Is The Witcher 3 Better Than Skyrim?

Since Bethesda released their epic open-world role playing game in 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has generally been considered the gold standard in western RPGs. It is arguably the yardstick by which all games of a similar genre are measured against, and with good reason. Skyrim is one of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling RPGs of all time and is still one of the most widely played games now according to Steam statistics. In fact, it was the first game that we ever gave a five star review score to.

However, there’s a new kid on the block. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released to impressive reviews and equally impressive sales figures, shifting 4 million copies in two weeks. Now the game has been out for over a month and the post-release hype has somewhat died down, it’s a good time to take a deep breath and attempt to calmly answer the question that has fervently been asked so many times this month: is The Witcher 3 actually better than Skyrim?

[ArchangelMike]

I absolutely loved Skyrim, but I have to say the Witcher 3, has an edge over Skyrim because of the overall level of polish in it's characters, storytelling, and combat.

Skyrim had better character customisation - but a silent protaginst. Where as The Witcher 3 has no character customisation, but a fully voiced and fully fleshed out character.

Overall I think The Witcher 3 is the better game. But thats just me.

[Irishguy95]

I admit i'm very biased as I don't actually like Skyrim. I LOVE the witcher 3 tho. It did everything right for me. Everything that skyrim did poorly, the witcher did exceptionally well.

Simply put, for me, I don't care about exploring just for the sake of it, I strongly dislike level scaling too and after I played Oblivion a few times I haven't cared for character customization in since(appearance wise). Skyrim also took out attributes of races which I dislike. Morrowind even more so, as you know..speed and jump where actual quantifiable attributes in that and a lesser extent in Oblivion. Dunno what Bethesda were thinking messing with that.

Is there actually an aspect the Witcher 3 does poorly? The only thing for me was clunky sometimes, outside of combat. Other than that it was amazing in every area.

Hmm I played it on PC so it was very stable too and bug free. Haha thinking about it, the witcher 3 had more bugs on consoles whereas Arkham Knight is bug riddled on PC. 3 Sets of gamers got a few kicks in the nuts although Witcher wasn't nearly as buggy on Console as Arkham on PC

Edit - Gameplay?? XD not a chance, Skyrim had flat, shallow gameplay, the combat is terrible, there a 'melee' enemies, and ranged enemies. They don't offer anything different other than that, even mages act as 'ranged' and don't play any differently. The shouts were the only cool thing. The magic was also bad, no difference between Fire, electricity and ice other than MINOR effects. Not to mention level scaling killed any sense of 'progression'. Unlike the Witcher.

[Ezz2013]

As someone who love witcher 3 ALOT more than skyrim

Skyrim wins in gameplay
It offer much more than Witcher 3 in gameplay

Incredible amount of magic powers.
The shouts(one of my favorites when i make the sky drop thunder on enemies or call my dragon to help me.etc).
The armors are much cooler.
The weapons are better.
I get to have people follow me

Everything else goes to Witcher 3 though
Story,Quests,Music,Graphics,
Setting,exploration.

My rate for W3 is a 9/10
and Skyrim 8/10

[Khajiit86]

@Ezz

I agree, Loved aiming a crossbow and shooting it wherever i liked in Skyrim.

For me
Witcher 3 9.5
Skyrim 9.0

[Somebody]

@Ezz

Agreed. I see Skyrim as having a bit too much in a lot of aspects compared to TW3. My character can do almost anything I want like pickpocketing, become masters of different weapons, become a weapon smith or armorer, learning a lot of spells, and sneaking around to name a few.

I didn't care about the struggles of the people in Skyrim(I see them as XP dispensers) but I listened intently to each and every character I met in TW3. In Skyrim I ran off the main quest line to explore the world to grind for XP to build up the countless skills I need to build up while in TW3 I ran off to open up new chapters of story across that world.

Skyrim is too much of a fantasy hero simulator while TW3 is more like an interactive fantasy hero novel.

[Blachek]

*The Link is broken.

