Final week, we noticed the cinematic debut of The Witcher IV, the most recent instalment in CD Projekt Purple’s iconic darkish fantasy collection. On this new chapter, we gained’t be following Geralt; as a substitute, his adopted daughter Ciri takes middle stage as our witcher protagonist.
Following the announcement, we spoke with key leads at CD Projekt Purple to delve deeper into this trailer and learn the way the studio is gearing as much as introduce Ciri because the lead in a brand-new Witcher saga that may respect the collection’ previous (and gamers’ decisions in it) whereas main the collection boldly into a brand new period.
A New Ciri
Within the reveal trailer, we’re launched to the village of Stromford, an remoted settlement situated deep within the north of The Continent. On this scene, a younger lady, Mioni, is chosen as a sacrifice to beat back an area monster. That is the place we see Ciri for the primary time – older, stronger, and brandishing these iconic metal and silver swords.
The Witcher IV takes place “just a few years” after the top of The Witcher 3, in keeping with Narrative Director on The Witcher IV, Philipp Weber. Whereas the small print of what introduced Ciri to this explicit place and time are nonetheless beneath wraps for now, we’re proven that Ciri has mutated eyes, a sign that she’s accomplished the Trial of the Grasses to turn out to be a witcher in her personal proper.
All through the occasions of each The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – to not point out Andrzej Sapkowski’s saga of Witcher novels, which the video games are primarily based upon – Ciri is about up as a secondary protagonist, and her persona may be very a lot established. By the top, she is not at all simply an extension of Geralt, however a fully-fledged character able to tackle a brand new journey.
That journey might have gone in a number of instructions relying on the ending gamers obtained in The Witcher 3. Whereas CD Projekt Purple is retaining specifics near its chest, Weber assures us that The Witcher IV will deal with its predecessor’s a number of endings, and that non-public alternative is one thing they goal to honour on this subsequent recreation.
Variations Between Geralt and Ciri
The studio is eager to emphasize that whereas Geralt is a seasoned witcher who sometimes prefers to stay neutral, Ciri is a personality that may usually take a extra aggressive stance pushed by private motivation.
“Geralt has already created a code for himself, and he’s gone by way of a ton of experiences to get to that level,” Weber explains. “With Ciri, we now have the chance to point out a variety of these experiences as she finds her personal code, and her personal method of dealing with these robust issues.”
We see this within the trailer reveal, as Ciri ventures into the forest and tells Mioni to flee again to the village, within the hopes that it’ll save her. What’s fascinating to notice is that the inhabitants of Stromford don’t react positively to the sight of a witcher, though Ciri is there to do good.
“She’s tremendous passionate, tremendous decided and really engaged on this story,” explains Recreation Director Sebastian Kalemba. “She is going to by no means hesitate; she deeply cares concerning the different lady right here.”
Sadly, regardless of Ciri’s greatest intentions and a gruelling battle with a brand-new monster generally known as a Bauk, Mioni nonetheless meets a swift finish, accentuating how grim the world of The Witcher IV will proceed to be, and the way its characters could proceed to seek out methods to villainise Ciri’s decisions (and your personal) regardless of a well-meaning strategy.
“Ciri is somebody who gained’t settle for that destiny is simply given to you, you all the time should struggle again, and typically that’s the suitable factor to do,” says Weber. “On this trailer, we additionally wished to point out some parallels that Mioni’s destiny might have additionally been Ciri’s as soon as upon a time, however she fought again towards that destiny.”
The nuance in Ciri’s character additionally stems from her backstory – which makes her an awesome character for a posh, mature story about decisions and penalties inside The Witcher’s darkish and infrequently unsettling world.
“Ciri is certainly a flawed character; she has a variety of darkness in her, she was deserted, and she or he’s made horrible errors prior to now,” Weber explains. “However she additionally has some superb strengths, and I feel that is this stability that for us makes her into this nice character. We need to inform these character-driven tales, and I feel if we need to have actual characters with actual feelings, that additionally implies that they should have some flaws.”
That mentioned, the influence of Geralt on Ciri is not at all being overwritten; The Witcher IV‘s emphasis on alternative and consequence implies that Ciri will usually grapple with the choice she thinks is correct and maybe one other path that Geralt could have taken in the identical situation.
“She’s Geralt’s daughter, so she’s realized a variety of values from him,” Weber notes. “There will likely be decisions that really feel near what Geralt would do.”
Kalemba provides: “Geralt has additionally realized some issues from Ciri all through their journey in The Witcher 3, and that will likely be mirrored in these decisions.”
Wanting Forward
The Witcher IV is in fact a pure evolution for this collection; and long-invested followers will discover deeper references and lore galore as they step into the fold with Ciri. CD Projekt Purple has confirmed that Geralt will return as a personality, however his place within the story stays a secret for now.
Nonetheless, this may also function a brand new starting for the franchise. Virtually 10 years and numerous growth classes on from the discharge of The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Purple acknowledges and embraces the truth that a brand new technology of gamers will need to expertise this world for the primary time with The Witcher IV.
“It is a new character and the origin story of Ciri [as a playable main character], and we imagine it’ll be an awesome place to begin for newcomers,” Kalemba says. “There will likely be new areas and areas to discover, however it’s nonetheless very a lot the darkish fantasy world and story that Witcher followers know and love.”
