The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Playtime: 39.4 hours
There are 68 different Steam games I have played in 2023. Out of the games I played, this one was my favorite.
Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is amazing. It's a massive step up from Witcher 1. It is like how Mass Effect 2 is so big of a step forward than Mass Effect 1 in quality. Though in this case, I would argue Witcher 1 isn't as good as Mass Effect 1.
This is a really hard game if you make it hard.
I originally tried playing this years ago. I got about 80% into the first act, got completely lost and quit the game for four years. I gave it a retry on a new save file and got straight into it.
I really enjoy the start. Fighting in a war, with the king himself and defeating hoards of enemies in the castle was a truly great and fun experience.
On my first playthrough, I played on hard. This was a mistake. I was dying constantly and had a lot more fun playing on easy. I was never fond of the Alchemy system, in any of the games. I would have much preferred an Estus Flask approach, but I do like the metagaming potential it has. Problem is, I was never bothered to grind for ingredients.
The story is truly amazing. I believe it's this games strongest aspect. This game is split up into 3 Acts, and based on your decisions in Act 1, Act 2 can be a completely different experience. In one route, you get to see the creation of a new kingdom. In the other, you invade said kingdom and turn it into ruin. When I first learnt of this on a new playthrough, I was dumbstruck. Something that made me go 'Woah'. It almost felt like a second campaign!
If I had to make a complaint, it would be the stealth sections, which did not need to be stealth sections at all. It's clunky and not very fun either. Another thing is that the saves are very finicky. I played mostly on my steam deck, and my saves didn't transfer to my computer. And my older saves didn't transfer to my Steam Deck. I deleted my application of Witcher 2 on my Steam Deck and re-installed it a while ago, and I was very annoyed that all my saves were.
But if you plan on playing this on one device, I really recommend you give this one a shot! It's a really fun game that will make your experience playing Witcher 3 all the better!