I'm really interested in the Witcher 3. From what i've seen it looks interesting, fantastical, and polished. I don't know that i'll buy a next gen console to give it a shot... but I may get one in the future and try it out.

Character Customization is a huge pull for me. I don't know why I like it soo much, but I seem to play games with it for longer and feel a bit more attached. That is my only concern from what I've seen and read so far.

[Thunder_G0d_Bane]

Totally agree.

[joab777]

For me, TW3 is much better. It's also a few yrs later. But the storytelling in its quests is unparalleled, especially for an open world game. I like the combat and options much better too. And even though TW3 isn't too hard, it's much harder than Skyrim. They ate both broken in the sense that you can easily become OP.

Both great games for sure, but TW3 is definitely the better game. That siad, it came afterwards.

[sensor21]

Just cause u bought witcher 3 and dont have skyrim please dont think for a second the online gameplay alone with 200 people is not better. SCROLLS

[geddesmond]

Yes the Witcher 3 is better than Skyrim but the Witcher 3 still needs things like player housing because if I'm gonna find all these amazing looking swords and armour in the witcher 3 then I want a place to display them

[Magicite]

I think this is not a question anymore, Witcher blows other open world rpgs out of the water.

[pivotplease]

Always preferred the silent protagonist so that my imagination could compensate for often mediocre voiceacting. The character is also supposed to be you in TES whereas in The Witcher you're already a certain person with a set name, looks, etc. Having someone else's voice kind of kills this sense of immersion imo. Maybe I just prefer the sense of a visual novel in my RPGs over the feeling of watching a movie. I leave that to games that actually pull it off like Uncharted.

[starchild]

Personally for my tastes The Witcher 3 is a much better game. The narrative and characters in Skyrim never really clicked for me. The Witcher 3 has the full package: great characters, fantastic narrative, excellent combat, beautiful graphics, nice exploration, deep character progression, a wide variety of monsters and other enemy types, and so on. It's simply one of the best games I've ever played.

That said, it's still completely valid to prefer another game like Skyrim. These things are a matter of taste, at the end of the day.

[showtimefolks]

That's not even a question. Witcher 3 is better in every way. And it's not a glitch fest like skyrim was.

COMBAT IS BETTER
story is better
bigger and better open world
interesting side quests

[oIITSBIIo]

Yes.

[gosukyomomma]

Yes

[psplova]

I think that W3 is better overall, yes. But Skyrim has the edge when it comes to the music and the level of total immersion and exploration for me.. Little details like the books or the way everthing just melded into this alternate universe was something I'll never forget or take for granted. Skyrim was special. A one of a kind experience.

[ThePope]

I 100% agree with you in regards to the music. TW3 doesn't have enough in the way of variety.

[thekhurg]

I couldn't get away from leveling scaling and fetch quests enough to enjoy Skyrim.

[Thunder_G0d_Bane]

Without a single doubt Yes.

[danowat]

Hell yes.

[Baka-akaB]

The whole serie is better in so many aspects anyway . And W3 adds some impressive level of exploration , so yes .

[Paleblood]

I think The Witcher 3 is better. The quests are very interesting. The world is rich and beautiful. I love being able to lock on a target (can't do that on Skyrim), I love the romance options, Triss and Yen are so good, I love Ciri too.

So yes, for me is better.

I also hold Bloodborne and The Witcher 3 as the best RPG games of this gear. Love them both.

[Summons75]

Why are we even still debating this? Also No, they are two completely different types of experiences and both have pros and cons against each other. I like Skyrim more because it is fully open world, not just hubs like Witcher 3. Withcer 3 has a more lively world and a better story. Skyrim has a better leveling system and it's not a chore to get/build/upgrade weapons and armor.

They're both equally amazing.

[Avin1973]

Yes, it is better.

[OhMyGandhi]

I loved Witcher 3. Great storytelling, great combat.
For whatever reason, When playing Skyrim, I can't help but appreciate just how VAST the world is. While there are load times between interiors and exteriors, the world is so deftly polished and beautiful. Skyrim, being an older game, is a grandiose place to explore. The music, the sound effects, there is that magical "thing" that is hard to quantify that works for Skyrim, the same way it does Fallout. The game wishes to instill in the player a grand adventure, and that the journey between two points is just as satisfying as reaching the final destination.

