With only a day left before many of us head back to a title we might have completed in its entirety at least once or twice at the time of writing, the excitement to return to Geralt’s adventure is palpable indeed. The Witcher 3 Remastered’s announcement may have come as a bit of a surprise, but we’ve all adjusted to the fact that it exists and is on its way by now.
Well, we told you about a lot of what was changing a while ago, but new information has come up since then to warrant a second look at what the remaster is doing both above and under the hood to make The Continent an open-world that stands tall among its current-gen peers. Let’s get right into it, blades drawn and a sign ready on our fingertips.
1. The New Adaptive Combat Camera
If you hopped on to test out the current-gen update that dropped a few years ago, the option to switch camera perspectives during exploration and combat instead of the original release’s fixed one was very welcome.
Well, Remastered is taking things a step further when Geralt draws a blade, making the camera become an ally all on its own by switching perspectives based on how many foes he’s facing at any given moment. That’s a great change and is one that should make those displays of swordsmanship we know you’re already preparing for look very immersive indeed.
2. Improvements To Quest Tracking
Going between your Journal and Map in the original release was a tad clunky, a part of the few flaws that the game had. It wasn’t game-breaking, yes, but it could be an annoyance in a game that was otherwise so high-quality. Well, that’s changing now, as the Map and your Journal are more unified.
Tracking objectives across different quests is now a thing, alongside Smart Filters that include proximity-based icons to let you know what you can get to within a radius you determine. We can’t wait to see what else is changing to make our Maps less cluttered and more focused on the things we know, love, and are experiencing in an entirely new light.
3. Reworked Motion Blur
CDPR has talked about improvements to motion blur implementations across the board, which should make panning your camera around in a fight, or perhaps speeding along a winding road on Roach, feel a lot more immersive.
It’s going to work well with all the other graphical improvements on the table to make Remastered feel like a worthy upgrade to an already great title, and we’re itching to join Vesemir at White Orchard as we wait to try it all out for ourselves.
4. Another HDR Upgrade
The next-gen update did a lot of good things to improve how things look and feel when you’re out in the world slaying monsters and chasing down obscure questlines, but things might be getting even better with the list of upgrades specifically mentioning HDR improvements.
We’re expecting to see better highlights, interior lighting and colors, darker corners, more authentic sunsets and fires, and better effects from Signs. That flamethrower upgrade on Igni could end up being something we use often just because of how cool it is, despite how useful it can be against monsters of all kinds.
5. Ray-Traced Hair On PC
We’ve spoken at length about ray tracing and path tracing on the PC version, but one of the things we’ve come to appreciate since then is that Geralt’s hair and beard are going to benefit from that if you have it running on your PC.
That’s going to be great if you’re a fan of how the game signifies the passage of time with your haircut getting gradually longer, now with the ability to throw light back at you when the conditions are right. Talk about a glow-up!
6. DirectX 12-Only Rendering on PC
An important change under the hood in the PC version of Remastered is that it’s going to run exclusively on DirectX 12, with DX11support being dropped.
CDPR has said that this is a change that’s going to help it support technical improvements and modern hardware more effectively, so it’s probably not a change you’re going to notice. However, it’s going to help maintain consistent quality across varying hardware if and when there are things to fix, which is always great to have.
7. Rendering Parallelization
Once again, this is something to look out for if you’re on PC, although what it brings to the table is going to be operating behind the scenes. But it’s very good news, as it’s going to make better use of your CPU’s cores, allowing them to run tasks much more efficiently.
We’re quite excited to see how this affects performance on our systems, but we’re quite optimistic about things improving given how well this one runs already.
8. 60 fps With Ray Tracing On PS5 Pro
Of course, the PC version of the game isn’t the only one getting some love from the developers, as the PS5 Pro version is now confirmed to have Ray Tracing with 60 fps as a performance target if that’s what you’re choosing to run.
That’s better than the 30 fps already on offer, and should make playing Remastered on Sony’s mid-gen powerhouse a great option for those of you looking to push it to its limits on a console.
9. Unlocked Framerates On PS5 Pro
Another thing to look forward to on the PS5 Pro is that Remastered is bringing unlocked framerates for those of you who want smooth performance out of it. On compatible displays, this could perform as high as 90 fps with PSSR working in the background.
That’s quite the boost, and it’s one we’re definitely going to test out in the open world as well as in combat quite extensively to see how it holds up under the strain that The Continent can place on any hardware when it’s firing on all cylinders.
10. Switch 2 Performance Targets
For those of you looking to trade in performance for portability, the Switch 2 version of Remastered is looking at 720p handheld and 1080p docked, with 30-40 fps as the target framerate.
If you’ve got a VRR-compatible 120Hz display, you’re looking at a more consistent 40 fps when you’re docked, which should help make things smoother when you’re not on the go.
11. Interesting Joy-Con Implementations
The Switch 2 version is also bringing mouse control support, and is even making the Joy-Con double up as one if you set it down on a surface through the addition of a dynamic mode.
That’s something to enjoy if you’re diving into this one on your Switch 2, and it could even become your preferred method of controlling Geralt and Roach as they travel across those sprawling maps.
12. Gyro Aiming On Switch 2
CDPR is clearly trying to bring as many goodies as it can to each version of Remastered, and this Switch 2 addition is sure to help with precision aiming, which should work well with the reported addition of sensitivity/camera controls to tweak.
That’s a great way to make using your signs or crossbows more seamless, while the new combat animations make switching to your swords even more fluid in the process. This is something we’re intrigued about, and we can’t wait to see how it changes the combat.
13. Touchscreen Support On Switch 2
The UI and QoL improvements have been a big part of the developer’s list of improvements, and the Switch 2 could make navigating the game’s many complex menus a whole lot easier thanks to the touchscreen becoming a part of it all.
Official touchscreen support is confirmed, and it’s sure to make switching your gear around, or perhaps disposing of stuff to clear a full inventory, a whole lot easier in the process.
14. Motion Pattern Gestures On Switch 2
This is among the ones we’re the most excited about, ever since CDPR showed Nintendo Life motion inputs that could be used to activate specific actions in-game. For instance, raising your right Joy-Con can have Geralt whistle for Roach, something that can make things feel immediately more immersive as a result.
We can’t wait to test out the full extent of these additions and see how they could change the way we approach the experience. We’re certainly hoping for distinct actions to draw either steel or silver swords, and hopefully ones to activate our Signs as well.
15. Xbox Play Anywhere Support
If you own the Xbox version of The Wild Hunt but want to play it on PC, this one’s sure to be good news to you, as you now get to do just that.
Just use your copy of the game to boot up a PC playthrough, and you’re all set, which should save you some cash otherwise spent on another copy. Which would still be worthwhile if you’re looking for all the new stuff it’s bringing, but having a cost-effective alternative never hurts, does it?
And that’s about it for this one. We can’t wait to see if The Witcher 3 Remastered manages to make a world that’s so familiar to us feel brand new, but given how reinventing great games has been kind of a thing for this particular team, we can’t help but feel optimistic about its chances.
