Witcher 3 Remastered reviews: 94, tied for 2026's best score

Witcher 3 Remastered reviews are in, and they are nearly all raves: the free upgrade holds a 94 on Metacritic as of September 29, 2026, the day it launched on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. That ties it with the indie shooter Sektori for the highest Metascore of any 2026 release. Critics praise the new lighting, path tracing and reworked skills, while the most common complaint is that the 2015 game's combat and movement still show their age. This is a roundup of other outlets' reviews; The Ruling Desk has not played the remaster.

Key takeaways

• As of September 29, 2026, Metacritic lists a 94 ("universal acclaim") for the PC version, from only nine critic reviews. The PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 versions don't have a Metascore yet, so the number can still move.
• It is tied at 94 with Sektori at the top of Metacritic's 2026 list, not alone. Several outlets call it the highest-scoring game of the year; the tie makes "joint highest" the precise version.
• Critics agree on the visuals and on the value of a free upgrade. Where they disagree is how much the combat changed: Pocket Tactics (10/10 on Switch 2) calls it much tighter, while Noisy Pixel and GamingBolt (both 9/10 on PC) say some of the old clunkiness remains.
• CD Projekt Red's patch notes confirm a skill tree with three ranks per skill (and a reset of your skill points), map markers for untracked quests, path tracing on PC and a "Bard's Ballad" preset meant to reduce cognitive load.
• If you own the game, the upgrade costs nothing, and the reviews make a strong case for a replay, especially if you never finished the two expansions.

What the Witcher 3 Remastered reviews score

On the Metacritic page for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, the game sits at 94 as of September 29, 2026, with no mixed or negative reviews. That Metascore is the PC one. The other versions show "TBD" because they don't have enough reviews yet: three for Switch 2, and two each for PS5 and Xbox Series X.

The Witcher 3 Remastered Metacritic score comes from PC critic reviews that all landed on September 28, and none scored it below 90:

Outlet	Score	What stood out
Eurogamer Germany	100	Asks which game of the last ten years could compete with it
Vandal	100	Calls the path tracing leap "spectacular"
Combo Infinito	100	Says it goes "far beyond simple resolution bumps"
GameStar	94	No quote listed yet
Gamersky	94	Calls it the best way to revisit the game
GamingBolt	90	A free upgrade with "plenty to enjoy"
Noisy Pixel	90	Praises characters and side quests, notes dated combat
The Games Machine	90	Polished, with minor hiccups mostly in the menus
Uagna.it	90	Notes a big performance cost with the new visual tech turned on

Nine reviews is a small sample for a game this big, and the console versions will add their own scores as reviews arrive, so treat the 94 as an early reading.

Is it the highest-rated game of 2026?

It's tied for the top. Metacritic's ranking of 2026 releases lists The Witcher 3 Remastered first and Sektori, a twin-stick shooter, second, both at 94. Below them sit Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, Big Walk and DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations at 91. VGC's headline calls it the highest-scoring game of 2026, which is fair on the list's order, but the two games share the same number.

What critics praise

The visuals come up in almost every review. Vandal, which gave it 100, says path tracing lets the 2015 game look as good as this year's releases, and in many cases better. GamingBolt's Varun Karunakar, in a 9/10 review on PC, calls the new lighting excellent and reports 145 to 170 fps on a Ryzen 5 5600 with an RTX 5060 Ti, without stutter or pop-in.

The content still carries the game. Noisy Pixel's Azario Lopez, who gave it 9/10 on PC, puts the side quests, characters and exploration at the center of his verdict. GamingBolt calls the package, with Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine included, the definitive way to play.

The Switch 2 version has its own fan. Pocket Tactics' Kayleigh Partleton gave it a perfect 10, reporting no frame rate drops or bugs during testing, gyro camera controls that respond without delay, and combat that feels much cleaner than the original's.

Where critics push back

The criticism in the Witcher 3 Remastered reviews is mild, but it is consistent:

• Combat and movement still feel old to some. Noisy Pixel says movement and targeting can feel loose, especially in crowded fights, and that encounters fall into patterns newer action RPGs have moved past. GamingBolt says some of the original's clunky movement returns during exploration.
• Performance with the new tech. Uagna.it, on Metacritic's summary, says performance takes a significant hit when the new visual technologies are enabled. GamingBolt's high frame rates suggest your hardware and settings matter a lot here.
• Small rough edges. GamingBolt saw Geralt's hair go black in shadowy areas with the new hair rendering and dislikes that Reforge, the new appearance system, is locked behind a master armorer. The Games Machine mentions minor hiccups, mostly in the menus.

