability to spend dozens of hours sitting at home in front of the computer. There are hundreds of hours. It’s a unique experience.”
Rather amusingly, Chrzanowski looked kind of stumped when asked to distinguish between The Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild and Skyrim. We were reminded that The Witcher 3 is one of the most critically-acclaimed games from the last few years, combining mature RPG with open-world. “Zelda and Skyrim are great games – but they are just different, you know?”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition is planned for release on October 15th, 2019.
Comments 128
Works for me. I'm never going to get around to playing my PC copy at this point anyway. Bring on the switch version!
I've gotta say, this looks beautiful on the switch. And is there any word on how much space this will take for downloading through eshop?
The fact this port wasn’t made by Panic Button is making me question my own existence.
The textures are very clearly low res, but it still looks great, especially in portable mode.
well, it is not any magic, it is a lower resolution
I love when devs do this, then I can laugh at people who say the Switch is too weak to play anything.
“Resuscitating Skyrim, first launched in 2007.”
Lol no, it was announced and launched in 2011.
@pauldavies might want to change that date.
EDIT: oblivion released in 2007 for ps3.
Seems like they've put a lot of care into porting it to Switch. I'm very happy to support Switcher 3.
Good for Switch to get a game of this caliber. I'm sure it'll be very popular if it runs well.
Lol at Skyrim at 2007
The description in the official playthrough video on The Witcher YouTube channel confirms the release date as October 15, 2019.
I don't think it looks great. And so fuzzy.
@Galenmereth Looks good to me! Of course, though, something has to look particularly bad for me to say as such.
Have it on ps4 but will definitely double dip. To support CD Projekt Red, it's a miracle that's it's coming to the switch and add to that it's on one cart and doesn't a download
"nor are there any motion-sensitive additions"
This is the only bummer so far. I really hope they add gyro controls.
@citizenerased
Why there is nothing in the game that would benefit from it. For me it's a huge plus it doesn't
@sixrings
While it's not a patch on the other versions, it's an amazing achievement for the switch and is far from fuzzy
Take note, Capcom... THIS is how you port to Switch! Thanks to Saber and CDPR for finally bringing the beast over... can't wait to try it out!
So happy for this to be on the switch.. commute and all will be a blast..
It looks great enough, but if I compare this to my ps4 pro it'll fade in comparison.
Still, this game on the go means a whole lot.
@suikoden Aren't there any bows or other things that use the aiming reticle?
@citizenerased
There is a crossbow but you don't need to aim.it as such
Aww too bad, I was hoping for motion controls to be added.
Maybe in a future update?
I mean with all the sword fighting, the bow & arrow as well as spell casting this would be an amazing addition.
I'm glad this is coming to the Switch but without motion controls I'd rather stick to the PC version where I can aim with the mouse at least...
Looks great to me, then again I'm not too picky with graphics, textures etc. Still, you can't pretend this isn't impressive given the hardware and how much people were saying this game could never run on Switch. Sometimes you just have to give credit where it's due.
Reading this gave me a sigh of relief, and now I’m ready to preorder it
@Aaronnnnn from what I understand, at most 32GB as it all fits on a cartridge, and this is the maximum size of a Switch cartridge AFAIK.
@jipiboily Correct. The 32GB card is the largest available as of yet, and The Witcher 3 is the first game to use them. I believe Nintendo said they will have 64GB cards availabe for developers in the future at some point.
Ouch, these graphics look real rough and fuzzy. I guess that's no different than how Doom 4 looks on Switch. Still, should be fun to play.
@jipiboily ok awesome, I was kinda hoping it wasn't gonna be absolutely gigantic, but 32 or less is good, thanks
Texture detail and resolution have been pared back significantly, but the fact that this game is playable on a small 8 Watt tablet is nothing short of incredible.
Wouldn't be surprised if Cyberpunk 2077 is a Switch 2 launch title, assuming that Witcher 3 doesn't mega-flop on Switch.
I assume the shown footage is from handheld? And why do you always say "Switcher"?🤨
I got confused. The article mentions having to have an sd card. Wasn’t the entire game going to fit into the game card? Has this changed now?