While the witcher games are absolutely outstanding, in nearly every aspect. I never got the feeling like I was truly in control, for whatever reason. Bethesda can learn a thing or two in regards to combat and a tighter narrative structure. The fact that CDPR are a smaller studio, it goes to show just how incredible their games really are. I wouldn't expect them to craft a humongous world like Skyrim on their budget.

Part of the joy with Skyrim comes from the fact that (for me) there is much joy to be had with simply crossing a river, or climbing a mountain. Nothing is going on. No enemies, no pesky environment based death traps. Just you and the wilderness. That's where the beauty of the franchise can be seen and admired.

[Entonations]

Totally agree

[Grap]

YES

[_-EDMIX-_]

The lolz, nope. Witcher is a great series, but its not near an Elder Scrolls. The fact that anyone is comparing a 2011 game to a 2015 game speaks volumes to Skyrim, not Witcher.

Witcher has a deep story, but its best parts have been its smaller side quest to add more to the world and lore. Elder Scrolls as a series gets a lot of its amazing experiences from walking off the beaten path and just going your own way. It isn't a set story, you can be any race, player type etc. They are just different games, but in terms of just pure RPG's, Elder Scrolls will always have an edge, they've been around longer, done more games etc.

I knew Witcher 3 would have some issues as its their first open world game, that isn't the case with Elder Scrolls V, TESV is very much progressive development from their other titles as they've perfected the open world experience. I don't think in 1 game, CDPR could just out do Bethesda in something they've done longer in terms of open worlds.

Ie ...just look at the way points in TESV, yet your looking at a map in Witcher. Its just based on one team having a stronger history with the open world rpg concept then the other.

I love and play both series, but I can't do in The Witcher, things I can do in Elder Scrolls.

If Witcher 3 is comparable to Skyrim, it won't hold a candle to TESVI, as Skyrim already does many things better, but again...they are way, way different games with different play styles.

[Baka-akaB]

I disagree about the part of ESV having no issues ... If anything it had every issues you expected from open world games , and mind blowing oversights that had to be fixed by the PC mod community , before Bethesda addressed those . And it wasnt really playable for many on consoles (at least on ps3) before a flurry of patches .

I think Cd Projekt would oudo them on their very first true open world game , if that was a project they wanted to do . They didnt with W3 .

[MysticStrummer]

"it wasnt really playable for many on consoles (at least on ps3) before a flurry of patches"

I got it at the midnight launch and didn't start having trouble with it on PS3 until they started patching.

[_-EDMIX-_]

"I disagree about the part of ESV having no issues" lol, me too, not sure where you read I stated it had no issues.

I'm merely stating that ES has been open world longer, thus has fixed many concepts in terms of quest, way points, races, guilds etc that Witcher hasn't had to deal with as of yet.

I love all the work CDPR does, but they still need work in terms of making open world games as this is their first huge one. Elder Scrolls has had many, hell Bethesda in general has had many.

I'm again not saying anything regarding technical issues as that has nothing to do with what I'm referring to. Both games got lots of patches, both series still good, both series I still buy, sorry but its not enough of an issue to have me not play either so, not sure what it has to do with what we are talking about, I'm again referring to the design that they choose with The Witcher 3.

You can't play different races, different classes, join guilds, own land or a house, side quest get locked off etc Its not a bad thing, its just different in that regard and in some slight regards lessor. ES lives off of those side quest lore building concepts, though some can get locked off, no where near as much as in The Witcher series.

Witcher does amazing things well, like combat, I personally love its combat in the series. Other then that, its a great first try at open world, but you very much see the mistakes made that likely would be fixed in CDPR later games.

ie in Cyberpunk 2077, we will likely see way points 3D and on screen vs at the bottom of the screen on the map.

