GOG launched its Summer Gaming Sale earlier this month, which is live now through Monday, June 18. Within, you'll find over a thousand games going cheap—with savings of up to 90 percent. 

The PC Gamer Collection is part of the sale too, and gathers 37 games spanning three decades. Expect everything from The Witcher 3 to Dead Cells and Prison Architect in an assortment that suits fans of all genres. 

Fancy winning one of those? Simply follow the instructions in the widget below for your chance to win one of 500 games from GOG's Summer Sale. 

Good luck from us and the chap at the foot of the page.  

Nexus modder Votislav has done the impossible: make Geralt better looking. Votislav's newly released Finger Lickin' Geraldo mod, which you can download here, changes the already fetching Witcher's stubble, complexion and eyes to make him appear sharper and younger but just as grizzled and dangerous. Gaze upon him: 

The mod sports a white beard and brows, yellower eyes, scars left by a Striga (a woman transformed into a monster by a curse, if you're wondering), and most importantly, "quite possibly the best stubble in the world." It also includes a variant without the scar and with eyebrows and skin more in line with vanilla Geralt. 

For maximum effect, Votislav recommends pairing Finger Lickin' Geraldo with a few other mods (some of which were also used in the images above): Cinematic Hair by Feregorn and Holgar96, Weathered Face by curme, and Disable HairWorks on Geralt by WitcherBoy1981. You'll find plenty of other great choices in our roundup of the best Witcher 3 mods, which you can wrangle using the easy-to-use Nexus Mod Manager.

With that out of the way, there's something else I simply must share with you. Tucked away in the image gallery for Finger Lickin' Geraldo is perhaps the most incredible Witcher image since that other image we sometimes use. Votislav titled it "the stuff of dreams," and I have a hard time arguing with that. I present to you, Big Geralt: 

Incidentally, there's something else you need to see, if only because I had to see it and I'll be damned if I'm going to suffer alone. It's Geralt's texture file, the stuff of nightmares: 

Oh god, take me back. 

There we go.

With the Witcher Netflix series out now (and quite good!) and The Witcher 3 seeing more concurrent players than ever, there's a lot of renewed interest in the root of all this: The Witcher books. If you want to fill a Geralt-shaped hole in your life following the show and games, the books are definitely worth a read. 

It's not quite as easy as one, two, three, though. As a brief overview, the book series is written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and follows a man named Geralt who happens to be a Witcher—someone attuned with supernatural abilities and trained from childhood to battle beasts that threaten the public. Of course, the books are about more than that: there’s plenty of drama, sex, politics, and even some comedy, but the central arc follows Geralt as he protects Ciri, a princess whose country has been conquered. 

If you want sword-wielding action and grotesque monsters, you’re in the right place. The series started as a set of short stories in the '80s for a Polish fantasy magazine, and the initial tale came third in their competition to find new ideas and writers. The stories were so popular they then went on to spawn full-length novels, which were then published in Polish in 1993. The books were released in English a bit late, from 2007, with Danusia Stok translating the first two and David French taking over duties the third book - so we know who to thank for bringing them to us English-speaking fans. The books then eventually became the games (and now show) we know and love.

Where to start with The Witcher books

You’ll want to start with The Last Wish. While it was published later on, it features stories set before the first full-length book and establishes the Continent as a backdrop. It also introduces the reader to Geralt and the basics of what a witcher is and what one does. You’ll read about Geralt fighting beasts, indulging in bar room fights, and his bedroom escapades.

This set of stories introduces everything you’ll see in the games. Sapkowski tells of Geralt’s silver sword with which he kills the monsters of magic, he depicts the often-corrupt governments that reside throughout the world, and we meet an ensemble of characters. These include Dandelion (aka Jaskier), a poet friend of Geralt who is hearing these tales we’re experiencing, Yennifer, a sorceress with whom Geralt begins a troubled relationship, and Triss, also a sorceress, a friend of Geralt but also the third point of the Geralt, Yennifer and Triss love triangle.

The second short story collection, Sword of Destiny, must follow because it’s here we meet Ciri, and each story takes place directly before the main novels.

What's the reading order of The Witcher books?

1. The Last Wish
2. Sword of Destiny
3. Season of Storms (optional; explained below)
4. Blood of Elves
5. Time of Contempt
6. Baptism of Fire
7. The Tower of the Swallow
8. The Lady of the Lake

Following the short stories, you would think it's best to read the rest of the books in the order they were published, but a recent release, Season of Storms, actually takes place within the stories of The Last Wish. To be honest, it’s only worth reading Season of Storms if you want to experience everything The Witcher has to offer, as the events that take place are not integral to the main arc—but it does sow some seeds of what’s to come in the rest of the series.

Otherwise, read the books in the order they were released: Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow and The Lady of the Lake. 

Below are the best prices for these books but they do get sold together on Amazon—the first six books altogether on Amazon US and the first seven bundled together on Amazon UK.

