The Witcher 3 Remastered Review – Toss Those Coins to CD Projekt Red
It’s been two years since the last major update for The Witcher 3, with CD Projekt Red moving on to work on the Cyberpunk franchise and, more recently, The Witcher 4. Yet, in classic CD Projekt Red fashion, they’ve surprised fans again with not one, but two final parting gifts to close out their nearly twelve-year journey with The Witcher 3. Before fans move on to The Witcher 4, the studio is giving us one last story expansion, Songs of the Past. That’s right, we’ll have one last epic tale in Geralt’s story before venturing off into the new saga. How this story will connect to the fourth game, well, that’s something we’ll have to wait until next year to find out.
So, what about this other gift? Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock these last few months, a new update for The Witcher 3 goes live today, and it’s a massive one, bringing all kinds of new features and visual upgrades. CD Projekt Red calls it a “Remastered” version of The Witcher 3 experience, overhauling many areas of the game mechanically and visually. The best part? It’s entirely free for all existing owners of The Witcher 3 on current-gen platforms and PC.
In an industry that loves charging players full price for minor resolution and performance bumps, CD Projekt Red is once again proving why they’re one of the best studios out there when it comes to giving back to their community. They might have had a misstep in handling Cyberpunk 2077 when it launched, but they’ve certainly more than made up for that with the handful of free updates, and while The Witcher 3 launched in a pretty good state, it’s incredible to see how far they’ll go to continue pushing this game to new heights.
I’ve always held The Witcher 3 as the gold standard of RPGs, and although the original game still holds up today, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t the definitive way to play.
A Witcher Tale Worth Reliving
Look, I’m not going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you all to play The Witcher 3. The game is eleven years old, many of us know the story (which I won’t spoil), and it’s sat comfortably on many top game lists for over the last decade. What more is there to say about the story, robust dialogue, and choice-making that hasn’t already been said? Sure, in hindsight, the story has some rough edges; it may feel too slow for some, but for me, it was one of the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had, cementing CD Projekt Red as one of the industry’s top studios.
If you haven’t played The Witcher 3 yet, or have been someone who’s tried to play through it but felt turned off by the clunky combat, well, there is good news here, as this remastered version does touch upon the combat, making it much more responsive and smoother than it was in the original. But more on that later.
For new players, this is undoubtedly the best way to play The Witcher 3. Even if you haven’t played the previous two games (please get these on consoles), you won’t need a deep encyclopedia of lore to appreciate the emotional core of Geralt’s journey here. He’s an instantly likable character, as are the rest of the cast. The story is packed with so much to tell, and the DLC expansion is some of the best content you’ll ever play.
Although it’s hard to fathom now, the two story DLCs, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, cost a mere $20 for the pass when they were released eleven years ago. Mind, each DLC had roughly 12-16 hours of story content. Think about that: we have triple-A games releasing at a full $70 today that can’t even compare to that runtime.
And that value proposition has always been part of CD Projekt Red’s DNA. While today’s gaming landscape is saturated with bloated season passes, microtransactions, and bite-sized expansions priced at a premium, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine remain the absolute gold standard of what post-launch content should be. They weren’t just stitched-on side stories; Blood and Wine was essentially a new game with its own region to explore, while Hearts of Stone delivered one of the most tightly wound, emotionally gripping villain arcs in an RPG. That kind of unmatched depth for a fraction of the cost of a modern DLC pack only reinforces why players keep coming back to the Continent year after year.
There is a reason why people love The Witcher 3 so much: not only is it a great game narratively, but the sheer amount of value that we got from it was just beyond anything for the time; heck, even today you aren’t going to find many games that deliver that much content without feeling like bloat. It was quality over quantity.
The original game is still an experience that holds up very well today, and I never really thought we would need a remake or remaster. The first two games, for sure, because so many jumped into the series with the third game and never got to experience the first two, which are pretty dated. On the bright side, they are remaking the first game, so it stands to reason the second will eventually get a remake, too.
But back to The Witcher 3. I’ve never once thought this game needed a remaster, and yet here we are, being given one. I should groan at the idea, because it always comes with a new price tag, of sorts. That’s not the case here, since it’s free for existing owners, and CD Projekt Red has once again gone above and beyond expectations, gracing The Witcher community with one final free gift.
So how does this remaster hold up to the original experience? Well, if you’ve been itching to get back into the game, or plan to jump in for the first time, it’s undoubtedly the best way to play The Witcher 3.
Path Tracing Transforms The Witcher 3’s Visuals, But Does Come at the Cost of Performance
So before we dive into any path tracing, for those who don’t know, CD Projekt Red partnered with video game graphics modder Halk Hogan to implement his full HD Rework in The Witcher 3: Remastered. The results? A whole new texture tile for nearly every facet of the game, giving it a considerably sharper and cleaner look that makes Velen’s mud, Novigrad’s cobblestones, and Skellige’s snow-capped peaks pop with unprecedented detail without ever losing the grim, weathered atmosphere that made the original world feel so vividly alive.
