A duchess, a vampire, and a witcher walk into a bar... and you get Blood & Wine.
The setting is civilized Toussaint, a fairy-tale land of virtuous knights and idyllic vineyards.
But Blood and Wine (B&W) is a tale with dark twists. The story is deeper than it first seems. That's true of B&W's villains, too. Story-wise, you'll be rewarded if you make an effort to understand their motives. (Hint: Read the governess' diary in full.) Essentially, the game tackles the question of nature-versus-nurture and why people do bad things.
B&W is a full game in itself with a solid 30+ hours of gameplay. But there are reasons to play it other than simply not wanting The Witcher to end.
The most rewarding new feature is Corvo Bianco, a vineyard estate that Geralt receives and can now call home.
It's a home with servants and cheery yellow roof tiles and a delightful stream running under the bridge. You can renovate rooms, and the benefit isn't merely visual; upgrading parts of the house actually gives you combat bonuses. You can set up a grindstone and armorer's table, display sets of armor and swords, or hang paintings to express yourself. You can even practice Gwent against your butler named Barnabas-Basil (B.B. for short), who can play any of the 5 factions.
Oh yes, B&W introduces a fifth Gwent faction: Skellige. But as a Gwent fan, I was chagrined by Skellige's complete lack of Spy cards. Using a Skellige deck – which you're forced to, if you want to complete an optional sidequest – is too luck-dependent to be enjoyable.
That aside, no other sidequest in B&W is frustrating, though there are a handful of boring ones that involve clearing infested vineyards from archespores, one of the new monster species in this expansion.
As in Hearts of Stone, new monsters are a step cleverer than in Wild Hunt. This makes combat more challenging and interesting. Human opponents remain the same, though you can optionally try to defeat whole forts of bandits in "hanse" challenges.
There's also a new mechanic called mutations. By combining mutagens of different colors, you can unlock special combat abilities. For instance, when using Aard, the mutation called Piercing Cold adds the possibility of freezing enemies, killing them instantly, or at least dealing extra damage.
But I found myself more interested in advancing the main story than upgrading my character abilities or even tackling the sidequests.
Two main quests are especially noteworthy. "La Cage au Fou" involves a cursed wight who was once human and references Hearts of Stone. Meanwhile, "Land of a Thousand Fables" takes you into well-known children's tales like The Three Little Pigs (mostly amusing, but some had a grisly twist too morbid for my taste).
As with Wild Hunt, key decisions determine if you'll get one of three endings. After the credits roll, be sure to return home to Corvo Bianco for one of four possible final scenes.
Completing B&W after completing Hearts of Stone makes more narrative sense, although either expansion can be played first.
All in all, was B&W worth the time? It was. Most of all, because it provided closure and place for Geralt to live happily the rest of his days.
Completed the expansion in 28 hours (all quests except some gear treasure hunts and camerlengo contracts) with a level 53 Geralt.
Total time spent on Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and both expansions: 150 hours.