Current Events > Do I need to play the previous game in order to play Witcher 3?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Or can I go in dick blazing and fuck everything?
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The game does a pretty good job explaining itself as it goes along, but some parts will lack impact. Witcher 3 actually makes a lot of references to the books too.

I think you'll be fine
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nah. you may miss out on some references to previous games, but they're not much more than fan service, tbqh.

edit: not having the entire history of characters' relationships is probably the biggest thing you'll miss out on, but the game does enough explaining that it shouldn't hamper your enjoyment of the story.
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No
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A lot of the significance of things involving Triss will be lost, since she's a major character in all three games. Other than that, not a ton. You won't have known Foltest or Roche before, which might affect how you feel about a certain sidequest arc, and you won't have seen the end of Witcher 2, which presents a bit of backstory on the sorceresses (and everything with Sile de Tansarville, who plays a small but not insignificant role in this game if she's alive for it), Letho (same case as Sile), and the beginning of Nilfgaard's invasion.
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