On Patience, Open Worlds, The Witcher 3, and Long Games

Act 1 — Patience

Pokemon Crystal was the first game I ever beat. Sure I’d played games before, — Super Mario Brothers 3, Mario 64, and Pokemon Stadium come to mind — I loved them to be sure, but none captivated me as Pokemon did.

Pokemon’s formula is simple: it drops the player into a familiar yet unknown world and gives them the necessary tools to have fun. When I was 7, this was revolutionary: Jotho’s open world was infinite. The quest was simple to follow, linear even, and nearly identical to the TV show, but the game offered a sense of freedom and exploration, very few games — modern ones included — achieve. Secrets were everywhere, which made for a strong incentive to come back after beating the main quest. There were dozens of side missions too that were even more intriguing than the main game that kept me coming back for more.

We didn’t own any pets growing up, but my Pokemons became my pets. I cared for them, and I wanted them to get to level 100. The classic JRPG party system may be antiquated in 2017, but having my main crew was endearing. This is probably why Pokemon iterations continue to be so successful. What I respect the most about Crystal, though, is that it keeps its promise of freedom, variety, and openness. After beating the main 8 gym bosses, team rocket, and the elite four, Crystal doubles down on its promise: a second quest (Kanto region) and even more secrets.

For its emotional resonance, simplicity, courage, and charm, Pokemon Crystal is without a doubt one of the ten best video games I’ve ever played. This is not to say Chrystal is a flawless game. I would even argue that it’s unplayable today. I know for me it is: I have absolutely no desire to play any Pokemon games in 2017.

Why you ask? One simple word: Patience.

Gaming patience is an interesting concept. It dramatically decreases as we grow older. What we once found acceptable, fun even, when we were kids, quickly becomes menial, monotonous, and exhausting as adults. I call it video-game work: fetch quests, puzzles, grind and repetition, all the bull shit games require us to put up with because they are games. Unfortunately, video game work is not a relic of the past, it’s still rampant even in “good” games today. Sony’s jewel exclusive Uncharted 4, an action adventure third person shooter, forces its players to indulge an inordinate amount of climbing and platforming. 2016’s best game Inside, a trial-and-death platformer, is more concerned with puzzles than precision. Classic JRPG Grinding is still fundamental to any Pokemon game progression.

I confess that my patience with games is virtually nonexistent. Inside’s excellence transcends my distaste for puzzles, while climbing essentially ruined Uncharted 4 for me. 10 years ago, I was completely fine with turn base combat, random encounters with wild pokemons, and the grinding to level up my pokemons. Whenever I think about picking a new Pokemon game or any JRPG for that matter, I think of those gameplay elements which represent the essence of Pokemoning, one conclusion comes to mind: I don’t want to do any of it.

I still respect Pokemon and to be clear, it’s still charming, pretty and does stuff to hook players that still work extremely well today. It will always have a special place in my heart, however how unplayable I think it is today. I recently dug out my cartridge, booted it up in my sister’s fat DS and checked my logged hours: a whopping 173 hours. I didn’t think I’d ever put as much time on a game until I played the Witcher 3.

Act 2— Same Old Open Worlds (Optional)

I’ve always resisted the “long open-world RPG.” Not necessarily because of my gaming impatience but precisely because I’ve been disappointed by many of those games.

Dragon Age: Inquisition for example offers an overwhelming amount of content but delivers an underwhelming experience. It requires the player to learn too many concepts. It introduces dozens of characters in the opening hours that I could not care about. During my “short” ten hours play time, the story was for the most part uninspiring. As my quest journal expanded, my interest in the game shrank. I didn’t want to learn the PC-friendly party combat system. I did not want to explore the different areas. I was not enjoying anything. I eventually stopped.

Shooters aren’t immune from this malaise. The original Watch Dogs had many cool ideas but was ultimately mired by dull gameplay. The Division and Ghost Reckon Wildland — two other Ubisoft open world games — are beautiful multiplayer playgrounds that promise freedom. Instead, what we really get is a map, a lot of check points and repetitions. Developers and fans alike love open world games but rarely do we get competent, let alone imaginative, open world games.

Occasionally, I’ll play some transcendent open world games.

GTA 5 is simply the best game I’ve ever played and I do not make this claim lightly. It never stops feeling fresh, it never runs out idea, It never stops being fun, it’s never repetitive. It’s not particularly hard but it’s also not easy. It does not hold your hand. It’s as open ended as it gets. The characters are all compelling. Nothing is superfluous. All of this is sustained for an impressive thirty five hour campaign.

Arkham Knight is one of the most competent video games I’ve played last year. Indeed, Arkham Knight is technically impressive and has both an excellent story and the most satisfying combat in any games on the market. The light puzzles and the item progression reminded me of Zelda in a good way. It’s also one of the rare games that made me care about the side quests. This alone deserves an honorable mention.