OMG, looks great! Can't wait to play through it again... this go I'll take my time and do more of those amazing side quests.
I’m still cautiously optimistic until the reviews but this is encouraging!
@darkswabber easy to change the date in the article. In the video tho 'Hey Zion, yeah I know I've seen the time, but it's about that video...'
@darkswabber Fixed! The dates got mixed up.
@Filth_Element If you're going digital, you'll need a bigger SD card.
32gb install? SD Card is required?
@BlackenedHalo It’s much more than just ‘resolution’ that allows a game to run more efficiently. Assuming it runs fine, they’ve clearly done good work with the coding. It struggled on PS4 initially as well - to get it to run well on Switch would have required a lot of work.
@MrBlacky from the article...
"Switcher (which we can reveal is what the game is affectionately known as at CDPR)"
@retro_player_22 You’ll notice that they also mention ‘Zelda’ so i assume they are just referring to the digital version and how much space it takes up - (my assumption is based on the fact that Zelda does not require a ~14GB install that they mention, when using the cartridge).
I am so looking forward to this! The Switch version looks better than the game I played on my PC, with a wimpy (but decent in the day) GTX 660. I never was a big fan of the keyboard controls, I'm hoping the Switch controls are better!
@suikoden
Same here, I’m definitely double dipping. CD Projekt Red deserves the support. Besides, the more games of this caliber do well on Switch, the worse EA looks when feeding us their lies about gamers not wanting their products on Switch.
@FTL Oh I see so it only affect those who goes digital, that's good to know as I will not accept this digitally.
I'm incredibly impressed. I've never played the game but getting to play a bunch of it portable is a huge plus which is why I'll probably finally dive in and give it a shot. What a time to be alive.
@flapjack-ashley
Unfortunately, most developers will likely not use them, seeing as how they don’t want to use the ones already available.
That, or the Switch Tax will double. 🙄😑
Huh, the Switch version is 32 gigs? If my memory serves me right, the base game, two expansion, the free DLC and all of the updates were around 80 gigs on the PS4.
It looks fantastic on Switch, given the platforms limitations. Probably day one for me.
@Deadlyblack yes but take into account 4k textures and audio files
@KraniX
So the game is called "Switcher III" or just "Switcher"?
@Kang81
The only game I'm interested from EA is the new star wars but knowing EA they are bound to screw it up
Did anyone else play Dragon Age 4 on PS3. Boy, that was rough.
So, my takeaway from this article is that this is indeed a marvelous achievement, and personally I'm looking forward to it. Also a good lesson for other publishers, that there actually IS an option, and apparently a fairly reasonably priced one as well, to put your entire game on a cartridge. CD Projekt Red is far from the biggest and richest developers out there, so if they could afford/manage to use 32GB cartridges, then so can any other medium-sized or large publisher out there, and all their excuses to not do that, are hereby null and void.
On a side note: another thing I learned, or rather: which sadly got reaffirmed, is that there's still many people that either don't read the articles, or only skim over them ever so lightly, resulting in needless questions that the article itself already gives the answers to, and regardless of how great of an achievement it is to get a game like this running and still looking pretty decent on Switch, there'll sadly always be whiners and other losers trying to downplay this rather impressive feat.
A shame, really. All these developers deserve, is massive, MASSIVE praise, and support, for having done this. Not moaning and complaining...
I am so terrified to start 100+ hour game as my backlog is so massive as it is.
That being said though, I cannot wait to finally try this game as I have no doubt I will love falling deep into it when I eventually get to it!
@retro_player_22 I'm pretty sure nlife was just stating that if you buy the game digitally you will need a micro sd card to download it on because there isnt enough internal storage to fit the game. The whole game physically will still fit on one cartridge with no download required.
Such a great game, my personal favourite this gen. But... unless you really desperately need to play it on the toilet/plane/train, then please do yourself a favour and buy the PC version instead. It's a beautiful game, it shouldn't been seen through Switch super low-res mush.
It’s so amazing that these type of companies can port these type of game to the Switch. Panic Button, Virtuos, Iron Galaxy, Shiver Entertainment, etc. I’m glad Saber Interactive did a solid port. Since most of they’re games are pretty average. But still, i’m glad they did a great job. Keep the porting creativity going!
