Is it true that TW4 is aimed at new players?

[mightypython777]

I have a feeling that this game will be a huge disappointment at many levels:
1- Unreal engine. problematic tool with no vast open world, no loading screen games released. Red engine was tailored for this type of games. I don't know why, but for me W4 trailer looked plastic and had uninspiring generic environment. Every new game on this engine is unoptimized stutter fest.
2- Protagonist. Many people are tired of strong female protagonists. There are some exceptions, but many games or movies flops shows that its a thing now . And are tired of Ciri after this "show" on netflix...
3- Plot / lore. What could possibly can go wrong if you have such lore designer like mr Macher? Answer is EVERYTHING. Game will lose it's slavic/european charm. He will do everything to implement his point of view... Zerrikania 100% confirmed with probably central place in narration. I can see an unhealthly fascination of Ciri in game director Sebastian Kalemba tweets. .... Ciri will be Mary Sue type of character and game will be full of political topics straight from present days.

This will be first Witcher game that i will not buy before release and reviews. Too many red flags and it's not even a start of marketing campaign. Shit gonna get real later i'm affraid.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

1- Unreal engine. problematic tool with no vast open world, no loading screen games released.

Not really true!
There is a huge open-world game released not long ago, with no loading screen at all which run on Unreal Engine 5... A game named Stalker 2. And don't say it was bugy as hell, it was, but only for those who tested the game before the big day -1 update. I played at release with no big issue on Series X. I know it wasn't as great on PC...

And in my opinion, that's exactly why Epic and CDPR signed a partnership. For Epic, CDPR will help them to improve Unreal Engine in areas it is weaker.

 

[mightypython777]

I forgot to add "RPG". The rest is true. Stutter fest in every single game. And they know it's a big problem. I just don't know who will benefits more from this partnership... Looks like they have to rewrite huge parts of core elements of this engine to run such games instead of focusing on game development. RED engine, especially CP2077 version was complete. Had some flaws here and there but even digital foundry say its great engine for RPG, very scalable, with unique tools and features. Epic games have hundreds of programmers yet until this days they cannot fix issues that are presented in every iteration of this engine. Check this video to see how many things have to be reworked to run such games...

 

[LeKill3rFou]

I just don't know who will benefits more from this partnership...

guess both expect benefit of this partnership

For Epic, to benefits from CDPR expertise about RPGs and game engine. And for CDPR spare a lot of ressources, be more focus to work on their games and their games only (not have to deal with their engine). And to be fair, Red Engine is partly responsible of the terrible Cyberpunk launch... also CDPR planned and worked for years to add multiplayer into Cyberpunk, but it turned out to be just a waste.

Not sure what it means, but CDPR said they work together with Epic and use a "custom" version of Unreal Engine for The Witcher 4. So we will see if it's for the better or not.

I can speak only on Xbox, but every games I played which run on Unreal Engine ran nicely. At least, not worse than any other engine.

 

[SigilFey]

For the engine, I'm not sure if there's anything better than UE5 at the moment. I'm talking exclusively in terms of graphical fidelity, which is nuts for the smooth performance it's capable of delivering.

The rest of the gameplay aspects won't be directly tied to the rendering engine, as was a bit of a challenge in the past. Earlier versions would trade off things like complexity for graphical performance. 5 is seemingly more like amazing graphical performance, then do whatever else you want with it.

In looking at the future of the characters, the game mechanics, combat systems, etc. "aiming at new players" is more of a reference to the fact that no one needs to have played the prior Witcher titles to understand the characters or the world. A player would be able to jump in with TW4 and just play from there. My guess would be that there will certainly be some similarities to prior games, but characters will be reintroduced or re-established now from Ciri's perspective. (I seriously doubt that means that they'll be retconnend or anything along those lines -- just that they'll be tied into the existing plots in such a way that enough background will be made clear in the context of the new story that players won't feel like they're missing anything when they encounter them.)

The biggest challenge from my own perspective is that I wouldn't want to do anything that upsets the completed arcs of the characters from the prior games. Meaningful cameos, perhaps, but nothing that revolves around prior main characters being integral to the expanding story. That allows for both a new drama to unfold without somehow conflicting with the older understanding of who these characters are.

