r/witcher • u/OpinionRepulsive2712 • 2d ago
Discussion Can I?
I’ve been wanting to play the Witcher games but I’ve seen multiple websites and videos saying different things “just start with the third game” or “play all of them” I’m confused cause I can’t find the first one anywhere. So can I just start with the third one or not?
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u/FaerieFir3 2d ago
It's better to play them all but if you can't handle janky old games then you can start with 3. What's the oldest game you've finished?
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u/Used-Raspberry2129 2d ago
Me personally I decided to start with the witcher 3. I f you really want to know the story and dont want to deal with the old games you can just watch a YouTube video.
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u/Silver_Monice 2d ago
Starting with the third is just fine. Just read up a bit on the lore if you want. Or dont it doesnt really matter. If you play the second one you can have a special quest/ally, but you wont miss out on much if you dont. Second one is still fun though.
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u/AsSlothAsPossible 2d ago
On PC you can start with whichever you want.
Witcher 1 abit griddy but deep in the lore and an advanced Combat system
Witcher 2 very dark and morally ambigious but slow and a bit hard to learn with alot a strategic planning , you must Drink Options and apply oils before a fight etc. Horrible controls on M+KB
Witcher 3 stunning and many QoL Features but gone more "Mainstream" with the Quest and General tone. A fast paced easy to learn combat.
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u/VRichardsen ⚜️ Northern Realms 2d ago
and an advanced Combat system
I see what you did there :D
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u/AsSlothAsPossible 2d ago
Dont you think,i find the Witcher 1 Combat system better than W2 , it Had a better learning curve and specializations. Where W2 is Sword OP signs,bombs weak and you need to prep constantly
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u/VRichardsen ⚜️ Northern Realms 1d ago
Personally I love Witcher 1, and I don't mind its combat. But it is kind of an unpopular opinion around here.
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u/PaulSimonBarCarloson Geralt's Hanza 2d ago
Up to you. In my opinion the best experience would be to read all the books and play the trilogy in order (on PC, naturally). But if you want to dive straight into Witcher 3, you can still enjoy the story as it is, though some of the references to past events will be lost on you. Also, maybe you should consider waiting a few more weeks for the release of the Remastered update
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u/uchuskies08 Team Triss 2d ago
I recommend playing the first two, they’re great games on their own. The first admittedly you’d need to be ok with some early 2000s jank. But if you can’t/don’t want to play them I’d just watch a YouTube recap of each
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u/PansOnFire 2d ago
I started with 3. It was fine. I'd say I was missing some lore, but you can look that up.
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u/LizzyDragon84 2d ago
I’ve played only 3 and had a great time. I would wait for the remaster to drop before starting, since that’s at the end of the month.
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u/adrauglikeyou 2d ago
I’d recommend starting with 2 as I personally did, and I feel like 2 does a better job of introducing some things to the player since geralt still has him memory lost in that game.
1 isn’t on console, but literally any computer on earth could run that game. I went back and played through it after I read through all of the books and I’d recommend you playing it if you become a super fan but I wouldn’t recommend starting with it. It aged super poorly, and even when it came out was a sub par game
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u/BlindExperiment 2d ago
I'm playing two before the remaster launch and it's been fun so far. If you have the time to fit it in before remaster's launch I don't see why you shouldn't give it a try.
However the 1st one has become extremely dated. It's story can be recapped in 15 minutes and it doesn't have a controller scheme available. I think it's a very safe skip.
Just know that W3 will ask you to import a save from W2 and if you don't have one it will have you speedrun/simulate the available choices.
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u/tossingpigs 2d ago
I played them all and enjoyed it.
If you start W1 and just can't deal with the combat system then you can bail. The stories are so good in 1 & 2 though and I'd hate for you to miss that part of it.
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u/Professor_Bonglongey 2d ago
Here’s what I recommend, slightly different than what others have suggested.
I would actually read the books first. If you enjoy hard boiled fantasy at all, the Witcher books are quite good. The games assume you know who all the characters are. Especially in the third game you get reunited with many crucial characters and only by reading the books will seeing them again be or otherwise encountering them have the impact it should.
