The Witcher 3 Remastered Review – A Classic Worth Revisiting

I didn’t think another playthrough of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was going to be on my gaming calendar for 2026, but here we are. The Witcher 3 Remastered is a welcome return to The Continent from CD Projekt Red, and the changes it brings to the original experience are excellent. My first with this game was on a PS4, and I remember hopping onto another playthrough on my PS5 when the next-gen update rolled out.

That one was pretty good, but it wasn’t enough to see me through to the end of the game on what was already my third time with the story. I did, however, lose many an evening to The Continent, returning to it in my downtime between new releases for a contract or two.

Has Remastered managed to wow me enough to make me take on that massive story and map again, and see things through to the finish this time around? Has that long list of changes been enough to make me commit to finishing it on my PC, with some of its improvements making it feel different, if not necessarily better?

I’d say yes, for the most part. That’s because CDPR has clearly aimed for a balance between the game we all know and love, and a version of it that’s ready to present Geralt’s penultimate chapter to us before Songs of the Past and Ciri takes over in The Witcher 4. When viewed through that lens, Remastered does bring changes that lay the groundwork for the franchise’s future.

The revamped visuals are where that’s most evident, with the new global illumination system working very well with ray tracing and path tracing to make every scene you witness feel so authentic and immersive. It helps that The Witcher 3 was already a very good-looking game to begin with, and Remastered feels like a completion of what its next-gen update started a few years ago.

It’s evident from the way the sun’s rays gently glance off Geralt and Vesemir’s armor in the first conversation the two men have, the morning’s light working well with the gentle glow of the campfire that they sat around at night. It’s in the way the world around you lights up as you speed by on Roach, the light bringing a revamped level of detail to life in a way that makes The Continent absolutely spellbinding to look at.

"Emyhr’s palace now comes with a sort of elegant opulence that simply wasn’t possible back in the day, its polished floors casting off reflections that are a great showcase of just how far the game has come."

I expect a lot of you are going to be spending time with the new Photo Mode once you dive into this one, and your time would definitely be well spent, as this one’s now the finest-looking version of a game whose visual appeal hadn’t faded over the years. Whether you’re indoors or outdoors, the new lighting system and support for Path Tracing and Ray Reconstruction mean you’re going to see light play off elements in the world in interesting and very immersive ways.

That early conversation with the Nilfgaardian captain in that ruined tower? The sunlight now glints off his armor with his every movement, and the same happens with the hilt of Geralt’s sword in that same scene. Emyhr’s palace now comes with a sort of elegant opulence that simply wasn’t possible back in the day, its polished floors casting off reflections that are a great showcase of just how far the game has come.

Of course, the new lighting system isn’t the only visual upgrade on board, as upgraded textures and improved foliage are also huge changes that become immediately evident. The world around Geralt in areas like White Orchard, or Toussaint if you choose to dive into Blood and Wine straightaway, is so lush and green it’s hard not to stop and take it all in.

Details on armor, skin, and surfaces all stand out now. The Bloody Baron’s years of gluttony are now showcased in the tired bags around his eyes and his skin. The glint in Geralt’s eyes now emphasizes his nature as a Witcher, while his hair and beard now benefit from path tracing as well.

"Once your blade is drawn, you immediately feel Geralt’s faster thanks to a quicker stride and smoother animations when you’re trying to close gaps."

However, it’s here that the changes that Remastered brings to the table begin to drop off in their immediate tangibility. You see, aside from the visuals, a lot of what’s going to make the experience feel fresh to returning players is buried under progress for the most part. Take transmogrification, for instance.

I was quite eager to pick up some of the armor sets that the next-gen update added and create a unique look by mixing and matching between them, only to find that the function is locked behind master armorers, unlocking any of which could take a while. Of course, given that most of the cool armor pieces in the game come with a level requirement anyway, making a beeline for one armorer or another could be a priority, but it would have been nice to have the option available right off the bat. Joanna would have been a great place to begin on that front.

The combat and revamped skill trees are other areas where the improvement that Remastered brings takes time to show itself. Once your blade is drawn, you immediately feel Geralt’s faster thanks to a quicker stride and smoother animations when you’re trying to close gaps.

His swings and stabs are also quicker, making weaving between attacks, parries, and dodges feel much better when you’re in the heat of battle. The new finishing animations are cool, and that’s keeping in mind that I only noticed a couple while I was in fights, thanks to how involved each encounter now feels.

The enemy AI is one of the two ways in which the revamped combat now calls to me. Enemies now coordinate their attacks better and try to remain in groups, which makes isolating one and tearing through their defences with a barrage of attacks not as easy as it once was. The combat now feels like a great balance between your Signs, swords, and secondary tools like your ranged weapon or bombs.

"Minor issues like Geralt’s hair going black in shadowy areas, or the continued lack of any way to match your step to your target in missions where you need to follow somebody, are annoyances but not game-breaking in the slightest."

The dynamic camera is the second, and it’s among my favorite parts of Remastered. It works like a charm, for starters, intelligently panning in and out based on how many enemies Geralt was trying to deal with at any given time, and the way it closes in on the last foe in an encounter makes ending each fight feel quite cinematic in an effortless sort of way.

As for the revamped Skill Trees, they’re going to look like the same old skills have simply been moved around at first glance, but it’s when you pick a few Ability Points and begin to spend them that you begin to see how the new layouts make sense. It was evident across all the ability trees you have at your disposal, and it’s a great way of helping you funnel your points into abilities that work well with each other in the early game while leaving you free to swap them out once you get better ones.

Let’s not forget about how it all comes together and performs to present a cohesive experience. I was able to get frame rates of 145-170 fps on my Ryzen 5 5600, RTX 5060 Ti 8GB with 32GB of RAM on board, running a balance between High and Ultra settings while rendering the game at 1080p with DLSS and Frame Generation on. I had Path Tracing active and applied to Geralt’s hair as well, and noticed no stuttering, pop-in, or drops in performance across nearly a dozen hours in the game.

Minor issues like Geralt’s hair going black in shadowy areas, or the continued lack of any way to match your step to your target in missions where you need to follow somebody, are annoyances but not game-breaking in the slightest. The latter should have been something that Remastered paid attention to, though, given how the new movement systems feel smoother in motion, although Geralt’s still not the most nimble hero around by any standards when you’re exploring the world.

"With the two expansions factored in, this is the definitive way to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and it’s a modernization of a title that has received a lot of love from its makers and audiences over the years."

With all that’s changed, and all that’s stayed the same, I’m sure you’re wondering if Remastered has done enough to ensure I finish what could be my third and potentially final playthrough of the game before I dive into Songs of the Past.

I’m happy to say that I’m going to see things through to the end this time around, and that this one’s so darn easy to recommend thanks to how much it changes and the fact that it’s free. With the two expansions factored in, this is the definitive way to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and it’s a modernization of a title that has received a lot of love from its makers and audiences over the years.

Remastered is an excellent showcase of why that’s the case, and a fine way to indulge in one last romp across The Continent with grumpy old Geralt before Ciri’s charm and compassion take center stage in a new tale that’s sure to test them both alongside her prowess with the blade and her innate abilities.

But for now, I’m happy to stick with the Butcher of Blaviken and shape the world around him, one gravelly-voiced conversation at a time.

This game was reviewed on PC.