CD Projekt RED has said that it is not necessary to have played the previous games to fully enjoy Wild Hunt.[9] While similar to the previous Witcher games, Wild Hunt has improved on several aspects from past games. Combat revolves around an action role-playing game system combined with the use of magic. The fighting system has been completely revamped.[9] Wild Hunt introduces some new mechanics, such as witcher-sense, combat on horseback, and at sea, swimming underwater, and using a crossbow. Additionally, Geralt can now jump, climb, and vault over smaller obstacles. The climbing mechanics have been described as "not exactly" like Assassin's Creed, but more "similar to what we have in Uncharted."[10] Item creation and potion brewing still remains as in previous games, but has been modified from The Witcher 2. There are 10 witcher signs, 5 original ones, each having 1 alternative form.

Each action the player does will affect the world; every quest has a plethora of options on how to complete it, and every outcome is different each time. CD Projekt RED anticipates approximately 100 hours for the completion of the game,[11] 50 of them belonging to side quests, and 50 belonging to the main story line.[11]

The game features a dynamic day and night system, realistic AI, responsive and dynamic environments. The day and night cycle will influence some monsters and their powers, similar to how a werewolf would gain powers during the night of a full moon.[12] The game also features a dynamic beard growth system, in which the beard of the playable character Geralt will grow when he travels between regions. According to the developer, the beard will grow "in different states". However, this feature will not be available after the player downloaded the free Beard and Hairstyle DLC.[13]

Ciri, an exceptional swordfighter with mythical powers, will be a playable character for part of the game.[14]