Is The Witcher 1 Hard?
The Witcher is a franchise of novels and short stories written by the author Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher novels have been adapted into video games. The Witcher video games have been praised for their atmosphere, meaningful choices, immersive gameplay and deep storyline. Most of the video games of The Witcher franchise are role-playing games (RPGs), in which the player is able to control Geralt of Rivia, the main character of The Witcher novels. The first The Witcher video game, The Witcher (2007), was developed by CD Projekt Red and by CD Projekt, and was published by Atari and by CD Projekt. The Witcher (2007), often referred to as The Witcher 1, is an RPG in which the player character, Geralt, is able to accept and complete quests, fight monsters, talk to various NPCs (non-player characters) and adventure in the world of The Witcher video games. Considering that The Witcher video games feature prominent combat gameplay, in which the player must regularly fight and defeat monsters and opponents in order to progress through the story and complete quests, players may wonder what is the difficulty and how hard is The Witcher (2007), or The Witcher 1. Players may also wonder whether the difficulty of The Witcher 1 lies mostly on the combat gameplay of the video game, or whether there is difficulty regarding other gameplay systems such as quests or collecting items.
The Witcher 1 is not hard or difficult. Most of the gameplay presents a standard difficulty. However, the combat gameplay, specifically, may require practice for some players at the beginning.
The Combat Gameplay
The combat gameplay of The Witcher (2007), or The Witcher 1, is known for being quite different from the gameplay seen in the subsequent The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015). Indeed, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt feature a hack and slash combat gameplay, similar to action RPGs of the 2010s. The Witcher (2007), or The Witcher 1, features a combat gameplay that requires not only clicking at the most adequate moment, but also clicking on the adequate locations of the screen. For these reasons, sometimes the combat gameplay of The Witcher 1 has been compared to the gameplay of some rhythm video games. Indeed, there is some resemblance in the design, although The Witcher 1 is an RPG video game and not a rhythm video game. Nevertheless, due to how much this combat gameplay is different from some of the subsequent The Witcher video games, it may require practice for new players as well as for experienced The Witcher video game players to get used to. However, after the player is experienced with this combat gameplay system, The Witcher 1 can be a seamless experience.
The Overall Difficulty
Besides the combat gameplay system of The Witcher (2007), or The Witcher 1, which could present a challenge to some new players, The Witcher 1 presents a standard difficulty, similar to other RPG video games of the same time, such as Mass Effect (2007) and Dragon Age: Origins (2009). As long as the player is engaged in completing quests, leveling the main character, and equipping better items, as well as making use of healing potions, the game presents a standard difficulty. However, if the player decides to rush through the game and tries to fight certain monster bosses and some stronger monsters, The Witcher 1 could be quite challenging, such as other RPG video games. Some players have become used to the difficulty scaling of some RPG video games, although not all RPG video games feature difficulty scaling. In the cases in which there is not a difficulty scaling system, such as in The Witcher 1, players have to be mindful of how strong their main character currently is, and try to complete as many quests as possible in order for the main character to level up and become stronger.
Quests and Alchemy
In general, quests of The Witcher (2007) are not overly difficult, and present a standard difficulty, although quests present a variety of difficulties, in which some quests are harder than others. At the same time, the alchemy system of The Witcher 1 may require some getting use, but after the player is experienced with this system, it can be very useful in this video game, especially in higher difficulties in which the use of potions is of great importance in order for the main player character to become temporarily stronger to fight monsters.
Not a Difficult Video Game, But May Require Some Practice
Due to the combat gameplay of The Witcher (2007), or The Witcher 1, this video game may require practice for new players. Especially in fights with groups of monsters and opponents, it is quite important for the player to be used to the combat gaemplay system of The Witcher 1 in order to be able to deal higher amounts of damage to enemies. Besides the combat gameplay of this video game, The Witcher 1 may also require some learning and practice in regards to the alchemy system. However, after players are used to the combat gameplay, The Witcher (2007) presents a standard difficulty, such as seen in other RPG video games of the same time, such as Mass Effect (2007) and Dragon Age: Origins (2009). While the alchemy system of The Witcher 1 is quite useful, it is mostly required in higher difficulties, and players who decide to play this video game in medium or lower difficulties may not require to frequently use the alchemy system. The Witcher (2007) may require some practice due to its combat gameplay, but it is an immersive role-playing video game with atmospheric effects, a variety of quests, characters, and monsters, a branching storyline and deep lore, a reason why it is often praised as one of the best single player RPG video games.