I just finished my second play through of The Witcher 3. It took me 87 hours to play through the base game and the Blood and Wine expansion.

My problem is that I've still only done about half of the available content (in the form of side quests) in the game, after two times through it. Unlike many typical RPGs you might have played, The Witcher 3's sidequests are truly great, and as good as the main story quests (a few are even much better!).

So, tonight, when I finished the Blood and Wine expansion, I immediately started a New Game +. I've got Dark Souls 3 only half finished, a basically untouched copy of Bloodborne, I've only played the first two levels of DOOM, I've still barely touched Dirt Rally or even Forza 6 (sorry, stabbim!). . . and I'm playing through The Witcher 3 yet again. I have not loved an RPG like this in a very long time. I've not been truly sucked in and felt like I was immersed in a fictional world like this since Morrowind. In case you didn't get the memo, if you have the time and inclination to really dive deep into a huge single-player video game, I implore you to give The Witcher 3 a shot.

At least some of you know the problem I've had buying games, trying to keep up with all the new releases. It feels truly refreshing to let that go. Besides a few games I'll talk about in a minute, The Witcher 3 is the only thing I've played in well nearly two months, and I'm likely to still be playing it in another month. I haven't played a game in this manner since high school.

The only other games I've played are Furi (which is great, but I've not played for more than an hour or so), and today I bought and played through Inside. Holy crap, that is an incredible game. I don't have a clue what the hell it's about or what any of it means, but man it's a great experience.

There's not much a point to this post, I suppose, besides telling you how much I love The Witcher 3. I had been contemplating jumping back into Destiny to do the Moments of Triump, but after looking at them, I realized I really just don't want to (Get all Calcified Fragments and grind out an Exotic Sword? Nah, I'll pass). I'd rather just play through The Witcher 3 again.

As an attempt to actually make this a discussion about something: What are you all currently playing, and when was the last time you were really absorbed into a game?

Prior to 2 weeks ago I would have said dota 80%, Destiny 20%. Now it's civ4 90%, dota 8%, Destiny 2% because I STUPIDLY opened that blasted one-more-turn game again.

Story wise the last time I was really absorbed in a game story was a plugin for EV:Override. I'd pay a large amount of money to anyone that could help me remember which one it was.

You've peaked my interest in a game that I had completely dismissed based purely on the name. I've never been a big fan of witches or witch metrology.

Had to play through that so many times to get the different endings.

Also, after my first play through on Skyrim, I restarted and totally ignored the major quest line. instead I just wandered around and did whatever looked interesting. It was way more fun that way. I'm half tempted to get the remastered version for XB1 when it comes out with mod support, since my aging computer could never handle the compy version and all the cool mods.

Had to play through that so many times to get the different endings.

There were "Endings"?! News to me! I just ran around the systems conquering planets, building bigger and bigger fleets, until I had so many ships in-tow that it almost crashed my dad's Performa whenever I entered a new system. XD

I also loved editing the source files in ResEdit...making myself an invincible Starship Enterprise with 100,000 Mass Drivers that would obliterate a planet's defenses in seconds. :P

Had to play through that so many times to get the different endings.

There were "Endings"?! News to me! I just ran around the systems conquering planets, building bigger and bigger fleets, until I had so many ships in-tow that it almost crashed my dad's Performa whenever I entered a new system. XD

I think he means the endings for each faction's story, not the end of the game, many of which you couldn't do if you'd already started another faction's story.

A long time ago I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't buy a new game until I finished another game. This promise has saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Generally speaking, by the time I finish game A, game B has already been the free game on Xbox Live Gold or PSN+, so I spend no money at all on it. Even if it's not free, it's several months old and I'm paying a hugely discounted rate.

