The Witcher 2: 15 Reasons It's A Hidden Masterpiece You've Ignored

11. Immersive World

The best video games are able to suck the player into its fictional setting and briefly make them forget they are sitting in front of a screen. How well this is accomplished is dependent on how real the developers are able make the environment feel. This is done through a variety of techniques, including environment-rendering, NPC intelligence, physics engines, lighting, sound design, and voice acting to name but a few. RPGs, in particular, really depend on the combination of these elements working seamlessly together, as the player is expected to be immersed in the setting for extended periods of time. There have been quite a few titles that do this particularly well, but one of the best is The Witcher 2. Anyone who has played it will tell you how incredible the world building of this game is. Just look at some pictures of the game running in full resolution on a high end PC, and you€™ll see how beautiful the entire game is. It does a fantastic job establishing a sense of place and immersing the player in a truly fantastical world that also feels grounded in reality. Forests and towns feel lived in, with the atmosphere and context changing depending on the time of the day. Environments are designed so as to feel natural while still retaining an explicit design for which the player can navigate. The game strikes a nice balance between open world and linearity that makes the game feel both big and intimate. It just oozes atmosphere in every direction, and you'll love getting lost in it.