The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone | The Ultimate Analysis

After my last video on the Witcher 3, a lot of viewers asked to see an analysis on Hearts of Stone, and this is that video! This will be more of an analysis than a critique, but hopefully you still enjoy it. It took a LOT of work to make and so I'll appreciate any and all feedback!

TIME STAMPS:

Evil's Soft First Touches - 5:42
Dead Man's Party - 19:05
Open Sesame! - 27:32
Scenes From A Marriage - 39:12
Whatsoever A Man Soweth - 56:28
Character Analysis' - 1:05:29
Conclusion - 1:17:40

Thank you again for watching.
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[richtea]

Gaunter O'Dimm might be powerful enough to stop time, but Geralt has the power of checkpoints and manual saves.

[rainbowsnail]

One thing at the wedding with Shani, if you go on the boat, she will ask you to take her to the moon, to which Geralt say it's
impossible. She then points to the reflection of the moon on the lake.
While the reflection aspect is not used again, the idea of the "moon" not having to be the actual moon in the sky, is very key to
the ending of the DLC. Feels like some foreshadowing.

[UnreliableUsername]

I loved the little dig at Skyrim when Shani asks the guard how his knee is holding up after he got shot in the knee with an arrow and he says yeah no bother, fine and dandy 🤣

[zaurak]

I will tell you why we, the Polish people, love the Witcher series so much. Few facts:
1. The whole Hearts of Stone main quests are built over the story of a guy who signed a pact with the devil to get the supernatural powers and then tried to outsmart the devil. This is a reference to the Polish legend of Mr Twardowski, which is a Polish classic legend (parallel to Goethe's Dr Faustus)
2. The Wedding quest from Hearts of Stone is a reference to the famous Polish early XX century symbolic drama The Wedding, in which participants during the wedding night meet ghosts of the ancestors and supernatural creatures. In certain parts game characters use the lines from the drama.
3. The scene of the fight with Olgierd before the burning mansion is a reference to the similar scene from classic Polish historic novel (and movie) The Flood in which the best sabre fighter challenges a rogue outlaw. Also in the Hearts of Stone Geralt and Olgierd use the lines from the novel (movie).
4. The names of main characters in Polish version (Olgierd, Witold - which is changed to Vladimir in English version) - these are the names of the founders of Lithuanian Jagiellon dynasty which ruled Poland for over 200 years.

Generally, the game plot and the names in certain parts are tribute to Polish history/classic literature and the references are countless, i just mentioned the most obvious ones.

[L.Becker]

Gaunter O'Dimm is by far my favourite antagonist in any game or movie or anything ever

[adamburgess]

I remember when those kids sang his song, I was so creeped out. Same when his tune repeats after saving that women in blood and wine.

[xuman]

For those who read the professors notes, wasn't it messed up how gaunter gave the professor realistic dreams of having a daughter to the point where he was so happy, then one day she dies tragically from disease. Gaunter o dimm more like gaunter o fucked up.

[dhughesy]

It’s insane how thematically rich and densely written just a story DLC can be.

[listerfiend]

The circle of kids singing the Gaunter O’dimm song will reappear throughout the DLC at random crossroads while traveling. Such an awesome touch to remind us the player that there is no escaping O’Dimm. Gaunter is probably the best character I’ve ever experienced in a game.

[TheMaTaSS]

Gaunter O´ Dimm, Master Mirror, The Mirror of GOD, The Devil

[TheCivildecay]

57:46 - The spoons mean: "He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon" which is a old 14th century saying.

[onroad]

Actually, the story is highly influenced by the Polish legend of Twardovsky. He was a nobleman who has sold his soul to the Devil in exchange of great knowledge and magic skills. He was hiding from the Devil for years and it is believed that currently Twardovsky is in his hideout on the Moon. He is 'the only person who bested Gaunter O'Dimm' I suppose.

[angad]

Witcher 3 is the best game of this generation so far.

[jimbody]

This expansion is fantastic and your analysis was excellent, and there's a few extra things I noticed:

The theme of reflection is something that is brought up a lot in the game in reference to the solution of Gaunter's final riddle. As you mentioned, the cat and dog clue you in to this by saying "seek salvation in glass that cannot be broken" however there are, I think, more references to this earlier in the game. When on the boat with Shani, she says "sail me to The Moon" and Geralt says he can't as The Moon is in the sky, Shani replies, "of course you can, it's there in the lake", referring of course to its reflection on the water. The heist mission also plays with this with regards to the Borsodi's. I think of Horst and Ewald as being reflections of one another, how two people, so similar, can act so differently with the money they inherit. I also think that Geralt and Vlodimir are excellent reflections of one another, similar in many ways but polar opposites in attitude. The potential decapitation scene is also a nice mirror to the fate of Olgierd at the end, do you intervene to save someone who's done wrong with the hope of redeeming them in the future?

Professor Shakeslock was something I felt differently about, I think it's the best scene in the expansion. It wasn't Gaunter who weakened the ceiling, but Geralt in his desperation to break into the house. The fact that the Professor died moments after stepping out of the circle after dodging the falling wood was very "final destination", he died but not in the way you would expect. I thought it was a perfect scene that made you realise just how scary Gaunter was.

There are also a couple of references to Gaunter and the devil. The long wooden spoon recurring theme with Gaunter is for the phrase, "he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon." There are also 2 cases where, shortly after Gaunter disappears, NPCs mention the devil. Once with the prisoner on the boat (these boats heave like devils) and once in the inn when the Wild One looks into his soup and says "what the devil?". Gaunter also meets Geralt after the storm at a Crossroads, Gaunter specifies this whilst still on the boat. This references the tradition in stories and mythology that the devil meets people at crossroads to tempt them into evil.

[arnoutvanroosbroeck]

I personally really liked the Auction house quest. I was very excited tot get all the different things for sale.

[dlimla]

The getting the house quest was a little of a drag for me too but one thing I found hilarious is that the story that the countess Mignole tells with her and Vesamir actually confirms what Geralt said at Kaer Morhen when he was drinking with the other witchers. If you drink when Eskel says "never had to jump out a lover's window with nothing but my nickers." and Eskel was "What would papa Vesemir say?" Geralt says "Papa Vesamir would properly have drank that round too." XD

[Naruga]

Everyone loves Blood and Wine (I like it too) but Hearts of Stone was just the best focused story I played in such a long time.

[BenMcManus]

Anyone else think Olgierd von Everec looks like David Beckham?

[willcruikshank]

Starry Night Over the Pontar hangs in my house in Toussaint

[MioRaem]

You missed the fact that the guy the Wild Ones want to decapitate (or actually do it) is the one who slaps the woman's butt during your first encounter with Olgierd.