AGAW #2 - Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
For this weeks A Game a Week I’ve started playing Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, and there’s a lot here that appeals to me. It has the feel of a D&D adventure, with plenty of dialogue, great voice acting and decisions that rarely have a clean answer. The classic Witcher theme of choosing between two evils is already present, and I’m enjoying seeing how it translates into a different kind of game.
A few things have stood out so far, particularly how the game uses Gwent to tell stories. But I’m also finding that its approach to exploration is making it harder for me to stay engaged.
Gwent as storytelling
One of my favourite moments so far was an early Gwent battle built around a rockfall threatening Meve, our queen. The rocks advanced one row after each round, and I had to destroy them before they reached her.
It’s a simple encounter, but a clever use of an existing system. Rather than just playing another game of Gwent, I was responding to a threat that made sense within the story. The rules gave the encounter a different objective, and the battle itself became a way of resolving the situation.
I'm curious to see how far the game takes this idea. There’s plenty of potential in changing the conditions and goals of battles to keep them feeling fresh throughout the adventure.
The standalone puzzle battles haven't worked as well for me, though. I've found them boring quite quickly because the solutions often feel like trial and error rather than a satisfying moment of discovery. This might partly be my lack of experience with strategy deck builders, but I can only plan so many steps ahead before the process starts to feel like brute force.
I want that moment where everything clicks and I understand the solution. So far, I haven't found it often enough to enjoy these encounters.
Beyond the battles, the game has a strong tabletop RPG feel. There's lots of dialogue and decision-making, with little nods to previous Witcher games, including notice boards and monster encounters. You're not playing as a Witcher, but monster hunting is such a big part of the series' identity that it feels right to have it here.
And, of course, there are the moral choices. Doing the right thing rarely comes without a cost, which is one of my favourite things about the Witcher universe. I'm glad to see that theme carried over.
Exploration and progression
I'm the kind of player who collects everything in anticipation of needing it later, so I spend plenty of time picking up wood and other resources. I don't necessarily enjoy doing it, though. Gathering supplies can feel like a chore, especially when I don't appreciate/understand their value - which I don't, yet.
There have been a few moments where following a trail of resources has led me to see something else, like a cave entrance I might otherwise have missed. I like this. The resources give me a reason to look around, subtly guiding me towards discoveries without the game having to point everything out.
Meve's movement speed makes this less enjoyable than it could be. She feels slow, there's no sprint, and I've occasionally got caught on invisible geometry. There are movement-speed upgrades later on, but I'm not sure why faster movement needs to be unlocked rather than available from the start. Perhaps there's a reason for it that will become clearer as I progress, but right now, it feels like an artificial restriction.
The camp's progression systems are harder to judge at this stage because I haven't spent enough time with them. One thing I do appreciate is how the game gradually introduces upgrades, locking some away and hiding their details until you're ready to engage with them. It keeps the initial decisions manageable, and I don't feel pressured to commit to upgrades before I understand what I'm doing.
The deck-building screen is a little less successful. I was prompted to open the tent and adjust my deck, but once I entered the screen, the indicator disappeared. I couldn't tell what I was supposed to do, so I've decided to leave it alone until I've unlocked more cards and have a better feel for the system.
Losing the thread
My biggest issue so far is how quickly the world opens up after the tutorial.
I usually enjoy exploring, but here I've found myself wandering around without a strong sense of why I'm doing any of it. I've already forgotten some of the story context, what I'm trying to accomplish and what gives the journey its urgency.
The quest UI is easy to overlook, so it's not difficult to lose track of the main objective once I start exploring. I end up collecting resources and investigating points of interest without feeling particularly invested in either.
This reminds me of my experience with The Witcher 3, where quest objectives and environmental breadcrumbs often give me a clear sense of direction, even when I get distracted along the way. There's usually something pulling me forward.
With Thronebreaker, I feel like I've been given the freedom to explore before I've established a strong enough reason to do so.
I don't necessarily want the game to be more restrictive. I just want to feel more connected to the story before I'm encouraged to wander off. At the moment, I'm not invested enough in Meve's journey for optional discoveries to feel particularly rewarding.
It's made me think about how much direction I need as a player. I enjoy having the freedom to explore, but I also need something to pull me forward. Without that motivation, an open world can start to feel like a list of things to collect rather than a place I want to discover.
What I'll take into the next session
I'm enjoying the narrative, the moral dilemmas and the creative use of Gwent, and I'm interested to see how the progression systems develop. But I think I've been too quick to give in to the temptation to explore everything.
For my next session, I want to focus on the main story for a while and get a better understanding of Meve's journey before wandering off again. I'm curious to see whether that gives the world and its resources more meaning.
It's still early, and I don't think I've seen enough to judge the game as a whole. But so far, one thing has stood out: freedom is more appealing when you have a reason to use it.
That's something I'll be keeping in mind as I continue playing.
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