A next-gen update recently released for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, included with a Complete Edition package on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. This comes as a free upgrade for those who already own the game, but includes all official content and DLC for first-time players. While this updated version of The Witcher 3 brings gameplay tweaks and an all-new quest for fans of the Netflix adaptation, the visual upgrades are possibly the most substantial. The addition of ray tracing and other graphical improvements like 4K textures and improved shadows demonstrate a great approach to making an old game feel new again.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the highest-rated and well-renowned video games of all time, so it's all the more impressive that developer CD Projekt Red continues to find new ways to improve upon it more than seven years after release. Having originally launched for Xbox One and PS4 in 2015, the Complete Edition and its visual upgrades bring this iconic game into the modern era, including ray-traced global illumination and ray-traced ambient occlusion on console, with PC adding ray-traced reflections and shadows alongside new Ultra+ settings.
The Impact of Ray Tracing on The Witcher 3's Visuals
Ray tracing and high framerates have been at the forefront of discussions regarding performance and graphical fidelity in recent years, especially among more hardcore PC enthusiasts looking to obtain the best possible visuals in their games. These features have also been a major bullet point in marketing the newest generation of consoles and GPUs. Just in the last few years, several games have received ray-tracing features after release, including Metro Exodus, Doom Eternal, and Fortnite. Even less modern games like Portal and Quake have received updated versions with various ray tracing features.
The ray tracing added to console versions of The Witcher 3 (RTGI and RTAO) allow more accurate bounce lighting and shading between different surfaces, objects, and characters. This means sources of light now realistically produce shading and coloration within the environment. For example, if there is a candle in a room with a red banner, the light will now slightly color the room with a red hue. In outdoor environments, the sunlight will bounce off the sand onto nearby rocks and wagons, with appropriate ray-traced shadows and reflections on PC that dramatically enhance their quality and accuracy.
When CD Projekt Red released the notorious Cyberpunk 2077, it served as a prime example of how graphics and performance can directly affect the quality of a game. To put this into perspective, the PC version of the game has an average review score of 86 on Metacritic, while the PS4 and Xbox One versions are at 57 and 61, respectively.
This perfectly demonstrates the impact that improved graphics and performance can potentially have on the player experience. With these ray tracing additions in The Witcher 3, the various environments feel more grounded and realistic, which ultimately improve players' immersion and make it feel like a brand-new game across already impressive environments.
All of these combined graphical changes drastically affect the visuals, and they take The Witcher 3 from being a good-looking last-gen game to a true modern title with advanced features. The Witcher 3 was already a certified masterpiece in the eyes of many, so graphical updates, gameplay changes, and new content make the Complete Edition a definitive version of the game. With talks of CD Projekt Red using Unreal Engine 5 for all future projects for The Witcher franchise, many fans are eager to see what the esteemed developer can accomplish in the future.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.