Finished reading all of the books, and I have 1915 hours playtime in The Witcher 3. And I cannot for the life of me reconcile Book Yennefer and Game Yennefer. These are two wholly separate and distinct entities. I cannot comprehend the thought process behind the writing for Game Yen, because as it stands she may as well be a Doppler with very poor acting chops merely masquerading as the Lady in black and white. Let me elaborate.
Yennefer in the books is indeed manipulative, at least in the beginning. But she is also upfront and candid--about a lot of things--and that goes double for her sexuality and feminine wiles. She is terse with many, but tends to be verbose, emotional, and not least of all, eloquent when around Geralt. This is mentioned in passing in The Witcher 3 very briefly, but it is massively understated by CDPR. In the books, she and Geralt have some of the most poignant and insightful (albeit cutting at times) repartee between each other as only two individuals with such extended lifespans and robust reserves of experience from which either could draw upon can. They understand each other like the backs of their respective hands, which leads me to my next point. Yennefer is incredibly possessive of Geralt. It is almost bestial in nature, despite Blood and Wine conveying unconditional love as something "twisted" or as a concept to be feared or shunned. To which I can only respond by asserting, "bollocks."
When Yen was around Ciri, she constantly called her "my ugly duckling." She didn't beat around the bush, she didn't mince words, and she rarely, if ever resorted to sarcasm. Sarcasm was definitely more in line with Geralt's character and habits, as he was the bigger cynic. But when Yennefer said something in the books, one paid attention, because it was impactful. This brings me to another facet of the books that CDPR deigned to leave out--Yennefer was in CONSTANT need of saving. She was the quintessential damsel in distress. If there was a moment somewhere in the books in which she uttered
"I can take care of myself, Geralt."
*SARCASTIC QUIPS AND NAGGING INTENSIFIES*
It either happened only once or those moments were few and far between. She needed saving from the Djinn, needed saving from the Golden Dragon, needed saving from Vilgefortz, etc, and she damn near died trying to resuscitate Geralt while Dandelion and Triss just stared on like a bunch of hapless morons (but we'll circle back to that last part later, as that requires a special spot in this diatribe)
What is my point in all of this, you ask? Basically, Book Yennefer is not some sarcasm-saturated Beverly Hills girl who treats her boy toy like a verbal (or physical) punching bag. At least not after the initial book in which she makes her first appearance. She is 100x more nuanced, more vulnerable, more sympathetic/empathetic, and infinitely better-spoken in the books. But lastly, and this is the most important one, she isn't a gargantuan hypocrite in the books.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Game Yennefer. And this brings me to the crux of my criticisms regarding the disparity between Book Yen and Game Yen. If there was one word to describe Yennefer as she is appears in The Witcher 3, it would be "hypocrite." After completely disregarding Geralt's amnesia to vindictively teleporting him away into the middle of a lake for having the audacity of romancing a sorceress while suffering from said amnesia, she attempts to explain away her own amnesia thusly:
"Not sure what to tell you, Geralt. I just happened to have all of the best mages at my disposal to help me through it. Thanks to that, it didn't last long. Skill issue, Geralt, tee hee!"
If that wasn't bad enough, in that same conversation with her on the boat with Avallach and the other sorceresses, she has the cheek to explain to Geralt that the reason she didn't seek Geralt out first was because
"I expected you would try to come look for me first."
For starters, Doppler Yen, that only explains why you didn't seek out Geralt first initially. At some point you would have to arrive at the inexorable conclusion that Geralt wasn't coming, that he was probably suffering from the same amnesia you had, and that, like you with the Witchers of the Viper, was probably flirting with people he shouldn't be flirting with. Oopsie. Neglected to mention that part to Geralt. But it doesn't end there. No, it gets even worse. When they are both discussing him rescuing Yen from the Wild Hunt, Geralt mentions
"You'd do the same for me."
And Yennefer, looking away, replies with (not verbatim)
"I'm touched by your certainty, but..."
