The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review Journal Day 13 – Sex Quest
By Jason Prott
In case you missed it!
My last journal – Day 10: Card Shark.
After 36 hours in The Witcher 3, it’s time to pull out the microscope and examine a deeply rooted theme in The Witcher series— sex. But first, allow me to praise the quest structure.
What I’m Loving
I reached a point in The Witcher 3 yesterday where I told myself I needed to do some “grinding”. The next area open to me was rated at a higher level than I currently was, so I started focusing on some open quests. I expected an uninteresting slog as I cleaned up the quests I had passed over earlier, but what I discovered was quite the opposite.
I’m loving that every quest in The Witcher 3 has unexpected twists and often lead me down rich narrative pathways. What starts as a simple witness interview branches into a multi-part quest exploring the life of a noble and a clash of perspectives surrounding the value of human life. I’m constantly amazed at the thought and effort put into the quests that I expect to be simple tedium.
I have yet to experience a “throw away” quest, everything I’ve done has had some purpose and often leads me through engaging stories that help inform and explain the breathing world of The Witcher 3.
I’ve reached the level I was aiming for, but now I’m not so sure I want to leave. Sure I can return at any point, but with a mysterious heist to investigate I might just stick around for a few more days.
What Shocked Me
The representation of sex in The Witcher series has always left me in an unsettled state, and as my girlfriend becomes more and more invested in gaming I’m examining these issues from perspectives other than my own. I’ve never been able to fully come to terms with my feelings on the topic, but I’ll do my best for you now.
Throughout The Witcher 2 I felt the interactions with women in the story were a bit one-sided. Triss Merigold often felt like eye-candy rather than a meaningful character, and the sex scenes seemed to simply pander to hormone-laden men. This wasn’t helped by the sexual fascination some of the community had for her. There’s an excessive amount of sexualized fan-made material on Triss Merigold, extending to even a professionally produced nude calendar. All of these factors contributed to the skeezy feeling I had any time I was with Triss.
For The Witcher 3 I expected yet another peep show of next-gen nipple textures, and CD Projekt Red delivered on that expectation. As the game opened with a bath scene I feared more of the same, but my judgement came too quickly.
…it was informed by hours of gameplay and character development.
I’m shocked with the level of complexity given to women, sex, and everything in-between. Yes it delivers with next-gen nudes, but it isn’t limited by them. There’s been a lot of scenes fueled soley by sexual tension and suggestive eyebrow raises, and after 36 hours I’ve only experienced one sex scene (which happened of my own accord). This scene also had meaning, it was informed by hours of gameplay and character development, and ultimately ended with significant revelations that had me questioning my own motives. I felt like I had been blindly taken advantage of by this woman, but then again I never believed her motivations were pure
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just like every other decision in the game, nothing is ever black and white. Making those decisions even more complicated is the question of infidelity and commitment.
Geralt has been on a momentous quest to be reunited with the love of his life, but in the process he’s become intertwined (both figuratively and literally) with a handful of other women. Anytime you pursue another love The Witcher 3 reminds you that what you’re doing isn’t exactly kosher, and it makes the entire notion of sex more meaningful and less of a spectator sport. I’d love to expand on this with concrete examples, but I don’t want to ruin these moments for you.
I’m excited to see how these raunchy soap opera storylines continue to develop further into the game. Rest assured, I’ll be pursuing every relationship I come across for the sake of this review (and maybe my deviant curiosity).