Away from the novels, it’s also worth reading The World of the Witcher, which is a compendium of information created directly by CD Projekt Red. It’s a beautifully illustrated addition to the series that contains everything you’ll want to know about monsters, weapons, people and places. Be warned, though, it does feature spoilers for the games and the books. 

There is a designated Witcher 3: Wild Hunt art book but it is pretty rare as it was released only with collector's editions. One to look out for though; I know I always do. And there's yet more artwork available now following the release of the Gwent game, as it too now has its own art book: The Art of the Witcher: Gwent Gallery Collection. And to finish the art side of things off, there's a Witcher Adult Coloring Book that will keep you occupied long into the night, giving your favorite characters unique outfits and painting your own Witcher pictures.

The Witcher graphic novels

Aside from the short stories and novels, graphic novels from Dark Horse Comics have been released. While not written by Sapkowski, the comics do a great job of adding extras to already released stories, plus they look great as the art evokes the nasty themes of the books and games. Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 all include several stories each, while a collated Library Edition packs everything in one. 

Why should I read them if I’ve played the games?

In a nutshell, because they’re good books and a great way to get more Witcher in you. They are fun, accessible reads with a fast pace. Of course, it depends on your personal tastes, but generally the novels and short stories are good fun. It would be easy to say "well, much like films, the books are better," but that isn’t generally the case here, as the games give you a better view of the action within this setting, while still delivering a genuinely great story.

Reading the books will, however, give you a better sense of the world, flesh out more of the cast and create a stronger bond between yourself and the situations in the lore. Characters are drawn with more depth, and although much of the plot will be known to you if you played the games, the books fill in small gaps here and there.

How faithful are The Witcher games to the books?

Very, though only so much of the books was directly brought to the games. CD Projekt Red went to great lengths to bring Sapkowski’s witty, wry and strong Geralt of Rivia to players of the games. Due to the branching narratives of the games, the plot is "based" on the books, rather than a direct retelling. Everything you’ve seen in the games, however, from runes to weapons and monsters are featured in the series of novels. 

There’s an interesting divide between how Sapkowski sees his world and how it was translated to games, but readers will notice only small differences here and there. Coming to the books from the games brings a certain spark of life to the battles and fights.

It's worth noting though that a game, especially one of the quality featured in The Witcher series, is designed to bring excitement and danger. This can make some sections of the book—mainly the political discussions—rather dull in comparison. The games, because they deliver the story in bite-sized chunks between the killing and hunting, offer the most accessible way to consume the tale of Geralt.

Where can I get all these books?

Since the profile of The Witcher series and books has been elevated to brilliant, world-famous heights, the books, on the whole, are available from all the major retailers, including Amazon. The only one that is a bit difficult to get, as mentioned above, is the collector's edition Witcher 3 art book but it usually appears on eBay occasionally. However, for your ease and comfort, see the best prices currently going on all the books below.

Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info. 

With Gwent singleplayer and The Witcher TV series in our future, it's a pretty good time to check out The Witcher books. The Netflix show is a little way off, according to the creators, but it’s likely to be a success as fans of Game of Thrones will be looking for a new dark fantasy show to watch. It helps, of course, that the series has already established itself nicely with a load of books and hours upon hours of great RPGs by CD Projekt RED. 

If you're wondering where to start with The Witcher books, we've got you covered. The series is the brainchild of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and follows a man named Geralt who happens to be a witcher—someone attuned with supernatural abilities and trained from childhood to battle beasts that threaten the public. Of course, the books are about more than that: there’s plenty of drama, sex, politics and even some comedy, but the central arc follows Geralt as he protects Ciri, a princess whose country has been conquered and becomes a witcher-in-training. 

If you want sword-wielding action and grotesque monsters, you’re in the right place. The series started as a set of short stories in the '80s for a Polish fantasy magazine, and the initial tale came third in their competition to find new ideas and writers. The stories were so popular they then went on to spawn full-length novels, which began in the '90s, and eventually became the games we all know and love. 

If you're new to The Witcher books, where should you start?

With so many books and short stories set within the universe, it’s tricky to know where to start, especially as some were only released in English after the series reached a certain level of success. You’ll want to start with The Last Wish. While it was published later on, it features stories set before the first full-length book and establishes the Continent as a backdrop. It also introduces the reader to Geralt and the basics of what a witcher is and what one does. You’ll read about Geralt fighting beasts, indulging in bar room fights and his bedroom escapades.

This set of stories introduces everything you’ll see in the games. Sapkowski tells of Geralt’s silver sword with which he kills the monsters of magic, he depicts the often-corrupt governments that reside throughout the world, and we meet an ensemble of characters. These include Dandelion, a poet friend of Geralt who is hearing these tales we’re experiencing, Yennifer, a sorceress with whom Geralt begins a troubled relationship and Triss, also a sorceress, a friend of Geralt but also the third point of the Geralt, Yennifer and Triss love triangle.

