Take another look at The Witcher 3—you fall in love, you lose

I've been on a Witcher 3 bender all weekend. I'd played some 30 hours or so when it launched last year, but I took a lengthy hiatus. Personally, I'd burned out on epic open-world role-playing games, and The Witcher 3 ain't nothin' if it ain't an epic open-world role-playing game. It's safe to say it achieved peak RPG for an entire genre. We gave it our highest score.

But I mostly have Dead End Thrills to thank for my return to the Witcher's world this weekend. Out of nowhere, the in-game photographer—the aforementioned Dead End Thrills—went back in himself, snapping off a few more shots. It is stunning what developer CD Projekt RED has made. For a gameworld that's 95% trees and rocks and water, it's crafted scene after scene of eye-candy landscapes and face-melting depictions of grimy low-fantasy grunge mashed with endlessly picturesque countrysides.

Look at these pics—or visit the entire gallery—and try not reinstalling The Witcher 3. You fall in love, you lose.