Chapter 535: A True Masterpiece (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

In The Witcher: Wild Hunt, there are a total of four main overarching endings, each corresponding to different good and bad outcomes.

First and most directly, there's Ciri's life or death. Throughout the game, as players interact with Ciri, they will make various choices and decisions. If there are more good outcomes, Ciri will survive, becoming either the Empress of Nilfgaard or a Witcher, just like Geralt.

Next is Geralt's romantic fate. If, during the side quests in Novigrad, one chooses to confess feelings to Triss, then eventually, he will settle down with Triss in Kovir.

Conversely, if in the Skellige Isles, after encountering the magic of the Djinn with Yennefer, one still confesses feelings to her, then eventually, he will retreat to the mountains with Yennefer.

Of course, if one confesses to both, or to neither, then the White Wolf will be destined to remain a lone wolf.

Following that is the ending for the Skellige Isles. Depending on the White Wolf's choices, three different individuals can inherit the kingship, and this will in turn affect their future relationship with the continent.

As for the Nilfgaardian War ending, it is also closely tied to Geralt's choices. Whether Emhyr unifies the continent, or if the North and South continue their standoff, all hinges on the player's decisions.

The entire game process of The Witcher: Wild Hunt, if not counting collection, character development, and side quests, and only focusing on the main questline, takes approximately 25 hours.

However, for many players, it's virtually impossible to experience this game without delving into its other content.

For most players, the game takes about 55 hours from start to finish.

And during this time, players truly feel as though they have become Geralt, the White Wolf.

Searching for Ciri, and participating in the political landscape of both the Northern Realms and the South.

Yet, at the same time, players are filled with endless emotion within the game.

For just as Ciri said to Geralt, the White Wolf, when she stepped into the chaotic Portal of Time at the end:

‘You are just a Witcher; you cannot save the world.’

The quest design, featuring the Butterfly Effect and the Trolley Problem, constantly presents Geralt, as played by the player, with difficult dilemmas.

This is what makes the world of The Witcher: Wild Hunt seem so real and so believable.

In the game, Geralt is merely an ordinary person searching for his adopted daughter Ciri in an era consumed by war.

He is merely an expert who possesses more experience than most and understands how to deal with monsters.

But beyond that?

He seems to be no different from ordinary people.

Numerous quests in the game constantly remind players that this is not a beautiful fairy tale, but a real and cruel world.

For example, in times of war, different beliefs always emerge. As Geralt, players sometimes encounter impoverished people on the road, who are offering sacrifices to their Almighty God.

However, the Almighty God's appetite grew insatiable, and their offerings were too meager. The Almighty God became angry, and Geralt helped them negotiate.

But when Geralt investigated, he discovered that the so-called Almighty God was actually a monster. You could choose to kill the monster, or you could choose to tell the monster not to be so arrogant and simply eat whatever the villagers offered.

If you killed the monster on the spot, it would be counterproductive, because these villagers would then believe their sole faith was a lie, driving them to even greater despair.

Choosing not to kill the monster, the villagers would continue to offer tributes.

But you could also guide the villagers to discover the truth, and if you returned after some time, you would find that the monster had been killed by the villagers themselves.

And in this era, rife with war, where ghouls roam freely and bandit monsters run rampant in the wilderness, simply stepping outside meant encountering danger.

For villagers who had nothing, the fact that the god they once worshipped was not a true god was what truly plunged them into deeper despair.

Furthermore, the so-called Almighty God had not actually done anything to harm the villagers; in fact, it had even offered them some help.

So, in the end, how to deal with the situation was entirely up to the players to decide.

There are many similar plotlines, both in the main story and side quests, throughout the game.

Unlike other games, there is no so-called 'most perfect' or 'most suitable' ending.

You can only make a choice that you believe might not be so terrible amidst a myriad of options.

Just like with Triss and Yennefer's romance, only children choose 'I want both'? Living happily ever after, all three of you?

If you hold onto such thoughts, then your White Wolf will end up spending his life with his good friend, Dandelion.

Of course, what's even more despair-inducing is that Dandelion isn't actually alone; Priscilla, who once performed a song in the Kingfisher Inn, is Dandelion's beloved.

These kinds of difficult choices are incredibly common in The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

Just like cruel reality.

Every choice demands a price.

And these prices often feel unbearable, yet they will never allow you to bluff your way through.

Every player who completes the game shares this feeling.

It's a sensation that only games can create, allowing players to interact with in-game characters and make choices.

That immersive sense of becoming the White Wolf, as if one truly were him, makes everyone reflect on the White Wolf's experiences.

……………………

In the game, by reloading a save, Song Ren looked at the final credits list for The Witcher: Wild Hunt and let out a long breath.

He knew that the story belonging to Geralt, the White Wolf, had temporarily come to an end.

In the end, he chose to have the White Wolf in the game kill Radovid, because as long as that mad, bald king lived, the sorceresses and the White Wolf's non-human friends in the game would not have a good outcome.

However, he also didn't help Dijkstra kill his good friend Roche, so in the game, Emperor Emhyr ultimately achieved unification.

As for Ciri, he likewise didn't let her become Empress. From a standpoint of responsibility, perhaps Ciri becoming Empress would better fulfill her wishes.

But from his own perspective, and that of the White Wolf, Song Ren hoped Ciri could become a free-spirited Witcher, just like Vesemir's cry of 'Soar!' when he sacrificed himself.

As for the romance with Triss and Yennefer, although he turned his game timeline back to the Skellige Isles, he still couldn't bear to reject Yennefer, and thus ultimately ended up with the lone wolf ending.

There was no other way; who could be so heartless as to reject either Triss or Yennefer?

Looking at the final LOGO, Song Ren emerged from the Huanyu VR and stretched.

Every character, every plotline in the game seemed to have its own profound meaning.

There was no strictly defined good or bad. After finishing the game, Song Ren had many things he wanted to say, but didn't know where to start.

However, one thing he understood very clearly was that The Witcher: Wild Hunt was absolutely a true RPG masterpiece.

(End of Chapter) <>