 

[John_Russell]

Hi

after the disappointment cp2077 was, I have to ask
is this true?

View attachment 11406376

I love the witcher trilogy, played each one on release

It said it was "aiming for" NOT "aimed at" new players ..... There is a difference. Trying to grow your audience is how you create and maintain success. I suspect what they also mean is people won't have to play any of the earlier trilogy to jump in and have fun with Witcher 4. I think the same was true about Witcher 3 many if not most people played Witcher 3 first and then went back and played Witcher 1 and Witcher 2

 

[LeKill3rFou]

I suspect what they also mean is people won't have to play any of the earlier trilogy to jump in and have fun with Witcher 4. I think the same was true about Witcher 3 many if not most people played Witcher 3 first and then went back and played Witcher 1 and Witcher 2

Yep, excatly
Here Phillipp Weber (narrative director) post in this thread :

Hey everyone,

making the the game in a way that is a continuation of stories and characters of the previous games, but at the same time understandable and enjoyable for a new audience is nothing new. It's exactly the way we made The Witcher 3 as well, and essentially that's the same thing we're doing for the Witcher 4 now. So if that worked for you in The Witcher 3, then I think you shouldn't have to worry!

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

I have a feeling that this game will be a huge disappointment at many levels:
1- Unreal engine. problematic tool with no vast open world, no loading screen games released. Red engine was tailored for this type of games.

Red engine was retooled and redesigned for every single release since it's development for Witcher 2, they were essentially remaking the engine for Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 from grounds up, which partially explains why they had rough launches. This time, they have one of the most advanced engines, with immense coding base, access to a bigger pool of talents and direct support from the makers of engine themselves.

2- Protagonist. Many people are tired of strong female protagonists. There are some exceptions, but many games or movies flops shows that its a thing now . And are tired of Ciri after this "show" on netflix...

Good thing that movies and games with male protagonists never flop, right? Morbius was a massive hit, The Fall Guy, Argylle - oh wait, they weren't. They actually bombed at the box office, but somehow I'm not hearing about how people are tired of male protagonists because of that.

Ciri will be Mary Sue type of character and game will be full of political topics straight from present days.

In that case, it will be in absolute adherence to the canon, because Ciri was the center of every narrative in the books (very Mary Sue-ish, if you aske me) and books were filled with contemporary politics, games as well.

 

[CorvoWitcher]

imean i too have much i am critical about w4, but this seems a bit like ragebaiting.
The truth is that they are going to make the game so that people that have never played the earlier witcher games or read the books would be able to be introduced into the game. A lot like they introduce you in w3 to ciri and generelly to the world of witcher.
And no this is not me beeing optimistic, this is basicly what they said in the interview.
This was also the only time they said something regarding "new" players. Nothing regarding "modern" audiance.

 

[alceryes]

Hi

after the disappointment cp2077 was, I have to ask
is this true?

View attachment 11406376

I love the witcher trilogy, played each one on release

The idea that CDPR aiming for 'new players' automatically means they can't also aim for 'returning players' is flawed logic. There is a technical name for this, but it escapes me, ATM.

I'm choosing to read this as "TW4 will make sure that new players are brought up to speed quickly, probably through gameplay in the tutorial area (like White Orchard). These players will have access to books with info, and be able to read about the characters backgrounds in some kind of menu, just like they could in TW3.

I will even go a step further and say that CDPR will include little easter eggs here and there, through the game, that will be a nod to veteran players that will go completely over new player's heads.

 

[Draconifors]

I will even go a step further and say that CDPR will include little easter eggs here and there, through the game, that will be a nod to veteran players that will go completely over new player's heads.

I think this is a safe assumption. I will be very surprised if they don't do it, considering their track record in that regard and with easter eggs in general.

 

[alceryes]

I think this is a safe assumption. I will be very surprised if they don't do it, considering their track record in that regard and with easter eggs in general.

My thoughts exactly.
There's no way they're not going to give a high five to their veteran players, here and there.

