All right, so when I said I wouldn’t talk about The Witcher again until I played the first game, I was mistaken. And despite my plan to catch up on the entire series in time for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I’m not going to make it. I haven’t even started playing The Witcher yet.

And Wild Hunt comes out today.

I know, its release date is actually tomorrow, but digital copies will become available at 1 AM in Warsaw, which is this evening in the United States. But even if I consider tomorrow as the actual day, I can’t play through The Witcher and The Witcher 2 in a single day.

But I’m still excited. Even though I planned to not even order Wild Hunt until I finished the previous games, speed-reading the fan translations of The Tower of the Swallow and The Lady of the Lake over the past couple of days left me even more excited than I was already.

I know what the Wild Hunt is, and why they want Ciri (probably).

I know how the books end, and how the games begin (sort of).

I know that the Witcher series still has plenty of surprises in store for me, and I can’t wait to see how the games continue the story. Now, the author of the books considers the games to be non-canon. In his eyes, the story ended with The Lady of the Lake. Right now, I can see both perspectives. Lady of the Lake had an unusual ending, one I’m not wholly satisfied with. It concluded the main plot well enough that, if there was nothing else in the series, I think I’d be content with it.

On the other hand, since the games do continue the story (canon or not), I’m happy that it isn’t over yet. I wouldn’t want to end here, without playing the games.

Now I’m starting to ramble. The point is that even though I won’t be ready in time for The Witcher 3, I still intend to play the games soon. My new goal: finish the Witcher series by the end of the summer. If you also need to catch up on the series, the order is…

• The Last Wish – This short story collection has a different tone than the rest of the series, but it sets the main events of the saga into motion. Take a look at my review for more information.
• Sword of Destiny – This is also a short story collection. Like The Last Wish, some of its stories tie into the overarching plot.
• Blood of Elves – The first novel centers around Ciri and truly begins her story. I also reviewed this one.
• Time of Contempt – The plot really begins to pick up in this next novel, which also introduces the Wild Hunt. As I indicated in my review, it has the most self-contained plot in the series.
• Baptism of Fire – The last novel translated into English continues the story and introduces some memorable characters, along with a brief interlude of bizarre humor. Once again, you can take a look at my review if you want.
• The Tower of the Swallow – This felt like one of the darkest novels in the series (though they all have some pretty dark moments), but also one in which we really learn more about Ciri and what she is capable of.
• The Lady of the Lake – Old enemies are confronted, new enemies reveal themselves, and everything comes to a climax in the last novel.

The first game picks up a few years after the last book, and that’s where I’ll be headed next.

What about you? If you’re interested in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, are you planning to play it right away or wait a while? How familiar are you with the rest of the series? What do you think about Ciri and the Wild Hunt?