The second short story collection, Sword of Destiny, must follow because it’s here we meet Ciri and each story takes place directly before the main novels.

What's the reading order of The Witcher books?

So, you’ve read the short stories and you’ve got a taste for Geralt and those around him. You’ve discovered more about the world he inhabits and the wars between human, dwarves and elves—the humans were victorious and now the other races are seen a lesser species—and now you want to sink your teeth into the proper saga. You would think it's best to read the rest of the books in the order they were published, but a recent release, Season of Storms, actually takes place within the stories of The Last Wish. To be honest, it’s only worth reading Season of Storms if you want to experience everything The Witcher has to offer, as the events that take place are not integral to the main arc, but it does sow some seeds of what’s to come in the rest of the series.

Otherwise, read the books in the order they were released: Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow and The Lady of the Lake.

Away from the novels, it’s also worth reading The World of the Witcher, which is a compendium of information created directly by CD Projekt Red. It’s a beautifully illustrated addition to the series that contains everything you’ll want to know about monsters, weapons, people and places. Be warned, though, it does feature spoilers for the games and the books.

Is there anything else? You bet! Graphic novels from Dark Horse Comics. While not written by Sapkowski, the graphic novels do a great job of adding extras to already released stories and creating some extra content on the side, plus they look great as the art evokes the gritty and dark themes of the books and games.

Why should I read them if I’ve played the games?

They’re good books, and this is the way the story was intended to be told. They’re generally quick reads as the action keeps the pace up and it’s interesting to see how CD Projekt Red adapted certain scenes to make them interactive. Of course, mileage may vary from person to person, and it depends on your personal tastes, but generally the novels and short stories are good fun. It would be easy to say “well, much like films, the books are better” but that isn’t generally the case here, as the games give you a better view of the action within this setting, while still delivering a genuinely great story.

Reading the books will, however, give you a better sense of the world, flesh out more of the cast and create a stronger bond between yourself and the situations in the lore. Places will become more familiar, characters are drawn with more depth and although much of the plot will be known to you from playing the games, the books fill in small gaps here and there.

How faithful are The Witcher games to the books?

Very. Only so much of the books was directly brought to the games. CD Projekt Red went to great lengths to bring Sapkowski’s witty, wry and strong Geralt of Rivia to players of the games. Due to the branching narratives of the games, the plot is “based” on the books, rather than a direct retelling. Everything you’ve seen in the games, however, from runes to weapons and monsters are featured in the series of novels. 

There’s an interesting divide between how Sapkowski sees his world and how it was translated to games, but readers will notice only small differences here and there. Coming to the books from the games brings a certain spark of life to the battles and fights. Geralt tracing runes through the air holds more gravitas when coming from the games, and seeing how CD Projekt Red animated the effects of spells makes the translation of The Witcher’s abilities feel even more exciting.

It's worth noting though that a game, especially one of the quality featured in The Witcher series, is designed to bring excitement and danger. This can make some sections of the book—mainly the political discussions—rather dull in comparison. The games, because they deliver the story in bitesized chunks between the killing and hunting, offer the most accessible way to consume the tale of Geralt. Let's see if the TV series can top it. 

Shall we try to improve on CD Projekt RED's splendid, genre-defining open world RPG? Geralt's angry judgmental glare says 'how dare you' but I say 'how dare we not?' Geralt's an old man now and even CD Projekt has moved on to a futuristic new game called Cyberpunk 2077. We have already designed the perfect FPS game, the perfect battle royale game, and the perfect RTS game. It's time for the noble RPG to get its due.

As always we do this using a quick and easy survey. Questions cover a bunch of RPG basics: would we prefer a squad RPG or something driven by a single hero? How should leveling work, and what sort of sidequests do we want? Some of the questions have an 'Other' section where you can make personalised suggestions. For the love of Geralt please keep them clean. 

At the end of the process Google magic chews up the data and spits out pie charts that may prove informative and/or amusing. Once we have a load of responses we will compile the results into an article on PCGamer.com and the industry will weep joy-tears to see what we have made.

The Witcher is coming to streaming platform Netflix as an eight-episode TV drama in either 2019 or 2020, starring Henry Cavill as Geralt. The series is based on the Polish novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski, much like the CD Projekt Red RPG series that we're so keen on here at PC Gamer. With a showrunner in place—Daredevil and The Defenders writer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich—we're already learning loads about the series via her Twitter feed, including character descriptions. We also know that writing on the series is nearing completion. As of August 2018, the final episode of the season is being written.

If you were curious about the show's credibility, too, Sapkowski is working on the Netflix series as a creative consultant. 

“I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing,” he said in a press release. “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.”

While we'll endeavour to keep spoilers to a minimum, please proceed with caution if you'd rather not know about the characters or story beats ahead of time. You'll find various pieces pointing in the series' direction here.

