Witcher 3 Remastered Footage Sparks Backlash Over Visuals

New side-by-side footage of The Witcher 3 Remastered has fans worried that the updated version looks worse than the original, with complaints about lost atmosphere and color.

Did you catch the latest Witcher 3 Remastered comparison? CD Projekt Red just dropped new side-by-side footage, and it's causing quite a stir—and not necessarily in a good way.

The clip shows Geralt torching a group of Drowners in a swamp with a flame spell, comparing the original game to the upcoming remaster. At first glance, you might mix up the before and after, because the remastered version looks... well, a bit off. The Drowners now have a glossy, metallic shine, making them look more like Chrome Drowners than the scaly creatures we remember. The fire effect, while arguably more realistic, feels less powerful—like a torch instead of an inferno. And the rich, dusky atmosphere of the original? It's replaced by a brighter, more sterile look, with less fog and missing fiery reflections in the water.

CDPR did include a disclaimer: "Work in progress. Does not represent the final look of the game." But with the remaster just days away from its September 29 launch, fans are worried. Many took to social media to express their concerns. One Twitter user asked, "Why removing the colours and the fog?" while a YouTube viewer hoped CDPR would add back the sparkles and reflections. Another agreed that the lighting looks great, but missed the red glow from the original.

It's worth noting that we don't know the exact graphics settings or hardware used for these clips. Maybe some elements were disabled to emphasize others. But the side-by-side does highlight a clash of contrast: individual components might look better up close, but the overall picture feels less cohesive and less saturated than the original. As someone with a beefy PC, I'll definitely be putting the remaster under a microscope when it arrives.

CDPR has moved on from its in-house REDengine to Unreal Engine 5 for The Witcher 4, but co-CEO Michał Nowakowski says that wasn't due to the technical issues that Cyberpunk 2077 ran into. So what's next for The Witcher 3 Remastered? We'll find out soon enough.

What do you think of the new footage? Will you be picking up the remaster on September 29? Let us know in the comments!