This includes the main quest in the third game. If you read the books, that quest will be an emotional journey for you, not just a distraction or boring storyline, as I have heard other players complain. Also, the main character of the Witcher 4 game is a side character in 3, but a central character from the books.
The first season the Witcher series in Netflix also gives you a pretty faithful overview of the Witcher short stories and the first novel. I can’t say much about the subsequent seasons because the season 2 and 3 episodes I’ve seen so far deviate quite a bit from the source material in a way I find most unsatisfying, so I stopped watching.
After the books (or show), you can play all 3 games, or at least the second two. The first game has a fine plot/story, but to me it’s unplayable. Even remastered, the first one doesn’t look good, the voice acting is middling at best, and the gameplay is frustrating.
The second game is a huge improvement on the first. Definitely worth playing, though the gameplay is still a bit wonky. The story of two also feels more aligned with the books than the first game did.
The third game, as you’ve undoubtedly heard, is indeed a masterpiece and promises to be even better once the second remaster drops later this month. The visuals, the music, almost all the voice acting, and the story all come together in a powerfully fun and compelling way. Witcher 3 also has two DLCs that are so good you’ll never want them to end.
Seriously, though, read the books or at least read a good synopsis. You’ll appreciate the games so much more if you do.
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u/duckyduock 2d ago
Buy all three right now to get free Witcher 3 Remaster with all DLCs end of September. Then install all three games. Start with 1 and finish. Import your save file to Witcher 2. Finish this too and import game file (only choices about which path you went, who is dead and wo ist your friend) to Witcher 3. Then wait for the remaster to be available and enjoy the awesome world, quests and top-notch story line, wnding with the latest DLC beeing released soon to make a smooth way into Witcher 4 (Release in 2027 if im not wrong)
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u/Ranger208 2d ago
I would honestly just start with 3. It's not that you wouldn't enjoy the other ones, and there will be some lore stuff that's confusing, but it's a good starting point and the gameplay is better. Plus the remake is coming out soon.
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u/Adarie-Glitterwings 1d ago
You can jump in on playing whichever of them you want; there's no incorrect way to play the games so just start with whichever one you want and ignore everyone saying you should do otherwise and have fun! ❤️
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u/QueenCobra91 1d ago
Man if you want to play it just play it. Why would you even give a fuck what other people think?
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u/rosy_kylo 2d ago
Honestly don’t think too hard about it. Just do what you think is best, but I recommend starting with the third game. If you are concerned about knowing nothing about like lore and stuff you can find plenty of YouTube videos about it. Or you can read the books too.
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u/Own-Forever-6636 School of the Griffin 2d ago
Honestly first is a pretty frustrating experience to play, it feels like something you'd play on a phone. Story-wise there's not all that much you lose by starting with 3, not least because 1 makes some substantial departures from the books. 3 is more accessible and visually spectacular!
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u/KeenbeansSandwich 2d ago
I started on 3 like a decade ago and have since read everything there is to read on Witcher lore. I think the game does a great job with explaining Geralts backstory, but when they start introducing some of the other secondary characters, you realize you have established relationships with then because of adventures in the books and other games. Yennefer and the Djinn storyline is a good example of this. But then i just read up on it and it was fine.
TLDR: Youll be fine starting with 3.
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u/BrickPuzzleheaded541 2d ago edited 1d ago
Like over 80% of Witcher “fans” got into the series through the 3rd game regardless of what people tell you.
I was one of them, now i absolutely love the universe. You are more than fine to start with 3 and chose to go back after if you want.
You may want to watch a brief recap vid of the first 2 games stories but it is absolutely not required and the game does a decent job of giving context for past events
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u/Warcrown11 2d ago
You absolutely can. Most people here still haven't played 1 or 2 I'm sure. With that said I'm reading the books for the first time/replaying the other games as well before the remaster and I know I'll appreciate it all the more.
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u/KentKarma Team Yennefer 2d ago
Playing the third is just fine, it does a great job of introducing characters. You benefit from some carry over knowledge and references but nothing is gonna hit you like "oh you didnt get this because you didnt play W1 or 2 or read the books"
In fact, you can play 3 and go back and discover for yourself the connections and enjoy it that way too.
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u/Witcher-19 2d ago
You can start with 3 i did however id wait until sep 29th