Witcher 4 Looks Good … Too Good

Ciri, we do need have a talk about your eyeliner.
Photo: CD PROJEKT RED

It has been ten years since CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt upended the world of video games. Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher series, the open-world, fantasy-action threequel combined the playful characterization of Red Dead Redemption with the expansive world of Skyrim and the playful action of the Assassin’s Creed series to create an immense world that’s addictive to explore. Both the book series and the game focused on Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher — or monster hunter — traveling through various countrysides and kingdoms as a combination bounty hunter–slash–freelancer. In Witcher 3, Geralt traveled to reunite with his adopted daughter, Ciri, before the villainous Wild Hunt got to her, making all sorts of friends and enemies along the way. The game was moving and funny with memorable characters, smart dialogue, and endearingly cringeworthy sex scenes. Rather than employ the typical fetch-quest model for games like this, Witcher 3 occasionally forced Geralt (and, by extension, you the player) to do something way more mundane to get what you want. At one point, he has to perform in a play.

Since and also because of the popularity of Witcher 3, there has been more and more Witcher-related stuff out in the ether: two Netflix series and an animated film. But ten years is a long time to go without an addition — it’s the longest break since the video-game adaptations began. Last December, however, CD Projekt Red teased Witcher 4 at the Game Awards, which means, sooner or later, we will be playing the long-awaited sequel to one of this century’s best video games.

Right now, it’s just called The Witcher IV, which is slightly classier looking than writing it with a regular digit.

Whereas the previous three games saw the user playing as Geralt of Rivia, Witcher 4 has the user playing as Ciri, his adopted daughter. In Witcher 3, Ciri was somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, still figuring out how to use magic and fight monsters. Going by the trailer from last winter, Ciri is now an adult, fully capable and just as deadly as Geralt.

Though we haven’t seen Geralt in any of the preview content, longtime Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle lends a few lines to the voice-over in the cinematic trailer. In an interview with IGN, CD Projekt Red lore designer Cian Maher said, “I think we can expect Geralt to be around for a long time. The capacity in which he does is … we’ll see.”

It’s a “bauk,” a monster from Serbian myth that resembles a bear, per that same interview with IGN. It still has way too many legs.

Funny you should ask. On June 3, CD Projekt Red and Unreal Engine 5 debuted “demo footage” that mostly shows off what the 3-D graphics program is capable of while using the world of Witcher 4 to demonstrate “realistic horse muscles” and how good the leaves look. To their credit, both the horse muscles and the leaves look really good. This clip is set in Kovir, a new region that will debut in Witcher 4.

Yes, its name is Kelpie.

Audiences are still a bit wary about CD Projekt Red after the botched release of its last title, Cyberpunk 2077. That game became better known for its bugs and glitches than anything happening in the world itself. Like Witcher 4, the Cyberpunk sequel had long been anticipated and looked great in all the demos. Increased demand in popularity and video games leads to rushed development, which leads to less testing and worse gaming experiences. Or, to quote a user in the YouTube comments on the Witcher 4 demo, “its crazy how many ppl forgot they released videos of Witcher 3 ages before it launched just like this, of it looking 100 times better than what we got in the end. Well see what we get when its out.”

CD Projekt Red has said 2027. In video game terms … uh, that’s probably 2035. Kidding, but have you seen what’s going on with GTA VI?

When I played Witcher 3, Gwent — the Witcher in-game card game you can play with NPCs — ate up just as much time as the game’s actual narrative. It’s that addictive. If this new demo proves anything, it’s that, yes, phew, Gwent is back.