In late 2022, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received a pretty solid next-gen (now more like current-gen) update at no additional cost to owners of the base game on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Of course, the PC version received the biggest visual improvements, but that didn't stop modders (who now have access to full modding tools) from further iterating on the game's textures, meshes, and more. Now, Halk Hogan's The Witcher 3 HD Remaster Project NextGen Edition is taking things to the next level.
According to the author, the mod (which has been in development for quite some time) “improves and redesigns so many of the game's assets (textures, models, materials, etc.) that the number of these changes can be counted in the “thousands.” Looking at the full download size, which is nearly 12GB, they're definitely not exaggerating. If you need CD Projekt Red's seal of approval, this is it.
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While we love quirky mods like Geralt the Centaur, at the end of the day, most people prefer to play the best versions of modern open-world classics. 2011's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is still very much alive and well and receiving fantastic mods every day, and you can bet that CD Projekt Red's RPG masterpiece (IMO) will be getting some impressive mods in the coming years. , whether or not it fits the lore.
If your computer is up to the task, before properly looking at the mod page, we highly recommend you at least watch the extensive 15 minute video that Halk Hogan uploaded a few days ago, which goes over the multiple changes to the model, textures and various resource:
Watch on YouTube
As you can see, this mod doesn't just make objects more brittle. The geometry of the scene looks noticeably more detailed, and even LOD detail has been significantly improved. Given that The Witcher 3's official current-gen update added ray tracing and a host of cutting-edge graphical improvements, it always felt odd that the more basic elements of the presentation hadn't been revamped.
The whole thing looks more cohesive thanks to Halk Hogan's mod, and since it appears to be a simple “replacement” mod, it should be compatible with modifications that affect other parts of the game. In fact, it even works with older versions of the game, and as long as you have extra video memory available, the impact on FPS is said to be minimal, so this doesn't feel like an extremely demanding ENB preset.
Even if you stick with the console version of the game, a new game celebrating its tenth anniversary next year seems ideal (yes, I'm sorry to bring you devastating news), as The Next Witcher has just entered full production, which means it's still a few years away.
