Developer and publisher Lilith Games has just announced that it is once again expanding the world of its globally popular idle-RPG AFK Arena through a new collaboration with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Welcoming Geralt of Rivia and Yennefer of Vengerberg from the monster-ridden world of The Witcher, the realm of Esperia gains new playable heroes to protect the realm and further bolster AFK Arena’s hero roster.

As part of the crossover, Doug Cockle reprises his role of Geralt for voice-acted lines in the collaboration.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt IP!” said Don, AFK Arena Developer. “Many of our production team staff, including myself, are big fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For this collaboration, we’ve designed gameplay inspired by the wondrous world of The Witcher, and all of the content is exclusive to AFK Arena. We’re so looking forward to releasing the crossover to our players!”

The collaboration presents an exciting marriage between one of the most critically acclaimed open-world role-playing games of all time and AFK Arena’s massively popular idle-RPG action.

A multi-award-winning title, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s expansive lore and imaginative world meld perfectly with the fantasy environment of AFK Arena. Both Geralt and Yennefer will bring a unique set of gameplay mechanics to the battlefield, giving players the chance to test out who better suits their team’s battle style.

Geralt, a fierce warrior, utilizes a mix of sword-based melee combat and alchemy, while Yennefer, a powerful magic caster, focuses primarily on arcane spells that target groups of enemies. Having done battle with the plague of the Wild Hunt, both Geralt and Yennefer are more than prepared to protect the realm of Esperia from the evil that threatens it.

The two newest hero additions from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt join AFK Arena’s impressive roster alongside other recognisable characters such as Joker and Queen from Persona 5, Ezio Auditore from the Assassin’s Creed series, and Overlord’s Ainz Ooal Gown and Albedo.

Currently there’s over 30 million AFK Arena players today.

AFK Arena is a F2P casual idler mobile game.

AFK Arena’s traditional role-playing themes and deep lore-filled storyline are punctuated by its highly detailed, fairy tale-esque art style and smooth, precise gameplay.

Boasting more than 100 hero units from seven separate factions, every hero possesses their own fleshed-out storyline. As the name suggests, AFK Arena “plays itself” while players have the freedom to enjoy the idle experience or take part in the game’s many active objectives, like progressing the storyline, which is divided into chapters. Levelling up in AFK Arena (during idle gameplay) earns players Diamonds, the in-game currency.

Rewards are also earned through guild events, clearing labyrinths, completing weekly quests, and competing in ranked battles with other players’ teams. With enough Diamonds, players can summon new heroes and continue climbing the levelling system.

AFK Arena is a free-to-play mobile game for Android and iPhone. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt crossover is begins towards the end of September 2022.

The post AFK Arena Welcomes Crossover with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Developers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have announced that they have now released a few more DLC’s to expand the the already huge game, for free.

“We’ve been releasing free DLCs since launch, and today’s release of New Game +, the 16th and last of them, marks a special moment for us and, I hope, for all Wild Hunt fans as well. They can now restart their adventure and see how the story turns out if they make different choices than on their first play-through,” says Marcin Iwiński, co-founder, CD PROJEKT RED. “I’d like to extend my thanks to all the gamers who played our game and gave these DLCs a try. Nothing makes a developer happier than seeing gamers have fun with what they created,” Iwiński adds, noting that “I would really like to see such initiatives become an industry standard rather than an exception to the general rule, and I hope that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has set a good example.”

Here is the list of all the 16 free DLCs the studio released since launch:

Temerian Armor Set, Beard and Hairstyle Set, New Quest – ‘Contract: Missing Miners’, Alternative Look for Yennefer, Nilfgaardian Armor Set, Elite Crossbow Set, New Quest – ‘Fool’s Gold’, Ballad Heroes’ Neutral Gwent Card Set, New Quest – ‘Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear’, Alternative Look for Triss, New Quest – ‘Contract: Skellige’s Most Wanted’, Skellige Armor Set, Alternative Look for Ciri, New Quest – ‘Where the Cat and Wolf Play…’, New Finisher Animations, NEW GAME +.

All DLCs are available for download now on Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4, free of charge.

The post The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt FREE DLCs Released! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is currently dominating video game charts around the world. As you would expect with an AAA release like this, there’s also a premium collector’s edition. Shane the Gamer’s Australian editor, Darren Price, has been taking a look at The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Xbox One Collector’s Edition.

The Witcher 3 has been a long time coming, but it’s here now and comes with a rather impressive-looking collector’s edition.

As seems to be the norm with these special editions, The Witcher 3 CE comes in a huge and very public transport-unfriendly box. It’s pretty heavy, as well, which is a good sign.