This looks genuinely amazing. I love seeing Tech pushed to its limits and running things that are real surprises. Well played everyone involved.
It's pretty crazy to have an open-world modern triple-A game on the go looking this good. Will pick this up when it gets cheaper.
@ramu-chan
People should buy it, to support the developer and show EA etc that we can have games like this on the switch. Have to love gamers first they moan we don't get games like this and when we do they don't want it because it doesn't have the prettiest graphics etc.
Also why should people buy it on Pc? Why not Xbox or ps4 if that's what they want. Used to be a pc gamer but will never go back such a toxic community
It doesn’t look the same as on other platforms.
@Mgene15
No poo Sherlock!
You really expected it to look the same?
Same experience. It's a really great game. Look forward to all hearing about all the joys and cons from Switcheans who haven't gotten to delve into this entree on other platforms. Hoping it stays mostly positive.
@ThanosReXXX I would be very curious to know the business room details of how CDPR swung using 32GB carts. Even selling the game at full retail the price of those guys should eat into profits a good bit. And that is after paying Saber to do the port. I wonder if Nintendo threw a big bag of cash at them because even Bethesda, arguably the strongest western supporter of the Switch, is still only using 16GB carts for their games.
I'll be honest I would never want to play this game on Switch after playing it on PS4 Pro. That said the fact that they were able to pull this off is pretty impressive...
@suikoden nope, but the title says it does. So I’m just correcting it
@Indielink
I think Nintendo are involved with this in some way. It’s on the Official UK Store which is often (though not always) games they’re publishing (Things like Dragon Quest, Skyrim and Bethesda’s games were handled by Nintendo in the U.K.).
@BlackenedHalo Didn't you know, Nintendo Life's fall back cliche when writing about devs that perform platform specific optimisations and graphical compromises to boost frame rate or playability is 'witchcraft'. Sometimes they use a thesaurus and replace it with 'sorcery', 'magic' or 'the dark arts'
I'm really glad it runs well. I'd have preferred they never attempted to port it at all, if the end result was a poor port. If they gave us something like Ubisoft's horrible port of Assassin's Creed 3, it would have become the calling card of the "Look the Switch is junk" crowd.
Word on load times?
The game is a MASTER PIECE, and it seems it will look and play great on Switch.
It looks better un other platforms? Sure, but why would you care about that? It's the same experience. I played it back in the day on PS4, knowing that on PC it would look better, but I enjoyed A LOT anyway...
I would never have the time required to play a game this size on a home console. I'll finally have a chance to play through this on Switch. It's amazing what developers can do on Switch when they put their minds to it. I'll be getting the physical version day one.
@Aaronnnnn the video does say. feel free to give it a watch.
@Denoloco just means it doesnt take a particular level of programming genius to port and optimize for switch. the more miracle ports we get, the less of a miracle it is, and the fewer excuses everybody else has. Not that ill ever play any of their games again, but im looking at you EA!
@Galenmereth my guess is screenshots and gameplay footage on anything other than the switches own hardware and screen will always look off. you probably wouldnt notice much difference on the switch's own screen.
@Indielink : I don't think the 32GB carts are anywhere near as expensive as the unsubstantiated rumours indicate.
As a frame of comparison, high-speed 32GB SD cards are about US$6.79 at the moment at retail, and this is likely after the manufacturer and middleman have already taken their cut.
Furthermore, I cite SD cards as they are a similar size to Switch cartridges (though Switch cartridges are a tad thicker) and I imagine that the cost to manufacture them would be similar than other storage media. Switch cartridges are also read-only, which will bring down the cost of production, compared to rewritable SD cards. The fact that Switch cartridges are unlikely to have the same high read speed as the SD card cited above will also bring down the overall cost.
I estimate that it would cost publishers around US$4-5 for a 32GB cartridge, which is a bit higher than Blu-rays (which are available in 25GB and 50GB sizes) but certainly not to such a prohibitive degree as some insinuate. Under such circumstances, I completely understand if a Switch game needs to be priced higher in order to factor in all of the other expenses that contribute to the making of a game, but often we see publishers imposing additional charges for merely using an 8GB cartridge, which shouldn't be happening as they should cost the same as a 25GB Blu-ray disc, with the 16GB cartridges perhaps being comparable to the cost of a 50GB Blu-ray disc.
