You may call me retro. The enhanced edition of TW (1) was edgy but it had it's own personality. Really standing out in the flattened landscape of modern (a)rpg's. Due to it's debut and their care for the community I was hoping with CDPR a new star was rising, a reinvention of AAA game development.

TW2 damped my expectations. I thought CDPR would raise the bar that was set but although not a bad game for me it failed to deliver. Too saturated graphics, clunky fighting- and movement-mechanics and the plot was boring towards the end.

When I saw the Trailers of TW3 in 2013 my hopes have gone up again. But we all saw what happened in the current affairs. I wouldn't be so angry, if CDPR took the course like Bethesda did when they revealed Fallout 4. Fallout 4 doesn't look that good but I know what I'm dealing with and it's close to a release. That's how announcements are done right.

But it's not only the graphics, it's the open world AC like components which suffocate the immersion. Once again clunky controls, and the worst: the inventory (I mean how resistant to advice can one be, the inventory system was critizised since the debut). Also the ragdoll movement especially the human bodies behave in an odd static way.
The interface design choice doesn't fit the game's context.
But most annoying: the underdeveloped (missing) protagonists and the lacking moral choice system. The sidequests were partly really good. But the promised consequences weren't halfway deep as promised. For the final conclusion of the Witcher game series too many questions remain open. And don't expect me to buy a season pass to have the ultimate experience, because that just stands against the ethics that was lived by CDPR a few years ago, when they were just a small studio. I'd really like to see to make them a difference. But TW3 failed in that term.

I don't write this to agree with everybody and I know many won't. It's rather meant as an open letter.

Do we look like the complaint department?

Over 4 million copies sold! do you feel like a voice in the wilderness that nobody is listening too and your views are not shared by any?

Go back to sleep your opinion is yours alone.

David

You ungrateful fellow, you :)

I agree with many of your criticisms, but I think your conclusion is unreasonable. Regarding the above, specifically, consider the following as to why cdpr is still an awesome company:

-w3 heavily discounted to fans (20% off if both prior games owned)

-reviews went live one week before release, allowing intelligent decision as to whether to pre-order

-no drm since day 1

-free dlc for all players. Small in magnitude, but would probably have cost ~$30 in total if sold as micro transactions by a different publisher

-released in very playable condition (contrast with arkham knight on pc or any Bethesda game) but nonetheless extensively patched in first few weeks to address criticisms affecting even a minority of players (color blind players, quadriplegic players, low spec pc players) with more changes promised, including inventory

All except the last point is, to my knowledge, unique among modern gaming companies.

Regarding the game itself, I, too, felt that the whole "moral choice" dynamic that w1 used so well was largely missing. And there are a lot of loose threads not addressed from previous games, but I had the same reaction to w1's ending and the whole of w2 in terms of not adequately following through on all characters and plotlines.

Even so, I can't rightly say I find w3 disappointing. Combat is so much deeper than previous games, the world is so much bigger, the stories told are much more interesting (excluding Alvin from w1) and are much better told, and there's so much more story to tell in w3.

Incidentally, this is the only game I've ever preordered. I got W1 for $5, and w2 for free, so I really don't feel like cdpr owes me anything with w3.