The Witcher 3 Passes God of War Ragnarok to Become Second Highest-Rated Game of 2022
By
Parth Bagaria
The next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is now the second highest-rated game of 2022, surpassing God of War Ragnarok.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has surpassed God of War Ragnarok to become the second highest-rated PS5 game of 2022. The next-gen version of The Witcher 3 was released on December 14 for PS5 and Xbox Series X, and it came with a significant list of improvements over the previous generation version.
The new release of The Witcher 3 was met with critical acclaim, and it currently has a score of 96 on Metacritic. By comparison, the original game from 2015 has a 92 Metacritic score for the PS4 version. It’s an impressive achievement for CD Projekt Red, as The Witcher 3 is only behind Elden Ring, which also holds a rating of 96. This number means that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has surpassed one of the biggest new releases of 2022.
RELATED: Witcher 3 Glitch Changes Geralt’s Hair
As noted by PlayStation LifeStyle, the PS5 version of The Witcher 3 has a higher Metacritic score than God of War Ragnarok, which sits at 94. However, it may not be a fair comparison, as God of War Ragnarok is a brand-new release while The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a re-release of an already beloved title. Furthermore, Ragnarok has 141 critic reviews listed on Metacritic while The Witcher 3 only has 24 for the PS5 version. The final rating may change as more reviews get added, so it’ll be interesting to see where the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 ends up.
Still, it’s rare for games to get such high review scores, as both of them are among the most critically acclaimed titles of the past few years. Elden Ring will go down as the highest-rated game of 2022, though, and its Metacritic crown is accompanied by the numerous Game of the Year awards it has received.
Fans should note that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is probably not eligible for some end-of-the-year awards due to it being a re-release of an older game as opposed to a newly launched title.
The upgraded version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has support for ray tracing on consoles, as well as a separate mode for 60 FPS gameplay. However, gamers on Xbox Series S won’t have access to ray tracing features, though they will be able to play the game at 60 FPS. The Witcher 3 also comes with other notable improvements such as the ability to quickly cast Signs, different camera options, and a new Ultra+ setting on PC.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE: The Witcher 3’s Ray Tracing is a Game Changer
Sources: PlayStation LifeStyle, Metacritic
The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Hands-On Preview
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By Matt Kim
Updated: Dec 10, 2022 5:05 am
Posted: Dec 5, 2022 5:00 pm
The Witcher 3 is releasing a long-awaited next-gen (new-gen?) update that includes features that will bring a 7-year-old game up to par for the beefier console generation.
While it won’t convince anyone that The Witcher 3 is suddenly a brand-new, 2022 release, the updates we’ve seen will undoubtedly become the new default version of the game for new and returning players.
IGN played three hours of The Witcher 3’s next-gen update, which will be released for players who already own the game on a console or PC. You can expect a similar suite of upgrades that typically come with next-gen updates which includes a graphics mode that prioritizes 4K visuals and ray-tracing at 30 fps, or a Performance Mode that prioritizes 60 fps.
CD Projekt also added a series of game-enhancing mods created by the community as well as internally at the studio, a photo mode, and even some new easter eggs related to the Netflix show. While all of these bells and whistles are nice, the highlight from my playthrough was undoubtedly the Performance Mode which offers a super-charged, incredibly smooth version of The Witcher 3.
The Witcher 3 PlayStation 5 Next-Gen Update Screenshots.
CD Projekt Red’s RPG was an instant hit in 2015 and has been consistently rated as one of the best modern, open-world RPGs. And while by no means unplayable, its ambitions certainly pushed the limits of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
There were numerous areas where the framerate would dip, or the textures of the models clashed. Never mind some of the funnier glitches (Roach, what are you doing on the roof?).
The next-gen updates will likely make these non-issues going forward, especially when using the Performance Mode on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The 60fps is blistering, making the game run at a level I’ve never seen on consoles.
While Graphics Mode introduces ray tracing, this cosmetic effect mostly improves the finer margins of The Witcher 3, whereas Performance Mode will make the game feel almost new for returning players, and eliminate any frustrating frame-rate dips for new players.
PlayStation 5 and Xbox players must choose to prioritize performance or graphics, the next-gen update also has several universal changes that should improve the overall experience of The Witcher 3, regardless of which mode you’re playing in.
This includes Quick Sign Casting which lets players cast Geralt’s various Witcher spells without opening the radial window. The camera also received a big change that lets it react dynamically to movement and combat and also sticks closer to Geralt for a more personal feel. Similar to the camera distance to Kratos in God of War.
Character and enemy models have also been reworked with higher-resolution textures while removing imperfections like hair clipping and armor clipping.
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These changes won’t convince anyone that The Witcher 3 is a new release in 2022. Instead, it gives CD Projekt an opportunity to revisit their greatest hit and smooth away some of the speed bumps that exist in a seven-year-old game.
What this means is that new players in particular will be able to play The Witcher 3 without any of the issues that plagued players when the game was first released. But considering that even with some of the frame-rate dips and bugs, The Witcher 3 still swept several Game of the Year awards (including IGN’s), it’s not as if these tech issues hampered the quality game underneath.
And for fans of the Netflix series, the next-gen update gave CD Projekt an opportunity to include a few Netflix-inspired easter eggs into the game, including a new questline with a suitable Netflix The Witcher-style reward.
One fun option is being able to change the Nilfgardian armor worn by the NPC in the game into the infamous armor worn by the Nilfgardians in the Netflix show. Don’t worry, this armor can be changed in the settings, but personally, I think it’s a fun option to keep around for the bad guys.
Even if nothing fundamentally changes with The Witcher 3 after its next-gen update, the rough edges are now much, much smoother and the new creative changes offer a fresh enough take that newcomers and veterans alike will at least want to check out the changes in the update. There’s a good chance it might suck you back in for your second, or fifth playthrough.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
In This Article
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red
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ESRB: Mature
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PlayStation 5Xbox Series X|SNintendo SwitchPlayStation 4
CD Projekt RED improved the Russian version of The Witcher 3 and completely localized the new quest «In the Shadow of the Eternal Flame»
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On the occasion of the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S Polish Studio CD Projekt RED improved the Russian localization of the game .
The official website reports that update , released today, will bring numerous fixes to the Russian version and eliminate a long-standing problem with the acceleration and deceleration of character lines.
«I am very glad that with the start of work on the update for the new generation, we have the opportunity to return to Russian localization and improve it, namely, to eliminate almost all problems with speeding up and slowing down replicas.
In addition, we spent hundreds of hours on additional testing, found and corrected many minor errors and inaccuracies in the texts, changed some lines in the dialogues. We also re-read all the game text in its entirety, which is more than a million words in total .
So now the players will be able to appreciate the amazing work of the voice actors and completely immerse themselves in the atmosphere of The Witcher, forgetting about the technical flaws of the old version,» Alexander Radkevich, senior localization manager, said in a message.
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The developers specified that the improved localization will also be available to owners of the old version of the game for PlayStation 4 , Xbox One and Nintendo Switch — it will be added via update .
The first to play the new version of The Witcher 3, which has already become available in New Zealand, report that CD Projekt RED also completely localized new content for the game . We are talking, in particular, about the quest « In the shadow of the eternal fire «, the rewards for completing which are associated with the Netflix series The Witcher — it offers Russian voice acting and subtitles. YouTube user Aksy showed the passage of a new task in Russian:
update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tonight See full changelog here
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Tomorrow CD Projekt will show how The Witcher 3 will change on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S — presentation announced
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Presentation of the role-playing game « The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt » in versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S will pass November 23 at 20:00 Moscow time , studio announced CD Projekt RED .
