There’s an argument that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt didn’t need a remaster. The 2015 original holds up extremely well even more than a decade later, and the acclaimed RPG has already been refreshed once in the form of a "next-gen" upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X released in December 2022 (with these improvements also brought to PC).
The newly released The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is arguably more of an exercise in giving players an excuse to rewalk the path ahead of its surprising (but very welcome) third major expansion, Songs of the Past, which is due to launch next year before the next mainline entry in the Witcher saga, the aptly titled The Witcher IV, arrives in (a tentative) 2028.
Heck, looking at visual comparisons between the “next-gen” version and Remastered on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC, some online commentators have even questioned whether this new port actually looks better. But one platform where there is no debate is on the Nintendo Switch 2. The Witcher 3 Remastered on Switch 2 is a night-and-day difference compared to the compromised port of the original that released on Nintendo Switch in 2019.
I’ve dived back into The Witcher 3 on my Switch 2, even picking up my progress from a previous PS5 playthrough thanks to cross-save, and have been particularly impressed with this remastering effort on Nintendo’s latest hybrid console. The good news is that Nintendo finally has a version of The Witcher 3 that I can wholeheartedly recommend you experience.
The Witcher 3 experience Nintendo players deserve
The Witcher 3 on the original Nintendo Switch was an impressive demonstration of technical wizardry. The vast RPG already had some performance quirks on PS4 and Xbox One, so making it run on less powerful hardware was commendable. But frankly, I found The Witcher 3 on Switch 1 to be so compromised that I abandoned my playthrough before leaving White Orchard (the starting area). Too many sacrifices had been made.
I found The Witcher 3 on Switch 1 to be so compromised that I abandoned my playthrough before leaving White Orchard (the starting area). Too many sacrifices had been made.
Flash forward to the Switch 2 generation and The Witcher 3 Remastered, and Nintendo players now have a version of this RPG masterpiece that is not just technically impressive but a genuinely great way to experience Geralt of Rivia’s sprawling quest to locate his young ward, Ciri.
Naturally, The Witcher 3 Remastered on Switch 2 is not the premiere port; that’ll be found on PC. For starters, the framerate is capped at 30 fps (on PS5/Xbox Series X and PC, you have the option of 60 fps), and there is a noticeable blurriness in the distance, with background structures and objects lacking sharp definition. But these gripes really are nitpicks.
Actually, playing Witcher 3 on Switch 2 is as absorbing as it’s ever been, and I’ve been particularly impressed with the framerate, which largely hits the 30 fps target (at least, to my eyes). Even in the map’s dense city locations, Novigrad and Oxenfurt, drops are minimal. The Witcher 3 Remastered is the portable edition of this game that Nintendo fans deserve.
The Witcher 3 on Switch 1 was a version of the game I could only recommend if you could not play anywhere else, and had no plans to pick up a PlayStation/Xbox or gaming PC in the future. That's not the case with Remastered on Switch 2, which makes a compelling case for itself.
It might not be the most visually detailed, but having such a grand adventure available on a console that doubles as a handheld is enticing, and the visual/performance sacrifices aren’t so great this time around to effectively outweigh the portable advantage as they did on the Switch 1.
Witcher 3 has been refined, not overhauled
Developer CD Projekt Red has been eager to point out that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered isn’t just about enhancing visuals across platforms, but also brings a wealth of changes to the experience. These are detailed in a lengthy list on CDPR’s official website.
Playing Witcher 3 on Switch 2 is as absorbing as it’s ever been, and I’ve been particularly impressed with the framerate, which largely hits the 30 fps target.
In truth, this is not an overhaul of The Witcher 3. The changes merely refine the base game. It adds several nice-to-have features, such as “transmogging” (setting your outfit's appearance independent of stats) and the option to remove inventory weight restrictions. Combat has also been sharpened with new animations, and your horse, Roach, controls a little less like a tank.
Perhaps the single biggest change is an entirely reworked skill tree, though I can’t say much about how this “upgrade” affects Geralt's power curve. I’ll need to dive into a fresh playthrough to really see whether it’s an improvement over the previous skill system available in the base game.
Ultimately, this is still The Witcher 3 — Wild Hunt, a game released in 2015 at its core. It’s not a complete remake that reshapes the RPG in numerous ways. But I don’t think many players were asking for such radical alterations. The Witcher 3 remains one of the yardsticks modern RPGs are measured against, and Remastered buffs out a few minor blemishes.
For anybody who still hasn’t played this masterpiece in the past 11 years, The Witcher 3 — Wild Hunt Remastered is a well-timed excuse to fill that gap in your gaming backlog. And this time around, playing on Nintendo hardware is a viable choice, rather than a last resort for those who didn’t have access to a more powerful console or a PC, as it was on Switch 1.
Best of all, returning to The Witcher 3 via Remastered on Switch 2 has reminded me just how special this fantasy RPG truly is. And now, in a fall season packed with new releases (not to mention the spectre of GTA 6 looming large), I’m trying to figure out if I have the time to squeeze in a full run over the next few weeks. At least on Switch 2, I can play it anywhere!
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is out now as a free upgrade for existing owners on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.
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