The lid and flaps of the box has been signed by the staff at CD Projekt RED, which is a really nice touch.

On the top of the box is a rather intriguing and nicely finished glossy slipcase.

It’s heavy and a very nice way to present the collectors’ material.

The slipcase pulls apart into two pieces and reveals a tray.

First we have The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Art Book, which I believe is included in digital form with the PC version of the game (it was with my copy, anyway).

It’s a hardbound with a striking metallic cover. It has a introduction by Konrad Tomaszkiewitz, the game’s director and carries a warning that it may contain spoilers.

Not only is the book full of beautiful concept illustration, the images are accompanied by text that gives an interesting insight into the game design process.

It’s great to see locations that you recognise from the game and to see how they were first envisioned on paper.

The production paintings are amazingly intricate, some bordering on fine art.

The art book is nicely designed and wouldn’t at all look out of place on the coffee table.

Under the art book, the next item in the slipcase tray is a cloth map of The Northern Realms.

The map is full of detail, but I wouldn’t say it’s of the highest quality. It’s a screen print on a piece of fraying cloth. Looks good from a distance.

Under the map we start to get into the nitty-gritty with the package’s smaller items (including the game itself).

The finely detailed metal replica of Geralt’s wolf medallion, looks good on the shelf, as a cosplay prop or as a piece of everyday jewellery guaranteed to get you some odd looks on the bus.

The Xbox One version of the collector’s edition features two decks of gwent cards, the card game played in the game.

The decks come complete with a rulebook and winning counters so you can enjoy Geralt’s favourite card game with friends.

The decks provided were those of the Nilfgaardian Empire and the Northern Realms.

Each house has its own unique cards, with two double-sided leader cards. There’s enough cards in a deck for two players to play a round with the same house.

Just as in the game, the cards also depict characters from the story and the series’ lore.

The cards are very nice and a great exclusive collectable item for Xbox One owners.

Now on to the game itself. Which is the reason we are here. This being a CD Projekt RED game, even the vanilla version is packed with extras, which collector’s edition owners get in addition to all special goodies.

Inside the case we find the game, itself, and a fairly detailed manual with just enough information to get you started.

Under the game disc, there’s the soundtrack CD.

In addition to the manual, the game comes with a copy of The Witcher Universe Compendium.

This short guide gives players a bit of background to the exotic world of The Witcher, its inhabitants and its history. At the back there’s a code that can be redeemed for a digital comic from Dark Horse.

There’s also a paper version of the cloth map exclusive to the collector’s edition.

To be truthful, the paper version is a lot better-looking.

There’s also a couple of wolf head stickers which may or may not be useful.

The last item in the game box is a bit curious and touching at the same time. CD Projekt RED have included a little thank you note to gamers that purchased the game, thanking them for their support.

Special edition owners that find the game’s regular packaging a bit dull will be please to find a steelbook in the package. On the front is a nice portrait of Geralt.

Whilst on the back is a portrait of the game’s female lead, Ciri. And that’s it for the items in the collector’s edition slipcase.

On to the huge lump of polystyrene underneath.

This huge lump of packaging does, of course, contain the statue of Geralt fighting a griffin.

The top of the packaging is emblazoned with The Witcher’s wolf logo.

The three-piece statue is very well protected.

The main part of the statue is made from weighty polystone, with the griffin’s tail and Geralt’s sword blade being made from plastic, but with quality metal rod fixings. They slot into the main statue easily and are firmly attached.

I’ve got to say that this huge statue is easily the most impressive piece that I’ve seen in a game’s collector’s edition package.

Hand painted and full of detail, it’s a solid piece that’s a pleasure to take in.

The statue captures a dynamic action pose as Geralt bears down on the stricken griffin. You can almost hear the creature’s scream as Geralt brings his blade down.

Geralt wields his silver blade with his steel sword sheathed on his back.

There’s loads of meticulously modeled tiny details.

Look at the wolf detail on the sword hilt.

Geralt’s face isn’t as finely detailed as I’d perhaps have liked.

But it is still, unmistakably, Geralt (I’m looking at you Ubisoft).

The base says it all.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Collector’s Edition is a huge box packed to the brim with the sort of goodies that’ll excite any fan of the series. The standout item is, of course, the beautiful statue, closely followed by the excellent art book.

All in all, this is a pretty spectacular package, made all the more awesome with the Xbox One version including physical decks of gwent cards.

Without a doubt the perfect accompaniment to what is likely to be the game of the year.

The post The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Xbox One Collector’s Edition Unboxing appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Authenticity is the core of the Witcher series. A strive for authentic, realistic fantasy.

