Modders have successfully restored a cut menu for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that enables players to view story recap videos at any time. These recaps, often narrated by Dandelion, typically appear during loading screens or when a player loads a save or fast travels. The restored 'Events' menu, dubbed 'Storybook' by its creator, is located within the game's glossary, adjacent to the bestiary.
This feature was originally developed by CD Projekt Red but remained unfinished in the game's files since its 2015 launch. Modder Glassfish777 has updated the panel to match the current graphical user interface standards, adding functionalities such as skipping and subtitles, and implementing automatic music fade-outs. The mod also offers an optional file to prevent these recaps from appearing on loading screens.
The cut menu was first discovered in the game's files in 2022, with an initial attempt at restoration by modder Fabian (or Tinnaib) being hindered by a significant bug. The recent release of UI flash sources with the RedKit modding tool in 2024 facilitated the resolution of this bug and allowed for the polishing of the panel to a releasable standard. Glassfish777 credited Fabian for initiating the project.
Within the restored menu, players can find clips detailing key narrative points, such as Ciri's encounter with the crones or Geralt's arrival in Novigrad. These recaps are accompanied by descriptions and titles originally created and localized by CD Projekt Red. Many of these videos feature a secondary stage that unlocks after further story progression, automatically appended to the initial segment. New or updated videos are indicated by a star icon. It's noted that some of these second parts are difficult to view in the base game as they often unlock concurrently with the next video's first stage, which the game prioritizes for loading screens.
This restoration joins other community efforts, such as The WAR Project's work on remaking a cut plague questline for The Witcher 3.