Games I'm playing right now:

- Destiny. PvP is still fun for me. There's room for improvement, but overall it's a good time.
- Lego Batman 3: I just got this for $17.50 including all xpacs from the xbox live gold sale. My kid loves it, so this is the "tide me over" game until No Man's Sky comes out next month.
- The Crew (free from XBL Gold). I didn't expect to like this since most sim-esque racing games make me sad, but I really enjoy it. Fun game. It does make me wish someone would take that same engine and make an updated "Autoduel" however. Fuckin' A that would be excellent.
- Fallout 4. This is my current "Must beat to buy another game" game. So freaking long though, and the combat really isn't that interesting after a point. Fallout: NV was great, and I'm sad that the Fallout 4 quests and stories aren't nearly as interesting.
- Hand of Fate (Free from XBL Gold a while back). This game is so incredibly well done that I'm 100% for certain purchasing the sequel when it comes out. Really really fun. I've already beaten it, but I still enjoy going back and finishing the expansion challenges and whatnot.

The last games I paid full price for were The Division (done with this game. It was fun until max level, and then got really bad really quickly) and before that, seriously, Destiny. I haven't paid full price for a game other than those. I'll likely be paying full for No Man's Sky next month, and that'll be about it for a while. I'm not sold on the new Destiny xpac. Black Gjallerhorn feels awfully gimmicky to me; if the best thing you can say about your game is you have a black version of an already existing gun, then your game isn't very interesting.

Know nothing about the Witcher games. Is Witcher 2 good? It's on sale for cheap right now. (So is Witcher 3--not as cheap.)

On XBONE still playing Destiny a bit. One of my best mates got TTK recently so we've been riding out together for that. Elite: Dangerous is taking a bit of a nap, but I'm sure we'll be back to that before long.

On PC Civ6 has got me excited, so I've been going back to Civ5 and CivBE lately. It's cool to hear about the changes in Civ6 and see where they might have been inspired. I suspect CivBE will have more of an impact than we realize (unstacking cities and diplomacy especially).

When I just need to kick back RTS skirmishes are the name of the game. Company of Heroes 2 getting tons of play time (especially when I pick up a new Commander or two) and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak got some playtime this weekend.

HW:DoK especially needed some love. Some very cool mechanics in that game.

Know nothing about the Witcher games. Is Witcher 2 good? It's on sale for cheap right now. (So is Witcher 3--not as cheap.)

You missed out--Witcher 2 was a free Gold game not too long ago. I think it's good, but a lot of people don't. Keep in mind it's really not that much like The Witcher 3. It's divided into set levels and chapters. I personally think it's worth playing, but maybe check out a few Let's Plays on YouTube or something first because it's definitely an odd game.

Know nothing about the Witcher games. Is Witcher 2 good? It's on sale for cheap right now. (So is Witcher 3--not as cheap.)

You missed out--Witcher 2 was a free Gold game not too long ago. I think it's good, but a lot of people don't. Keep in mind it's really not that much like The Witcher 3. It's divided into set levels and chapters. I personally think it's worth playing, but maybe check out a few Let's Plays on YouTube or something first because it's definitely an odd game.

Well, durr! I already have it then (I always confirm ownership of free gold licenses). I'm glad you said something regardless, because the free version was not the vanilla one that is on sale now. I guess what I'm asking is would Witcher 2 enhance my experience of Witcher 3, when I get around to that one? I don't feel the need to ask you if Witcher 3 is worth $25. :)

As far as games I've obsessed over, the last comparable example was probably Mass Effect. I bought the first one at launch, and never got past the character building screen. To prepare for Mass Effect 2, I played through the first one (which I liked but found clunky), then played through Mass Effect 2, and loved it so much I immediately went back and created a femshep and took her through ME1 and ME2.

Know nothing about the Witcher games. Is Witcher 2 good? It's on sale for cheap right now. (So is Witcher 3--not as cheap.)

You missed out--Witcher 2 was a free Gold game not too long ago. I think it's good, but a lot of people don't. Keep in mind it's really not that much like The Witcher 3. It's divided into set levels and chapters. I personally think it's worth playing, but maybe check out a few Let's Plays on YouTube or something first because it's definitely an odd game.

