Witcher 3 dev’s new mod lets you experience an alternative version of Blood and Wine’s most memorable quest

A darker fairytale for Geralt to explore, at least in terms of environmental vibes.

Image credit:VG247/CD Projekt

You there. You like The Witcher 3 right? Well, it got some fresh modding tools last month, and, thanks to one CD Projekt developer’s desire to try them out, you can now experience a bit of an alternative version of one of the most iconic quests from the excellent Blood and Wine DLC.

Even if you haven’t take a trip to Toussaint in a while, odds are you’ll definitely remember ‘Beyond Hill and Dale’: while you do have to pick a specific ending to the expansion’s great main story in order to play through it, it’s pretty hard to forget a mission that transports you into a fairytale-inspired magical realm. Though, said realm wasn’t always supposed to be full of sunshine and rainbows, as a new mod shows.

The mod in question is ’ Golden Beyond Hill and Dale ‘, and it’s by CD Projekt Red narrative director Philipp Weber. Yep. So, why did Weber make it?

Well, as he’s explained in a tweet: “Three days ago I decided to try out the new Redkit for The Witcher 3 myself! Redkit is basically the same tool we used to make the game. Playing around with it was so fun that I even made a little mod for one of my quests from Blood and Wine.”

That mod aims to let you get a glimpse of an “alternative version” of the Land of a Thousand Fables - an illusion that’s full of fairytale characters which poor Gerry from the Riviera ends up exploring for reasons I’ll avoid getting to deep into in order to avoid spoilers - because Blood and Wine is definitely worth enjoying without them.

Three days ago I decided to try out the new Redkit for The Witcher 3 myself! Redkit is basically the same tool we used to make the game. Playing around with it was so fun that I even made a little mod for one of my quests from Blood and Wine: https://t.co/VgPD00jqBP pic.twitter.com/N5HNGyXRLs — Philipp Weber (@PhiWeber) May 2, 2024

So, what’s Weber changed? Well, as he explains in the mod’s description: “When the quest was originally designed, there was a vision of making it a melancholic representation of the classic fairy tales from the Brother’s Grimm set in a dying forest, illuminated by a setting sun.”

“In the end,” the developer continues, “instead of a dying forest, we chose to make it a more vibrant fairy tale land, still showing more of the beauty the land originally had, when it was created for Syanna and her sister Anna Henrietta.”

“In this mod, I tried to recreate this original vision, because I was always curious how it would have looked. This is not supposed to be a replacement for what shipped in the game, but an interesting alternative that shows what could have been.”

Taking a look at the pictures Weber’s provided of what the environment looks like with the mod installed - which he’s handily juxtaposed with the same shots of the realm’s vanilla appearance - the change in vibe and tone looks really impressive, with the orange sky and overgrown foliage arguably making the area fit a bit better with the ambiance a lot of the base game’s locales boast. It might not be for you if you prefer a Land of a Thousand Fables that delibrately feels like Toussaint’s idyllic landscape turned up to the max, but it’s very cool regardless.

If you’re thinking about dipping back into The Witcher 3 to check it out, make sure to check out our array of helpful guides for CDPR’s masterpiece .

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine

Video Game