The Witcher 3 vs Skyrim: Comparing the Two Heavyweight RPGs

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3 are two of the most popular products the gaming industry has to offer. Today we compare the two and see which one lands on top.

[FloydianAndroid]

I’m sorry, but there’s nothing about Skyrim better in any way than The Witcher 3. I think it’s sad that because people still by Skyrim it allows BGS to make a cop out game like fallout 76.

[ethereal_trespasser]

imo, Skyrim's mechanics are lowsy, but the exploration part is really well done. The story is weak too. The Witcher 3 on the other hand shines exactly where Skyrim fails

[UnHoly_One]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you Floyd.

There are going to be a lot of wildly varying opinions on this one, and I'm on the complete opposite side of the fence as you.

I think Skyrim in superior in quite literally every conceivable way. It's not even close.

[FloydianAndroid]

Even graphically?

[MadLad]

Infantile RPG elements. Floaty combat. Barebones story. Bland, unoriginal characters. Skyrim is a randomized, action lootfest. That, Witcher 3 is not.

[Lexreborn2]

It’s interesting, these two are frequently paired up as some of the greatest games. But for me personally? They are the most boring games I’ve every played

[Eidolon]

How many games have you play, 3?

[ethereal_trespasser]

Well it depends on your tastes I guess

[Eidolon]

His tastes are basically 100% action, no story, COD gives him a hard on, he wants WAR!

[Sam Fisher]

It makes sense, i loved the sidestories where as i felt the main was too much

[Bobafret]

The Witcher doesn't offer anything approaching customizing your character or anything for that matter. And I can't stand Geralt so there's that.

[Vegamyster]

Skill tree (combat/signs/alchemy), weapons/armor/clothing, hairstyles ect isn't customization?

[Bobafret]

The whole character is a fevered dream of an 8th grade Goth kid and what they think is "bad ass" or manly. It's dopey af.

[nowitzki2004]

Geralt DGAF what you think

[Bobafret]

He doesn't exist.

[bahabeast]

Love skyrim. Still have the witcher sitting in my back log

[AK91]

One is a pile of sh*t the others is incredibly unmemorable gameplay wise.

[InKnight7s]

Different games for different people with different taste.

The Witcher 3 is for those whole to be guided exactly most the time from A to B and nailed package with immersive story.

Whereas Skyrim is for people that like to be middle og huge world and for nk reason to be lost in it and not based on story or cutscenes.

[bujasem_89]

solid comment. makes sense why skyrim has the better exploration and character design, and witcher is mostly batman but with way more girls instead of robin. I believe that's why witcher stories are better written and have more twists and turns, that's still subjective though.

Skill trees are also worlds apart limited in what you pick versus go nuts till 74

[GamesAsAService]

This is a little idiotic. This is the equivalent of comparing Call of Duty to Gears of War. FPS vs TPS. Both are good in their own right.

In general, for me, the first person perspective has always been more immersive for me in games. I have played both and getting lost in the world was much more a symptom of Skyrim than the Witcher for me. Something about the first person perspective does that for me. Something about the pacing and vibes I get from Skyrim suits me much more.

Additionally, being someone who almost immediately ventures off the main story line at the first opportunity (not to revisit until absolutely necessary) to explore, the level scaling of Skyrim suited me better. Not feeling that my progress was hindered by the lack of a level made my time in Skyrim freeing. I almost exclusively played as a thief/rogue/assassin to specifically prioritize exploration and not having to be held back by locked doors or tough enemies (as stealth multiplies damage output - I played a very sneaky character). Having OCD and truly enjoying the exploration gameplay loop (entering location, sneakily looting EVERYTHING, killing enemies, finding other secrets and then leaving and making my way to other locations all while levelling up my skills) made for a dangerous (albeit enjoyable) combination. Clearing locations on my mini-map was an obsession that fed into my desire to explore this new and mysterious land. I loved just making progress and being a completionist at the same time. With a little bit of persistence no challenge was too overwhelming. Never felt like the game was punishing my for playing the way I wanted to play.

I absolutely lost my shit when I did the quest in the Witcher 3 with the giant spider. I guess I was under levelled and the lack of level scaling made me hit a wall. My attacks were doing almost no damage and the lightest brush of the enemy would kill me almost instantly. After countless attempts I lost interest and put the game down for a decent amount of time.

The Witcher obviously looks better. CDPR has set the standard for the visuals in RPG's. I hope Bethesda take note of this. Unfortunately I don't think we will see any big step in BGS RPG visuals until they ditch their engine. Fallout 76 is obviously NOT that game. The fruits of their labor (regarding a game built with a new game engine from the ground up) will probably only be seen starting with Star Field and TES6 after. It kills me that we will have to wait that long for Bethesda to join the big boys in the graphics department. But this is a MUST by way of a long term investment.

