CD Projekt RED’s first major expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is on the way with Hearts of Stone. Geralt will be embarking on a new adventure, dealing with the Man of Glass while fighting a new range of foes, and there will be plenty to look forward to in this lengthy adventure.
Though the developer has promised 10 hours of gameplay, senior gameplay designer Marcin Janiszewski did say it could be longer, especially when taking The Witcher 3’s base experience into consideration. “As for the size of the game, I think that we always subconsciously decide to communicate the more conservative number. In the case of Wild Hunt, early on in development there was a time we were a bit afraid that 100 hours would be stretching it… and half a year before launch we knew we had way more.
“I think it’s similar with Hearts of Stone. It’s a solid 10 hours of new adventures, but you can extend that way more if you set out to explore and, again, get lost in Geralt’s world.”
Janiszewski also revealed some new information about the Runewords which will allow players a higher level of customization in their character than before. “Runewords can significantly affect your character build, if you decide to experiment. For example, you can grab one that increases your health regeneration when you build up enough adrenaline, or a one which will deflect any arrow, so you no longer need to worry about archers sniping you from a distance. For people who like to custom-build Geralt’s skillset, especially on the higher difficulty levels, this element of HoS is going to be a blast. At least I hope so!” So if you’ve been feeling a bit constrained by the fixed skill slots available, especially on New Game Plus, then Runewords will offer some respite.
Hearts of Stone is out on October 13th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC so stay tuned for more information.
