Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Final Fantasy VII Revelation New Trailer, Witcher 3 Free Upgrade Announced

 Video Games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Aug 262026
 

I was going to talk about Gamescom highlights, but this year’s Gamescom was so devoid of things that interested me that I don’t even have the heart.

It was nice to see Mega Man: Dual Override, and Control Resonant looks good, and Pony Island 2 looks as weird as it rightfully should, but I spent a lot of the show tuning it out because I wasn’t interested.

(Also, why were there trailers for Gamescom itself partway through the show??)

The biggest highlights were saved for the very end. As announced ahead of time, there was a new trailer for Final Fantasy VII Revelation. This one mainly focused on the Weapons. It looks like all of the Weapons might play a role in the story now, although the official description in the press release says the optional superbosses will return in “ultra-challenging endgame battles as an homage to their original forms.”

I’m not positive if that means we’ll fight them in the story and as optional superbosses or if the optional ones are only optional, but it sounds like the former to me.

I’ll probably stop watching Revelation trailers now to avoid spoilers, although hopefully I’ll have actually played Rebirth by the time we reach Spring 2027.

Meanwhile, The Witcher 3 also made an appearance, first with the announcement of a remastered edition that will be available to all owners of the original for free. You know a game has been in your backlog for too long when it gets an enhanced remaster before you even start it. At least this means I’ll get the original two expansions for free, since they’re included in the upgrade.

Meanwhile, the new expansion Songs of the Past received a trailer and a 2027 release window. Hey, maybe by then I’ll have played…

Never mind, I’m pushing my luck hoping I’ll be caught up in time for Final Fantasy VII. Let’s not get too crazy by thinking I’ll catch up on The Witcher too.

These were some nice highlights from an otherwise unmemorable Gamescom for me. On the bright side, at least fewer new games I want means more time for me to work through my backlog.

What did you think of Final Fantasy VII Revelation, The Witcher 3 Remastered, and the other Gamescom announcements?

New Witcher 3 Expansion Announced

 Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
May 292026
 

What year is it? I’m not sure, but CD Projekt RED announced a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Titled “Songs of the Past,” it will be out in 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

This expansion has actually been rumored for a long time. It felt hard to believe when the rumors first came out. A 2015 game getting story DLC over ten years later? But the rumors kept circulating, and now it’s official.

There’s no word yet on what the expansion will be about, but more details will be out this summer. It feels plausible that it will connect to the upcoming fourth game in some way, but that’s still just speculation.

You know, now it doesn’t seem quite as bad that I haven’t played The Witcher 3 yet. See, I was just waiting for all the DLC to come out first!

What do you think about the new Witcher 3 expansion?

The Wild Hunt is Almost Here

 Books, Video Games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
May 182015
 

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.

Witcher-3-Ciri

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?

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