So the split is narrower than the one over a new game's design. Nobody we read says the remaster makes the game worse. The question is whether the combat changes go far enough, and the reviews disagree on that.

What the Witcher 3 Remastered patch notes change

CD Projekt Red published the full patch notes on September 28. The headline changes, in the studio's words and ours:

• Skill tree with three ranks. "Skills are now organized into a skill tree and each skill has three ranks." New skills unlock through prerequisite skills instead of a set number of points spent. The notes also warn that your skill points have been reset, so an existing save gets a full respec.
• Markers for untracked quests. Quests you haven't tracked now get their own map marker, and you can track one by selecting it. The maximum number of map markers also goes up. That is the change behind reports of markers for unfinished questlines.
• Path tracing on PC, plus NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 with Ray Reconstruction, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XeSS 2.0. On PS5 Pro, the studio's launch press release promises 60 fps with ray tracing through PSSR, and up to 90 fps in Performance mode on a VRR display.
• Bard's Ballad preset. CD Projekt Red says it is "designed to reduce cognitive load for players who experience mental fatigue or have difficulty concentrating." You turn it on when starting a new game on the Just the Story difficulty, or later in the Accessibility menu. It bundles options such as a vitality regeneration boost, infinite breath, unlimited item and boat durability, ignored item weight, faster boats and a toggle for Witcher Sense.
• Reforge, which changes a piece of gear's look without touching its stats, through master craftsmen.
• Mods on consoles, through mod.io cross-platform support.

The press release adds new animations for Geralt and Roach, new finishers, an adaptive combat camera and refreshed menus, and says the remaster was made with the studio Yigsoft.

Should existing owners replay it?

Here is how the reviews and the patch notes line up for someone who already owns The Witcher 3:

• It's free. CD Projekt Red confirms the upgrade costs nothing on GOG, Steam, Epic, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and that Switch owners get the Switch 2 version free. Both expansions come with it. Our release time and free upgrade guide covers the download sizes and how Switch owners claim it.
• The biggest change is to how you build Geralt. A three-rank skill tree with a reset changes an existing save more than any visual option does, so a fresh run is the natural way to see it.
• If combat put you off in 2015, the reviews don't agree on whether it's fixed. Pocket Tactics says yes; Noisy Pixel and GamingBolt say it's better but still dated.
• If you stopped because the game felt like too much to track, the Bard's Ballad preset and the untracked quest markers target exactly that.

If you're weighing more of this season's review scores, our roundup of Minecraft Dungeons 2 reviews takes the same approach, and our video games section collects the rest.

Bottom line

The Witcher 3 Remastered launched on September 29, 2026 with a 94 on Metacritic, tied with Sektori for the best Metascore of the year. That score rests on nine PC reviews, and the console versions have no Metascore yet, so expect it to move. The critics named here praise the lighting, path tracing and reworked skills, and the most repeated complaint is combat that still shows its age. Those are their verdicts; we haven't played it. For owners, the upgrade is free, so the real cost is time. If you have the hours to spare, the reviews say this is the best version of the game to spend them on. Watch for the PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 scores as more reviews arrive.

FAQ

What is The Witcher 3 Remastered's Metascore?

It is 94, "universal acclaim", on PC, from nine critic reviews as of September 29, 2026. The PS5, Xbox Series X and Switch 2 versions show no Metascore yet because they don't have enough reviews.

Is The Witcher 3 Remastered the best-reviewed game of 2026?

It is tied for the top. Metacritic's 2026 ranking lists it first and Sektori second, both at 94, with the next games at 91. The score can still change as more reviews come in.

What is Bard's Ballad in The Witcher 3 Remastered?

It is an accessibility preset that CD Projekt Red says is designed to reduce cognitive load for players with mental fatigue or trouble concentrating. It turns on options like faster health regeneration, infinite breath, unlimited durability and ignored item weight. You can enable it at the start of a new game or from the Accessibility menu.

Does The Witcher 3 Remastered reset your skills?

Yes. CD Projekt Red's patch notes say skill points have been reset because skills now sit in a new tree with three ranks each, so you rebuild Geralt on an existing save.

Is The Witcher 3 Remastered free?

Yes, for anyone who owns The Witcher 3 on GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, and for Switch owners on Switch 2, according to CD Projekt Red. It includes both expansions.