Does The Witcher on Netflix have a release date yet? 

Though it was announced a year ago now, we're still some way away from seeing The Witcher's premiere, unfortunately. 

Though the precise release date has yet to be confirmed, it's widely expected to release some time next year, but showrunner Hissrich herself has even suggested 2020 as a potential window. 

In terms of where the show is at now, the writers are on at least the fourth episode already, as of the end of July 2018. 

While this isn't the first time the Witcher series has come to screens—The Hexer, a 13-episode Polish language series adaptation of the series, was broadcast way back in 2002, and a poorly-received Polish movie preceded it in 2001—this is the first time we'll have seen an on-screen adaptation outside of Poland. 

It's been confirmed that the inaugural Netflix series will feature eight episodes.

"I know, I know, it may not seem like enough for you, but creatively, it's the right call," Hissrich tweeted last month. "The episodes can be tight, action-packed, rich in character and story, without lagging in the middle of the season. Sounds good to me, sound good to you?"

As of August 2018, the season finale is being written, which suggests we're getting closer to learning juicy details. 

What is the story of The Witcher Netflix series?

If you head on over to The Witcher on Netflix right now, there's already a placeholder description to tempt you into pre-adding the show to your list. 

While the Netflix blurb—"The witcher, Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts"—doesn't give away much, an official synopsis revealed by executive producers Sean Daniel and Jason Brown tells us a little more, indicating that the show follows an unconventional family that "comes together to fight for truth in a dangerous world." 

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko of Polish visual effects studio Platige Image said in a statement: "There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre. It is a story about today and today’s challenges, hidden under a fantasy cover. It is a story about us, about the monster and hero inside of all our hearts."

On Twitter, Hissrich has introduced us to other writers, like Declan de Barra (The Originals), Jenny Klein (Jessica Jones) and Sneha Koorse (Daredevil) to name but three, joining the crew, and detailed what happened the first time the team gathered in the writers' room.

"We start talking. And talk and talk and talk. We write the things we say on dry erase boards. [...] 

We break down characters first: who they are, what they want, who they'll do it with. Organically, those emotional moments collide with plot. Note: some writers are better at plot machinations. Some are better at emotional arcs. Some do action. Some do sex. It takes all types."

So that's the sex scenes confirmed, then… although it remains to be seen if we'll get to see some sexy times on a unicorn.

Which characters will appear in The Witcher on Netflix? 

So far, we know that Yennefer, Ciri, Roach, and Triss will be joining Geralt, along with Regis the vampire and Emhyr var Emreis.

Dandelion will also be making an appearance, although for the show he'll be referred to as Jaskier, his original name from the novel series. 

“The characters are original, funny and constantly surprising and we can’t wait to bring them to life at Netflix," said producers Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko when the series was announced. 

Hissrich has even taken to describing each character via a series of recent tweets. Brace yourselves—there's a lot of detail here, and many hyphens for the more descriptive sections of Hissrich's tweets.

• Geralt is described as stoic, circumspect, balanced and fierce, and, in Hissrich's words: "soft-and-squishy-in-a-tiny-place-in-his-heart-that-he'll-never-reveal-until-maybe-the-end-and-even-then-it-will-just-be-a-hint."
• Yennefer, meanwhile, is fiery, proud, shrewd and contradictory, plus: "seeking-to-fill-a-family-sized-hole-in-her-heart-even-though-she-resents-it-and-swears-she's-just-fine-on-her-own-but-she-is-not-and-we-love-her-for-being-both-independent-and-vulnerable."
• Ciri is described as resilient, relentless, brazen and growing, and, according to Hissrich: "she's-going-to-change-the-world-and-what-the-hell-is-she-supposed-to-do-except-be-scared-and-be-bold-and-learn-and-adapt-and-find-a-family-who-can-walk-by-her-side-no-matter-what-and-maybe-just-maybe-teach-her-the-meaning-of-love."
• Roach is apparently "ladylike; faithful; extrasensory; steady". Hissrich adds this, too, as part of the same Twitter thread: "Really-annoyed-with-this-game-because-we-can’t-pretend-all-Roaches-are-the-same-so-she’d-prefer-some-singularity-and-individual-recognition-instead-of-all-being-lumped-together-by-blatantly-horsist-people."
• Jakier is extravagant, caddish, loose-lipped and loya. Plus: "Hides-behind-the-exterior-of-an-idiot-when-in-actuality-he-is-the-keeper-of-Geralt’s-realities-(even-if-he-exaggerates-his-own-heroics)-AND-the-truths-of-the-world-which-means-he’s-far-more-important-than-we-realize…"
• Triss Merigold is "Spunky; Idealistic; Insecure; Conflicted; Young-and-naive-and-lacking-the-confidence-of-sorceresses-which-means-she-is-ripe-for-manipulation-but-when-she-finally-transcends-the-crap-she-has-a-chance-to-be-loved-as-herself-and-not-as-'the-third-wheel-with-Yen'".
• Cahir is "Conflicted; Charismatic; Haunted; Pure of heart; Despite-being-young-he's-like-a-relic-of-a-simpler-time-when-knights-in-shining-armor-always-won-the-girl-but-now-in-the-face-of-harsh-reality-he-must-learn-what-it-means-to-actually-be-heroic-and-brave-for-others."

