The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine 📽 Through the Lens

I know, I know. WE BACK! You didn't think the best RPG of all time would get only one article did you? // well it might've if not for @technicalside, but we're going to sweep that little factoid under the rug real quick 🏉

And like that it's gone! 👋

So yes, I always planned on doing a follow-up article where we focus on one of the best expansions in video gaming. And who would've thought they came out back-to-back on the same game as some dynamic wrestling duo to take the gaming industry by storm!

Which they did. Not sure if you knew that.

If you thought the base game is where our story ends the booooy, you got another thing coming, Because❗️ In this edition of Through the Lens 🎞, we'll be taking a deep dive into CD Projekt Red's masterful expansions for the Wither 3: Wild Hunt, both coming out in 2015 and 2016 respectively: Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine, Roll it! 📽

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/grocko/23zGitMfKWL52og1H95oGuJB1LwUBjhuRt9MzbnJMNWg3rMpZgLCS2RZ5sVtXE5u32kY8.png

So for this coluimn I had to pick which soundtrack to showcase. And in the end we ended up on Blood and Wine. I just think the soothing tones of the plucky strings, soft drums, and high pitched floots make for a great listening experience while reading. // i.e I mean for you to listen to this ish while reading the article, thank you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUnUr9C0NDk

I played both expansions on release, and let me tell ya, few have impressed me as much. Maybe the Shivering Isles in Oblivion can comete, but few others would even make the list. 🙂

"The stories, plot, and overall content you received matched that of other fully fledged titles." Yours Truly, 2022

Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but as a duo they compliimnent each other perfectly. 👌 Each feeling distinct in both tone and execution, yet part of the bigger whole. Something all excelent expansions shoudl strive to be. Easier said than done, however. 😅

Let's tackle them in order of release shall we?

We shall! 👏👏👏

For many the weaker of the two, Heart of Stone was the first major expansion for The Witcher 3.

It is worthy of note that The Witcher 3 saw a lot of free small DLC packs throughout the releasse of these expansions. Making the two huge expansions the only content the players had to buy. This, in a world of nickle and diming your customer, and microtransactions, should bne commended.

Now, is Hearts of Stone inferior to Blood and Wine? Hmmm, in some ways, yes. 🤷‍♂

For isntance the expansion of the world is nearly none-existant as HoS opens up a few new locations within the area east of Novigrad: dungeons, farms, castles, urban buildings. So the content is all present within the existing witcher world. This is cool as it makes it feel like the expansion was always meant to be, But yes, this expansion is not meant to be an area expansion.

Where Hearts of Stone excells at is its story. 😱

The (😱) emoji is not just me being cute (although I'm a cure mofo 😘) this story is scary. I would argue CDPR's scariest tale yet (apart from one side quest in Cyberpunk 2077, those of ya'll that know - know 😅).

"Gaunter O'Dimm is one of the most fascinating antagonists in video game lore." Yourt Truly, 2022

Another point to the whole 'Heart of Stone was meant to feel as connected to the world as possible' is the introduction to one of its main foils in the very first quest of the vanilla game - Gaunter O'Dimm. This guy's motives and lore have been discussed for countless hours on hundred's of youtubers' pages. He is intriguin, horrifying and most importantly - funny. 🙃 We love him, and you love him too. Deal with it.

So if Hearts of Stone has the superior story, what about Blood and Wine?

B&W (no, not the car 😂) takes place in an all new region of the game - Toussaint. A region heavily influenced by Southern France, with its lush green vallies and winyards up the @$$. 😁

The introduction to this new region is done seamlessly (as all great expansions are wont to do). You have to complete a small quest in Velen that will introduce you to the area in a narratively sound way. Always important in my books. *// I never liked how the WoW expansions introduced their areas for intsance, just felt artificial

"The open-world of Toussaint has more charm and depth than some major titles' open-worlds." Yours Truly, 2022

Plain and simple, it is a very pleasant place to be in. There are so many quests that contrast nicely to not only the vanilla game, but the other expansion as well. It is a great change of pace and tone to an otherwise dreary game.

Where Blood and Wine falters is its story execution. Mind that last word please. You see, the story itself is as solid as any other CDPR tale, but its delivery is a bit, for lack of a better word, muddy. The choices you are presented just don't land as smoothly as a CDPR production usually lands. This I wager is down to scheduling and such, but the outcome is what it is.

The characters are great, the scenarios are great, how you get there is a bit cheap. 😅

B&W (no, not the car) does give the player a satisfying ending to their story, however. Geralt receives a pretty swanky villa with a certain special someone (I will not spoil this for anyone still unaware). An overall perfect end to a massively successful project. 👏👏👏

These two solidified The Witcher 3's legacy in stone (IN HEARTS OF - ok Imma stop right there) - which honestly is what good expansions should be doing. Amazing by themselves, elevated by the original content.

They make the game a complete package. We can argue whether they're the best expansions to a game, but regardless of where we fall on that debate, their impact is unmistakable.

And if you are playing the game you owe it to yourself to play them.

Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙

Thinking since I'm on a role with the Witcher content I might cover the second game next. Then maybe have an article on the next-gen version when it releases. 🤷‍♂ Maybe wrap it up with a review of the TV show? 😮 Who knows, I don't plan these things. 😂

It was a pleasure to be back in this world. I like its feeling, thinking I should stay for a while longer. 😌 I am SO EXCITED for the next Witcher saga. Since they are moving on from Geralt, I am dying to know what they will do, which direction they will take. Oh, be still, my beating heart.

Thanks for reading!

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Have a great weekend! 🙌

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