Witcher 3 modders Moonknight, Ferroxius, Crygreg, and Glassfish (who contributed to the Brothers in Arms cut content restoration mod) have released the first volume of What Lies Unseen, a planned series chronicling the development history and evolution of The Witcher 3. RPG YouTuber xLetalis has put out a three-hour video going over the first volume, which covers a prototype version of The Witcher 3's story that would have been upwards of three times as long as the game we got. Some of the biggest changes and surprises in this version of The Witcher 3 include:
- The game was subtitled "A Time of Sword and Axe" instead of "The Wild Hunt."
- The Witcher 3 had a VATS-like focus system that let you target weak points on monsters.
- There was a lot more travel back and forth between Velen, Skellige, and Novigrad, and plotlines and characters that were more contained in the final game would extend across multiple acts.
- Your choice between Yennefer or Triss would mean that the other sorceress would be absent from the final third of the game.
- The Witcher 2's Iorveth appeared and had a major role.
- There was a multipart heist quest in Novigrad that required allies like the Kaer Morhen siege.
- The Bloody Baron's story was very different, and continued late into the game.
- The endings were much more ambiguous and melancholy.
- Geralt and Avallac'h would teleport to Cyberpunk 2077's Night City in one quest.
- The game didn't have Gwent, and instead saw the return of arm wrestling and dice poker from TW1 and 2.