Phew, that was a lot of hyphens. Check out character descriptions for Regis, Vilgefortz, Ephyr, Milva, Leo Bonhart and Borch Three Jackdaws/Villentretenmerth deeper into Hissrich's Twitter thread, starting here. "This is a starting point, mostly because—how could characters ever be boiled down to five words (even with hyphens?)" Hissrich told fans on Twitter. "Also, the characters change and develop so much over the series that a summary can never be 100% accurate. Geralt starts off stoic. He doesn't end that way."

The Witcher Netflix series cast: Henry Cavill is Geralt

Henry Cavill said in August that he'd be interested in taking on the role of Geralt, but as it turns out he'd already been given the role: Netflix announced on September 4 that Cavill will portray the White Wolf in the series, after which showrunner Lauren Hissrich revealed that she'd had meetings with him about the taking the role four months earlier. "I've never forgotten the passion he brought. He IS Geralt. He always has been," she said. "I'm so thrilled to welcome Henry Cavill to the Witcher family."   

Cavill might seem a little too much of a Boy Scout to play a grizzled, world-weary monster hunter, but a fan-made image he shared on Instagram looks closer to the mark than you might expect. Perhaps more importantly, he got an enthusiastic endorsement from Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt in CD Projekt's Witcher RPG series, who said Cavill will "do a great job." 

 Other members of the cast haven't been announced, but we'll keep you posted. 

Where is The Witcher Netflix series going to be filmed?

Eastern Europe, naturally.

"WE'LL BE SHOOTING IN EASTERN EUROPE. Yes!" tweeted Hissrich. "This show couldn't exist anyplace else. Period."

While the show follows the novels more closely than the accompanying game series, we know that CD Projekt Red's cinematic director, Tomas Baginski—who directed the opening cinematics in all three Witcher games—is penciled in to direct as least one episode, so it'll be interesting to see if the show will be influenced by the style and motifs of its accompanying game series. 

We'll keep you updated on the show in the coming months. 

My least favorite sensation in all of gaming is when I'm playing an RPG, and I pick up a weapon, or a breastplate, or an incandescent bauble of no obvious importance, and suddenly my feet cement to the floor. My character is over-encumbered! I have to spend the next few minutes on the pause screen, deciding which knick-knacks in my inventory to leave abandoned on the side of the road. Once spry and light again, I continue my adventures deep into the murky chasms of whatever fantasy world I'm exploring, until inevitably I find another item I want and the exact same thing happens again. 

I am not alone in hating encumbrance. It's a source of constant annoyance for gamers everywhere, to the point of achieving meme status in certain communities. And yet, it's still common. Bethesda makes two of the most popular single-player franchises around with The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, and yet we've all crossed our weight limit and hampered ourselves in the middle of a fight with a rowdy sect of Super Mutants. CD Projekt Red is one of this industry's few near-universally beloved studios, and yet Geralt always seems to be one looted corpse away from completely losing control of his body. There are cases where it makes sense, obviously—of course Dark Souls has an opaque encumbrance system, given all its other intentionally draconian quirks—but it certainly seems weird that such a despised mechanic is implemented, and re-implemented, over and over again.

Why do big games, particularly open world games with thousands of objects that can be picked up and examined, so often turn to a mechanic where fun goes to die? I figure there must be a reason. I'm constantly in awe of just how much work it takes to create videogames, and generally, when I find something to be stupid and unintuitive, I'm willing to hear the experts out. There must be some method to the madness, right?

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, game director of The Witcher 3, outlined a few arguments for encumbrance when I emailed him. The first is probably the most obvious: Immersion. "Having a limit to how much equipment Geralt can carry plays a part in making the character and the world around him more believable," he says. "Yes, you’re playing as a professional monster slayer. He’s very strong, stronger than normal humans, due to experiments and mutations witchers have to endure throughout their rigorous training. But even then, Geralt has limits. It’s a small touch that packs a lot of punch for the role-playing aspect of an RPG."

Tomaszkiewicz tells me that he believes the fundamental purpose of an RPG is to embody the central character fully. That's why, he says, some players choose to unequip all of their armor before taking Geralt for a dip in a river or a lake. "They want to live the fantasy the game is enabling them to live, while keeping the experience as close to authentic as possible," he explains. It's the belief of CD Projekt Red that functions like encumbrance, while occasionally annoying, add up to a world that feels more consistent.