Many if not all of the design choices on Polish developer CD Projekt RED’s follow up to Witcher 2, Witcher 3:The Wild Hunt is very palpable within how authentic the game’s characters, combat and storytelling are. As one of the most hyped games of 2015, is it able to deliver on its promise for a truly next-generation experience?

The Witcher 3 is no small, derivative sequel update, as perhaps the industry has become used to. Instead, the Witcher 3 is the attempt by CD Projekt RED to compete with other large RPGs such as Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls or Fallout series and EA’S Dragon Age.

In contrast to the previous two Witcher games the Witcher 3 takes place within a giant open world and, outside a smaller opening tutorial area, you are free to travel where you may. The developers have stated there is over 200 hours of content in the game, and that’s absolutely believable. In my playtime I feel as if I’ve only scratched the very surface of what the Witcher 3 has to offer.

The Witcher 3 chronologically follows the events of the previous two games (which themselves are set after the events in The Witcher novels), though fortunately main protagonist; Geralt has regained his memory and the tired amnesia trope has been put to rest.

The Nilfgaardian Empire continues its plans to engulf the Northern Kingdoms, now united under the Redanian King Radovid. This is a land at war, where the geopolitical stakes are at an all-time high, and Geralt’s mission is to find Ciri, his one-time ward amidst this strife. The Witcher’s world is full of believable characters, from kings to peasants, each with their own biases, and (often quite vocal) attitudes. Saved peasants don’t necessarily greet Geralt with automatic praise, perhaps instead reacting to the mutant with revile.

The thoughtful and mature approach to NPCs is just one way the game demonstrates a willingness to go beyond stereotypical fantasy tales.

The Witcher 2 set a new standard for PC graphical prowess and the Witcher 3 has aimed to do the same. You’ll need a serious rig to get the most out of the game, though the PS4 version, which was used for this review, still looks fantastic. The authenticity the developers have attempted to imbue this game with are present here.

For example, a particularly impressive vegetation engine has been employed allows trees to sway convincingly with the wind, and occasionally rain interrupts the desolated landscape. As a result of details such as these, the world looks real, and truly lived in. Each area, large or small seems as if it has its own backstory to it.

The game’s characters and quests back this up. Peasants, soldiers and kings can give Geralt tasks to undertake, from finding a widow’s pan to solving complex political controversies. Many of these quests end up playing out similarly though, tasking Geralt with some detective work before engaging in some monster or human slaying.

This mostly comes down to a follow-the-minimap approach pioneered and perfected (?) by the Assassin Creed series. It is the world these quests are set in though that makes this easily forgivable, with hundreds of places to stop on the way and explore.

Fighting is much improved over the Witcher 2. Geralt reacts with more fluidity and pirouettes around like a deadly ballerina. Signs are also easier to select and cast. Stamina has been removed and so disappointingly almost every one-on-one encounter with normal enemies can be spammed. With multiple enemies however you will need to dodge, roll and carefully time parries to avoid an early death.

In the easier Levels fights can quickly become repetitive and unenjoyable; so to truly experience authentic Witcher combat I recommend playing on the second-hardest difficulty. The normal Level is enjoyable but doesn’t require the unique combat preparation rituals necessary in the harder Levels.

Another interesting addition to the massive world of The Continent is Gwent – a card game built into The Witcher 3. You can play Gwent with most traders, innkeepers and merchants and for some it will be the highlight of the game.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see a real life version appear in the near future.

Over the course of the game you will acquire many, many bits of paraphernalia – Geralt’s greatest secret is that he is the world’s foremost loot thief. The Witcher’s inventory system however is woefully prepared for the onslaught of smoking pipes, broken rakes and rusty swords you will pick up.

It inexplicably leaves out any form of sorting, often leading to frustration when trying to interact with it in any way. It’s something that could be fixed in a patch, and I hope that CD Projekt addresses this as a priority

The Wild Hunt was twice delayed to help squish bugs and optimise performance, and going off the final version, it was absolutely needed.

The game is still full of bugs both small and large. Particularly bothersome is the behaviour of Roach, Geralt’s faithful equine companion. Summoning Roach often leads to frustration as he becomes stuck on geometry. By holding a button on roads you can engage automatic pathfinding so you theoretically have less to worry about, but I found that Roach would often take longer, unnecessary routes where shorter ones would have sufficed. That said, the developers have already fixed number of bugs in patches, and have promised more to come.

These patches may or may not address the issues I came across, but it is a positive sign the developers are committed to improving the game.

