izigame.me

Because I was obsessed with doing stuff when it felt the most appropriate chronogically speaking, I did the Hearts of Stone DLC after curing Uma and setting off to enlist help from friends. At this time I was at level 31 and figured the DLC wouldn't be that tough. Boy, was I wrong. Enemies that were so tanky and hit so hard it felt I was on Witcher 2 all over again. And yet, it felt less bullshit than the combat in the prequel.
What's there to say, the DLC itself is a bit short. It only has a handful of quests, mostly treasure quests I didn't come across as I did it, only after. The main quest, however short it is, is magnificent. From introducing the Order of the Flaming Rose as bandits, to meeting Shani, it felt like my Witcher 1 choices (which were siding with Siegfried and romancing Shani rather than Triss) were coming into play. Granted, W3 doesn't know what choices you did in the first game, hence all the dialog that reflects it is either a player choice (Shani and Geralt romance as an option in a dialog with Vlodimir) or a key story point of W1's main quest (calling Jacques de Aldersberg by name and saying it was you who killed him). It brought a sense of consequence to the actions I took in that game, even if Shani's presence serves little more than a bit of fanservice and throwback. In truth, the main quest revolves around two characters: Olgier Von Everec, the leader of a bandit group who has more to him than meets the eye, and Gaunter O'Dimm, fished back from his White Orchard singular appearance in the base game.
Without getting into too much detail (even if spoilers for a nine year old expansion are permitted), I love the dynamic between the characters. Olgier comes across as a rough, arrogant prick whilst Gaunter is more amicable and open to Geralt. But as you progress through the main quest, the roles are reversed. It is quite apparent, from the start, Gaunter is someone too powerful. In truth, as you discover, he is a demon and likely one of the highest order, with the ability to stop time and control weather. In the other hand, Olgier's a tragic hero, wanting nothing more than to be with his love, he inadvertently wishes for it and Gaunter concedes it in a monkey's paw fashion. Of course, with my statement in mind regarding details, I want to say the quests are incredibly creative and play around with the Shani we meet in W1 (especially with the wedding party quest, being possessed by Vlodomir was one of the highlights in the DLC). Another great quest and one of my favorites is Scenes From A Marriage, which is like Oblivion's A Brush With Death, but expanded upon so much. It is in this quest all the backstory surrounding Olgier is revealed, while Gaunter's take place during the final quest, in the optional objective. In fact, consider choosing all the additional dialogue options and objectives, it gives you so much more about these two characters it almost is required. Else, how would Geralt know the way to banish O'Dimm at the end? Speaking of, that segment in his world is incredible and really fun, even the final cutscenes with him revealing his "true" form.
Some additional side notes I also want to include is how strong the new runes are, especially the durability one, but it better be after how much gold it asks of you. It is nice to see more lands being represented in games, with Ofier in the spotlight, even if briefly. Hearts of Stone is well worth the price, I'd say. I finished it at level 38, which gave me a bit of a boost against the final parts of the main quest of the base game.