Oscar López Lacalle, lead designer of the survival game Conan Exiles, offers a similar justification. Exiles is different from The Witcher, in the sense that it packs a crafting system that heavily relies on resource harvesting and management, which makes it a pretty natural fit for a weight limit. But Lacalle tells me that the team decided to opt for an encumbrance mechanic, rather than a traditional inventory page, because it opened up the flexibility—and yes, the authenticity—of how you fleshed out your character.

"For example, we can set items like explosives to be artificially heavy because that makes players think on the logistics of sieging rather than just bringing unlimited explosive jars or trebuchets to breach any wall while still being able to fight at peak capacity," he says. "We can also say that all our core resources are much lighter than specialty items to enhance the feeling of rarity and the relative worth of items when compared with each other. This becomes an important factor in situations like coming back to your base loaded with riches, or relocating your base to a new location in the map. In general, it's a powerful tool to enhance and promote certain aspects of the game without adding other, more aggressive limitations."

That's just the front end of things though. Tomaszkiewicz highlights a number of  behind-the-scenes issues that make encumbrance systems necessary for a healthy experience. He mentions how too many items can clutter the UI, and that adding a limit helps "manage the chaos." Also, you can't ignore the fact that every piece of inventory takes up a sliver of memory, and for a game like The Witcher 3 that already asks a ton of your hardware, developers need to be frugal. "You've got to keep in mind what might happen performance-wise when players hoard insane amounts of items."

Lacalle swears up and down that encumbrance systems are not designed to make players uncomfortable. Instead, he hopes to simply coerce us into interesting choices. Exiles was specifically designed around the remaining weight a character will have access to after equipping a basic set of armor. What you do with that remaining space hollows out your place in the world, and your role in guilds. When he frames it like that, it sure sounds a lot more dynamic than simply choosing a class.

"We made heavy armor and certain weapons heavier—because we wanted to steer them towards the fighter archetypes—and certain materials heavier or lighter depending on how many are needed for typical activities and how rare they are supposed to be," he says. "For building pieces, we made them lighter than their material parts because we wanted players to commit to converting materials instead of amassing tons of raw resources, with a few hand-picked exceptions like Altars and Wheels of Pain. Finally and most importantly, sprinkle in some design voodoo (lots of testing and iterating) until it feels good!"

It's true that sometimes you don't know what you really want, and as much as it might sound fun to jog through The Northern Kingdoms with Geralt sucking up loot like a vacuum, I'm willing to admit that I might be misguided. However, it's clear that the world at large is not convinced.

Websites like Eurogamer and Motherboard have dedicated blog posts instructing on how to turn off encumbrance, ostensibly because there are so many people on the internet googling for answers. A mod that gives you infinite carry capacity in The Witcher 3 has been downloaded over 30,000 times (it's the third-most popular Witcher 3 mod on the Nexus). The "100x your carry weight" mod for Skyrim has been downloaded 380,000 times. The developers I spoke to are all reasonable people who make good points, but it's hard to shake that fundamental feeling that encumbrance only slows down our fun.

All that being said, maybe there's a way to make encumbrance better without completely purging it from the code. David J. Cobb has spent the bulk of his modding career tinkering with the nuts and bolts of Skyrim to create a more realistic, more demanding weight system, and he makes a strong point about how encumbrance is often poorly implemented. There's never any warning when you're about to become over-encumbered in Bethesda games. Your momentum comes to a screeching halt after you add one extraneous item to your inventory. "Like carrying hundreds of pounds of gear effortlessly, only to stop completely in your tracks because you decided to pick a flower on the side of the road," he says. He argues that instead of creating immersion, that breaks immersion.

Cobb came up with a set of checks and balances called Cobb Encumbrance that add progressive penalties to your speed and stamina as you add more weight to your character. Essentially, it's an uber-hardcore interpretation of the core Skyrim fantasy. Personally, that doesn't sound like my kind of thing, but it also feels a tad more honest than how most other games deal with encumbrance. Maybe it's not the answer, but it's certainly an answer. 

"The encumbrance mechanic has to be viewed as part of the broader experience," says Cobb. "It influences and is influenced by everything around it."

Thumbnail GIF via the delightful Skyrim animation above by Ferhod.

Nendoroid has unveiled its own spin on Geralt of Rivia, complete with his now iconic bathtime pose. Due in September this year, this slant on the White Wolf comes with a range of accessories, and is priced at ¥4,815 pre-tax via Good Smiles (which XE loosely converts to £31.50/$44.85 before shipping). 

For that, expect a pair of steel and silver swords, a hand of Gwent cards and, of course, a wooden bathtub. As you'll see in the images below, the Butcher of Blaviken is as handsome as ever in Nendoroid form, however an interchangeable face plate depicts his veiny potion overdose look which is never not scary.   

Check him out:  

Nendoroid Geralt joins the likes of Portal 2's Atlas, The Flash and Mario. 