Publishers are likely to pay less for them, but good quality Blu-ray discs cost me just over AU$1 for a burnable 25GB disc, and $3.25 for a 50GB disc. Bear in mind that blank Blu-rays are an extremely niche product when compared to SD and microSD cards, and discs are likely to cost publishers a lot less when they are produced in high quantities. It is likely that these discs would be closer to the price of blank DVDs by now if the public had adopted the format (I haven't been able to find blank Blu-rays in stores for a few years now, and I buy all of mine online).
Unfortunately there have been no disclosures industry-wide as to what any of these formats cost the publishers, but the rumours about 32GB carts costing the publisher $20 is just absolute unsubstantiated bull.
clap clap
good job
How do I wipe my memory, and play this again as the first time??
The Witcher 3, full fat game.
BOTH expansions.
All 16 DLC.
High sound quality.
Full game on 32gb cartridge, WITH a manual and inside artwork.
Gosh dang this game looks SO much better than it has any right to look. I was expecting Witcher 2 Xbox 360 level of quality, yet this far exceeds those expectations. I’m flabbergasted.
@Aaronnnnn not sure if answered already, but 28.1GB
Not for $60. Even DQXI S pre-order is now down to $49 and that has actual new content.
Can just download it off my Steam account and play something else on the GO.
Looks cool, but after buying and being disappointed in Skyrim I’ll wait until I can get some hands on time with it to decide. I’m not too fond of western RPGs, Fallout 3 being a big exception.
God this looks like so much work... but I still kinda want Hat in Time more. It’s the same day!
@Supadav03 Oh, awesome, thank you so much
@ThanosReXXX : Unfortunately folks just read the headline and race to post a comment. Sort of a sad commentary on today's culture.
Chrzanowski seems very proud to have the entire game on a single cartridge and running well to boot. I really appreciate that he wants the on the go mentality vs a Ubisoft cloud based Assassin Creed Odyssey type of experience. Clearly, this team has put significant effort to get this game out to Switch owners, and to actually own as well. This reminds me of THQ shoving WWE No Mercy onto a single cartridge with awesome graphics, sound, and titantron videos. It was ridiculous and so I gladly plunked 80 dollars down at my local mall to reward the developer. I'll do the same here.
Whelp.... I guess I'll be buying this for a third time.
Another Mature title I would not have time to play on my PS4 now available on Switch. Not bad at all.
Throws money at screen.
@Silly_G The carts that Switch games come on are not at all the same as a standard SD card. They are a proprietary piece that requires its own bespoke manufacturing process to make. Anything built to make a Switch cart can ONLY make a Switch cart. Even beyond the cost of specialized manufacturing process, this means the cost of production is also going to take a big leap because the product runs aren't going to be as large as something like a standard SD.
This is the same kind of issue we saw with memory for the PSVita. Sony came up with their own storage method and had to pay hand over fist for it.
I agree that many publishers have taken advantage of the situation by overcharging (Switch Tax) on games that use 8GB carts, or debatabely worse, gimped their games to fit on cards even smaller to save themselves a buck. This is a super gross practice that Nintendo should be working harder to fix.
That 20$ per 32GB Switch cart number came from Daniel Ahmed, one of the most credible analysts in the industry. Go look at his Twitter or his personal website, it's a goldmine of solid, reliable data.
Very nice! I'm not the biggest fan of Witcher, but I am happy for the fans.
Still no GTA 5...
GTA 5 runs on PS3 and 360, so it will easily run on Switch.
@Denoloco Panic Button also host the matrix, of which you are a part. Do not question your existence.
This actually looks great.
@Aaronnnnn 32gb, says in the article
@Kalmaro especially laugh at 2K for their joke of an WWE2K18 port... I'm such a huge fan and they have let me down so bad....
@DJKeens glad I’m not the only one! It was a little confusing lol!
