If there’s one thing I have to give CD Projekt Red credit for — aside from making some of the most immersive RPGs ever — it’s the studio’s dedication to its Switch audience. I’d originally picked up The Witcher 3 for the Switch back in 2019 and was pretty impressed with how smoothly it ran, though I couldn’t quite get past its muddy graphics. CD Projekt Red hasn’t abandoned the Switch port though, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered for Switch 2 looks to fulfil those portable promises from seven years ago.
Let’s get down to brass tacks. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered comes with plenty of new improvements for all platforms. For the Switch 2 version in particular, the game now runs at 720p in handheld mode and targets 30-40fps, and 1080p in docked mode.
I play my Switch games primarily in handheld mode, so that’s how I experienced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered for the most part. I have to say that the graphical gap between the Switch 2 version and other platforms is still very noticeable, but it’s also a huge step up from the original Switch port. It’s definitely on par with Cyberpunk 2077‘s Switch 2 port, which is really impressive considering how much detail there is in the open-world, not to mention the ridiculous amount of content there is to experience.
There are a few other cool additions to the Switch 2 port that I appreciated, such as touchscreen support, gyro controls, and even mouse mode for the handful of freaks out there who actually enjoy using the Joy-Con as a mouse (I personally don’t, but you do you, boo). There are also a few gestures for certain in-game actions like casting Signs and summoning your horse, though these felt more gimmicky than anything else.
Gyro support, however, was the big game-changer for me. This was something I greatly appreciated in Breath of the Wild and Splatoon, and basically any game on the Switch that had some sort of aiming function, and I was sad to see that it was absent in The Witcher 3‘s original port. It’s here now, though, and it makes all the difference when it comes to moving the camera and aiming during combat. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the combat in The Witcher 3; even when I first reviewed it for Twinfinite and came away thoroughly in love with The Continent, I had my qualms with how clunky and weightless it could feel.
With Remastered, CD Projekt Red has made improvements to the combat system to make it feel more fluid and fast-paced. Nothing about the combat has fundamentally changed, but you’ll find that you’re able to move Geralt and swing his sword with more precision than before. When paired with the gyro controls, combat was basically frictionless and it just felt nice to be able to get Geralt to do exactly what I wanted him to do. No fuss, no frustrations. This doesn’t erase my original complaints about the game’s combat, such as the general floaty feeling that continues to persist here, but there are very clear signs of improvement in Remastered.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered also sees some pretty major changes to the skill tree. It took me a while to wrap my head around what was actually new, as I haven’t touched this game in like five years, but it seems that CD Projekt Red has made it quite a bit easier to unlock certain skills earlier, while also introducing new ones and streamlining existing ones. Previously, you had to dump a bunch of skill points into a set of skills in order to unlock the next set. Now, however, the new skill tree allows you to be much more flexible with how you can spend your skill points. Essentially, you’re cutting through the fat to get to the good stuff, and that’s a great change in my book.
I haven’t experimented too much with new and existing builds based on the skill tree changes, but I do appreciate the additional flexibility the game has afforded me here. In my opinion, it’s a huge game-changer for build planning, especially since you should be able to unlock your required skills much earlier than before.
During my time with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, I was struck by just how well this game has held up over the years. Even the opening hours in White Orchard served as a microcosm of what this brilliant RPG is all about: from the noonwraith and griffin contracts to the early quests involving an arsonist who can get sentenced to death for one drunken mistake, The Witcher 3 continued to impress me with its eye for detail and just how much agency you have over Geralt as a person. I ventured as far as Velen for this playthrough and experienced the iconic Bloody Baron questline all over again, and was of course again reminded that CD Projekt Red has mastered the art of juggling branching paths and dialogue options, while delivering a single compelling story within.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered has been a fantastic way for me to revisit The Continent after all these years. I’ve been particularly impressed with its performance on Switch 2, and key improvements to combat and the skill tree serve as a great excuse for fans to re-experience this classic all over again.
A review code for the game was provided by the publisher. You can check out our review policy here. Reviewed on Switch 2.
