10 Subtle Ways The Witcher 3's Story Is One Of The Very Best

1. No Such Thing As Miracles

In a world of ghouls, goblins and faeries - witches, wizards and vampires, you’d be forgiven for thinking things were a little farfetched. From the word go, Geralt can project fire from his hand and take potions to help him see in the dark.

Yet, for all this, there is a gritty truth to it all. The Witcher 3 defines the rules, but applies them in equally harsh measure to everyone and everything. Magical powers, with their uncanny ability to render users infertile, coupled with the frequency in which wielders become mad or isolated, tend to have an er of misfortune about them rather than providence.

Rich lords and ladies can be cursed as easily as a peasant in passing muttering foul words, just as the cures for such curses are often difficult to come by and rarely see the side effects lifted without some nasty, residual effect. Even the magic itself is explained away with the minimal pseudo-science required to help us suspend belief. Oxenfurt academics study the science behind mystical forces, lending it credibility amongst the intelligentsia, just as the super human strength and reflexes of Witchers are brought about through mutation and experimentation of genetics.

The greatest adherence to the physical laws of The Witcher is its avoidance of any Deus Ex Machina. At no point does a knight ride in on a white steed to save the day.

More likely the knight will run in the opposite direction, leaving poor princess as lunch for whatever snarling nest she’s fallen into. Any mess Geralt finds himself in is often, at least partly, a result of his, or rather our, own meddling – and we have to rely on our own wits, Geralt's superhuman abilities, and our understanding of a dark, profound, and fully realised world, to see him to safety.

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What do you think of The Witcher 3's story, world, characters and mythology? Let us know in the comments!