 

[alceryes]

Its really sad what is happening here. The trailer is so uninspired and rote. That was their one chance to make a first impression.

As a long time cdpr fan since witcher 1 I already have to confess I wont be buying this game. Its not meant for fans of witcher games or books.

I fear cdpr are walking in the footsteps of Ubisoft.

I can't remember if I ever brought this up as the conversations have focused on other aspects but I agree, it was a boring trailer. All this talk about new beginnings and all that, and the theming seems to be exactly the same, minus the obvious elephant in the room.

This just goes to show how different people are. I thought The Witcher 4 trailer was awesome! It got me to jump back into TW3 for another playthrough (currently in Velen about to jump into Novigrad) and replaying TW3 makes me want TW4 to be released NOW!

Yes, I understand about diverging from canon. I hope CDPR has some sensible, logical, story reason for the divergence. Maybe something that happened after the books(?) For me, this doesn't even come up on my radar as an issue though.

Make a great game. Make it fun, surprise me with story twists, wow me with jaw-dropping graphics, engage me with great controls/combat, make me feel with the shades-of-grey choices that CDPR is so good at. You do that and I'll buy the game and sing its praises.

 

[CherryCherryIce]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Guest 4802528]

Don't think so, new players will likely feel a little lost

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Don't think so, new players will likely feel a little lost

Nope. In theory, they won't be lost. Exactly as the new players were not "lost" playing The Witcher 3. Luckily for us, Reds answered in this thread, so take a look a couple of posts back

 

[SigilFey]

Nope. In theory, they won't be lost. Exactly as the new players were not "lost" playing The Witcher 3. Luckily for us, Reds answered in this thread, so take a look a couple of posts back

Yes'm. I played all the way through TW1 before I even knew it was based on novels. (I just assumed it was based on some old folk story or something.)

 

[Guest 4802528]

Nope. In theory, they won't be lost. Exactly as the new players were not "lost" playing The Witcher 3. Luckily for us, Reds answered in this thread, so take a look a couple of posts back

Well Witcher 3 was the most newcomer friendly game of the trilogy

 

[Dmitriy_1981]

they'll be able to jump in here without having to learn the mechanics from the past games or feel lost in the world.

And for me, the feeling of being lost in the world is the most important property of the persuasiveness of an open world adventure action-game - there is a point in exploring the world. If this feeling is absent, if the paths to the goal in the world are already marked with dots, all the secrets on the map are marked with question marks, then there is no point in making such an open world.

Post automatically merged: Aug 9, 2025

The fact that the continuity of the plot in the games of the series was formal, and the player's choices, in fact, did not affect anything in the long run, I think is natural and inevitable. The game is an artistic narrative, there is a limit to what is possible in the development of variability - if some crazy game developer seriously took up thinking through all the endless options for all the consequences of all the player's decisions in the plot of the series, stretched out over years, it is clear that the game would never have been released, and the developers would simply have to be treated in the end.
And therefore, I consider the weakness of the player's influence on the plot events of the "Witcher" games to be an inevitable property of the genre itself, and not a weakness of the product.
But gameplay issues are a completely different matter. There must be some progress in them towards complexity. No one prevents the authors of the game from leaving for new players an elementary level of difficulty "Only the plot", in which all the mechanics will be extremely conditional and automated. But for those already familiar with the series, there should be a challenge that works at higher difficulty levels, implying more complex and realistic combat, preparation, and exploration systems than previous games in the series.

 

[Toyen]

The fact that the continuity of the plot in the games of the series was formal, and the player's choices, in fact, did not affect anything in the long run, I think is natural and inevitable. The game is an artistic narrative, there is a limit to what is possible in the development of variability - if some crazy game developer seriously took up thinking through all the endless options for all the consequences of all the player's decisions in the plot of the series, stretched out over years, it is clear that the game would never have been released, and the developers would simply have to be treated in the end.

I would just like to point out, that Dragon Age Inquisition did a phenomenal job back in the day when it comes to taking into account player choices from the previous two games.

There was a whole 'online tree' of branching player choices you could import into the third game if I remember correctly.