The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone

[h1]Short Review[/h1] Hearts of Stone is a focused, dark, and exceptionally well-written expansion that stands as one of the best pieces of DLC ever released for any AAA game. Gaunter O'Dimm alone is worth the price of admission, and the boss fights are more memorable than most of what the base game offers. It's a little short, and Shani deserved better, but those complaints are minor against everything else this DLC gets right. Highly recommended. [h1]Full Review[/h1] I don't usually bother with DLC. I typically only get them to get achievements. Most of the time, it feels like content that was cut from the base game and repackaged, and the value proposition rarely convinces me. Hearts of Stone is a clear outlier in the DLC space, especially for AAA games. It takes everything that makes Witcher 3's writing so strong and sharpens it into something tighter, darker, and in some ways more compelling than the main story. [b]The story and tone.[/b] Where the base game is a sweeping epic about saving the world, Hearts of Stone operates on a much smaller, more personal scale, and it's better for it. Geralt takes on what looks like a straightforward contract from a nobleman named Olgierd von Everec, and it quickly spirals into a story about dark magic, cursed immortality, and the kind of deals that leave you wondering whether there was ever a good outcome available. The writing is sharp throughout, the quests feel meaningful, and the tone strikes a rare balance between genuinely unsettling and occasionally funny. [b]Gaunter O'Dimm.[/b] He's a really solid antagonist for the game. What makes him work is how long the game lets him appear completely unremarkable. He looks like a nobody, dresses like a nobody, and gives you no reason to think twice about him early on. Then the story slowly peels back what he actually is, and by the time the full picture comes together, he's one of the most unsettling and charismatic presences in the whole Witcher universe (at least, the games). His theme adds a lot to that atmosphere. CD PROJEKT RED clearly understood what they had with this character and let him breathe accordingly. However, I don't really like how CD PROJEKT RED is trying to make him seem like some all-knowing mastermind across a variety of other pieces of media, such as the Thronebreaker lore, which works a bit more off the books, and other things like that. [b]The boss fights.[/b] The fights in Hearts of Stone feel more considered and fleshed out than most of what the base game offers. There's more personality to them, more design intention, and they land as actual set pieces rather than just difficulty checks. For an expansion this size, that's a pretty meaningful upgrade for me. [b]The length.[/b] My one real complaint about the structure is that the main story feels just slightly too short. It took me around 10 hours to get through everything (including the Order of the Flaming Rose stuff), which isn't nothing, but there's a point near the end where I wanted one more major quest before the conclusion. The pacing earns the ending it has, but the journey to get there could have used a little more room to breathe. [b]Shani.[/b] I never played Witcher 1 or 2, but I read enough about them to understand that Shani has real history with Geralt, and Hearts of Stone doesn't do much with that. She shows up, she's a part of the wedding quest, and then she largely disappears for stretches of the story without much acknowledgment of who she is to him or what they've been through. The way certain characters interact with her during the wedding quest also made me uncomfortable. She deserved more than what she got here, even though I prefer Triss. [b]Overall.[/b] Hearts of Stone is exceptional DLC and a strong argument for why the Witcher 3 package as a whole is worth your time even years after release. The story is focused and dark in all the right ways, Gaunter O'Dimm is a villain worth remembering, the boss fights are the best in the game, and the writing throughout is as good as anything in the base campaign. Shani's handling and the slightly short runtime are criticisms, but they don't undercut how good the rest of this is. If you have The Witcher 3 and haven't played this yet, fix that. [code]If you liked this review, then feel free to check out my [url=https://www.youtube.com/@VinroyIsViral]YouTube Channel[/url] for more reviews. I also have a curator group called [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43774503-The-Completionist-Crusaders/]"The Completionist Crusaders"[/url] that focuses more toward completionists. Thank you, and happy gaming![/code]

[h2] Как это говорят: будь осторожен в собственных желаниях. [/h2] Эталонный пример качественной работы, явно исполненной с душой. Если и делать дополнения, то именно так: ничуть не уступая основной игре, а где-то даже превосходя её. Здесь же нас встречает высококачественный концентрат из всего, что мы столь сильно любим: праздничная свадьба с пьянками, драками и, конечно же, романтикой; щепотка криминала с Геральдом в главных ролях; история о трагично разрушенной любви с изобилием мистики, а также интриги. Очень много интригующих моментов. Всеми нами любимого юмора стало на порядок больше, а диалоги и персонажи ничуть не уступают основным (хотя, лично мне кажется, они здесь даже лучше). Заметно выросло качество постановки кат-сцен, да и их количество стало куда больше. А потому, по моим впечатлениям, здешние ощущения очень схожи с теми, что возникают при просмотре сериала или прочтении книги; куда лучше проникаешься именно к эмоциям, событиям и самой историей. Ощущение «игры» уходит на второй план. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3763590287 Сюжет, повторюсь, просто замечательный. Не сказать чтобы длинный — задушить уж точно не успевает, — но и не пролетает в один миг. Чего, кстати, не скажешь об основной игре: с финалом там явно затянули. Все квесты без исключения действительно интересные, цепляющие, и представляют из себя этакие небольшие истории, которые грамотно вплетены в основные события. Плюсом выделю то, что у каждого квеста своя атмосфера и настроение, что идёт только на пользу. В общем: все компактно, цельно и насыщенно. Отдельную похвалу выражаю боссами: в кои-то веки сделали достойных противников. С жабой я получил больше испытаний и эмоций, чем при битве с Эредином. Сюда же хочу отнести Ключника и Этерала: пусть последний уже послабее, а вот первый не столько сложный, сколько механически вышел интересным. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3763960938 Короче, гайс. Безупречная работа, трижды окупающая свой изначальный прайс. Для меня огромное удивление, что я играю в нечто подобное за сущие копейки и считаю, что упускать столь неописуемой красоты алмаз — фатальная ошибка. Расписывать можно долго, а я бы и рад набросать еще с сотню лавров, но лучше прощупайте самостоятельно — оно определённо стоит вашего времени. [b]Оценка: 10/10. [/b]

Great DLC. Genuinely one of the best stories in a video game.

I wish to stay with Shani, not Yennefer :( I do not hate Yen, I just think Shani and Geralt have better chemistry. It sucks that Geralt doesn't want to commit to her.

really good

[h2][b]💬 О ДОПОЛНЕНИИ[/b][/h2] Давненько играл, но DLC мне ещё помнится. Колоритные персонажи, интересная цепочка квестов, простая, но всё ещё приятная награда в конце. Это было более, чем хорошо. Полную цену я бы, конечно, зажал... но вот не взять по скидке — определённо грех.

9/10 - Amazing story and characters, as well as great boss fights that feel more fleshed than the ones in the base game. My only complaint is that the main story feels a little short, like it could've used just one more main quest. Other than that this is a fantastic expansion on an already great game. 100% recommend.

讚

Devil is but a mirror,the true wrong doing lies within humanity.

geralt needs to attend more weddings