Overload!!!

After a bit of a gaming dry spell I was slammed with consecutive big releases.  Life is Strange wrapped up an almost year long journey with it's polarizing finale, Tales From the Borderlands revealed the final outcome of the treasure hunting fiasco, and The Witcher 3 saw the release of it's first piece of DLC in the Hearts of Stone expansion.  Sheesh...  I took the time to finish Tales (if you're still feeling depressed about the Life is Strange finale, I would recommend an immediate turn around of finishing off Tales--it's great!), but wanted to blog about Hearts of Stone since I just finished it.  (There will be spoilers about Hearts of Stone ahead!)

I love The Witcher 3 so much that picking it up after not having played it was so enjoyable that I feel like starting my third playthrough.  Hearts of Stone reminded me of all the things I love about The Witcher--engaging stories, morally dubious characters, and whacking things with a sword.  Hearts of Stone sees Geralt engaged in what at first seems like just another monster contract.  There's something lurking in the sewers beneath the city of Oxenfurt...this "something" is, of course, bound to be a disgusting and dangerous monster.  Once you accept the contract you are directed to a large manor house to meet the issuer of this job, Olgierd von Everec.  Olgierd is the leader of a group of tattooed and rowdy individuals known as the "wild ones."  The Wild Ones aren't openly hostile but when you make a motion to find Olgierd they have a laugh at Geralt by insinuating that each of them is actually Olgierd.  Eventually Olgierd shows up and informs Geralt that there is a large monster that needs slaying and that there is also a story circulating that there is a frog prince hiding somewhere in the sewers.  His followers have a good laugh about that--they're actually a little bit irritating but seem to be having a good time.  As you leave the manor house you are struck by the feeling that there is actually a lot more to this story....

Besides adding in the main questline, Hearts of Stone also opens up that irritatingly large portion of the Velen/Novigrad map that was unexplorable.  The sight of more question marked areas to explore was (sadly) exciting.  As you explore you will discover a number of new enemies, treasure hunts, and secondary quests.  My initial explorations found Geralt fighting off a pack of fuzzy spider-like arachnomorphs.  These little buggers are annoyingly fast and dart away quickly when attacked.  Once they reach a certain safe distance they will shoot a ball of webbing directly at you.  If you fail to avoid it, Geralt is trapped in webs and cannot attack or dodge leaving him vulnerable to attack.  Deeper exploration into the area also reveals packs of ferocious wild boars.  These ornery critters will charge Geralt, knocking him back and stunning him.  In larger groups these lil' piggies can be a real pain to take down.  Not all the new baddies are of the creature variety; Geralt will have run-ins with some old friends from the original Witcher game.  Remember the Knights of the Flaming Rose?  The pro-human group that was trying to breed an army of powerful mutants in order to rid the world of non-humans?  Ringing any bells?  Radovid wasn't too fond of this group either and the rejects have found themselves exiled into the countryside and looking for new ways to make a buck (oren? floren?).

A new craftsmen also becomes available as part of this expansion.  The runecrafter/enchanter comes from the mysterious land of Ofier and offers some powerful new ways to alter Geralt's gear.  The downside is that he requires a large investment before he will offer access to masterpiece enchanting (around 30,000 gold--this shouldn't be much of a stretch if you've been fairly looty.  I tried to avoid the Skellige underwater exploration and could still easily afford the upgrades).  If you're thinking of completely pimping out your gear...think again.  You can only put enchantments on gear that has three rune slots--swords and chest armor are the most likely candidates.  You'll lose the runes you already have in place, but some of the enchants sound great.  I didn't take advantage of the enchants because I don't like the idea of losing three rune slots.

Shani, from the first game, offers to help Geralt.

Once you've had your fill of exploration you can segue back into the main storyline quite easily--just fast travel to Oxenfurt and head for the main market square.  A previously covered entrance to the sewers is now open and you can descend a ladder into the darkened tunnels.  In the tunnels you encounter the typical sewer inhabitants--drowners-- but also run into an old acquaintance, Shani, the medic who assisted you in the first game.  She's muddied and bloodied and desperately trying to revive a downed soldier.  Geralt recognizes her, informs her that her resuscitation efforts are in vain, and the two begin conversing about her presence in the sewers.  She informs Geralt that she was part of a Redanian patrol trying to investigate the sewer monster.  Long story, short--the monster was too much for them to handle and she barely managed to escape.  Shani hopes to gather some slime samples to help treat patients poisoned by the monster and Geralt agrees to escort her.  As they walk through the sewers they catch up--Shani has been pressed into service as a medic for the Redanians and now practices in Oxenfurt.  After a few close encounters with drowners, Geralt and Shani find the passage that undoubtedly leads to the monster's lair.  Geralt tells Shani to leave for her own safety and she begrudgingly heads out.

Geralt prepares some bait and patiently meditates.  The monster arrives...lo and behold, it's a giant toad.  There's no chance of kissing it and it immediately launches into attack mode.  The first major boss fight of the expansion is no joke and requires some careful timing as simply trying to get in close will result in getting body slammed.  Moving out of range will save you from the frog drop but will open you up to long-range poison attacks in the form of spit-up globs flying toward Geralt's face (popping a Golden Oriole before the fight will help avoid damage from poisoning). Positioning is the key to avoiding both the melee and ranged attacks and there is much creative dodging involved.  Eventually you will manage to whittle this ugly toad down--as it makes a final leap over Geralt he slashes at it's exposed belly and lands a vicious gut-spilling blow.  Geralt winds up covered in a toxic stew of frog guts but manages to stay conscious long enough to see the corpse of the nasty toad turn into the body of a man.  The stories were true!  Geralt falls unconscious as a group of foreign soldiers enter the lair and find the body of the apparent prince.

The plot thickens as you anxiously wait to find out Geralt's fate.  Will Shani return and rescue him?  What's up with these weird soldiers?  To be continued...

Hearts of Stone review/walkthrough part 1 highlights:
1.) New crafter--Enchanter.  Offers new ways to enhance Geralt's gear.
2.) New enemies.  The arachnomorph, boars, and knights of the Flaming Rose.
3.) Old friends.  Shani, from the original Witcher, plays a part.
4.) New boss fight.  A giant toad.  A challenging and fun fight.