GoKawiilC:\ArsGames We love games here at the Ars Orbiting HQ, from modern to ancient and all points in between. With that in mind, we’ve partnered with the folks at GOG.com to create a store page featuring a curated list of some of our favorites from GOG’s catalog. From time to time, we’ll rotate a couple of titles off the list and add a few new ones; altogether, we have about 50 games to set before you. Usually at least once a month, we’ll publish a personal retrospective like this one, where we’ll feature one of the games from the list—perhaps a retro game you’ve heard of, perhaps a modern title you missed. Regardless, GOG will have a DRM-free version of the game ready to go. Be sure to check out the earlier pieces in the series!
I don’t like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I’m sorry to disappoint you. I know it’s confusing, and I hope you will still respect me.
I had to say that a lot back in 2015. When the game first came out, the community of critics and enthusiasts I was a part of went bananas for it, much in the same way the current crop of journalists and influencers rallied around Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in 2025—another game that didn’t really work for me, if I’m being frank.
The Witcher 3 was showered in accolades and awards, and it seemed like every Twitter conversation was about it. There were memes all over Reddit about how no other game could live up to it, plus lengthy essays from games journalists about just why it was so incredible. “Game of the Year” awards rained from the proverbial sky.
Meanwhile, I tried it and found it a slog. It took me years to finish it, because I kept losing interest and feeling like I had to force myself to keep going in order not to be out of the loop.
Those who knew me found this baffling. “You love RPGs like this,” they’d say. “Two of your favorite recent games are Skyrim and Mass Effect. This is like the best of both of those. What’s the problem?” (I’m paraphrasing, but I got several versions of basically this.)
The thing is, games are so diverse in focus these days that “I love open world RPGs” can mean a lot of different things.
Creating a character vs. being a character
Every RPG I have ever truly loved was a game in which I made my own character.