Excuse me, WHAT? Did Game Yen just not-so-subtly insinuate that she WOULDN'T have done the same for Geralt? It was at this point that I desperately wished I could toggle on friendly fire and set that entire boat ablaze with Igni, but not before severing Yen's (and Phillipa's, while we're at it) femoral artery. Never in a million years would Book Yen have uttered or considered any of this. This entire conversation between Geralt and Yen before they all sailed off to Skellige should have just been cut entirely from the game. Period. It wouldn't have solved Game Yen's glaring lack of endearing qualities, but it wouldn't have made a terrible character even worse. Maybe Yen didn't get in touch with Geralt sooner because she got swallowed whole by a Kayran. Yeah, let's go with that headcanon. Would have been vastly preferable to her own explanation.
Oh, hey, we're finally at the part where I discuss Yennefer literally almost dying trying to revive Geralt and how this completely clashes with Game Yen's character. Remember the assault on Kaer Morhen? When Geralt and the other witchers were frozen like meat popsicles? Do you also remember how he was still stiff as a statue after the fight was over, and Yennefer was just...standing a hundred feet nearby not giving a rat's arse about her one and only love STILL FROZEN TO THE BONE LIKE A BLOCK OF ICE? And then Geralt finally thaws out (no thanks to Yennefer) and then finally she shows a hint of concern and takes a single step towards him?
"Oh, you're alright! That's good, I guess...but hey, Ciri is in need of consoling. Vesemir is totes dead. Sowwie."
Yen and Geralt couldn't keep their hands off each other whenever they chanced upon a fateful rendezvous, and they didn't care a whit if Ciri was present or not either. Hell, at certain points in the book, it was to Ciri's outright chagrin that they paid more attention to their own carnal desires than to their adopted daughter.
"But Chronoid, you're forgetting something important! This isn't just a hypothetical strawman either! This is character development! They are progressing through the books and now beyond into the games!"
Fair point, but there is one flaw with this. Character progression as it pertains to Yennefer would entail less apathy, not more. At least, if we want this to be a natural progression from the books. Or rather, if we want this to be a positive progression for Yennefer and not a regression.
tl;dr: Game Yen is a massive hypocrite, way too sarcastic, way too demeaning, apathetic, abusive, deceitful, and is essentially a mockery of, and a beached whale-sized disservice to one of, if not the the best written character in the books. And it is why I will continue romancing Triss in every play-through.
Yennefer in the books is indeed manipulative, at least in the beginning. But she is also upfront and candid--about a lot of things--and that goes double for her sexuality and feminine wiles. She is terse with many, but tends to be verbose, emotional, and not least of all, eloquent when around Geralt. This is mentioned in passing in The Witcher 3 very briefly, but it is massively understated by CDPR. In the books, she and Geralt have some of the most poignant and insightful (albeit cutting at times) repartee between each other as only two individuals with such extended lifespans and robust reserves of experience from which either could draw upon can. They understand each other like the backs of their respective hands, which leads me to my next point. Yennefer is incredibly possessive of Geralt. It is almost bestial in nature, despite Blood and Wine conveying unconditional love as something "twisted" or as a concept to be feared or shunned. To which I can only respond by asserting, "bollocks."
When Yen was around Ciri, she constantly called her "my ugly duckling." She didn't beat around the bush, she didn't mince words, and she rarely, if ever resorted to sarcasm. Sarcasm was definitely more in line with Geralt's character and habits, as he was the bigger cynic. But when Yennefer said something in the books, one paid attention, because it was impactful. This brings me to another facet of the books that CDPR deigned to leave out--Yennefer was in CONSTANT need of saving. She was the quintessential damsel in distress. If there was a moment somewhere in the books in which she uttered
"I can take care of myself, Geralt."
