The global success of 2016's Pokémon GO introduced something revolutionary to mobile gaming: a way for players to immerse themselves in fantasy worlds while engaging with the one around them. Enter Spokko's The Witcher: Monster Slayer, a game set in a fantasy world rife with monsters and magic, but grounded in the real world.
In a nutshell, Spokko -- the mobile gaming arm of The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red -- has created an AR mobile game that Witcher fans will undoubtedly try their hardest to immerse themselves in. It can be a fun, exciting experience that evokes the monster-hunting life Andrzej Sapkowski described in the novels and CD Projekt Red brought to life through the video games. However, players will find that the experience is constantly held back by a lack of certain functions, a launch marred by technical issues and the same imbalanced monetization issues that often ruin the mobile gaming experience.
Monster Slayer starts players off with a bit of action -- a fight against a ghoul that throws the player into the witcher's final exam. This is where the game instructs the player on the basics of a fight: swipe quickly or slowly for fast and strong attacks respectively, hold to parry, and toss bombs and signs to help even the odds against particularly vicious beasts.
It's easy enough to learn. In fact, most of the game's functions are easy to figure out, which might be why (annoyingly at times) the game lacks instruction for a lot of the options that appear on the interface. How and when players earn skill points, how to acquire new weapons and armor, and even crafting are all aspects of the game players will have to figure out for themselves, though those familiar with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's skill and talent trees might have an easier time of it.
Unfortunately, as soon as players master the basics, it becomes apparent how empty the game really is. There are plenty of monsters for those willing to walk or travel a little bit, and most of them offer small items and a few experience points. However, if its coin you're after -- as a witcher usually is -- you're in for disappointment. There are quests that offer some amount of coins, and the Nemeton trees that dot the map (which are accessible after reaching level 10) offer 50 if you can clear them of monsters.
Considering the fact that players need to spend 1,800 coins to get their hands on their first silver sword (which every witcher needs anyway), the relatively petty rewards from quests and Nemetons might bring you to the conclusion that you're actually playing a cut-rate witcher. Especially since some of the first few monster fights you'll encounter as a low-level witcher will feel excessively difficult without silver. Even a basic silver sword would have sufficed.
As a consequence of Spokko's decision to offer the mobile game for free, many players will find that, without paying for extra coin or without the benefit of the early bug, gameplay feels absurdly difficult. Some monsters, like ghouls, are going to be easy, but without a lot of bombs, heavy use of signs and perfect parrying, alghouls can be extremely difficult -- and the first Nemeton is going to seem damn near impossible.
The experience is somewhat different if you're one of the few who benefitted from Monster Slayer's launch bug. Many reported that their witcher started off at the highest level with 200 items more than their bags could carry. These players likely have access to the steel Kaer Morhen sword offered to those who downloaded the game early, which offers a slightly increase in XP gains from each monster kill -- a useless trait, thanks to the bug.
Speaking of useless things, it is possible to add friends on the app. However, aside from the ability to send gifts -- which are limited to slightly randomized packs -- there is no point to adding friends. Player's can see a friend's current level, but skills, trophies or other statistics, or any other form of interaction are unavailable.
There's definitely still a worthwhile game beneath all those flaws. The Witcher: Monster Slayer does have a host of intriguing features that make for one hell of a witcher experience, even for those who aren't familiar with the franchise. It's not just the AR feature, though that does add a bit of fun to each monster encounter if you choose to play with it on. Fights using AR begin with players scanning the environment for monster tracks. It's usually a matter of starting from your feet and either quickly discovering tracks that lead to the beast or waiting for the beast to attack anyway.
If Spokko could develop these great elements further, it would enhance the entire experience a lot. Otherwise, AR fights play out just like regular fights, only with a little bit of a lag for some players. Be warned though that the feature doesn't work nearly as well as night, unless you're playing in a really well-lit environment.
Quests each have a fun narrative attached featuring wonderful illustrations, enthusiastic voice work and objectives that ensure players are properly exploring the neighborhood, assuming the game doesn't lead you on to private property or somewhere dangerous. Monsters are depicted in the same or similar phenomenal way as their Witcher 3 counterparts, and the game reacts to the time of day and weather, making it worth playing throughout the day if you're intent on collecting all 128 monster trophies.
Most importantly, the game uses the same designs, soundtrack and gameplay elements, among other things, as CD Projekt Red's hit game, which will tease fans with that same world and the same enjoyment gamers found within it. They can almost feel like Geralt of Rivia on the Path. Almost.
While it's curious that some of these issues weren't encountered or patched after the game's trial run in Russia, The Witcher: Monster Slayer still only recently launched. It took games like Pokémon GO some amount of patching and time to reach their current enjoyable state. Perhaps Spokko will tend to Monster Slayer's biggest issues -- leveling and monetization tactics -- soon enough. Witcher fans can either enjoy it for what it is now or wait until it becomes a great game later. Because, given The Witcher: Monster Slayer's potential, there's a good chance that it will.