Blood feud: The Witcher. Stories

Blood Feud was originally a single-player mode for the collectible card game Gwint: The Witcher. Card game ”, which, in turn, was the development of a card mini-game from the game“ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ”- all these games were developed and released by CD Projekt RED ^[1] . The game contains extensive locations that can be explored, secrets, side quests and hidden treasures ^[1] .

In terms of gameplay, "Blood Feud" is a traditional isometric computer role-playing game with exploring locations, dialogs, and plot choices; its distinction is battles built on the mechanics of a gwint - using collection cards ^[2] .

The game takes place against the backdrop of the Second War with Nilfgaard, that is, before the beginning of the Witcher game and during the time of the action of Sapkowski's books; the player controls Meva, Queen of Rivia and Lyria, whose lands are attacked by the army of Nilfgaard. The player has the task of repulsing the invasion and leading Meva and her people to victory. During the game, the player must visit five fictional kingdoms - Lyria, Rivia, Mahakam, Angren and Aedirn. The game includes several separate game modes: travel mode, camping camp and card battles ^[2] .

• Meva is the protagonist of the game, the legal queen of the twin states of Lyria and Rivia. When Nilfgaard invades her possessions, Meva, betrayed by her son and advisers, is imprisoned. Nevertheless, with the help of the robber Gascon and Count Odo, she escapes from the country and organizes a guerrilla movement in order to regain power and drive the invaders away.
• Count Reynard Odo is a knight, commander of the army of Lyria and Rivia, and the closest ally of Queen Meva. He accompanies the queen throughout the campaign and constantly helps her, being the main source of valuable advice. Maybe at the cost of his life to ensure the capture of the castle in Rivia. If the count survives, then after the war he will continue to serve Meva as a general or will become for her something much bigger.
• Gascon Brossard , also known as the Kobelin prince, is a young robber, the leader of the gang of Kobeli from Spalla and a close ally of Queen Meva. In the past - a member of the Brossard family, which was exterminated by the past king of Rivia and Lyria for treason. Initially captured by the queen, but later rescues her and Reynard from prison and joins their army. May die when taking a castle in Rivia. If he survives, Meva returns Gaskon the title and land taken from his family, and for some time he enjoys the life of a nobleman, but one day he takes his bow and disappears in an unknown direction.
• Willem is the eldest son of Meva, prince of Lyria and Rivia. Without mother’s consent, she signs a peace treaty with Nilfgaard, believing that this will be better for the country. When Meva returns to Rivia, Willem decides with his troops to go over to her side. If Meva forgives him, the prince tirelessly proves to her his loyalty and becomes a worthy heir to the throne. Otherwise, he will die while in prison or during the storming of the castle in Rivia.
• Count Caldwell is one of Queen Meva's advisers. Persuades Prince Willem to make peace with the superior forces of the Nilfgaard Empire. He plans to kill the queen in prison, but she escapes from under his nose. He takes control of a castle in the province of Angren, where he perishes at the hands of Meva.
• Duke Ardal aer Dagi is the great chancellor of Nilfgaard, commander of the Army Group Vostok and the main antagonist of the game. He manipulated the Lyric nobles to overthrow Queen Meva and make her country a vassal of the empire. During the confrontation, the combined forces of Meva and Demavenda receive an ultimatum from the Emperor Emgyr Var Emreis, after which the Grand Chancellor is found dead.
• Gabor Zigrin - Mahakama dwarf -man, ally of Queen Meva. Becomes the conductor of the army in the mountains of Mahakama. I took advantage of the Queen’s help to cover up the traces of the crimes committed by his clan. If Meva does not give him to the headman, which threatens him with death, Gabor will be called upon to accompany her further to atone for his guilt.
• Black Raila is a Lyrian mercenary, commander of a special unit of Demavend and ally of Queen Meva. He is a conductor of the Meva detachment through the lands of Aedirn. She is intolerant of the Scoia'tael, on the basis of which her ways with the queen may diverge.
• Eyk from Denesle is an itinerant knight, ally of Queen Meva. He considers the killing of monsters his vocation and zealously adheres to the ideals of faith and chivalry - which includes the unacceptability of any compassion for monsters, even if they are reasonable. Therefore, he can leave the detachment if he considers any of the Queen's actions unworthy.
• Isbel of Hagge is a sorceress and ally of Queen Meva. She participated in the First Northern War on the side of Nilfgaard, but after the battle of Sodden she left the army and became a healer. Having learned about this, Meva will not expel her from the detachment, then inspired by Meva’s struggle with the empire, she decides to start fighting again.
• Barnaba Beckenbauer is a gnome, inventor and explorer, ally of Queen Meva. For decades he wandered around the world until he ended up in Mahakama, where Mava could be saved from death and accepted into her army. Having reached Rivia, he offers his help in raising the production of a declining city and will become its head with the consent of Meva, leaving the detachment.
• Javier Lemmens , aka Gwalter Aep Llwynog - engineer, ally of Queen Meva, as well as a Nilfgaard spy. He served in the Airdir army several years before the outbreak of war. Shortly before leaving Angren, she attempts to kill Meva, but Reynard and Gascon come to her rescue, killing the traitor.
• Eldine is an elf, leader of the Scoia'tael in the forests of Aedirn. Differs in unprincipled hatred of people and arranges a real hunt for Meva, but eventually dies at her hands.
• Bruver Goog is the elder of the redhands and ruler of Mahakama. She distrusts Meva and initially refuses her help, but when the queen succeeds in gaining respect from the clans, she puts at her disposal several detachments of red people to fight the empire.
• Demavend is the ruling king of the state of Aedirn. With his support, Meva gains access to the Mahakam, where she manages to find allies. Team up with Mawa to drive the Nilfgaards from Aedirn, ensuring the victory of the Northern Kingdoms in the war.
• Gernichora - “The Bloody Lady”, a monster who reigns in the swamps of Angren. He dissolves Angren's monsters with his blood, subjugating those to himself.
• Ivo from Belgaven - the witcher from the bear school, who carried out the order for Gernichora in the swamps of Angren.

On August 30, 2018, CD Projekt RED Studio announced the creation of a new role-playing game in the Witcher universe, called Blood Feud: The Witcher. Stories ", which was conceived as a plot campaign for the game" Gwint: The Witcher. Card game ”, however, it grew into an independent product ^[3] . The release of the game on the Microsoft Windows platform took place on October 23, 2018, while versions for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were released on December 4, 2018 ^[4] .

The official soundtrack to the game, consisting of 28 tracks, became available on December 6, 2018. The authors of the musical accompaniment were composers Marcin Pshibylovich , Mikolay Stroinsky and Peter Adamchik ^[5] .

The game "Blood Feud" received an approval from critics. On the Metacritic aggregator site, the average score for a game is 85/100 based on 51 reviews ^[7] .

• Official site
• Blood Feud: The Witcher. Stories " on GOG.com
• Blood Feud: The Witcher. Stories " on the site Playground.ru