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt is an astonishing effort by CD Projekt RED that is a must play for anyone interested in western action RPGs. The enormous game is set to expand even further with 12 Free DLC – and some have already arrived. The game shines as an example of what thoughtful, careful and mature game design can bring us, and this is what makes it an authentic next-gen wonderland.

The post The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Witcher: Wild Hunt is one of the year’s most eagerly awaited games.

Originally due for release in 2014, the game was initially delayed until February 2015, before being pushed back to 19 May, 2015.

Whilst I’d seen the game in action a few times, this three hour preview was to be my first time actually hands-on and in control of The Witcher himself, Geralt of Rivia for his third outing.

As much as I was looking forward to playing the game, I was also somewhat apprehensive.

How on earth can you form any sort of meaningful opinion after playing only three hours of a game likely to take up the best part of 100 hours of your life to “complete”?

Well, as far as I’m concerned you can’t.

There are others out there that would seem to disagree, games journalist and bloggers alike, that feel, after only a few hours playing The Witcher 3, qualified enough to inform the gaming public that Geralt of Rivia’s next outing is going to be THE NEXT BIG THING.

Bollocks, I say.

A three hour session with incomplete preview code can only give you a taste of a game, at best.

If you’ve a critical eye, you are more likely to see the game’s failings during the early part of the game, before you’ve let yourself become emotionally invested in the story and the characters.

So I sat there playing The Witcher 3 and all I could think of was how the graphics looked startlingly similar to those of the last game, over two years ago.

Then, just like that, the three hour preview was over. I was left with these thoughts:

1. The graphics were good, but not quite as good as I thought they would be.
2. There was lots of screen tearing, especially during the cut-scenes.
3. Controlling the bloody horse was hard, especially when I rode it into the woods.
4. Triss has a nice arse/was that lingering butt shot at the beginning really necessary?
5. The griffin hunt was really good.
6. Overall was a fun three hours.

Thankfully I wrote some notes down and a few days later, apart from the above, I couldn’t remember much about the preview session.

I’m not that keen on previews, apart from the bragging rights, there’s not much point.

I remember being asked how I found my preview of Dragon Age: Inquisition (a bloody eighty-hour plus game) after a couple of hours play. I think after a few too many beers my honest answer was “not shit”.

In truth, having now played the game for approaching 100 hours, those first few hours hardly scraped the surface.

And it’s exactly the same with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

So when I finished my preview and was asked what I thought of the game I shuffled around a bit, my hands in my pockets and gave out a non-committal “yeah”.

Three hours with the game and I didn’t have a sodding clue if it was good or not.

It was going to take a bit more detective work before I could REALLY give my view on whether I think that the game is going to be any good or not..

So, what do we know?

Well, The Witcher games are based on a series of novels that were first published in 1986. They describe the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher, as written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.

The games are actually sequels the books and no, I have not read the novels, but I was told that was the case by The Witcher 3’s senior writer, Jakub Szamalek.

Whilst I’m always happy to take one for the team, I draw the line at reading Polish literature. Who’s got the time, anyway?

Apparently these books are very popular in Poland and Russia, revered in much the same way that Tolkien’s works are in the west.

So there you go.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the third game in the series (duh). So perhaps the easiest way to ascertain whether or not the game is going to be shit would be to take a look at what CD Projekt RED have done with the franchise in the past.

The Witcher came out in 2007 for Windows PC.

An Xbox 360 and PS3 version was planned, but it got canned due to a dispute between CD Projekt RED and the French outfit porting the game over.

The enhanced version of the game, with updated graphics and two extra adventures, was released as a free patch to owners of the original (something to note right there) in 2008. The game has been sitting idle, unplayed, on my hard drive for a few years.

Over the Australia Day weekend I fired up The Witcher Enhanced Edition and gave it a go. I was surprised just how good it looked and how well it played considering its now vintage.

Sure, the game is showing its age a bit, but it still offers some pretty decent visuals and some great gameplay.

The combat is a bit odd, but not really too different from that of Dragon Age. You click your opponent and Geralt takes a swing at him.

For a seven year old game to still be able offer someone as miserable and fickle as me such a deep and well-formed RPG experience was quite the surprise. My only issue with the game was that it took me so long to get around to enjoying it.

Whilst researching this very article, I discovered that my copy of The Witcher Enhanced Edition should have included some extras.

Whilst I’d read the interactive comic book that comes with the game, I wasn’t aware of anything else.

Checking the game’s Steam folder, there it was: a DVD’s worth of “making of” videos, the original soundtrack album (with the game’s beautiful choral theme tune) and another album of music inspired by The Witcher, two maps of the world and a digital game guide.