The HD Rework alone makes for a fantastic visual bump, and it’s available across all platforms receiving the update.
This work goes beyond texture work, though, as shadows and the entire lighting system have also been touched up. At first, it gives the overall game a softer look, but it’s a much more natural one, and really brings out the vibrant colors of The Witcher 3. In a lot of ways, it’s like turning on a ReShade filter, bringing out more detail thanks to better lighting and color grading.
However, the biggest graphical highlight is Path Tracing, available exclusively on PC. The results, although not quite as impactful as it was in Cyberpunk 2027, are still a rather stunning technical showcase that completely reinvents how light bounces off surfaces, turning gloomy forest clearings and candle-lit taverns into breathtaking tableaus of realism—though you’ll definitely want a high-end GPU and upscaling turned on if you expect to maintain a smooth frame rate while running it.
Playing at 4K with a target of 60 FPS, dips were pretty common throughout the game, regardless of how heavy or light a scene was. It seems that the microstutters that have plagued the game since release are still very much of an issue too, though there are clear improvements made in the non-ray-traced mode. Dropping the resolution down to 1440P did seem to produce some noticeable path tracing noise on a 4K display, so do keep that in mind when trying to optimize the experience.
But I just can’t get over how transformative path tracing feels in The Witcher 3. It’s almost like playing an entirely different game in the visual department, and although I firmly believe the non-ray-traced experience is going to hold up for decades to come (much like the original), Path Tracing really brings that experience up a level. It’s like taking a forbidden peek into the next-generation visual fidelity, and CD Projekt Red has really outdone themselves here with the Path Tracing.
Of note, CD Projekt Red said they were still finalizing a final light pass, so some areas in the game appeared much brighter than they should have, though it does seem like a patch already addressed some of it, if not most of it. Of course, we fully expect improvements to continue on post-launch, so don’t expect this to be a one-and-done update when it drops later tonight. We’re expecting plenty more performance improvements too.
Much More Responsive and Cinematic Combat
Beyond the visuals, CD Projekt Red has also touched upon several areas of the game, bringing a wealth of quality-of-life improvements. For starters, a new set of accessibility options is available, letting you tune the game experience to be a bit less “restrictive.” I’ll call these options what they are: essentially in-game cheat codes that let you remove the weight limit and several other things players may find a nuisance. My recommendation for those jumping in for the first time is to play the game the way it was intended.
Roach, Geralt’s trusty steed, has also seen several improvements. He’s no longer a jank machine (well, he still has hints of that), and he moves around the environment more smoothly instead of hitching on everything he touches. Several animations have been improved, making him look like the fine stallion that he truly is.
Animation improvements don’t just end there, though, as Geralt sees several of his improved, with even new ones added. Most of this will show up in combat, which generally feels far more responsive. It’s not to say that the clunkiness of it has been entirely removed, because that still exists, but the improved animation and variety of them when he swings a sword, no doubt, will be noticeable for veteran players.
I think the biggest improvement is the way the camera now works. It dynamically shifts based on the number of enemies or their size. The bigger they are, or the more enemies displayed, the farther back the camera moves, letting you observe the action even when it’s happening off-screen.
When it’s a lone enemy or a boss, the camera pans up closer, making it feel much more personal. The combat feels much more fluid. I’m not calling it perfect, though I personally never had much of a problem with the jankiness of the original. It’s a great addition nonetheless.
Elsewhere, the skill tree has also been redone, removing some of the useless skills, adding some better ones, and, overall, allowing more freedom in the way players make their build.
The last big surprise is built-in mod support on consoles. Sadly, we didn’t get a chance to play this Remastered on consoles ahead of launch, so we can’t outline any of the specifics about it, outside of them being top community-approved picks.
A Definitive Witcher’s Tale
At the end of the day, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered is the way to experience what appears to be Geralt’s swan song. Aside from the technical upgrade, CD Projekt RED went above and beyond to deliver added content to an 11-year-old game, and for free, even.
The Witcher 3 stands as one of the best games of all-time, and this remastered upgrade further cements that. Now, there’s no excuse to jump in and test it out, or replay it for the umpteenth time. Not only are you experiencing one of the best action-RPGs of all-time, but you’re also brushing up on the game’s final story expansion, Songs of the Past, that’s set to release next year and will connect the game to The Witcher 4.
If you’re an action or RPG fan, you need to experience the brilliance of The Witcher 3, as CD Projek RED has made its excellent game, even better. Toss a coin for your witcher, gamers! CDPR deserves it and then some.
