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The Witcher 3's Lowest Settings Are An Existential Nightmare | Potato Mode

Joey recruits resident Witcher expert Jake to guide him through The Witcher 3's lowest graphics settings (with some brothel-related detours).

The Witcher 3 holds up as an extraordinary title, thanks in part to its stunning graphics that still make it one of the most beautiful games to date. It's also one of our most requested entries for Potato Mode, the show where we take beautiful games like this and turn them into utter mush, just because we can. This week, Joey and Jake are giving the people what they want and rolling The Witcher 3's graphics settings to the bottom.

It doesn't take long for the game's beautiful textures and colors to disappear in the video above. Soon the environments of The Witcher 3 turn into something out of a post-apocalyptic Minecraft. While the UI holds up pretty well, the same cannot be said for the characters themselves. Watch as Joey and Jake interact with merchants with black eyes, see-through hair, and different colored faces. Especially memorable is a decidedly unsexy trip to not one, but two brothels.

Of course, The Witcher 3 is meant to be played in all its graphics glory. In GameSpot's The Witcher 3 review, Kevin VanOrd called the game "undoubtedly beautiful" and gave it a 10/10 score. Just last month, the 2015 GameSpot Game of the Year got a new update that included full HDR support, among a few other tweaks and changes.

In other Witcher news, the game is being turned into a TV show for Netflix. Earlier this month, lead writer Lauren Hissrich announced that the writer's room for the show officially opened. It will be based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's novels that inspired CD Projekt Red's video game franchise. Geralt of Rivia is the hero of the books and the games, so it's expected he will be in the show.

Show Info

Potato Mode

Potato Mode

Airs Weekly

The show where we take the most beautiful games in the world and make them look like mush

69 Comments  RefreshSorted By 
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Avatar image for gothicmercy
gothicmercy

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all the people complaining just proves to me the world no longer has a sense of humour.... its sad

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gothicmercy

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lowest mode makes it look like breath of the wild

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glowingeyes

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Wow the switch version is looking really great. (But seriously this is what it would take to get the game on the

switch so I hope people remember this when they go port begging.)

4 • 
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NintendoMan14

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Was this supposed to be interesting, I can't believe they get paid for delivering this type of content

3 • 
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ZmanBarzel

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@NintendoMan14: Considering it's still one of the top 3 on the "Popular" tab on the GameSpot homepage despite being nearly a week old, I'd say their financial investment paid off.

4 • 
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bongaconga

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@zmanbarzel: no it did not.People click to mainly show dissatisfaction which results in people leaving GS for other gaming news platforms.

2 • 
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gothicmercy

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@bongaconga: youre one of those people that complains a game is bad even if you had no interest in thhe game in the first place.... live to complain.... get a life

2 • 
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ZmanBarzel

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Edited By ZmanBarzel

@bongaconga: Yes, because it's certainly driven you away.

And how are they showing their dissatisfaction? There are only 45 comments on this week-old video. If 45 views is enough to keep this near the top of the most popular features six days after it was released, CBSi would've shut the site down long ago.

2 • 
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gothicmercy

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@zmanbarzel: 45 comments... most of them are you prattling and complaining like an old woman... just go away

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bongaconga

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@zmanbarzel: potato mode will stop to exist in latest 2 months. Feedback is just too negative. CBS won’t take off gamespot because it is one of the few gaming news site left. And if GS keeps producing such low ass articles, CBS will replace the management and that is how it works.

2 • 
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gothicmercy

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@bongaconga: if they take it off will you promise to go away?

2 • 
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ZmanBarzel

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@bongaconga: Are you counting it two months from now, or from when it started, because it just passed the 2-month anniversary of the latter.

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bongaconga

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@zmanbarzel: you see. 15 days passed and they already stopped with that garbage.

2 • 
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gothicmercy

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@bongaconga: they stopped.... but you constantly bicker and moan like a stupid pratt

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ZmanBarzel

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Edited By ZmanBarzel

@bongaconga: 15 days? It's been only a week since the last one.

https://www.gamespot.com/videos/dark-souls-remaster-gets-a-low-settings-de-master-/2300-6444204/

Also, not sure if you noticed, but there's a small thing going on in video games that is eating up everyone's time.

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gothicmercy

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@zmanbarzel: you really cant get through to people that exist to moan about the world.... hes probably divorced, his kids dont want to know him... and his favourite tv show is 'politics today'.

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bongaconga

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@zmanbarzel: just wait and see young one, just wait and see!!

2 • 
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bongaconga

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@zmanbarzel: it will stop, soon. Compare the comments and views here with other actual game news related articles.

2 • 
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AzatiS

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BECAUSE GRAPHICS DONT MATTER ----- !! lol

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Avatar image for gothicmercy
gothicmercy

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@AzatiS: yep, the nintendo answer to everything lol

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hystavito

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@gothicmercy: sometimes, but then they boast about it too when it suits them, like when the WiiU came out and they constantly touted "HD!" as this amazing new feature :)

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DEVILTAZ35

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Why bother when a cheap 980ti coupled with an 8 year old I7 CPU can run it in 1440p @ 60 at near max settings? The game is only demanding in 4k.

