The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Review (ZipperZbieracz)
Hearts of Stone. What an expansion should be. Rate in numbers? The expansion is 98/100. Spoilers below.
Pros:
– The DLC quickly involves the player in a new story, therefore it very well covers the feeling of emptiness that player experiences after finishing the main game. The expansion indeed offers a great adventure, like no other. The quests are again, very well written, packed with action.
– Very good writing. The situation is evolving with time as we wet to know GoD and Olgierd later into the story, as he is entangled in their contract. History of Olgierd is more complex, it is quite realistic.
– Located in southwestern Redania. Matches with it's books descriptions – big private mansions with a focus on agriculture.
– Advanced runes, more runes and glyphs, an Ofieri runewright. Very nice and welcome addition. Even if a lot of them are not useful, it's still good this was added.
– Vlodimir quest, totally hilarious, entertaining. Total fun and laughter. + Shani. And a traditional rural wedding. The heist? Very nice treasures up there.
– More items to loot, more money to hoard. Or to spend on runes.
– Hearts of Stone resemble witcher adventures, it's like a story outside of the saga.
– Heavily based on some of the real-world books, stories, you know which ones. Plenty of easter-eggs too.
– Selling Olgierd to GoD for an endless supply of vodka, then saving him in NG+ for his saber. Why not, funny.
– More references to previous games and books. Fantastic. Auction - Professor's spectacles for example (they will fit very well in B&W and Grandmaster Cat armour).
– Great Iris and Olgierd heavy story, in the manor – so engaging that I couldn't stop playing it till 6am the next day – until I finished it. Dillemmas about death. Iris not reading Olgierd letter, in which there was written she could leave the mansion and live on her life. Tough. Characters are very well written, simply this.
– Poor Geralt swinging with a shovel, that weapon fits him very well. Maybe he should rebrand himself and take up a job of a gravedigger. Just joking of course.
– Cool that GoD was met at the beginning of the base game, knowing in advance he will meet Geralt again.
Cons:
– The existence of Severance. Encurages brainless fighting style, non-witchery. You can just add it, spin around and think you're the best witcher of all world. OP ability. Might as well play on easy instead. Better not to use it.
– Fallen Knights (Order of the Flaming Rose) - the Order from the Witcher 1. Nice addition, but it looks like they were added just as an enemy to fight against. Also it is a contract against people, that Geralt is agreeing on.
– Runewords are quite useless, the guy is useful only for making rune slots, which is ok. He is also abhorrently expensive and still charges you after you help him start his business.