After 10 years, The Witcher 3 Remastered helped me discover a psychedelic quest I'd always managed to miss

If there's one thing the GamesRadar+ RPG Club has taught me, it's that you've never seen it all. Just when you think you know an RPG inside out, it goes ahead and surprises you 10 years later. See, I thought I'd experienced every original side quest and monster contract in The Witcher 3 – given my many, many playthroughs – but the remastered re-release turned out to prove me wrong. On the shores of Skellige, after completing a particular contract at a particular time, a series of rather unfortunate events landed me in a pokey prison. Having no recollection of getting caught up in this mess before, I had no idea how I was going to get the White Wolf out of this one.

But the very fact that I couldn't wait to find out, and felt fresh excitement in an adventure I've spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours with, speaks to the magic of CD Projekt Red's sweeping fantasy adventure. It's not only teeming with things to see, do, and discover, but it directly reacts to the order in which you do things, and a decision to complete a contract at a certain time made me stumble my way into a missable quest that now refuses to leave my mind.

Quest Log

Wraiths and fog

It all begins with the haunting of a lighthouse out on one of the far islets of Skellige. The contract, The Phantom of Eldberg, is pretty standard for an experienced Witcher like me: investigate the area and find out why wraiths are attached to the location. It's all going well, having found the person responsible for tying the ghostly apparitions to the lighthouse. With a trophy in hand, I return back to a quaint little tavern to get my payment from a local called Jorund.

Only, the tavern is housing some hostile patrons who are none too happy at my being there, and with civil tensions at their peak with the passing of the king, things take a drastic turn. Before I know it, I'm in a bout of fistcuffs that quickly evolves into a clashing of blades. Poor Jorund pays the ultimate price, and as a stranger in a strange land, I'm quickly hoisted into a prison in the compound of Madman Lugos. What a day for poor Geralt.

I'd done this contract before, but it'd never ended like this. On previous runs, I handed in my wraith trophy and Jorund sat happily in the tavern, living to see another day. But, as I discovered, it's all about when you do this contract. Completing it before you do the King's Gambit kicks off a missable quest chain that I had apparently always managed to skip… probably due to my affinity for the Possession quest, or because I'd simply never picked up the contract early enough.

Regardless of the reason, I love the fact that The Witcher 3 constantly takes stock of what I choose you to do, and when I choose to do it. It puts real tangible weight behind my decisions in this world – something I live for in RPGs. And on this occasion, the game rewards me with a wild quest called The Cave of Dreams. If you've experienced this before, you know what I'm in for, but by all of the howling winds does it feel extra magical to witness it through the lens of the remastered edition's enhanced graphics.

Naturally there will be spoilers ahead for the Cave of Dreams.

Face your fears

Indebted to Lugos for letting me out of my pokey prison, I'm tasked with helping out his son, Blueboy Lugos, who's ventured to a cave with some companions to overcome a challenge of legend. Tales tell that anyone who enters the cave will face their fears, which are brought on by taking a mixture of hallucinogenic herbs before you delve into its depths. I'm already drawn to the concept, eager to see what the often implacable monster slayer Geralt's innermost fears will conjure.

At once, things start to get surreal. The cave comes alive with a giant, glittering razorback whale swimming through the air above the heads of the White Wolf, Blueboy, and his crew. It's a sight to behold, as are the school of fish that decorate the cave roof further in. Damn. It sure does look incredibly pretty. Pure camera mode fodder.

The events that actually unfold during the quest are what make it so memorable, though. Through every section of the cave, a character's fear comes to life. For warrior Uve Jabberjaw, it's the deceased king. Having previously insulted the monarch, Uve drastically cut out his own tongue as penance, and the past event clearly still haunts him. Then, in a more chilling turn, Blueboy faces his own father, whose anger and disappointment sets him literally aflame.

When I finally reach the scene of Geralt's fear, I stop to take it in: I'm looking at Kaer Morhen covered in a blanket of white snow. The nightmares that have plagued the witcher throughout the story make manifest here, with the imposing figure of Eredin, King of the Wild Hunt, materializing. It hits hard, not because Geralt is afraid of Eredin, but because he fears for the person the king continues to threaten: Ciri. The short confrontation gets to the heart of what makes The Witcher 3's story so memorable. It's about found family, protecting those you love, and never giving up the fight to keep them safe, and it once again reiterates how deeply Geralt cares for his ward.

If I ever needed further proof as to why The Witcher 3 continues to endure as one of the best RPGs going, well, this quest and the way I finally stumbled upon it is further proof. Now, excuse me while I go and see what else awaits me in the Remaster.