The Witcher 3's New Campaign Content Has Me Convinced To Give The Game Another Try

Published Sep 17, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

Brandon Zachary is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant's New Movie Team. He also writes or has written for Comicbook.com, CBR, That Hashtag Show, Just Watch, and TVBrittanyF. Brandon is an Emerging Screenwriters Semi-Finalist, co-writer of a Screencraft Quarter-Finalist, a seasoned on-screen interviewer, and a MASSIVE nerd. You can reach him at bs.zachary@gmail.com

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt was a generational game for plenty of players. The fantasy epic expanded and evolved after release, with new content that gave Geralt more room to grow as a character and tested players. After a few expansions, most players had moved on. However, it's clear now that CD Projekt Red hasn't fully moved on from that fantasy epic, with a new storyline that brings Geralt back into the spotlight for one more adventure.

Coming out alongside some free remastered aspects and quality-of-life upgrades, "Songs of the Past" feels like a genuine expansion rather than a simple new story, a real excuse to revisit the world from a fresh set of eyes and bring Geralt into a fresh new adventure. The preview shown to members of the press (including Screen Rant) highlights just how effective the expansion looks.

What Does Songs Of The Past Bring To The Witcher 3

The first expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt since 2016, "Songs of the Past," takes place in the Letten region in northern Redania. The preview highlights Dandelion's cousin Lilla, who joins Geralt's investigation into Dandelion's disappearance.

Along the way, she shares a tale from her historically wealthy family, revealing more of Dandelion's lore and hinting at a larger mystery involving the family and their connections to mystical forces. Baked into the underlying world-building is a deeper sense of lore, all connected through a somber story of thwarted love and past mysteries.

The preview highlighted a wide new region teeming with little lives and stories. Coded in a soft autumn color palette, the region's festive tenor hides secrets and terrors. The second section of the preview highlighted that latter point. After getting a lead on Dandelion’s location, Geralt and Lilla venture into a gnarled, creepy forest that wouldn't feel out of place in a twisted fairy tale.

Living vines, skeletal warriors, and a witch in the well await players brave enough to venture into the region. It's a crafty bit of world expansion that slots neatly into the rest of the game's conception of the world. It's a natural expansion of the base game, like "Blood and Wine" before it, and it feels, at least from the outside, like a natural growth of the original game.

The new campaign draws players deeper into Dandelion's backstory while offering a natural extension (and ending) to Geralt's story after the quiet conclusion of his narrative in previous expansions. It doesn't ruin Geralt's happiness or take it away, but it brings the character back into the action with a natural sense of adventure that feels perfectly attuned to the original game.

Songs Of The Past Finds The Soul Of The Witcher

The Witcher 3: The Blood Hunt was a foundational game. The influence of that game's success shows in how fantasy franchises expanded and embraced the sandbox approach. It's spawned many fantasy epics in the years since, even beyond the ones produced by CD Projekt Red.

It's a formula filled to the brim with gameplay options and narrative potential, where players can naturally find new adventures and dangerous threats hidden in the world's crevices. "Songs of the Past" is a great continuation of that ideal, proving the development team behind the game hasn't lost its touch in the decade-plus since the last expansion.

The creature design, especially a gruesome remnant that rises out of the greenery to challenge Geralt in a tense boss battle, remains perfectly attuned to what came before. The world feels consistent with what came before, benefiting from the technical upgrades and quality-of-life tweaks that come with the remastered version.

Expanded combat options like the hook give players new approaches to duels, showing there is still plenty of room for the game to grow even years after its 2015 debut. It's a big, bold return, and it serves as a key reminder of how this game's success laid the groundwork for newer titles like Blood of the Dawnwalker.

Especially for fans who loved the original game and want a fresh excuse to revisit Geralt and the cast that grew up around him, the new story is a great fit that benefits from all the tricks and enhancements CD Projekt Red has picked up over the years. Even if you missed The Witcher 3 the first time around, "Songs of the Past" is the perfect reason to venture into Geralt's world and find out why The Blood Hunt remains one of the definitive adventure games of the 21st century.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Songs of the Past

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