@Damo thanks for clarifying it was a tad on the ambiguous side and looking at the comments I’m not alone. I’m looking forward to this one and having it all the the game cart is even better!
This looks so amazing! Definitely buying this!!!
I'm really struggling with the criticism of this port. Not all of us have a PS4 Pro or high-end PC to play this. Not all of us have a TV to play it on that isn't being sabotaged with Power Rangers or Scooby Doo 94.7% of the time
Perhaps the biggest thing for me though - is frame of comparison. I've seen a lot of people being a bit down on this port because it doesn't run anywhere near Ultra PC settings performance. Whilst there's absolutely nothing wrong with that opinion, I'd say there's quite a few people out there in the "I was/am still a serious gamer, now I only get to blast on my Switch whenever i get some time" camp.
And surely that's who this port has aimed at? If you're a serious current gamer, you already have the optimum kit and time on your hands to play this already in it's best possible form, and that's awesome.
I've never played Witcher 3 before, and will not have a PS4 or PC for the foreseeable future, let alone 100 hours free to sit in front of it and experience it that way. So this works for me, and gives me a way to experience one of the games of the decade in a much more consumable manner. Love!
Oh, and it's a bonafide technical miracle it's running on Switch! I have to support CDPR just for that.
This article made me preorder the game. Never had it on any other platform, and I can't imagine myself having the time to spend 100+ hours in front of the TV with my child being around. My PS4 games usually are shorter experiences so I'm realistically able to finish them.
Dang it. I do not have time for it and I already own the base game on ps4, but on the other hand I like to support good ports.
Hypothetically, how could this look if it was made from ground up for switch as opposed to a a down scaled port?
Somewhat noticably better?
I'm amazed that they could manage to squeeze a game of this magnitude and size onto a 32gb cartridge.
@BlackenedHalo ohh!! you think you're smarter than the rest of us😁.. it's a technical marvel to behold. Having such a huge game on a switch is indeed a magic.
@Indielink Yeah me too. Would be nice to know some of the details, especially to compare them to other companies. I do believe that it's not mainly about cost of storage at all, otherwise larger companies than CD Projekt Red would also have gone for the larger cartridge.
There's a lot more to factor in, such as other costs and a balance made for return on investment and so on, that could tip the scales in favor of either full game on cartridge or partial download.
I guess we'll never know the full story, or maybe many years from now, when NDA's on topics like these are finally lifted and people are allowed to talk about it freely...
@Cyberbotv2 Couldn't agree more. People think it's simply a case of downgrading the resolution and textures, but they've been working their butts off for months on end, optimizing this port to not only fit on the Switch, but also run like they wanted to, so they could deliver a product that they're proud off, and all people can say: "it looks horribly fuzzy" or "last gen graphics". It's really annoying, to say the least.
It looks really good. I do not see a huge issue or drawback to the slightly lower resolution. I might get this but I have to wait until I see what else is coming.
I'll grab it on a sale in 2020 when I finally catch up on all the other games I'll be playing for now xD I won't ever get to play my pc copy anyway, I just don't sit at my pc for more than 30 mins at a time nowadays.
I can't wait until the Digital Foundry review.
This will not help my RPG backlog. So it might be a treat once I’ve made a dent in it.
I'll get this day 1! I've only heard amazing things about this game, and The Switcher will become the best version of the game!
@ThanosReXXX Yeah, haters don't give a damn, they only want to criticize. And a lot of those guys are butt hurt by the fact this game is on Switch.
In my humble opinion the Switch is Nintendo's greatest platform ever, and that includes portable. Between Witcher 3 and Dragon Quest 11 S, we've got some seriously awesome RPGs coming this Fall. If you want CD Projekt Red to bring more games to Switch like Cyberpunk 2077, go out and buy The Witcher 3!
I'm super excited for this. I've never played Witcher 3 for more than a few minutes. Having it run at 30fps with the whole game on cartridge for Switch is perfect (well, 60fps would be perfect, but I get why it's 30!). I hope the physical edition comes with a map like Hollow Knight and Salt and Sanctuary!
I just read the Nintendolife article that reveals there will be a map included with the physical cartridge release. Yay!
