The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update

The Witcher 3 Mod removes the fake “hero” lights from cut-scenes


Modder ‘oldflipgamer’ has released a new mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen that aims to remove the fake “hero” lights from its cut-scenes. As such, the game will now look more realistic than before.

For those unaware, developers use fake “hero” lights in their games to highlight some of their characters. This can make some characters look weird and unnatural. And, since The Witcher 3 now supports RTGI, it would make sense to remove them, right? Well, CDPR did not, which is something that prompted oldflipgamer to release this mod.

As the modder noted:

“I’ve combed through the cutscene files to eliminate as much of the excess lighting like spot lights on character faces. Not every cutscene have these so I’ve only edited ones that I could find that have them. Not wanting to bore everyone will all the details but the goal for me was to enhance immersion by toning down or eliminating as much of the artificial lighting as possible without destroying the cutscenes.”

Do note that this mod will make the game’s cut-scenes look darker. This is to be expected. So, if you don’t want a more realistic approach to the game’s dialogues, you can skip it. If, on the other hand, you want a bit more realistic graphics, you can go ahead and download it from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find some comparison screenshots. The vanilla version is on the left, whereas the modded version is on the right.

Take for instance Geralt’s hair in the first comparison. In the vanilla version, the hair looks flat and really bad due to the “hero” lighting. With the mod, the game looks darker, but it’s more realistic. The characters now feel like they belong to the environment.

Speaking of The Witcher 3 Next-Gen, you may also want to take a look at these other mods for it. For instance, you can download a really cool first-person mod. Furthermore, the Characters Reworked Project improves the quality of over 100 characters. Yesterday, we shared a must-have gameplay overhaul mod. Let’s also not forget this mod that lets you kill most in-game NPCs. In December 2023, we shared this mod that restores content that was cut from all previous The Witcher games. Then we have the Witcher 3 Next-Gen Combat Redux Mod. You can also download the first version of the NextGen HD Reworked Project. Lastly, we have 8K Texture Packs for CiriTriss MerigoldGeralt and Yennefer.

Have fun!

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