A bunch of Polish gaming outlets were invited for a closed hands-on presentation of the game and their impressions are just in.
Here's one article that actually does mention some flaws among a sea of compliments in other previews.
http://gamezilla.komputerswiat.pl/zapowiedzi/2015/1/dziki-gon-w-tarapatach-gralismy-w-wiedzmina-3
Title: Wild Hunt in trouble. We've played the Witcher 3.
My summary of every paragraph:
Graphics:
The game isn't pretty. In fact, it's a lot worse than the trailers and on-stage presentations. No v-sync at all as the screen tears almost constantly (the previewer ironically calls it "a feature"). Dynamic time of day is great, but the dawning sun is just an orange texture, nothing more. World textures (buildings, grass) are really pixelated when you get closer, and the pre-rendered cut scenes are visibly compressed.
That was coming from "high" settings on Intel Core i7-4790, GeForce GTX 980, 4GB GDDR5 and 8GB DDR3 RAM. The console version supposedly looks "slightly" worse, but at least versions for both platforms are indistinguishable from each other.
From what he's saying - Dragon Age: Inquisition looks a lot better and does it without struggling too much. Tree and grass foliage is bland and flat.
Bugs:
The game was delayed for a reason. TW3 in its current state simply could not be released. The previewer says, that it's not a complete failure, rather a sum of small tragedies that translate into one, bigger nightmare.
Bugs are constant and ever-present. From disappearing objects, sleeping NPCs hanging in mid-air over their beds to graphical artifacts that required restarting the build. He spent three hours with the game and encountered lesser and more severe bugs almost every moment.
Upsides:
Judging from the presented fragment, the world indeed could be huge. Every NPC has their own voice and is busy with their own chores. You see wild animals in the forests and meadows. In general it's really impressive and very convincing. The presented quest engaged Geralt in some detective work. It required completing a few smaller phases, gathering information and leads that allow you to get the big picture and complete the main quest. The previewer got the chance to hunt a griffon along with Vesemir, a fellow Witcher and later on - search for a bunch of criminals guilty of murder during a feast in the Kaer Trolde castle in Skellige.
The devs say that the player can abandon the main quest and freely go doing what Witchers do best - hunting monsters. Apparently there is also some solution to the problem of Geralt getting too powerful, but they aren't yet mentioning any details.
Also, in terms of minor activities - the card game looks really fun and complex. The author calls it "one of the most fun features he's seen in Wild Hunt".
The combat system and using signs received a significant revamp. Supposedly signs are more difficult to use and more "narrow" in their application. The combat is more dynamic, and requires rolling in critical moments. He compares it to a "less frustrating and masochistic Souls game".
The inventory screen also received a redesign. It ain't pretty, but definitely is less chaotic and easier to navigate using a console controller.
Character development also has changed. Instead of traditional skill trees we are presented with icons icons divided into square sets responsible for particular skills. Each one costs a set amount of skill points. Some are passive and some active. Purchased skills have to be set in appropriate skill slots, which limits the amount of skills we can use in a particular moment.
Geralt also received a crossbow during the griffon fight. Supposedly it worked even better than the regular sword. It's noted that some balancing would be good, as it was a lot easier to just shoot down the monster with bolts, than fight in close combat.
Jumping and climbing animations look like they were animated without motion capture. While jumping Geralt drifts in the air, then suddenly loses his momentum and gains weight. It's difficult to describe, but apparently looks really awkward. Also, climbing animation tends to get glitchy.
My comment:
To sum up - the world, quests and the combat system looks impressive, but on the technical side - it's a buggy mess. There's no word on how old the build it is, but I don't think CDPR would want to show something outdated in such a big preview event.
As to the website itself - it's a quite respectable independent site and one of the few I read from time to time. Their opinions can certainly be trusted.
Also, from what I've read on some other websites - the combat systems seems to gather quite divisive opinions. Some praise it, others - not really. There are mentions that lock-on and attacks don't really "click" and attack timings feel counter intuitive.
That seems probable, as IMO the X360 version of Witcher 2 had an abysmally bad combat system. It looked like a collision detection hybrid of Souls (rolling) and Arkham games (timings, attacks, overall feel) but in truth worked like it does in pretty every MMO ever. I mean, hits connecting when the slash animation clearly doesn't (or worse even - when you rolled away three metres from an enemy) just screams bad design.
It definitely is one of my biggest worries about Wild Hunt. If they won't fuck up the combat, the rest I can manage.