Well, durr! I already have it then (I always confirm ownership of free gold licenses). I'm glad you said something regardless, because the free version was not the vanilla one that is on sale now. I guess what I'm asking is would Witcher 2 enhance my experience of Witcher 3, when I get around to that one? I don't feel the need to ask you if Witcher 3 is worth $25. :)

I'm curious about this too... I've heard graet things about this game, but I need to know what the cost benefit to playing the prior games are worth..

As far as games I've obsessed over, the last comparable example was probably Mass Effect. I bought the first one at launch, and never got past the character building screen. To prepare for Mass Effect 2, I played through the first one (which I liked but found clunky), then played through Mass Effect 2, and loved it so much I immediately went back and created a femshep and took her through ME1 and ME2.

Mass Effect are great games. They are some of the few games that I felt like the game just got better with each sequel.

Games I'm playing:
Destiny
Dota 2
Dungeon Defenders 2
Civ 5

Games I need to finish:
Tomb Raider
I started this game and it was so buggy and crashy that I just gave up on the game. Now I'm going back to see if it's just as bad.

Wolfenstein: The New Order
I frankly don't know why I stopped playing this game. Actually I do, I have a terrible case of not finishing games. I actually have a long list of games I haven't finished. But this game was actually really good game play wise and story. So I plan on finishing this eventually!

If you love the world, then go back and do 2. But 3 is considered to be a much better game anyway, most of the people who play it started with 3, and so on. In the same way, read LOTR, and if you love the world, THEN go back and read The Hobbit. Know what I'm saying?

Once legitimately, then a second time with console commands and UESP or the Fallout wiki open.

If you love the world, then go back and do 2. But 3 is considered to be a much better game anyway, most of the people who play it started with 3, and so on. In the same way, read LOTR, and if you love the world, THEN go back and read The Hobbit. Know what I'm saying?

Great example. How much context story wise will I be losing? Will I be able to pick up on these pretty easily?

The Witcher 3 is great, and constructed in such a way that playing the first two isn't really relevant and definitely not necessary. I do think 2 is worth playing, but as Funkmon said, do it after The Witcher 3. It's aged enough now that I know a few people who've tried to play TW2, didn't like it, and the decided to skip TW3 too. And that's a shame because they are drastically different.

You're losing out on basically nothing, really. You'll run into characters from the first two games, but the past isn't ever relevant to the events of TW3 and doesn't get brought up much. The first two games, particularly the second one, have such convoluted stories with so many characters and political figures that half the people that did play it probably couldn't recall all the events. It's ultimately unimportant to TW3 other than a few callbacks here and there that I don't think will affect anyone's enjoyment.

Wolfenstein: The New Order
I frankly don't know why I stopped playing this game. Actually I do, I have a terrible case of not finishing games. I actually have a long list of games I haven't finished. But this game was actually really good game play wise and story. So I plan on finishing this eventually!

You'll be doing yourself a favor, for sure. I recommend taking a day to do it, say start around brunch and you'll get yourself through by dinner. It makes for a lovely, if somewhat gruesome, Sunday.

Oh, and the right answer is to save Fergus. You're welcome. ;)

Contrary to what someone else said in this thread, I haven't talked to or read of people who didn't like it. I haven't played Witcher 3, though.

Once legitimately, then a second time with console commands and UESP or the Fallout wiki open.

For what it's worth, using the console commands to get rid of the weight limits on your first play through is totally legitimate. (:

And man, I haven't been to UESP in ages. That site is great. I had the official guide book for Morrowind . . . it was thicker than some of my college text books. Actually, I think I still have that stashed in a closet somewhere.

Fallout 4 was a bit of a disappointment for me, in the end, but I'm still looking forward to Elder Scrolls 6. I really hope it doesn't come until like 2020 and Bethesda really brings it and reinvigorates their formula for open world RPGs. I'd totally be okay if they didn't go light on the RPG mechanics this time . . . (:

The end where your son dies, or the end where there's nothing to do?

I guess I worded that strangely. At the end of my time with it. I played for about 25-30 hours then quit. I didn't even start a second character. I've played every other Bethesda game with multiple characters over hundreds of hours. I'm not sure if there was something particularly unappealing about Fallout 4, or if Bethesda's formula is wearing thin.