*SARCASTIC QUIPS AND NAGGING INTENSIFIES*
It either happened only once or those moments were few and far between. She needed saving from the Djinn, needed saving from the Golden Dragon, needed saving from Vilgefortz, etc, and she damn near died trying to resuscitate Geralt while Dandelion and Triss just stared on like a bunch of hapless morons (but we'll circle back to that last part later, as that requires a special spot in this diatribe)
What is my point in all of this, you ask? Basically, Book Yennefer is not some sarcasm-saturated Beverly Hills girl who treats her boy toy like a verbal (or physical) punching bag. At least not after the initial book in which she makes her first appearance. She is 100x more nuanced, more vulnerable, more sympathetic/empathetic, and infinitely better-spoken in the books. But lastly, and this is the most important one, she isn't a gargantuan hypocrite in the books.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Game Yennefer. And this brings me to the crux of my criticisms regarding the disparity between Book Yen and Game Yen. If there was one word to describe Yennefer as she is appears in The Witcher 3, it would be "hypocrite." After completely disregarding Geralt's amnesia to vindictively teleporting him away into the middle of a lake for having the audacity of romancing a sorceress while suffering from said amnesia, she attempts to explain away her own amnesia thusly:
"Not sure what to tell you, Geralt. I just happened to have all of the best mages at my disposal to help me through it. Thanks to that, it didn't last long. Skill issue, Geralt, tee hee!"
If that wasn't bad enough, in that same conversation with her on the boat with Avallach and the other sorceresses, she has the cheek to explain to Geralt that the reason she didn't seek Geralt out first was because
"I expected you would try to come look for me first."
For starters, Doppler Yen, that only explains why you didn't seek out Geralt first initially. At some point you would have to arrive at the inexorable conclusion that Geralt wasn't coming, that he was probably suffering from the same amnesia you had, and that, like you with the Witchers of the Viper, was probably flirting with people he shouldn't be flirting with. Oopsie. Neglected to mention that part to Geralt. But it doesn't end there. No, it gets even worse. When they are both discussing him rescuing Yen from the Wild Hunt, Geralt mentions
"You'd do the same for me."
And Yennefer, looking away, replies with (not verbatim)
"I'm touched by your certainty, but..."
Excuse me, WHAT? Did Game Yen just not-so-subtly insinuate that she WOULDN'T have done the same for Geralt? It was at this point that I desperately wished I could toggle on friendly fire and set that entire boat ablaze with Igni, but not before severing Yen's (and Phillipa's, while we're at it) femoral artery. Never in a million years would Book Yen have uttered or considered any of this. This entire conversation between Geralt and Yen before they all sailed off to Skellige should have just been cut entirely from the game. Period. It wouldn't have solved Game Yen's glaring lack of endearing qualities, but it wouldn't have made a terrible character even worse. Maybe Yen didn't get in touch with Geralt sooner because she got swallowed whole by a Kayran. Yeah, let's go with that headcanon. Would have been vastly preferable to her own explanation.
Oh, hey, we're finally at the part where I discuss Yennefer literally almost dying trying to revive Geralt and how this completely clashes with Game Yen's character. Remember the assault on Kaer Morhen? When Geralt and the other witchers were frozen like meat popsicles? Do you also remember how he was still stiff as a statue after the fight was over, and Yennefer was just...standing a hundred feet nearby not giving a rat's arse about her one and only love STILL FROZEN TO THE BONE LIKE A BLOCK OF ICE? And then Geralt finally thaws out (no thanks to Yennefer) and then finally she shows a hint of concern and takes a single step towards him?
"Oh, you're alright! That's good, I guess...but hey, Ciri is in need of consoling. Vesemir is totes dead. Sowwie."
Yen and Geralt couldn't keep their hands off each other whenever they chanced upon a fateful rendezvous, and they didn't care a whit if Ciri was present or not either. Hell, at certain points in the book, it was to Ciri's outright chagrin that they paid more attention to their own carnal desires than to their adopted daughter.
"But Chronoid, you're forgetting something important! This isn't just a hypothetical strawman either! This is character development! They are progressing through the books and now beyond into the games!"
Fair point, but there is one flaw with this. Character progression as it pertains to Yennefer would entail less apathy, not more. At least, if we want this to be a natural progression from the books. Or rather, if we want this to be a positive progression for Yennefer and not a regression.
tl;dr: Game Yen is a massive hypocrite, way too sarcastic, way too demeaning, apathetic, abusive, deceitful, and is essentially a mockery of, and a beached whale-sized disservice to one of, if not the the best written character in the books. And it is why I will continue romancing Triss in every play-through.
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