@fuzzyspud nicely put.
That's nice but frankly I'm not at all interested in spending $60 I don't really enjoy that much. I'll never play it again on PS4 (even though it's one of the strongest examples of PS4 Pro truly improving a game vs PS4 OG) but wouldn't spend more than $20 for it on Switch. It's just very overrated IMO. too much padding in the main quests, and an obscene amount of content outside of it.
There is such a thing as too much. Plus, the combat is mediocre, and traversal is incredibly wonky. Great story and characters though.
@iakona23 N64's still better. and I'm partial to modern games vs older stuff but Switch's library has a lot of catching up to do.
Another purchase. Thing is, I never beat this game on my PC. Now on the go, shouldn't be a problem 👍
@Ventilator I keep thinking the same.. where da hell is GTA V?
@rex_rex 2K I think i know the main problem with GTA 5 port.
They abandoned updates for last gen years ago as they couldn't handle all the upgrades.
They can't release last gen version with years of missing updates.
GTA 5 current gen is one of the slowest games ever to start on
PS4 and Xbox One.
If they port it to Switch, it could take like 5-10 mins to load the game.
Current gen consoles is almost too weak for GTA 5, so perhaps it's why it can't be ported as Switch have too little RAM.
Last gen version is too outdated to be ported...
@Ventilator yeah, perhaps you have reason.. good explanation man..
but I still would like to have it.. I started to play on my OLD xbox 360 then I sold it and had to stop.. then I had a PS4 (twice) but i never bought this game.. then, i fell in love for my beloved switch and sold again my PS4.. now dont ask me why, i just wanna play the games on the switch (that is why im eager to touch SWITCHER 3)..
@rex_rex Thanks. I'm just guessing, but i think this is why. As we know 2K Games is a Switch supporter, but never mentioned GTA 5 ever. It's far more heavy than Witcher 3, Wolf 2, Doom etc.
GTA 5 never got a 4K upgrade on Xbox One X and PS4 btw. It's like they don't care anymore.
If they removed online part, it would work.. But would then lose sales due to lack of online.
Witcher 3 on Switch is a great port. I own it on Xbox One X and supports 4K.
I own GTA 5 on PC and Xbox One, but PC version is by far the best one.
I bought all consoles each gen, and still have them all. I also have VITA and 3DS.
I bought Skyrim today. Then there is Baba Is You which keeps pulling me back in. Witcher will have to wait. The idea of having Witcher waiting in the wings is pretty cool.
@suikoden
I never been a fan of Star Wars, I always preferred Star Trek. Still, I’m highly optimistic that EA will screw it up somehow.
I would love for some last gen EA games to make it to Switch though. Mostly the Mass Effect Trilogy, Dead Space Trilogy, Mirrors Edge, Burnout Paradise and the Criterion made NFS games.
Of course, according to EA, no one would buy those on the Switch. 🙄
Besides, EA is still against remasters it seems, aside from Burnout Paradise anyway.
@Ryu_Niiyama Its funny you mention this. Lately I was looking through the gazillion games I have on PC (stupid Steam sales) and noticed that I've just been buying some of the same games on consoles (let it be Switch or others). I sit in front of a computer all day, the last thing I want is do the same while I'm at home.
@kuliddar I just always end up playing an RTS or Fighting game most of the time on PC. Console (more importantly switch) is the only way I've been beating other genre games. Sucks for my bank account but you have to know yourself I suppose.
lol still there are people comparing this version with the pc or ps4 version.
well its more special then any version thats for sure.
almost unreal and insane to play this on the go. im glad developers challenge eachother, its a good sign.
should you as developer be proud of the ps4/xb1/pc versions?
yes ofcourse, but this version is the bigest achievement.
only ea are cowards, where is the mass effect triology? dont you want to make aloooooots of money, dumb assholes?
Aaaand now port the Arkham games.....
@Dayton311 You will absolutely love it. I've played hundreds of RPGs over the last 30 years and The Witcher 3 is probably the best action RPG I've ever played. I was blown away the first time I played it. I really believe that over time it will wind up ranked with the likes of Chrono Trigger and Persona 3.
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