The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine Review

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC

A brilliant end to a brilliant RPG.

ByLeif Johnson

Updated:

May 2, 2017 8:59 pm

Posted:

May 25, 2016 3:00 pm

We're told that The Blood and Wine expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt marks the last great ride of Geralt of Rivia, so far as developer CD Projekt Red is concerned. I like to think there are signs that this isn't the case, as much of its storyline revolves around the return of a friend long thought permanently lost. But even if it is, it's about as good as a sendoff as we could ask for. The sun may shine brighter here than it ever has for the Butcher of Blaviken, and there's a undercurrent of hope that's been lost in the flood of despair in previous entries, but fittingly enough, above all this is a tale of the pain of letting go.

Most of the expansion's strength comes from the way it makes a clean break with the rest of The Witcher 3, shuttling us far from the corpse piles of Velen and the gray gloom of Skellige mere moments after accepting the relevant quest from a message board. The destination is Toussaint, a lovely place of rolling hills carpeted with vineyards and bathed in a warm light that seems to chase away the blues. It's a smart shift, as it avoids any guilt that Geralt should be busying himself with the bigger issues of the region (as was sometimes the case in Hearts of Stone). In sunny Toussaint, Geralt is just a famous witcher with no urgent need to save the world hanging over his head, and in the context of an expansion the tale is all the better for it.

I admit I initially harbored some worries that it dabbled too much in buffoonery. Toussaint is modeled on the south of France, and barely an hour goes by before one of its brightly colored knights is yelling to a giant about how he'll chop him "into a pâté." The story brims with gags at the expense of wine connoisseurship, right down to a sommelier who can sniff out the precise vintage of a specific wine based on a stain in seconds. The French chivalric tradition gets the skewer, too, and I rolled my eyes upon learning about a big to-do over a monogrammed handkerchief with the initials D.L.C. For a brief while I felt like telling you all not go to Toussaint – it is too silly a place for this grim and serious character to thrive.

Duchess Anna Henrietta embodies the complexities of Toussaint itself.

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But I was love with the place within the first two hours of this roughly 20 to 25-hour adventure. It gives us another side of Geralt's world, and it shows that CD Projekt Red can still spin a good tale without leaning too heavily on doom and gloom. Even though Toussaint is only about the size of Velen's No Man's Land, going back to Novigrad and Skellige now feels like exile. It's not just the sight of its picturesque castle surrounded by snowcapped mountains that won me over, it's also the strong cast of characters. There's a quick-tempered shoe-shine boy who never fails to try to make a profit out of any conversation; there's Geralt's captivating, newly returned friend, whom I shall refrain from revealing; and there's a roguish young woman whose spite threatens to end the comparative happiness of Toussaint for good. But most of all I'm taken with the Duchess Anna Henrietta of Toussaint. She embodies the complexities of Toussaint itself, adorning herself in finery when at peace but fighting valiantly and confidently when the need arises.

A little unexpectedly for this tale of sun and wine-swigging fun, this is chiefly a tale about vampires. It's generally handled well, even if the main antagonist is never so strongly depicted as the large cast of characters who surround him. He comes off as a petulant though powerful idiot, and his one true moment of complexity vanishes as swiftly as he does when shifting out of corporeal form. He mainly serves to give Geralt's returned friend more complexity. In fact, the vampire framework mainly serves as a backdrop for two good people struggling to justify their affection for their intractable friends and family and the consequences those relationships have for everyone else.

Yet the lore is fascinating stuff. The tale takes us deep into Witcher creator Andrzej Sapkowski's strange and fascinating take on vampires, and it maintains momentum by introducing new twists whenever the story seems near a close. It's a brilliant celebration of the varied Witcher experience we've known until now, whether it's through the expected battles, the chumming about at masquerade balls, or Good Guy Geralt lifting age-old curses or even having a showdown with the Big Bad Wolf.

Boss battles generally emphasize swiftness and careful strategic thought.

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As in Hearts of Stone, boss battles here generally emphasize swiftness and careful strategic thought, which again marks a welcome shift from the predictable brawls of the core game. (Eredin, I'm looking at you.) Among my favorite was a tournament battle with a huge rolling-rock creature that attempted to smash me in a small arena without any shelter, thus demanding several carefully timed dodges.

The color that Blood and Wine brings to The Witcher 3 isn't just limited to landscape. Sometimes it's literal, as in the case of the cosmetic dyes Geralt can use on his Witcher sets (but, unfortunately, not on anything else). A small thing? Perhaps. But it means a lot to people like me who won't even wear an otherwise-good suit of armor if it looks like mismatched garbage. Dyes, too, allowed me to appreciate pieces I already loved in new ways. Take the Ursine armor; with a rich red dye splashed on it, I felt like I was some kind of inquisitor for Game of Thrones' R'hllor.

Blood and Wine also introduces us to Geralt of Rivia, landed vintner, after he receives a dilapidated vineyard estate early on (and populated by peasants who seem completely unaware he's the boss). It's the kind of place I personally wouldn't mind retiring on, but it admittedly seems little out of character for Geralt of Rivia, monster slayer extraordinaire and rider of Roaches. I reconcile it by remembering that this expansion represents a retirement of sorts for Geralt. In practice, renovating it grants a great place to show off Geralt's armor and weapons rather than stashing them in a trunk, and a way of gaining some extra bonuses in exchange for gold. A bed, for instance grants Geralt vitality; a renovated stable gives Roach some more stamina. There's even a garden for growing herbs and an alchemy lab that can break down mutagens. That all makes for great reasons to come back and visit every once in awhile, but I do regret that there's virtually no choice involved aside from the decision to fork over some cash to have this or that building repaired.

This is to say nothing of all the new weapons, armors, and goodies like a new Skellige gwent deck that round off the expansion, complete with grandmaster-crafted sets with set bonuses. Often these set bonuses even appear on the non-Witcher-specific sets you'll find, such as my personal favorite suit of vampiric heavy armor, which grants massive melee resistances and restores vitality for each enemy killed as long as I'm wearing at least three of its six pieces.

The expansion also brings mutations which (finally) unlock new skill slots and grant side effect.

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The expansion also brings mutations which (finally) unlock new skill slots and grant side effects, such as one that boosts attack power and sign intensity in the first few seconds of a battle. These 12 mutations can greatly change the flavor of The Witcher 3's combat, whether it's by causing enemies to explode as you kill them with critical hits or granting a chance for a killing blow to cause Geralt to heal back to full health.

All of this stuff might have trivialized the early story and battles, and thus mutations in particular are smartly aimed at giving New Game Plus players an edge as they venture into harder difficulties. As such, you can't even hold your own in the Blood and Wine content until around level 33, so the early game remains challenging. (If you want to skip all that and jump in with a fresh level-35 character, you can.) Still, a patch released alongside the expansion will bring improvements to the user interface for everyone, including a long-overdue option to read new books and letters the second you pick them up.

I do wish we could have at least one more expansion, but Blood and Wine's additions help shore up some of the The Witcher 3's few weak points. It's a good way to leave Geralt. But that doesn't mean I won't miss him.

Verdict

Blood and Wine ends the saga of Geralt of Rivia in style, bringing with it a tale of charming vampires and troublesome friendship set in a stunning new landscape that departs from the bleakness we've known until now. The expansion also brings some welcome gameplay enhancements, including mutations, the ability to dye armor, and a vineyard for growing herbs. Most of all, it leaves Geralt in a good place.