Of course, developer CD Projekt RED once sent us a statue of The Witcher series protagonist bathing with his favourite magazine. In case you'd forgotten, that looks like this:  

Will this meme ever end? I hope not. 

The Witcher 3 is one of those RPGs that people just keep on playing and keep on modding. Our roundup of the Witcher 3's best mods include some projects that are still ongoing and totally rework combat and leveling into a different sort of RPG, while other mods are hellbent on making the game look like it did in early demos. To that end, a recent mod called E3 UI and HUD promises to restore The Witcher 3's interface to what it looked like in 2014, a year before CD Projekt finished the game. Overall it makes the menus and map a little more flavorful and less utilitarian, which could be a nice change if you already know The Witcher 3 like the back of your hand.

Some details about the mod, from its Nexus page: most of the menus now have an animated background, the HUD has unique Xbox button icons styled after the 2014 demo's, there's a new font, unique loading screens for traveling within a region to different signposts, a monster tracker that shows the beast you're after if you're on a monster hunt, and an integrated live bestiary. The map offer the biggest change: it now looks hand drawn and most of the icons are gone by default.

There are some options that come with the HUD as well: the new (old) map and minimap can be disabled altogether, as can the animated backgrounds, and there's a toggle to turn on the map legend if you need help finding a particular destination or point of interest.

"You may also have noticed the missing level indicator on monster no matter whether you have scaling on or off," the mod page says. "This is an intentional design decision. There was no level indicator at E3 and as faithful e3 fanatics we are, we kept that. We suggest to just play with enemy scaling on, as this is (in our opinion) the prefered way to play anyway. However there is a way to roughly know if an enemy is too high leveled for you to fight : if an enemy name is red, that means he's much higher than you and you probably should run away from the fight. If the name is E3 brown, feel free to wreck him."

Installing the mod is as simple as unzipping the files into the Witcher 3 directory and making a quick edit to an input settings file. You can download the mod, and see more screenshots, at its Nexus Mods page here.

Literature’s had a pretty good run, much of it without any fancy graphics and animations and particle effects to bolster the words. Games love text too. Text is cheap. You can paint a picture of galactic chaos or epic history in about the same time it takes to type ‘and then something cool happened’, without having to spend the next week designing armour and creating 3D characters to act it out. Yet despite centuries of practice, most games still haven’t worked out how to present all this (which let’s face it, is often there more for the writers’ satisfaction than our actual enjoyment) in a punchy, satisfying way. What works? What doesn’t? Let’s take a quick look at some of the ways games have handled books, letters, codexes and more. 

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Even when you don’t affect a world that much, it’s nice when it pretends. News stories are one of the best and cheapest ways to both highlight your achievements, and reframe them in interesting ways, from acts of heroism to outright terrorism. Human Revolution wrapped them in one of the sleekest packages for this—the Picus Daily Standard. At once a chance to see what was taking place out of your sphere, and see the effect of your adventures on the world. While even a few years later, the futuristic look feels distinctly retro compared to iPad news apps, to say nothing of whatever direct-brain interfaces we’ll likely have by the time of Deus Ex’s dark not-too-distant-future, Picus keeps it pretty, keeps it punchy, and above all, keeps it brief. 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Ah, but when it comes to eBooks, things aren’t so smooth. Look at this. Even the original Kindle would wince at these datapad layouts, complete with non-slidable panels, slow refresh rate, poor quality fonts and typography, and non-consistent use of glows. Sure, it’s readable, but it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to, even before factoring in that in the wasteful future of Deus Ex you apparently need a new device for every Wikipedia entry. The crappy quality of this design only stands out more amongst Mankind Divided’s otherwise superbly rendered future, where everything you encounter seems to have emerged fully formed from the brain of a maverick product genius. This, meanwhile, feels like a first attempt at customising Twine. 

Fallout 4

In the not-too-distant future, who needs books? We’ll have computers! Specifically, ghastly green teletype machines that would be tolerable for simple acts like opening doors, but could be much more of a nightmare if the cast of Five Nights At Freddy’s occasionally popped up for a jump-scare. The horrible font. The clackering of the text. The endless pages that try their best  to tell stories of post-apocalyptic horror, despite being locked in an interface that would make even a hardened wasteland explorer decide that whatever happened probably doesn’t matter that much. Even accounting for the 50s vibe of the rest of the game, these are hideous technological throwbacks that knife their own storytelling in the back. The closest they come to being appropriate to the setting is that in using them, the living definitely envy the dead. 

