People who know me well are very aware of the fact that I joke about what upsets me the most. Only a couple of those people also know just how much I joked about the 'love cards' in The Witcher (yes, that's what I am calling them, and yes, you know very well what cards I am talking about).
The Witcher - a gripping political adventure for some, blatantly offensive and sexist to others. I fall somewhere in the middle. I am glad it was released when it was - doing that in today's political climate would be a total disaster.
Now before the hordes of people saying 'that's-how-it-was-back-then' descend upon me, I would like to clear my position: I understand that to portray a medieval fantasy world, you have to mimic the times, which could include regressive remarks on a woman's abilities. What bothers me the most is the indulgence in an obvious teenage fantasy of collecting near-nude graphic cards of every woman you have sex with. I had the same complaint with the Playboy magazines as collectibles in Mafia II - they served no purpose other than to titillate and draw in a larger, (mostly male) audience with promise of exposed breasts. I mean, come on.
The story was fairly enjoyable, although I would have welcomed the opportunity to complete the remaining side quests in free-roam mode after the main story was over. The voice acting was hit-and-miss, with Geralt's being the weirdest and often making him sound like an emotionless robot. This is surprising - after all, he's the one we're with throughout the game; all the events are unfolding through his eyes. But it is what it is.
Sadly, the part that bothered me often got in the way of enjoying the other aspects of the game. This was just one of those games that I wish I'd played earlier - 15 y/o me wouldn't have been bothered by the chance of collecting 'love cards' - only to realize 5 years later that maybe something wasn't right with that.
That said, I enjoyed the game, but it won't make my story-rich favorites list. I realize it is a fine line to tread, taking a fair look at both sides and not jumping to conclusions about the messages a game sends. There might be many arguments against my feeling this way - 'then why don't you just ignore collecting those cards?', 'don't play the game if it bothers you' or the ultimate 'you're thinking too much, it's just a game.'
And therein lies the problem.
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