Sunset Overdrive is unapologetically fun. Its art style and its weapon system alone make it one of my favorite games. But Sunset is also the most creative take on the third person shooter genre. The movement in this game literally adds a new dimension to the game play. Instead of the traditional “run there, cover here, shoot this” formula, the verticality of movement makes this game the sandbox Ubisoft games wish they were.

One of my co-worker had recommended the Witcher 3 based on our conversations. I eventually ended up getting during an Xbox black Friday sale. I approached the Witcher 3 with extreme skepticism. Honestly, I was still bruised by Inquisition; I didn’t think I would like it. “Let’s keep an open mind” I thought, “Will did recommend The Good Wife, and I liked The Good Wife.” So I did and boy was it an enthralling experience.

Act 3 — The Longest Game Ever

The Witcher 3 is big. Really big.

Atmospherically it possess everything you’d expect from a modern open world game: space, crafting, spells, books, quests, sub-quests, sub-sub-quests… everything. The beauty of it all though is how easily digestible everything is. It’s not simple — nothing this exhaustive can be — but it is accessible. Not once did I feel overwhelmed by the scope of the game, by what it had to offer. Not once did I encounter the faux-complexity of the pretentious Dragon Age. There is a lot to do, there are a lot of Ubisoft-style pointers, so I understand why many people I respect felt lost playing it but the quest journal is functional. Most importantly, for someone like me who isn’t interested in completing every objective, It’s easy to filter out what is important and what is not.

Mechanically, it plays well. Admittedly, It’s potpourri of many successful design choices of the last twenty years. Riding roach feels awfully similar to riding Epona is Twilight Princess or any wild horse in Red Dead Redemption. Witcher senses, the weakest part of the game, are a direct translation of the Arkam’s series detective mode. Although not as punishing, combat is part (Dark) Souls part Monster Hunter and feels great. That said, this is not a mediocre pastiche in the vein of the subpar Watch Dogs. All of those elements feel natural. All of them, even the overused Witcher Senses, have a purpose.

Narratively, the Witcher is the best video game on the market. The game is based on a popular polish book series and its slavic roots are obvious. Choices are not uni-dimensional in the way RPGs like Mass Effect are. Scenarios are dark. There are no major plot twist but your choices never quite result in a predictable outcome.

The Witcher 3 is also imperfect.

Imperfect in because it made me angry more than once. Imperfect in the sense that it tested my patience. Too many sub-quests felt like, and were indeed, busy video-game work. The type of task you have to do just because but that don’t necessarily make the game better. The type of work that is not fun and that is all too common in mediocre games. This is not nit-picky criticism; while those sub-quests are not as vile as the all too common “Go get 10 chicken feathers before you advance further,” some were frustrating enough that I shut down my console and go away for a couple days. A lot of those sub-sub-quests are inconveniently placed in the middle of great narrative moments. This is probably the most disappointing aspect of the game: having to endure boring portions to unlock compelling narrative moments or thrilling boss fights. Why does the boring stuff have to be in the way of the great stuff? That is perhaps the only important question, CD Project fails to answer.

The Witcher 3 struggled with its ending. There are well defined arcs in the narrative and to be clear it is a completely coherent and satisfying story. However the ending literally lasted more than 10 hours. I’m not going to lie, I was exhausted, I wanted to finish, I was sometime even careless and going through the motion. I can’t help but wish the package (over 60 hours played) was leaner, tighter and more to the point. Both expansion packs address this problem particularly well — excellence tends to stand out with focus.

Act 4 — Can I Ever Go Back?

Very few games are life changing.

No game will ever be able to replicate the feeling I had when I first saw Super Mario 64 in my cousin’s living room. I was 5. I was in awe and disbelief, I could not believe a video game good look this good, play this good and be this good. Other games deserve honorable mention. GTA V consistency and overall grandeur, Wind Waker’s simplicity and charm, and of course Melee’s beautiful chaos.

After dumping more than 300 hours in Pokemon games when I was younger, I did not think I was capable of spending so much time on a Role Playing Game, but the Witcher 3 proved me wrong. It possessed me like very few games can. I wanted to get back home after work to kill some more monsters, I looked forward to week ends for extended playing sessions. After finishing the main campaign, I went back to the expansion packs. Hearts of Stone was a delight, perhaps my favorite gaming experience of 2017. I started Blood and Wine as soon as I was done with Hearts of Stone but I immediately stopped after the first couple missions. I didn’t stop because I was exhausted with it, I stopped because I know the end is near… I don’t want this to end.

For now, let me hold on to Blood & Wine, let me go to bed knowing that one day I’ll come back and Geralt of Rivia will be waiting for me. I know I’ll come back to what is without a doubt my adult Pokemon Chrystal.