The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Review (Wolfhowl)
Good if you want another Witcher 3 story
Despite this “expansion” having a lot of hours, if feels more like traditional DLC content than a proper expansion. Not only does it take place in the same zone, but it also have the same near constantly dark tone as the main game. That doesn’t mean it is bad, Witcher 3 is one of the defining games of its time, and you probably wouldn’t care about a review for more content if you didn’t like what the base game has to offer, but it certainly feels like more of the same stuff. If you are playing it in a playthrough with the main game, there isn’t much of a shift in any way from the other questlines, making it feel like a beefup side-story.
The flaws
The big flaw is some of the enemies, especially the difficulty of them. When your lowest difficulty is called “Just the Story!” I shouldn’t have to look up guides how to defeat any of the enemies… Sure, I can defeat them, but I don’t enjoy looking up a guide online for the fights. And it wasn’t even a “Oh… I missed that” moment after looking it up, more like “that’s… pointlessly restrictive and how should I figure that out from the game?” It is a not an uncommon problem with sequels, when the developer designs based on the idea that people want an increased challenge, but in my opinion it is annoying to forget about the lower.
You are forced to get an ugly Geralt for a quest. I don’t care if it is an unpopular or popular opinion, Geralt looks like a douche without a beard. With it, he only occasionally acts like one. But I am very much annoyed by the fact, that during one of the quests you are forced to get shaved and a haircut. Let Geralt look his age, dammit.
The good
Mostly just stuff that is also great with the base game. It is nice to see Shani, the romance option from the first game, again. The new characters are all decent enough too and fit into the world, and it is a good extension of the main game.
In conclusion, it is a good addition to the main game, but don’t expect it to be as memorable as the most memorable side stories or really something that brings a feeling of freshness to the world. If you have to prioritize your time, I’d say chose to play Blood and Wine instead, as that is the more ‘proper expansion’ that feels different and fun. Though if you have the time and you just want “one more story” for Geralt and the Witcher 3 world, then you won’t be disappointed with this one. (Just… be prepared to be occasionally annoyed if you really are playing just for the story and not for challenges.)