I already reviewed Wild Hunt earlier, and it easily sets the current standard for open word role playing gaming. With a Polish touch, based on Slavic Mythology and a high fantasy setting with political situations, it's a very detailed, vast and rich adventure.
Hearts of Stone continues Geralt of Rivia's adventures in the form of an insidious "favor to favor" request with the Man of Glass, a familiar enigma who makes you his personal champion in order to clean up the messy pact created by the immortal Olgierd von Everec.
Taking place mainly around Oxenfurt and nearby areas, the quests are varied, including slaying down a hideous toad prince, performing a heist operation, and letting your body get possessed by a ghost yearning for one more day of personal joy.
Hearts of Stone is a modest and modern definition of an expansion pack, bringing towards you a captivating story, and my favorite quest involved exploring Olgierd's former wife and her tragic background.
Blood and Wine however is how I would describe as a real authentic expansion pack, reminding me of retrospective ones such as Brood War or Yuri's Revenge if I can give out RTS examples, because this time, the adventure expands into an entire new territory; the picturesque duchy known as Toussaint.
While having a reunion with former acquintances in battle, I was pleased to known that Regis would become Geralt's most trusted ally in these noble and fable like lands. The title is actually a pun on vampires and that the country symbolizes it's obsession and culture with wine, and they both obviously share the same color.
The main quest this time is even bigger and can branch of into two paths, but the fact that there are also dozens of side quests to be found, as well as a new way of experimenting with Geralt's mutant genetics means that CD Projekt Red really put their best efforts into this impressive expansion.
My favorite quest apart from the one involving perhaps The Witcher 3's only formidable boss aside from it's original final boss, just might be the one where Geralt and the duchess's evil sister are warped into a fairy tale world with familiar yet deadly tales awaiting you. And maybe I also really liked the sidequest involving a statue's genitals granting such energetic youth power, hah!
Blood and Wine is an exceptional rich expansion pack similar in quality towards From Software's expansions, and while Geralt's conclusion was already there with the base game, it doesn't hurt to go on an lengthy adventure with him here, one more time.
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