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WARNING- SPOILERS AHEAD.
I started playing The Witcher 3 today again for the 8th time and as the opening sequence started to roll, which I have memorized by now, I was awestruck and enchanted by its beauty once again. My heart wrenched and twisted as I got goosebumps all over me as soon as the soothing Kaer Morhen track started whispering gently in the background.
(Play this and you'll know.)
Let me describe the scene.
We are in the Kaer Morhen castle- the home for the Witchers- a deadly group of monster hunters. Geralt-our protagonist, our white wolf is relaxing in a round bathtub put in the middle of the bedroom.
His eyes closed, the camera shifts from his bare naked legs to his face which comes as a surprise as the scene was meant to fool us, to make us believe it was a woman rather than Geralt in the bathtub.
But as we cursed Geralt in real life for this false belief, he actually pays for the price as a magical scorpion-like creature very silently crawls into the water and bites him..uhh well you can guess where.
As Geralt itches in pain, he looks towards his left and speaks," You know I don't find that amusing." He throws the magical creature out of his bathtub which disappears and the scene shifts from a low camera angle, a candlestick burning on the right and far ahead to a beautiful young( not really young) woman lying butt naked on a wooden chair as the Kaer Morhen score deepens its intensity as if to distract us from gasping at her beauty.
That was the first effect Yennefer has on me, on all of us, her aura so strong, and as she starts to speak, mincing her words in a riddle, her whole face a mystery which we were yet to see, as Geralt- absentmindedly walk towards her, stuttering with his words, hinting for one last kiss before going out to train Ciri-their adopted child.
But that's Yennefer for you, without even batting an eye, she tells him to go.
Disappointed, Geralt decides to walk away when Yen grabs his arm for what I believe is the best smooch ever in a game.
That moment sets the stage for Yenefer.
As Geralt gets ready to leave, the camera shifts again to Yen as she gets up to dress.
Her raven coloured hair falling in a cascade of her perfectly shaped shoulder.
We get the first look at her mean yet beautiful face as the camera focuses on her bright violet gaze. I swear I could almost smell her of lilac and gooseberries then.
The game finally starts with the camera set up as a 3rd person on Geralt.
The first thing I do is go back to Yennefer, sitting in front of a mirror, fondling her hair with a brush as elegantly as possible, I can't help but smile.
She had me mesmerized by her beauty and attitude, and this comes from a guy who hasn't read any of the Witcher novels, so never knew who Yennefer was.
So there I'm standing next to her, my version of Geralt telling her to be unreasonable and let him stay a little longer.
Just like classic Yen( which I had figured out by then), tells him to go with a smirk as it will give her some to put her face on. Here is when Geralt chooses the wrong words and we get to see a dangerous yet controlled side of Yenefer.
It's always about words with Yen, it's like a battle every moment, she likes riddles, she likes to complicate things, she likes to tease, you can't be calm around her, she takes away all the attention, she does things her way, you can't mess with her and that's what I love about her.
After a tensed yet fun encounter with her( when she isn't willing to be reasonable to my disappointment), Geralt walks away, to ease my mind, I take him to the balcony to see the mountain pass and get my mind blown again.
This particular scene focuses on showing the game's depth and scope, the mountains of Kaer Morhen in the background, pine trees dancing to the tunes of the wind, and little Ciri practising with swords in the ground, as the flute score continue to graze my ears along with the wind. This scene was meant to give you immense peace and a sense of freedom the game has to offer and it does just that.
Never had I witnessed such a powerful scene in just the first five minutes of a game, nor I had fallen in love with a character so quickly as I did with Yen.
These five minutes are the Witcher 3's biggest achievement whose theme continued throughout the 300+ hours I have spent in the game so far.
It never fails to undergo you through these powerful emotions till the end.
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