Witcher 2 2.0 update adds Dark Mode

By Fred Dutton Published 17 August, 2011

Arena Mode and tutorial also coming.

A hefty new update for acclaimed RPG The Witcher 2 brings a number of new game modes to the CD Projekt-developed title next month.

As detailed in the developer diary below, update 2.0 adds "20 technical enhancements", various gameplay tweaks and a number of major new features.

Chief among them is Dark Mode, which is a new difficulty level pitched just below Insane. As well as upping the challenge it also adds in a number of super-powerful new "Dark" items to mess around with too.

There's also an Arena mode which lets you test your skills against endless waves of enemies and pick up XP and new items in the process.

On top of that, the update adds a tutorial to help new players through the game's tough first few sections.

The free patch will be available via auto update from 29th September, while all the new content will be included with the Xbox 360 version when it launches early next year.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 9 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • arcam #1 9 months ago

    Glad I waited for my second playthrough. I guess its time to see what Vernon has to offer.

  • beatwolf #2 9 months ago

    Gotta love this developer!

  • Fatbobbybob #3 9 months ago

    Yup time to see what those Squirrels do in "Dark Mode" :)

  • Shikasama #4 9 months ago

    Exactly the same as me Arcam.

    Also, I hope everyone pays attentiont he fact that this doesn't cost a tenner.

  • hiddenranbir #5 9 months ago

    Tutorial lol.

  • icelt #6 9 months ago

    @Beatwolf - exactly. The love they have for their game is evident in the immense production values and then the love they have for their customers and fans is evident in how hard they work to fix issues and add content. To say they appreciate their customers is putting it mildly.

  • CaptainTrips #7 9 months ago

    Great job on adding the tutorials - I played and loved The Witcher 2, but fuck me those first few hours were brutal, even on the normal settings!

  • Apaar #8 9 months ago

    CD Project is the most consumer friendly, admirable developer that comes to mind. I think they achieve and value something only select few others do: mutual respect.

  • Khosrau #9 9 months ago

    Well that's it, now I'll probably postpone playing this until 2.0 is out.

    But just because I love CD Projekt so much I promise to buy the game full price soon ;-)

    It's the least I can do to support such dedication.

  • peppergomez #10 9 months ago

    Talk about support. Good for the developers!

  • bikmate #11 9 months ago

    Oh gawd my new rig can't arrive fast enough. I want to play this game now!

  • Cjail #12 9 months ago

    The Witcher 2 is already an awesome game; the fact that they can make it even better simply scares me ;)

  • Paul_cz #13 9 months ago

    It is amazing that for every shitty thing other publishers do (Squeenix locks DX3, Ubisoft DRMs Driver, EA origins BF3..), CDP does something utterly awesome. Shows you whom you should support.

  • Ahskay #14 9 months ago

    Not to come off as arrogant or something but i don't get what's so difficult about the first parts of the game. I played through it in a breeze on normal. Is it because i play games for over 23 years and have enough experience?
    I like it that you need to find stuff out for yourselves. It reminded me of the good old days where i would go to the toilet first before playing a game and reading/memorizing the manual.

    Either way,
    amazing support they show for an amazing game. I'll stay with them till the end. I even bought the witcher 1: Enhanced edition for te second time recently because the dvd's got damaged.
    Bioware can take a lesson from this on how to develop true sequels without dumbing them down for the crowd that don't even support you all the way.

  • Rack #15 9 months ago

    Witcher 2 is certainly awesome but it could be a lot more awesome, there's still loads of room for improvement. This does mean I'm going to freak the hell out when Witcher 3 is announced. In fact maybe I should just avoid all contact with gaming sites till I see it on store shelves.

  • geox30 #16 9 months ago

    Stop it please!You want me to play your game for the third time???

  • apoc_reg #17 9 months ago

    These guys not only make amazing games but support them too. May take them a few patches but they will keep at it!

    Love it!

  • Stratix #18 9 months ago

    That start of the game was quite interesting. It beat the shit out of you until you got a grasp of what was going on. Set me up nicely for the rest of the game.

  • SvennoJ #19 9 months ago

    @redbarony I agree with you. I don't understand where all the love comes from. What I experienced was the release of a broken product which was fixed later, like most other games nowadays. Maybe because DRM was dropped and DLC became free, but that probably was the easiest fix for the mess they got themselves into with cd keys not being accepted, and pre-order dlc not being recognized.
    Too bad I already did 2 playthroughs with black bars instead of full screen support, controls going unresponsive, sound disappearing randomly (yay for subtitles), broken quests, erratic HDR lighting in caves and parts where the frame rate would drop to nearly unplayable. The story was great, the beta testing not very good.

  • Paul_cz #20 9 months ago

    Finished the game twice (second time with Roche, on hard) and in my two playthroughs I had 1 insignificant bug (cutscene could not be skipped). Otherwise it was flawless - easily most polished AAA RPG I have played.
    I played GOG version and started playing it on the day of release, 17th may. Finished 6 days later my first playthrough.
    Edited by Paul_cz at 17/08/11 @ 21:48

  • panathatube #21 9 months ago

    Oh well some extra incentive to replay witcher 2. This is great. And it COSTS NOTHING?! CD Project rules!

  • MMMMMM7 #22 9 months ago

    This support to gamers from CD Projekt proves that great games
    are made from great people who make great decisions.

  • deadstoned #23 9 months ago

    Looks good after the next 2 patches I'll crack it out again. Hopefully I experience less bugs next time. Great game, just lots of little bugs. Or maybe I'm just good at breaking the game :(

  • PaulLFC #24 9 months ago

    Now this is how you support a game after release.

  • FlamingCarrot #25 9 months ago

    I just finished it and thought it was fcking excellent. Loved the Witcher too however but this was a fantastic experience.
    I can't wait to see whats happens in the next instalment. Thank the gods of gaming that companies like CD Projeckt still make games like this.

  • CraigMcG #26 9 months ago

    gargh i want this on ps3 i hate playing with mouse and keyboard and i dont have a 360.
    i thought my 360 envy was over when mass effect came to ps3