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screenshot: CD Projekt Red \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nAlmost seven years later, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt<\/em> doesn’t just hold up: it’s still head-and-shoulders above most of the competition. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla<\/em><\/span> <\/em>might be bigger, and Horizon Forbidden West<\/em><\/span> <\/em>might be prettier, but practically no other game marries magic, monsters, and grim politics together into a meaty open world adventure where every character and conflict is allowed to be the master of its own truth. A free new \u201cnext-gen\u201d upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X\/S<\/span> doesn’t fundamentally change that calculus, but it does repackage it into something easier than ever to fall in love with.<\/p>\nThe Witcher 3<\/em> is now almost as old<\/span> ace Halo 3<\/em> was when Halo 5<\/em> and has become just as important a touchstone. An adaptation of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy series, the game is ostensibly about a mutant monster killer named Geralt hunting for his magical surrogate daughter named Ciri to try to save her from other-worldly specters called The Wild Hunt. It’s just as much a workplace dramedy about a middle aged parent tying up loose ends and reconciling with past friends before retiring from the one thing they’re good at. Two massive expansions<\/span> after the game’s launch doubled its size and delivered even bigger payoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Save Data Transfers<\/h4>\n
I wasn’t able to use my old save data because a new cross-save feature isn’t live yet. Once it is on December 14, CD Projekt Red says players will be able to transfer files without a problem, including between the PS4 vanilla version and complete edition, which is currently not the case. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
While the exploration and RPG tinkering are great, its the top-notch writing and performances that capture resigned dignity in the face of endless hardship that have led to widespread critical-acclaim, tens of millions in sales, and creator CD Projekt Red coming to be thought of as a first-rate studio. \u201cThis land never flowed with milk and honey, and now it flows with blood,\u201d says one throwaway character early on. It’s emblematic of a gear The Witcher 3<\/em> shifts down from.<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>A Year’s Worth Of Articles About The Witcher 3<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nSo what of the upgrade out December 14<\/span>? The first time I booted up the next-gen version of Destiny 2 <\/em>on PS5 I was legitimately surprised. Bungie’s gorgeous alien sandbox, which I’d played hundreds of hours of over the course of multiple years, felt like a whole new game. That’s not at all the reaction I had when starting the PS5 version of The Witcher 3<\/em>, a game I’ve also sunk a ton of time into on older hardware. It looks and flows better\u2014the countryside is fuller, the puddles bigger, the frame rate smoother\u2014but it feels much more like staring at a new paint job than driving around in a brand new car.<\/p>\n\n
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