I Think I Hate Skellige

(The Witcher 3 spoilers ahead!)

The Skellige Isles.

Well, I felt all warm and gooey over The Witcher 3 earlier this week.  Almost 100 hours in and I've hit a bit of a wall in the form of the Skellige Isles.  My 100% exploration goal is looking like it's not going to happen.  There are so many question marks on the map and so many of them require a lot of sailing around.  There is something peaceful about sailing around with Geralt...right up until five or six sirens come swooping down on your boat.  And, really, what's the point of looting all that treasure?  I end up selling basically all of it and there's really nothing that I can use and Geralt's finances are looking pretty plush.  But I just can't stand all those stupid question marks on my map....

I've also found a few that I cannot figure out how to find.  I've climbed mountains, combed every corner of certain areas looking for keys and still can't figure out how to reach them.  I might have to look it up and I really hate doing that.

The storyline in Skellige has been one that I've actually enjoyed.  The idea of the lands being in a state of tumult after the death of their leader and Geralt's role in choosing a new one was a lot of fun.  I opted for Cerys because she wasn't as hot-headed as Hjalmar.  Rather than rushing off to kill a bunch of people she launched an investigation to unwrap clues related to who was trying to sabotage the election.

Skellige is also the place where I decided that Yennefer is a horrible and selfish person.  She seems to have her own motives for her actions and is in no way concerned about anyone else.  The main questline involves Geralt assisting her while she essentially destroys a temple to the local deities...and watches while she does it in the worst possible way--through the use of dark magic in the form of necromancy.  It seems like such a necessary evil, but the locals aren't exactly thrilled when they find out that Yennefer has killed their sacred garden.

If you opt to so the sidequest to help Yennefer capture a Djinn you are finally given the option to either come clean to her about Geralt's feelings or to tell her that Geralt doesn't love her any more.  I had already opted for Geralt to pledge his undying love to Triss Merigold and felt a little horrible when Yennefer finally stated that she loved Geralt.  Maybe on my next playthrough I'll opt for Yennefer.

There's some new DLC due out this week that will spice up your Gwent game with the addition of new cards and a new deck for neutral characters.  This DLC will also add a new questline that features a village inhabited by pigs.

Even though this DLC is very minimal in content, you gotta love things that are free!  CD Projekt Red is proving again that they are about more than just making money and do have gamer's best interests in mind.