The characters of two of my favorite RPG games have something in common. Both (best Final Fantasy game) Squall from Final Fantasy 8 and Geralt from The Witcher 3 simply can’t get enough of putting their friends and the entire world in mortal danger while they sneak through a quick round of cards, and I love them for it. Way back when Wild Hunt was released, there was a special edition that included several Gwent decks – an extensive, playable card entertainment that ended up being responsible for some of the game’s best moments. I really missed these decks but never bought them. Now Hatchette Board Games will release a full physical edition of Gwent next year.
The set includes “over 400 cards and a board” for £44/$39.99. I’m still recovering from the various Fantasy Flight LCGs, so my sense of value on this one may be a bit skewed, but it seems incredibly reasonable to me. A good Gwent deck only consists of about 25 cards. These aren’t bad cards either! I really hate tabletop versions of video games that employ screenshots from the engine to display the cards, but these look like they have proper graphics from the game on them:
Gwent itself has seen several iterations over the years. There was a standalone online game that I had some fun with, even if it ruined CDProjekt’s image as a “No microtransactions, free DLC and back rub” studio by offering the most wicked loot box animation I’ve ever encountered. Then there was the pretty good Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, which wove Gwent into a single-player story. Brenda quite liked it.
You can read the full press release HereIf you want. This is scheduled for release in the third quarter of next year. In other Witchly news, The Witcher 4 has entered its “most intense phase of development.”
