Throughout my early playthrough of 1C Entertainment's upcoming tactical RPG King's Bounty 2, I couldn't help but think of CD Projekt Red's Witcher 3. Sure, King's Bounty 2 is an RPG that's shaped by turn-based tangos on hexagonal grids rather than the familiar, third-person adventure mould we know and love, but everything from its world and atmosphere to its exploration and dialogue feel very much inspired by Geralt's high fantasy japes. That, and I'm pretty sure the voice actor behind Geralt's smooth dialogue, Doug Cockle, has also lent his vocal tones to a bloke in King's Bounty 2, compacting the comparison even further.
Of course, stacking up any RPG against CD Projekt Red's juggernaut probably isn't going to turn out too favourably for the stackee, so perhaps the comparison is a little harsh, especially when the bulk of King's Bounty 2 - its turn-based, tactical battles - is clearly doing something very different to Geralt's witchering quests. Nevertheless, the RPG element of King's Bounty 2 feels a bit lacking by comparison. When Geralt talks to a cursed tree with that lovely voice of his, you just know it's about to spiral into a complex, emotional side-quest with repercussions that'll ripple throughout the story. In King's Bounty 2, on the other hand, you'd either speak to the tree or snap all of its branches in two. Those are your only options.
