Early word on the imminent Blood and Wine expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt suggests that the new content improves upon the base game’s graphics considerably.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was one of the most widely praised releases of 2015, which puts a lot of pressure on its final planned expansion Blood and Wine. However, it seems like the DLC is shaping up to satisfy, not least because it makes major improvements to the game’s already impressive visuals.
Ahead of its release at the end of this month, the technical experts at Digital Foundry put Blood and Wine through its paces. During their time with the expansion, the team found tangible evidence that graphical elements like foliage quality and texture detail are better in Toussaint than they were in the base game.
In fact, Digital Foundry suggests that the new expansion helps the game reach the heights of its showing at E3 2014. While few would have complained about the visual competence of The Witcher 3, there were hints of disappointment upon its release that it didn’t look as spectacular as pre-release footage had.
However, it’s worth mentioning that these graphical upgrades don’t apply to locations that were introduced in the original release. Apparently CD Projekt Red considered implementing a broader overhaul, but decided it would be too much to commit to given the studio’s other commitments.
Digital Foundry put the PC version of Blood and Wine through its paces, but there’s reason to believe that the console versions of the game will receive a similarly impressive graphical boost. In fact, the outlet’s report states that the expansion’s performance on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will be its “real test.”
This refers to a new method of loading textures in groups, which should cut down on the performance issues some console players experienced while running through Wild Hunt. It seems clear that CD Projekt Red is utilizing all of its talents to make Blood and Wine a fitting end to its Witcher series.
Once the expansion is released, the studio will no doubt be focussing all of its attention on the promising Cyberpunk 2077. We still don’t know very much about the dystopian RPG, but that will perhaps change rather quickly now that The Witcher is no longer CD Projekt Red’s top priority.
For now, fans will be eager to get their hands on Blood and Wine to see if the game lives up to the hype. Based on impressions shared by those who have already spent some time in Toussaint, the answer seems to be a resounding ‘yes.’
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Its final expansion, Blood and Wine, is set to release on May 31.
Source: Gamespot