Its a small example of something that Bethesda has figured out over time, where as CDPR likely has gotten that it wasn't a wise choose to have folks staring at a map for minutes on end (likely hours after you factor in a whole play thorough of traveling)

But that is all just based on design, one team did it longer, this is another teams first crack at the concept, of course in terms of design the more established team will have that figured out a bit better after many tries vs the first try. I'm sure many things in Fallout 4 have been fixed from Fallout 3 if that helps.

I didn't have that much trouble with Skyrim and I got it at launch on PC, put over 80 hours in it and put over 100 on the PS3 version, but didn't get it at launch so I can't speak on those issues other might have had. The mods on any game will fix lots of issues ie "no loading mod" or the "open city mod" etc But that again can be stated about any game with mods, that doesn't really mean much lol.

Could I not mod Witcher 3 to have its way points in 3D on screen vs the map? lol, that doesn't mean CDPR did anything wrong, it just means mods will add many extras, for any game.

I think CDPR learned a lot with Witcher 3 and those fixes in design will be brought over to Cyberpunk 2077.

I just think both TES and Witcher are just too different to really be compared properly. To have different playable races in Witcher, is to get rid of that rich character driven story, but is to also lack that open complexity, to add a main character in TES and no other playable races, is to take away that open, player driven lore that many have grown to love.

They do great things in their own respects. I don't want Witcher like TES, I don't want TES like Witcher.

[Phoenix76]

Seems a bit unfair really, comparing a game that is only a few months old next to a game that is several years old!

[Khajiit86]

I agree, which is why we should judge them for their time... Really it can go either way when you look at it that way. I love Skyrim giving me the option of FP or 3rdP views, I think most games should do that. I like the gameplay better in Skyrim but Witcher 3 is much better at everything else.

[cfc83]

I loved witcher 3. I can't get into games like fallout or skyrim because the bright colour textures, strong characters and good storyline ain't there. I appreciate fallout was in the witcher 2 era. I just struggle to click with games that have inferior story's and boring characters. Sadly that sums up alot of games. Customisation isn't important as long as devs create a good main character, though a change of armour etc doesn't go amiss.

[MaxiPower90]

Loved Skyrim... but the Witcher raises the bar.. Fantastic RPG and world.

[Vanfernal]

Are apples better than oranges?

[bloodybutcher]

Yes. I love the apple-quests and dialogue, though oranges have upper hand with customization.

[DEEBO]

Witcher3

[UnHoly_One]

Not even close.

[thekhurg]

Agreed. Witcher 3 is pretty far ahead of skyrim.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

the story is far better in both delivery and writing.... The worlds though are comparable imo... And obviously Skyrim has a much deeper character class system allowing you to create who you want to be instead of being just Geralt.

[smolinsk]

With no first person view, no bow and arrow and no total open world feeling, the win goes to Skyrim.

[MysticStrummer]

As an old school pencil and paper D&D guy, The Elder Scrolls wins over any RPG that tells me who my character is.

[Dark-Funeral]

Every game has its own way of delivering story

Skyrim was better than the witcher 3 in term of world and diversity of weather and locations and huge number of dungeons. the best Level up system and skill tree.

but still lack the story very bad

the witcher gave me a balance game with a lovely characters and AN immersive story telling,great great side quest and a Huge number of different creatures.

I believe the witcher 3 is better in some Area and Skyrim is better in the other

For me both of them get 11 out of 10

[slappy508]

Ja oui Yebo Si այո Ydy да ναί tak Ee po bəli Bai da jah,... and in case you didnt catch that HELL YES!

[Roccetarius]

The Witcher 3 is a good game, and the combat is most definitely better than what Skyrim offers, even if it's not perfect. I have to admit though, the game still suffers from too many plot holes and missing consequences / dialogue. Too many things from previous games were made irrelevant and characters outright has amnesia about it. It also has the feeling of them dialing back the adult and more towards teen with the game.

They also need to push out the Redkit faster than 2 years later, because people will have moved on by then.

Final note - it's obvious the world structure of Witcher 3 impacted the game, and not in a good way.

[thekhurg]

There is nothing teen about witcher 3...