(part two of response above)

[GamesAsAService]

Additionally the Witcher combat is much better when compared to Skyrim (albeit I almost exclusively used a bow during my Skyrim play through). I always thought Skyrim's looked clunky and rather bland to me. This I believe to still be a symptom of the engine. This should be addressed with time. I always hoped that BGS would rely more on the cool and innovative combat systems from other games that they published and bring them into their mainline RPG's. Example - Use Doom's and Wolfenstein's Gun play into the fallout games, Dishonored stealth and melee combat mechanics into TES etc... Incorporating what works from their other games should be something they explore. Obviously innovate and add, not just take from others, but the baseline expectation from combat is that it should FEEL GOOD.

While combat in the Witcher 3 is better than Skyrim, I still feel they can do more to make it feel better as well. It controls mechanically like batman and Shadow of Mordor but not as impactful. It feels as if there is not weight to to the combat. Perhaps they could learn some lessons from the Souls series. But like the Arkham and Shadow of Mordor, the visual presentation is great. I would like to have both RPG's strike a balance between feeling good and looking good. This might be harder for TES as excellent examples of First Person Melee combat are few and far between. I want major innovations to be made in this area especially.

Finally, Narratively I think the Witcher also takes the cake. In presentation, depth, and impact the Witcher does much better. I think that the quality and scale of the main story but ESPECIALLY the side quests is what set the bar so high. The quests and direction is much more defined and I believe that writing the story with a singular character in mind (namely garalt) makes it much easier to create captivating stories as opposed to stories and quests created for games with created characters. I will credit Skyrim with its storytelling in that the world felt much grander than what was let on. It felt established and mysterious. A sense of place and history, and more overt storytelling that was very environmental. Not saying that the Witcher did not have this but the impact of such quests and storylines were greatly felt in my Skyrim play through. I know that it is a little cliche saying this but the VIBES I got through my multi hundred hour play through of Skyrim remain unmatched. Feeling like a rogue agent who is only tangentially involved in the main events of the world from time to time was great. Additionally maybe with a new engine, more technically interesting options will become available in terms of scale and other things that will make the world and stories that are able to be told in TES on the level with the Witcher.

I enjoyed both. To me one is cozier and provided me with immersive exploration that kept me going and looking for more secrets and loot. The other kept its claws in me due to the outstanding narrative and combat. They each itch specific desires I have in RPG games. Both impressive in their own right. One published in 2011 and another in 2015.

[KillZallthebeast]

Oh jesus dude you wrote a book. You realize most people barley read a paragraph anymore right?

[GamesAsAService]

I have faith in humanity. I think people are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes.

[Scatpants]

Witcher 3 by a mile. Such good quests and writing.

[bujasem_89]

Tbh honest I though about this comparison as soon as I finished the witcher. The combat and magic use in witcher trumps skyrim but not the bow mechanic. The mixing of materials, use of alchemy and cooking in skyrim has way more depth and width in skyrim than witcher but sometimes its use in witcher is more effective. Witcher is more colorful, but I find exploration to be the best in skyrim. Finally the choices missions and lore I believe is a quantity vs quality issue skyrim has the not so bad but a lot, while witcher has, well still a lot but maybe a little less while being very well done and offering more choice.

That's my two bits on it.

[Donnie81]

I enjoyed both. They really are two of the best rpgs ever made. They go about it in two different ways but both suceed at giving you amazing worlds to explore.

[TheGinsuMasta]

Skyrim for me personally. I just perfer the way it feels compared to The Witcher.

[imtiyaz6]

I remember the first time I played Skyrim, it was an incredible experience to immerse myself in a medieval world filled with vampires, werewolfs, mages, giants, and dragons. The feeling of getting stronger was addictive even though the combat wasn’t as great. Witcher 3, however, kinda felt like a poor man’s Skyrim with an already developed character, hence why I can’t even force myself to complete it

[Relientk77]

Witcher 3 is a masterpiece and the best WRPG I've ever played. I hope Bethesda steps up their game with Elder Scrolls 6 though.

[nineby9]

I completed Witcher 3 in a value perspective I suppose. I own Skyrim on both the Ps3 and the PS4 and am yet to finish. Witcher was fun, Skyrim is but Skyrim let me build a Character as I wish. I didn't care to have Geralt imposed on me, but I I still play Skyrim

[SameOldx2]

Lame comparison since no 2 RPG's are the same.

[Jrios355]

I haven't played The Witcher 3, but I did finish Skyrim twice. Sorry to you Skyrim and Elder Scrolls, but it's a terribly overrated game.

- Combat is clunky
- The game is very buggy
- The dragon boss battles were all the same with slight variations
- There wasn't enough varied or interesting enemies, and were frustrating more than they were challenging
- Almost all the NPCs are the same with very few exceptions
- The plot was interesting, but its presentation was boring
- Alduin was a terribly underwhelming final boss

Yes there's a huge world to explore, lots of things to find, multiple quests to partake in, guilds to join, and I enjoyed doing all of those, but the poor optimization, clunky gameplay, and meh presentation decreased the score for me.

And no, I don't count mod support and manual optimization because those did not come with the base game.

Skyrim is not a bad game, but it did not deserve the praise it got. Sorry if you don't agree.