The Witcher Series Free to Play on Steam This Weekend

By Kevin Parrish
published

PC gamers who have yet to get a taste of CD Projekt RED's RPG series The Witcher are in luck, as Valve is offering The Witcher and The Witcher 2 "Enhanced" editions as free-to-play titles this weekend until Sunday at 1pm PST.

These two games are also currently on sale, costing $1.99 for the first installment and $3.99 for the second chapter. That's a killer deal, but it won't last for long. Prices go back to $9.99 and $19.99, respectively, on Tuesday.

Looking for more bargains? Steam is having a Valentine's Day special here, including Alan Wake ($4.49), The Novelist ($1.99), Redshirt ($9.99), Thirty Flights of Loving ($1.69) and a number of others. There are also two bundles for sale: Alan Wake Franchise for $5.99 and Hateful Days pair: Analogue and Hate Plus for $9.99.

Of course, Steam has specials every day. Friday's helpings include Total War: Rome II ($29.97), Company of Heroes 2 ($19.99), Thief ($44.99), Postal 2 Complete ($2.49), the original Descent ($3.49), Jagged Alliance 2 Gold ($4.99), Disciples 3: Reincarnation ($23.99) and more.

In related news, Good Old Games (opens in new tab) is offering the original Dungeon Keeper for free. No purchase is necessary; you just need to set up a free account. The site is also throwing a Valentine's Day party of its own, selling select Dungeons & Dragon games up to 80 percent off, and a number of multiplayer games up to 90 percent off.

For example, for RPG lovers who need to get caught up on their old-school classics, GOG offers Icewind Dale, Baldur’s Gate, Planescape: Torment and the two Neverwinter Nights titles, among many others. For those seeking multiplayer games, GOG has on sale Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition, the new Rise of the Triad, System Shock 2, Trine 2: Complete Story, Unreal Tournament 2004 ECE (one of my favorites) and more.

Kevin Parrish
19 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Pinhedd
    The Witcher is an excellent game. For those new to the series I recommend giving the first one a try before the second. They are closely related in terms of canon, but play rather differently.
    Reply
  • skit75
    The Witcher 2 was great. One of the most beautiful DirectX 9 games ever made.
    Reply
  • tolham
    FYI, if you want to try witcher for free, you may need to restart steam after clicking the free weekend button in order for the game to show up in your library.
    Reply
  • Nilo BP
    The first Witcher game holds a spot in my heart right next to gems like Fallout 2 and New Vegas.It succeeds at providing #1: a good, honest story that's not obnoxious; #2: a real sense of character progress; #3: mechanics that are simple on paper but require patience and attention; and #4: encouraging the player to wander off the beaten path and figure things out without holding his hand.I think it goes without saying that it's not made for your typical console peasant. :)
    Reply
  • blppt
    The Witcher 2 was great. One of the most beautiful DirectX 9 games ever made.
    I'm kinda iffy on the graphics---to get the absolute best quality (including ubersampling) running at 1080p smoothly, you pretty much have to have 2 GTX680s in SLI. And even then, the draw-in is kind of disappointing.Game is awesome though. Cant wait for the 3rd installment.
    Reply
  • Darth_Kaar
    Some of the best RPGs on the market.
    Reply
  • RealityClash
    The Witcher 2 was great. One of the most beautiful DirectX 9 games ever made.
    I'm kinda iffy on the graphics---to get the absolute best quality (including ubersampling) running at 1080p smoothly, you pretty much have to have 2 GTX680s in SLI. And even then, the draw-in is kind of disappointing.Game is awesome though. Cant wait for the 3rd installment.
    Two GTX680's is probably a bit of an exaggeration. I just finished playing the 2nd game with everything at max settings (except ubersampling) at 2560x1440 smoothly on two HD6970's. I'd go as far as saying particular parts of the game such as the forests near the town of Flotsam are some of the most beautiful graphics I've seen in a game in quite some time. Some of the footage from the 3rd game looks absolutely stunning as well.
    Reply
  • hoofhearted
    This is what Bioware should have done but didn't.
    Reply
  • blppt
    Two GTX680's is probably a bit of an exaggeration. I just finished playing the 2nd game with everything at max settings (except ubersampling) at 2560x1440 smoothly on two HD6970's. I'd go as far as saying particular parts of the game such as the forests near the town of Flotsam are some of the most beautiful graphics I've seen in a game in quite some time. Some of the footage from the 3rd game looks absolutely stunning as well.
    Well, I was including ubersampling...if you dont mind playing with that setting off, then yes, even a single 480 will suffice with other settings maxed @ 1080p (one of my previous videocards). Theres certain graphical anomalies introduced when using the non-uber in-game antialiasing, so I tend to prefer the uber setting.Like I mentioned, the immediate scenery can be amazing, but the draw distance, and the way the game engine transitions from near to far, isnt so attractive IMHO.But none of these things comes close to ruining an amazing game.
    Reply
  • wortwortwort
    The Witcher 2 has too many glitches, but it was still a great game.
    Reply