Skyrim / Ultima

What’s an RPG shelf without a few strangely short books that probably don’t need hundreds of pages and a stiff leather jacket? While RPGs have always been wise enough to realise that most players will accept this deviation from reality, it’s still interesting to look at the differences between these two great franchises. Skyrim for instance clearly assumes that all of Tamriel’s readers are half-blind—or possibly playing on a television screen—leading to very slow-paced tales on glorified flashcards. Ultima meanwhile wanted you to squint. But at least Ultima had the advantage that unless a book was specifically screaming ‘crucial plot element’, it was most likely to be flavour, sparing you tediously flicking through shelves in the hope of finding a boost to one of your skills. At least both franchises keep their tongues firmly in their cheeks, whether it’s The Elder Scrolls’ obsession with the Lusty Argonian Mage, or Ultima’s fine line of joke books, occasional explosive booby-trap pranks, and the revelation that wise Lord British, founder of Britannia’s favourite story is “Hubert the Lion”. Can’t sleep without it, apparently... 

Mass Effect

A controversial one here, perhaps, but Mass Effect is one of the games where the built-in Codex arguably makes the world less enjoyable. The game does a fantastic job of introducing everything that’s actually important without relying on it as a crutch, with the dry writing and endless unlockable pages of SF guff coming across as homework rather than a gripping read. Do we really need to know, for example, the origins of every last whiffle-bolt supplier on the Citadel? No. It’s just not that important. Save it for the design bible and tie-in books.

While there are a few interesting flourishes, including Codex entries based on what the universe thinks rather than necessarily the actual truth, the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy it is not. And ironically, it shows the difference itself, in the form of Mass Effect 2’s fantastic Shadow Broker DLC and the unlockable files within, which actually do give you a chance to peer at your party’s dirty little secrets. Jack’s secret love of poetry. Miranda’s online dating life. Tali’s repeated installation of a suit tool called ‘Nerve Stim Pro’. Oh, the blackmail opportunities...

Dishonored 2

Dishonored is a great example of how just a little thing can really annoy. Its text isn’t difficult to read, the font is pretty well chosen, if not exactly conveying the sense of a written document in the same way as many other games with this level of texture and detail, but does it really have to sway back and forth while you’re reading? There’s a time for ambient animation to breathe life into a scene, and a time to make the player feel slightly sea-sick. No. Scratch that. True for the first, not so much for the second. Swish… swish… it’s an effect applied to all the menus and other data screens and really contributes to making reading the lore an unpleasant experience. A shame, because that lore is actually interesting. Dunwall and Karnaca are two of gaming’s best cities, and their depth and backstory is fascinating. If you can stand to actually read it.

The Longest Journey and Life Is Strange

I'm bundling these together because they do the same basic concept—the primary text in the game is our main character’s diary. This serves several purposes, including offering a potted version of the story if you dip away for a while and forget things, but most importantly giving us a direct look inside their head. It’s a technique that only works if you actually like the main character, but fortunately that’s not a problem for either series and its charismatic leading ladies. In particular, it’s a way of bridging the gap between our perception of the game, as an untouchable god-figure, and theirs, as someone for whom all these moral decisions are actual life-changing events. Simply seeing the game from that perspective is enough to make everything carry that much more weight, and it doesn’t hurt that they’re fun reads too.

The Witcher 3

What separates The Witcher from most in-game codexes is its sense of character, with everything being described from the perspective of in-game poet, lover and occasional sidekick Dandelion. The nature of the game also rewarded taking the time to dip into the Codex, given that for a travelling monster-slayer, knowledge is power, and never took away from the fact that while us as players might not know our drowners from our necrophages, Geralt himself was always able to be a reliable source of information and provide the condensed version.

Realms of the Haunting

Here’s a retro classic, sadly not helped by the low-resolutions of the mid-90s. Nothing damages the mood of an otherwise well-made document like peering at it through a letter-box and finding it more poorly compressed than an old JPEG from a lost Geocities page. It’s not quite as bad blown up to full screen though, and even with its technical problems, it demonstrated how to write documents that actually fit the world and contributed to the lore without feeling like extracts from the design bible. Most took the form of letters between the characters, their identities not always immediately obvious, and turning the relatively simple battle between good and evil at the heart of the story into an epic tale of Faustian deals, ancient cults, doomed love, and a deep mythology stretching between multiple worlds. The visual look certainly didn’t hurt, with everything presented as aged pages, hand-drawn maps and messily scrawled journals. And if you didn’t like them, you got to burn several of them as part of a puzzle. Splendid.

The Neverhood

Of course, if you really, really want to make sure nobody misses your game’s lore, there’s always the Hall of Records—aka The Place Where Basically All The Game’s Backstory Is, as carved onto the walls of a corridor that takes about five minutes to trudge through even if you ignore all of the words. Oh, and when you get to the other end? You have to walk back, obviously. You know it’s good stuff when even a game’s own wiki states, and we quote, “it is suggested by most not to read all of it.” Truly great literature. Who could ask for anything less?

But of course, these are just a few cases. Which games have convinced you to pause saving the world to flick through a good book, and when has that background just been so much blah? It’s fun to get lost in backstory, just as long as the writers aren’t too obsessed with their own lore.