The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered Is The Definitive Way To Experience This Classic RPG

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered Is The Same Masterpiece You Remember, Now Better Than Ever Published Sep 29, 2026, 3:38 PM EDT Although Kaitlyn grew up with a passion for both video games and writing, she never imagined she'd eventually combine them into a career. Now, with several years of experience in the industry across Guides, Features, News, & Reviews, Kaitlyn enjoys nothing more than continuing to deep dive into the games she's passionate about and share her findings with readers. In her downtime, Kaitlyn enjoys unwinding with her favorite horror films, despite being a major scaredy-cat. It’s not every day that a decade-old game gets a new DLC. Then again, few games have ever had the same chokehold on the gaming industry that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has had since 2015. If you take a look at any list of must-play RPGs over the past 10 years, I guarantee The Witcher 3 will be there, and more often than not, it’s probably near the top. So it seems only fitting that such a widely acclaimed game receives the remaster treatment. To be clear, I’m not here to convince you that The Witcher 3 is good. The internet is filled with thousands of people praising its beautiful storytelling, fun combat, and immersive, expansive world. So if you haven’t been convinced yet, I’m not sure what else I can say other than, what are you waiting for? The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered is an entirely free upgrade for those who already own the original game, and after experiencing it firsthand, I’m blown away. The Story You Know With A Fresh Coat Of Paint Since this is a remaster and not a full remake, expectations need to be clear. The remaster does not add additional content to the game, at least in terms of quests or the overall story. That comes later in the aforementioned new DLC, Songs of the Past. Instead, the remaster is intended to breathe new life into a game whose legendary status is occasionally undermined by dated visuals and clunky controls. With that in mind, visuals are obviously the biggest upgrade here. Though I wouldn’t necessarily say The Witcher 3 looks bad, especially with the previous next-gen upgrade, the current pace of visual improvement in modern games has made even 5-year-old games look outdated. Which is why I’m happy to say I spent the first few hours in this remaster marveling at the vibrant landscapes and beautiful sunsets. Plain grass patches have been brought to life by colorful flowers, and the lighting creates a mix of bright rays from the sun and deep shadows that help asset textures pop, adding a layer of realism to all of Geralt’s surroundings. I won’t say that the game suddenly looks like a AAA game made in 2026, because it doesn’t, but it’s definitely a massive improvement on the original game and even the previous next-gen upgrade. I primarily played this on my Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS Version 3.8) to see how it fared on the handheld while testing several of the game’s graphics preset options. Based on my experience, I consistently remained above 30 FPS on Ultra, RT, and RT Ultra (with Path Tracing), above 40 FPS on High, and around 60 FPS on the designated Steam Deck option, though I wouldn’t recommend that last option unless necessary. Typically, I stayed on the High preset with a few tweaked settings because, frankly, I didn’t feel Ray Tracing was necessary, and there wasn’t enough of a visual difference to sacrifice extra FPS when 40 was comfortable for me. However, I think it’s important to note that I never once experienced a full crash, even while testing out higher Ray Tracing settings in large areas of the game. A Better Geralt. A Better Roach. A Better Experience. While enhanced visuals are great, that’s not all CD Projekt Red changed with this free update. Certain aspects of combat have received upgrades, transmog options are available through a system known as Reforge, and Photo Mode has received a ton of new options. That said, I unfortunately jumped into this remaster not long after wrapping up The Blood of Dawnwalker, an RPG made by some of the team that originally worked on The Witcher 3, so I do think I went into this a bit more critical of the remaster's combat than normal. I knew that there weren't going to be any significant upgrades to combat, but having Dawnwalker as a fresh comparison of what could've been made me a little bummed that it didn't receive more love in what I expect to be the last update the base game will receive, at least for several years. However, even though there’s still some clunkiness in Geralt's maneuvers, the camera seems to have improved during fights, a change I welcomed. Signs also appear to have had an effects upgrade, making them feel a bit more impactful, but again, this is mainly for visual benefit. The most significant gameplay overhaul is Geralt’s skill tree. If you take one look at it, you’ll notice it now follows a more traditional skill tree layout, meaning it opens up build possibilities for players, since abilities now work together differently and unlock faster. It’s still not a perfect system, but there are enough significant changes here that it’s worth playing through the game again and experimenting with, especially if you found it limiting previously. Now, what you’ve all been waiting for: Roach. Previously, Roach was not only temperamental, refusing to step over even minor inconveniences, but if you happened to enter combat while on horseback, well, good luck. Thankfully, most of that has been resolved in what I’d consider the most important upgrade in this remaster. Roach is now the convenient travel companion she always should have been. Not only is she now more willing to navigate terrain that shouldn’t have been an obstacle to begin with, but her handling is much more responsive, making it less of a nightmare to navigate small, crowded areas. I still wouldn’t recommend horseback combat, though. While Roach is great for travel, she still lacks the speed and complex control needed for fluid combat. A Gift For Longtime Fans Overall, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered doesn’t solve every problem the game has, but it does make a ton of improvements that both longtime fans and new players are bound to appreciate. Beyond the gameplay and visual upgrades, I spent over an hour just in Photo Mode playing with all the new options, which I highly recommend checking out, even if you don’t end up playing through the game again. The Reforge transmogrification system is also a generous addition that guarantees Geralt always looks his best, even without mods, which is certainly something I’ll never say no to. I’ve seen remastered versions of games sold as brand-new full-priced games despite doing less than this remaster does for The Witcher 3, and this one is entirely free if you already own a copy of the game. So it’s hard for me not to say that it’s worth hopping in and checking it out, even if you only take a couple of hours to appreciate some of the visual changes. Sure, there could’ve been more, but I can’t really bring myself to complain about the lack of further changes when it’s essentially a gift to those who have enjoyed the game in the past. If you have the chance to check it out, I’d highly recommend doing so, and if you’ve never played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt before, this is now the best version of a game that was already considered a masterpiece at its worst, so there’s really nothing that should be stopping you. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered Released September 29, 2026 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol Developer(s) CD Projekt Red Publisher(s) CD Projekt Red Franchise The Witcher Number of Players Single-player Genre(s) Action, Adventure, RPG, Open-World, Exploration