[Roccetarius]

Look at the overall package between their previous games and Witcher 3, then tell me they're still designing the game for adults. Something happened with Witcher 3, be it either SJW's pressuring them or something else that i'm positive is the reason.

Witcher 1 and 2 didn't have the shackles that binds Witcher 3, but you wouldn't understand the big picture without looking into the game's content and reading the official forums where likeminded people concluded the same.

The point getting across here - CDPR no longer considers the player intelligent enough to understand the game.

[Tequila_Wolf]

Yes. The Witcher 3 is way better than the broken mess that Skyrim was.

[Edi007]

Absolutely, witcher 3 take the crown of rpg games

[Mariusmssj]

Yep, Witcher 3 got my interested to finish it. I tried playing Skyrim 4 times but it was always not as flushed out.

[RiseofScorpio]

LoL comparing a last gen Elder Scrolls vs a next gen only Witcher that could do much more due to better technology. Its like comparing a bow and arrow to a sniper rifle.

[Dark-Funeral]

it is not about the graphics or the frame rate or the resolution

we are talking which is the best approach for An RPG game.

the witcher felt more RPG than skyrim

but each one is a masterpiece in its own way

[truth73]

yes hands down

[GearSkiN]

Give me a game that beats witcher 3 side quest missions n then we will talk.

[Simco876]

Fallout 4 hopefully.

[pop-voxuli]

Not even close

[BattleTorn]

"However, swordplay is nowhere near as slick as games such as Shadow of Mordor or Assassin’s Creed."

You mean scripted?

[HeyNowChillax]

I haven't enjoyed an RPG on any system more than the Witcher 3 since Fallout 3. Skyrim was fun to explore, customize and enchant, but you quickly became a walking god and it just killed the game. Plus, Skyrim's story was just uninteresting which made the game less fun past the incredible exploration. I found myself ditching pointless quests to find wild artifacts most of the time. Did anyone else feel like the FP sword combat just didn't connect? I never felt like I doing anything more than swinging away until whatever was in front of me turned to loot. Being a mage was a lot more fun in that respect for me at least.

The score was amazing and the atmosphere was incredible, yet Witcher 3 rivals those achievements. Let it not be said Skyrim doesn't look as good as W3 today because of tech limits. Even unmodded, that game on HQ settings on PC is nuts (if not buggy) even today.

I think W3 has a major advantage through strategic combat, great story telling and overall immersion of the world they weaved. A epic sized world which is interesting, fun to explore and get involved with.

[andrewer]

IMO morrowind>witcher 3>skyrim. Morrowind fan to the grave xD

[Cherchez La Ghost]

The only edge I give Skyrim over Witcher 3 is companions. I took NPC's from escort missions and took them with me for other missions. And conjuring companions also. I had a squad working for me in dungeons. LoL!

[Tzuno]

No, people are attracted to beautiful graphics, yes witcher 3 is nice and has some cool features but Skyrim is Skyrim.

[Relientk77]

Personally I think Witcher 3 is better, but this is an opinion

[Hayabusa 117]

The fact that Witcher 3 is even being compared to last gen Skyrim is a testament to how good Skyrim is, and how much of a let down Witcher 3 is as a next(current) gen RPG.

There are tons of pros and cons for both games, but essentially it boils to one word: fun. Skyrim is way more fun than Witcher 3. Despite Witcher 3 being more cinematc, having better writing, better characters, better storyline,better graphics,meater side quests,better magic and better sword play.

But Skyrim is just more fun as a game in my opinion. There's more variety and customization in Skyrim not to mention more detail goes into the small dynamic things you can interact with. That's what sucks me into the Elder Scrolls world so easily, and why I can play it in spite of it's flaws. W3 on the other hand, despite being more technically polished, is a whole lot more clinical and boring. The combat is cool but it isn't going to make me keep playing the game after experiencing Shadows of Mordor's combat system.

