The Witcher 4 Devs Say ‘Tough Choices’ Will Be Just As Important As They Were in The Witcher 3
Buckle up.
The Witcher 4 is a turning point for the fantasy franchise, putting child of surprise Ciri in the spotlight as she takes on the mantle left by Geralt. Even though the game is likely still a few years off, it’s clear CD Projekt Red wants to go in a bold new direction while retaining the core of what fans have come to love about the dark fantasy world. A new behind-the-scenes video for The Witcher 4’s reveal goes in-depth on how the stunning trailer was made, but more crucially gives us some idea of what the development team is hoping to achieve with the sequel.
The bulk of the 10-minute behind-the-scenes video focuses on the actual creation of the trailer itself, and what CD Projekt Red was hoping to achieve with it. Interestingly, narrative director Philipp Weber says the trailer is an “adaptation” of the story they want to tell in the game. That means the events seen here may not be exactly what we see in The Witcher 4, but more of a tone setter.
As a note, The Witcher 3 did the exact same thing with its “Night to Remember” reveal trailer. The cinematic showed Geralt fighting a vampiric creature called a Bruxa, but this wasn’t actually featured in the game and was simply meant to share the general vibe. However, when the expansion Blood and Wine was released, there were some characters and plot details that referenced that initial reveal trailer. So we could see this trailer for The Witcher 4 still used in-game, in some fashion.
To that end, Weber says that the two narratives we see play out in this trailer are intentionally similar, with one following Ciri and another following a village girl named Mioni.
“We were thinking in this story that Mioni and Ciri are, a little bit, mirrors of each other,” says Weber “The traditions of Stromford mean that Mioni has to be sacrificed. That’s her destiny, and she’s accepted that destiny. Ciri is known as someone who does not accept destiny, she fights back at it.”
That quote alone shows that The Witcher 4 will follow in the footsteps of the previous game, using Ciri as a lens to explore its story themes.
In The Witcher 3, Geralt was often utilized as a mirror for the people he was interacting with, where he’s seen as a monster and a freak by most of the world. But the major theme of the game is twisting that image of Geralt, where he’s the one with genuine compassion against people who are absolutely inhuman with how they treat others. It seems clear that the same narrative approach is going to be used here, but with different themes, like destiny and fate.
The Witcher 4’s reveal trailer is chock full of symbolism and metaphors, meant to represents Ciri’s new journey.
Even in The Witcher 4 trailer, we see these parallels accentuated through the bright color palette of Mioni, versus the cold grey one of Ciri. There’s also a monologue partway through the trailer, where Mioni’s father talks about how she’s grown, and Weber notes they wanted this monologue to sound like something Geralt could be saying about Ciri.
But the most important detail of the trailer, is how much Weber stresses the idea of choice in The Witcher. This series has helped push forward the idea of player choice, and how narratives can be molded around that. The Witcher 3 featured some monumentally difficult moments that could shift the very nature of the world itself, the fate of characters, and even where Geralt himself ends up. That all sounds like it’s going to be the same in The Witcher 4, which should be good to hear for fans.
“We’re not going to give you a black or white situation,” says Weber, “ We expect you to consider the situation and make some tough choices. For example, the choice that happens after the trailer is over, is such a tough choice.”
The Witcher 4 is likely a very long time out from releasing still. CD Projekt Red has been abundantly clear the game is in the early days of development. But the reveal trailer, and this follow-up video, show that the studio is committed to the same grim tone and narrative complexity the series has been known for. It’ll be fascinating to see how taking on the role of Ciri changes all of that.