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gothicmercy

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@deviltaz35: lmao like balls it can.... you put on hair works and increase npc count to high... that rig hits nowhere near 60

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R3FURBISHED

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So GS censors "nudity" with the hooker but shows a topless Yennifer? (7:52 mark)

Also I really don't care for the commentary that goes alongside this video

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bongaconga

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Crap content

3 • 
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esqueejy

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GS has become the potato mode of game sites.

6 • 
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deactivated-5d4c0b80dcd76

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I wish there was a thumbs down button...

7 • 
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pablopita

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Ok I signed in for the first time in years just to comment on this.

Gamespot you have to stop this nonsense, this is the lamest excuse for content I have ever seen. I find it wasteful, useless and disrespectful. every week I see a new potato mode video on your front page. Maybe game devs should start posting pictures of your moms without their teeth and make up on after a hard night of drinking, it would be the appropriate response to this circus.

I dont work for the game industry, I have nothing to gain here, just sharing my opinion.

You go out of your way to tamper with command lines and break games, what a wasted opportunity to actually share useful information. Maybe you should use this platform to show people how to optimize their gaming experience instead of degrading a product that a ton of people worked on. This is the equivalent of spilling acetone on a Dali painting...

I have had the reflex to come here for gaming news for close to 20 years however I honestly don't even know why I bother anymore. I am still in my mid 30s however I think I am getting too old for your site.

I will go find a better source for news for old dads like myself...

11 • 
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gothicmercy

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@pablopita: awesome essay... you actually took time out in your life to write all that.... noone forces you to watch it you realise that right?

2 • 
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XDeathClawX

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@pablopita: Don't see the issue. In fact, no dev does.

But hey, Witcher jus may have a sense of humor for sale in one of its stores, may wanna buy one :)

"Maybe game devs should start posting pictures of your moms without their teeth and make up on after a hard night of drinking, it would be the appropriate response to this circus."

Maybe you should stop getting DEEPLY offended/insulted over irrelevant things like this, lil snowflake :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

However, using moms as an example makes no sense since it's not something they created so it has nothin to do w/ this. Try again :)

Do you go to youtube videos and scream at people who do this?

Thin skin, you have, indeed.

3 • 
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bongaconga

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@pablopita: I feel you!!! In the late 90s these guys had excellent gaming coverage. I was getting my news from Gamespy and Gamespot mostly. But what gamespot has become, there are no words for it.

The reason that I still pop in here because I have been daily since 1998 (and they banned my original account too just recently this year).

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DEVILTAZ35

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Edited By DEVILTAZ35

@bongaconga: You think this is bad? Just look how far IGN has fallen.

I still occasionally look at their PS2 Gran Turismo review for nostalgia as back then they actually did decent reviews. Now in the case of AAA releases they seem to just do a review the publisher would like to see.

Farcry 5 for instance is a major step down in actual physics based tech compared to Farcry 2 yet all this is glossed over.

I was watching an article on youtube last night from Digital Foundry using Crysis 3 as an example to explain whether or not Ultra settings were needed and that game still looks incredible on a decently capable PC.

Far better than just about any game today.

2 • 
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gothicmercy

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Edited By gothicmercy

@deviltaz35: their forza horizon 4 review was excellent, they even broke down black ops 4 in sections to review it.... ign reviews are by far the best on the net..... except alien isolation and their film review of last jedi.... which were COMPLETE garbage.

but I agree with some of the stupid stuff they post.... I just dont bother reading that crap

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Legend002

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Possible on Switch

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gothicmercy

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@Legend002: youll have switch owners saying its as good as the original.... just like they claim skyrim is the se version

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Flav333

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I want bioshock

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G4m1ngOn

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Stop these "articles". You fail with it - how is it a "potato PC mode" when you have dynamic shadows ON ? Cut this BS.

3 • 
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gothicmercy

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Edited By gothicmercy

@g4m1ngon: put a potato on a table it will have a dynamic shadow.... go on I dare you

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edussz

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Bring back the Lobby! I find really hard to get any news from Gamespot now-a-days when all it's content is garbage! Even E3 I'm more willing to give Kinda Funny guys money than watch anything you guys are streaming... And GS has been mine E3 provider for more than 10 years! Please.... Have some adult-ish content!

3 • 
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pablopita

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Edited By pablopita

@edussz: +1

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malp123

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As far as ideas for video features go, we must really be at the bottom of the barrel at this point.

9 • 
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pablopita

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@malp123: Well said!!

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pwnzord

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With the scene in the brothel, towards the end of his ‘fling’ you guys seemed to have missed a few nipples. Well such as they are in potato mode.

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p1p3dream

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looks good

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kokakee

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Finally ..Witcher 3 will be available on the nintendo switch

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EducatingU_PCMR

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@kokakee: And it would still run at 15fps.

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