So no, Skyrim is better.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Fun is subjective from person to person. The article is talking about which is the better RPG. Skyrim is being compared because it's the most popular WRPG released in recent years and many people think it's the best game ever, but when you become more perceptive of what's going on you find out the sad truth that Skyrim is about as much of an RPG as Call of Duty. So like you say Witcher 3 is a better RPG because of the things you listed.

[Simco876]

Disagree. I'm having way more fun playing Witcher 3 than Skyrim...but I like a more laid back story and side quests. Hence my Fallout love, Skyrim was a little too serious. IMO

[clouds5]

For me absolutely yes Witcher 3 is the better game. But it's also a totally different game for me. I played skyrim twice and both times I ended up modding and exploring and enjoying the world. But the quests, characters and story lines hmhmhm not my cup of tea I guess. In the end I made myself overpowered with enchanting and crafting and created the ultimative sexy ninja dual wielding ass kicking elven super dragon slayer girl and that was it for me. After about 200 hours I have no idea what skyrim is about and I don't care.

The witcher though. It's a masterpiece that made me cry and shiver in awe and thinking, more than once, what a beautiful game - how did they do that? I didn't think it was possible that we get that kind of game! It's simply a piece of art. Just started my deathmarch completionist playthrough and after having played through it already(like 50h) I'm still as pumped to start it up as day one. And that really says something for a guy like me that plays games since almost 20 years. I don't get that feeling all too often.

[Viryu]

I've completed Skyrim 100% along with the DLCs and obtained Platinum. I'm also near completing The Witcher 100% as well. Here are my thoughts so far:

Combat is far more personal in Skyrim, with a much bigger variety and options. The Witcher 3 reminds me of combat in Assassin's Creed series, dodge, dodge, attack, counter, attack. There are many "unique" swords, but outside of their names they all feel the same.

Open World wise, Skyrim is bigger, while The Witcher has more "small details" put in the world. Skyrim's cities are few, but have more going on in them, they just feel alive. The Witcher's cities are just nameless (outside of 2 bigger ones), leave no impact, NPCs are comparable to what you could have seen in AC games.

Story and Quests, and other stuff to do - each and every quest in The Witcher 3 is written really well, and it's a nice change of pace to not have to do fetch X items or kill X enemies. Problem is, the intensity of quests and nothing else to do really hurts the game. After the first half I was just skipping the subquest dialogues altogether, it became too tedious. Skyrim had a much bigger diversity when it comes entertaining yourself outside of quests, with smithing, crafting and most importantly exploration...

Exploration - Yeah, Witcher kinda loses here. Outside of generic chest markers on the map, a'la Assassin's Creed Unity, there's a very limited drive to actually explore anything. In the beginning most stuff is out of your level and later quests will bring you there anyway. There are no real secrets, since everything is marked on the map. Skyrim, the first thing I did? Explore the spaghetti out of the world, completely ignoring the quests. It just has that magic to it.

[JamesBroski]

Two different experiences, two different games.

[TheHaloGuy]

Imo they are different games with different tones to them and different combat. So I cant compare them, personally.

[Tex117]

Both great games in their own right, but I found Witcher 3 more compelling in terms of narrative both main and side quests.

Everything felt so natural.

[WizzroSupreme]

It's a lot more character-driven than Skryim. Witcher is like Game of Thrones while Skyrim is more like Lord of the Rings. One's about the people and the other's more lore/universe-driven. Both are two sides of the same action-fantasy game coin, but I sure do like The Witcher better.

[samchez77]

Skyrim was one of, if not THE, best game I have ever played. However The Witcher 3 stands to take that crown for me. But it's hard to tell. Both have their strengths and weaknesses and only time will tell. If I am still playing the Witcher 3 in 3-4 years time like I was with Skyrim after release, then that will be the deciding factor for me.

It will be a triumph of genius proportions if TW3 keeps my interest for as long as Skyrim does. At this stage though I am still unsure. I'll get back to you in two years.

[susanto1228]

Today's steam stats

Skyrim 39,875
Witcher 3 20,556

So a 4 year going on 5 years is beating Witcher 3 on daily play sessions on Steam...Yeahhh I'de go with Skyrim thank you