The Witcher 3 - Family Matters Quest
On the surface, I’m not sure if the “Family Matters” quest in The Witcher 3 would go down as one of the most shocking moments in gaming, but hear me out. First, it depends on the outcome of the quest. One outcome is more likely to shock players than the other.
However, regardless of how it ends, this quest deals with spousal abuse, the death of an unborn child, alcoholism, and the desperate attempts of a man trying to redeem himself and put his family back together.
At best, it’s sad. At worst, “Family Matters” ends with a dead child, dead mother, and a father who commits suicide due to the guilt. Seeing the Bloody Baron hanging from a tree is a surprise, but the sum of all the subtle and sad moments throughout the quest left me in shock at its conclusion.
It’s still one of the best quests I’ve ever played in a video game, so shocking doesn’t always have to leave you with bad memories, although it often does.