Polish developer CD PROJEKT RED has officially opened the doors to all prospective card collectors and players wanting to take their new game Gwent: The Witcher Card Game for a spin. This standalone version of what was originally just a side activity in The Witcher 2: Wild Hunt has been adapted for multiplayer, adding a ton of new features to the collectible card game set in the The Witcher universe.
To commemorate the start of the game's open beta, CD Projekt RED have released a cinematic trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yu7FVZOyAo
Public Beta is an important step towards GWENT’s final release.Gwent: The Witcher Card Game works as follows: during a match, the total value of your cards (called 'Power') on the table has to exceed to total value of your opponent's played cards. You only get a hand of cards at the start of the match and once they're all spent you won't be able to get new cards outside of winning a round and special card abilities. Here's a gameplay trailer showing the game in action:We’re opening the gates to everyone who wanted to play, but didn’t make it into the Closed Beta, and — at the same time — we’re introducing some pretty significant content and gameplay changes like adding animated versions of cards for every card in the game, new starter decks, or how weather cards work.
Marcin Iwiński, cofounder of CD PROJEKT RED.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKqy04OmOGo
The different decks available in Gwent: The Witcher Card Game are all based on factions from the franchise's cast of colorful characters that each have access to exclusive cards in addition to neutral cards that can be used by any faction. If you want a peek at what the different factions can do, the developer has put together this handy playlist showing off every faction in the game, as well as some of their unique abilities.
If you want to sign on for the public beta, all you need to do is go here and register either your PC or your PlayStation 4. Players who have been participating in the game's closed beta will receive a number of kegs containing new cards based on their involvement in the closed beta.
Quick Take
Initially, I feared that Gwent as a game would be a bit too simplistic for competitive multiplayer, but I'm glad I was mistaken. CD PROJEKT RED have added more than enough new features to keep the game interesting.