Players can enjoy The Witcher 3 for hundreds of hours without realizing there's an elevator granting access to the mountainous settlement of Kaer Trolde. Originally released in 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt modernized and revolutionized the open-world RPG genre. With its deep combat systems, intricately plotted storytelling with countless branching paths, and a fully-realized massive setting comprised of multiple distinct regions, The Witcher 3 remains one of the biggest and most immersive games ever made, even five years after its initial release.
The Witcher 3 is a game defined by its smallest details, many of which may go completely unnoticed by players. The world is cohesive and logical in a way that seldom betrays its status as a video game setting. From the amount of housing in various NPC settlements to the layout of city streets and countless other considerations, the world of The Witcher 3 feels authentic and lived-in in a way most competitors could never hope to match.
At a certain point in the story, the player needs to access the fortress city of Kaer Trolde. There are several ways to get there, from a footpath and stairs to an underground tunnel. One particular route has eluded many players over the years, but it's been rediscovered thanks to the magic of the internet. A Reddit user with over 450 hours of experience in The Witcher 3 rediscovered the Kaer Trolde lift/elevator, a "hidden in plain sight" secret way to access the cliffside fortress from the water below.
While the lift is painfully slow, it also shows off a gorgeous view of the Skellige landscape. The lift itself is an unassuming sight, and even players who acknowledge its presence might not realize it can actually be used to ascend to Kaer Trolde. Videos showing the player character, Geralt of Rivia, using the lift date back to the game's 2015 release window, but the subtle nature of the feature caused it to fade into obscurity before being rediscovered by new players every so often.
The presence of a not-quite-hidden lift to Kaer Trolde represents CD Projekt Red's design philosophy. It's a piece of the environment that fits in with the context of the greater world and can be used by the player to advance their goal. It's one more tool for players to use who don't want to fall back on the in-game fast travel system. The world of The Witcher 3 is a living, breathing space, and tiny details like this subtle-but-obvious route to Kaer Trolde are why people keep playing, even five years later.
Source: Reddit