That’s a pretty comprehensive package, all included in the original price of the game.

Moving on.

The second game in the series, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings came out on PC in 2011, offering players a refined combat system and stunningly upgraded visuals.

For a year after release CD Projekt RED continued to patch the game adding significant extra content such as new quests, an arena mode and updated in-game tutorials all free of charge.

The final update to The Witcher 2, in January 2012, upgraded the game to the Enhanced edition, again for free, just as the developers did with the first game.

The Enhanced Edition features the new CGI intro and outro from the Xbox 360 version released around the same time, plus four hours of extra gameplay and a host of fixed and user interface enhancements.

My Steam version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition also has a ridiculous amount of optional extras that can be downloaded.

There’s almost 8GB of additional material including soundtracks, videos, production art stills, a comic-book, a digital game guide, a digital artbook, papercraft and some odd nudie renders of the red-headed sorceress Triss Marigold.

Again, some fantastic extras all for the original price of admission.

The first two games stand as proof that the developers at CD Projekt RED are not ones to abandon their projects. I’ve sat down with them a few times now and I can tell you that you only have to speak to them for a little while to realise the passion that they have for their games.

CD Projekt RED have enhanced and extended the previous Witcher games at no extra cost to players. The level of support that the developers have given their games is unprecedented.

It’s also worth noting that CD Projekt RED purchased the rights for The Witcher, themselves from author Andrzej Sapkowski, and built their company on the strength of that one IP. Nobody likes shitting were they eat.

The Witcher is now a true trans-media entertainment franchise.

The novels, games and Polish language graphic novels have now been joined by a comic book series Dark Horse Comic.

Released in March last year, the five-part comic book continues Geralt’s Adventures in a story written by Paul Tobin (Prometheus: Fire and Stone) and drawn by Joe Querio (B.P.R.D.).

Now let’s take another look and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

I was first shown the game at a behind closed doors presentation at E3 last year. It looked good, but it was what it was, a presentation.

Still the game undeniably showed a lot of promise and was one of the most exciting things I saw at the show.

In September last year, at the EB Expo, I was fortunate enough to sit down with one of the game’s writers, Jakub Szamalek, and discuss the incredible level of detail that the developers put into the game to make the experience as grounded as possible, right down to the type of materials used to build Novigrad’s walls.

I also, by virtue of an early appointment, had a personal live theatre demonstration of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

It was the now famous griffin hunt, but with a nice tour of the city of Novigrad thrown in for good measure.

But it was only last week, at the Sydney offices of local distributor Bandai Namco, that I finally got to play the game for myself.

Like I said earlier, I’ve forgotten most of it, but, it was a lot of fun.

So, back to me standing there, being asked what I thought of the game. Well, based on a three hour preview alone, my answer would still probably be an awkward “yeah”.

But, based on The Witcher’s legacy, I can give a better answer.

Considering the preceding games, CD Projekt RED has demonstrated dedication to the franchise and their fans, the live demos, my interviews and my informal conversations with the developers, there’s a very good chance that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is going to be one of the games of the year, if not THE game of the year.

The post Why The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Will Blow You Away (Hands On) – Preview appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Alone in a world set out to kill the weak, Geralt of Rivia, a wandering monster slayer, is embarking on a journey that will redefine everything. Ciri, the ashen-haired girl from an ancient prophecy, is a descendant in a long lost elven blood lineage.

The girl is a living and highly volatile weapon capable of both destroying and healing the fragile world she currently inhabits.

Emotionally connected to Geralt, the girl is pursued by the titular Wild Hunt, a cavalcade of ghastly riders capable of unspeakable destruction, and by the mighty Empire of Nilfgaard, the most powerful political entity in the entire world.

Every choice the player makes will resonate with dire consequences. The world is yours to explore and Ciri is somewhere out there, fighting her own demons.

With such a deep and developed plot, CD Projekt RED decided that introducing another character and telling parts of the story from her perspective would greatly benefit the overall experience.

Adding Ciri as a playable character unlocks quite a few narrative possibilities for the player. Ciri is present in the game to offer a unique and different perspective on the story plot, and not to become an alternative story line to Geralt.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is about Geralt and his exploration of the open world, his fight against the Hunt, and finding Ciri herself.

Aside from extraordinaire swordplay, she has quite a few unique skills up her sleeves that will gradually unlock throughout the game.

She’s fast and agile, she can blink (as seen in the Elder Blood trailer), but — most importantly — there’s something dormant in her, a mythical power, but more about that later.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on 19th of May 2015.

The post New Playable Character in Witcher 3 Revealed – News appeared first on Shane the Gamer.