Mod for The Witcher 3 lets Geralt use shields

I've never really played much of The Witcher series, but it seems like in a world full of swords, axes, and whistling arrows; a fellow might want to protect himself with a big, thick hunk of wood and metal. Now, thanks to a mod for The Witcher 3, simply called Shields, Geralt can finally use what his enemies probably take for granted. The shields—there are dozens to choose from, representing all the factions in the game—aren't just cosmetic, they really work. Check out the demo video above to see them in action.

I dunno if this is lore-friendly—perhaps there's some deep-rooted reason Geralt doesn't use shields in the first place—but he looks like a real badass holding a shield and it's always cool to have a bunch of arrows sticking out of your shield after a battle, right? That's good enough for me.

The mod can be configured from the options menu, and there's also a nice selection of hoods, robes, cloaks, and armor included. Below, check out some screens—enlarge 'em by clicking the top right corner, because they look frankly fantastic—as well as a full list of the shields, hoods, and armor the mod adds and where you can buy them.

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.