The Witcher IV — Cinematic Reveal Trailer

[SigilFey]

The one thing that CDPR has always done exceptionally well is writing. Their writers have consistently created deeply nuanced characters, excellent dialogue, and complex plots that have created a real drive for players. I mean, they came up with all of the Meve stuff for...Gwent. All of that depth for a card game. All of the major releases have also been layered games with a lot of player agency, despite the bugs and technical issues.

I really don't fear that the studio will suffer from the same sort of thing as happened with Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or EA's Anthem.

 

[TeamLucy]

The one thing that CDPR has always done exceptionally well is writing. Their writers have consistently created deeply nuanced characters, excellent dialogue, and complex plots that have created a real drive for players. I mean, they came up with all of the Meve stuff for...Gwent. All of that depth for a card game. All of the major releases have also been layered games with a lot of player agency, despite the bugs and technical issues.

I really don't fear that the studio will suffer from the same sort of thing as happened with Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or EA's Anthem.

Judging from the trailer alone I'm very optimistic. The Witcher games seem to still be the worthiest adaptation.

 

[Tangsta]

The one thing that CDPR has always done exceptionally well is writing. Their writers have consistently created deeply nuanced characters, excellent dialogue, and complex plots that have created a real drive for players. I mean, they came up with all of the Meve stuff for...Gwent. All of that depth for a card game. All of the major releases have also been layered games with a lot of player agency, despite the bugs and technical issues.

I really don't fear that the studio will suffer from the same sort of thing as happened with Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or EA's Anthem.

I too, love Thronebreaker. But the writer for that game left the company to join Rebel Wolves, similar to Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. It's more correct to say CDPR had some good writers. How many of them are still left in the company? We shall see with this game. If TW4 marks a pivotal point for the company in a bad way, I'll be very sad to have to make the tough decision with regards to whether or not I continue to support this company. I'm already frustrated with the choice of MC, which is a big deal in such a narrative driven game.

I know that sounds overly dramatic, since it's still early days with TW4. But given I already don't like the headspace and viewpoints of the project lead, Sebastian Kalemba, it's looking unlikely TW4 will stage some amazing comeback to change my mind. Again, hoping to be proven wrong. I used to be a staunch defender of CDPR, but if the facts change, then I change.

 

[Domhnallaich]

Not even Netflix... The website is for fan-fiction related to Witcher, the website assembles fan-written "expansions" of the canon...

And thats a good example why discussions on this topic are (or feel) somewhat useless. Many people defending this completely lore-breaking trailer, have simply no idea about the lore of the witcher-world, to an extent that hey can´t even discriminate between fan-fiction and lore. Not all of them of cause, but many...

But lets see, I will wait for an explanation of this stuff (we still have years). If its some lazy nonsense like "elder blood, everything is possible" oder "we invented a new school which is beyond all the rules so far" - what I expect - the game wil be dead for me. Hopefully they will suprise me...

Oh so not remotely game canon or proper canon - why am I not surprised...

 

[Draconifors]

Despite my initial reaction, I've come to really look forward to the game and seeing just how much Ciri has matured from that whiny girl she used to be.

She reminds me of Queen Meve, from Thronebreaker, and in some ways also Geralt -- neither of which is a negative thing.
Despite what I've seen some people comment (not so much on this forum), she is certainly not just a female version of Geralt. That would be really dumb.

No, she won't look the same in the final game, because trailer (just compare early trailer Geralt to final Geralt), but she's so far from the heavy-and frankly-ugly-makeup, open-shirt girl that regardless of how different she'll look in the final game, it'll be miles better than the TW3 look. More mature, more serious (as befits the world), and professional. Also, her voice reflects these changes in appearance, and, to me, is much more pleasant to listen to.
While beauty is certainly subjective, I really don't understand all the "she's ugly now" comments. She simply looks like a real person rather than some beauty queen, which is infinitely better for a game like Witcher 4. A beauty queen trying to be a witcher would be laughed out of every village she went to, and for good reason.
If anything, I'd say she was ugly in Witcher 3, but even there she wasn't.

That chain is probably going to be a lot of fun, and certainly more interesting than a crossbow.

 

[TeamLucy]

Despite my initial reaction, I've come to really look forward to the game and seeing just how much Ciri has matured from that whiny girl she used to be.

She reminds me of Queen Meve, from Thronebreaker, and in some ways also Geralt -- neither of which is a negative thing.
Despite what I've seen some people comment (not so much on this forum), she is certainly not just a female version of Geralt. That would be really dumb.

No, she won't look the same in the final game, because trailer (just compare early trailer Geralt to final Geralt), but she's so far from the heavy-and frankly-ugly-makeup, open-shirt girl that regardless of how different she'll look in the final game, it'll be miles better than the TW3 look. More mature, more serious (as befits the world), and professional. Also, her voice reflects these changes in appearance, and, to me, is much more pleasant to listen to.
While beauty is certainly subjective, I really don't understand all the "she's ugly now" comments. She simply looks like a real person rather than some beauty queen, which is infinitely better for a game like Witcher 4. A beauty queen trying to be a witcher would be laughed out of every village she went to, and for good reason.
If anything, I'd say she was ugly in Witcher 3, but even there she wasn't.

That chain is probably going to be a lot of fun, and certainly more interesting than a crossbow.

If the crossbow disappears, I for one won't miss it. The chain is way more Witcher-like anyway.

[...]

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

Sapowski has already told her story. TW3 also already told her story.

You do realize that this can be applied to the entirety of Witcher franchise, right? That Geralt's story has already been told - quite conclusively, I might add - that there was no point in brining him back, that if Sapkowski wanted to write a sequel he would've wrote it?

The truth of the matter seems to be Kalemba wants a revisionist take on Ciri, he doesn't love her character per se, just "his" version of her character, which he has been given the power to mould to his liking.

No offence, but you seem to know this guy a bit too well, considering that you didn't know who was a couple of days ago.

But CDPR's mandate is that he has to also provide player choice in TW4, so now he has to give players freedom over Ciri whilst ensuring they don't screw up his vision of Ciri. It's such a big incoherent mess right now.

If only they ever had experience with a pre-established character with big literary background. If only...

 

[Spockprime]

... I've come to really look forward to the game and seeing just how much Ciri has matured from that whiny girl she used to be.
...

Agreed! That's one of the reasons I'm excited about the character. She's no longer the little brat Princess Cirilla, but a grown woman with a lot of rough mileage behind her. As a Witcher, will she act like the overconfident little girl who was going to do whatever she wanted despite Geralt and uncle Vesemir, because she knew best? Will success breed confidence, or feed overconfidence? Will failure turn her hard-edged and grumpy. or will it give her wisdom? How much player agency will there be in all of these character evolution paths?

It's an opportunity to interact with, and in some sense be, the adult version of the child and then young lady who we knew from the earlier games. We don't get those opportunities very often in gaming.

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

It's an opportunity to interact with, and in some sense be, the adult version of the child and then young lady who we knew from the earlier games. We don't get those opportunities very often in gaming.

I kinda begin to realize why they switched Jo Wyatt - I absolutely love her voice and for me she was a definitive version of the character. But her performance is also really upbeat, energetic and optimistic. The vibe from trailer is completely different, Ciri herself seems completely different - not a trace of the former optimism, just anger and determination. She used to sound like a confident and cheerful princess, now she sounds like a seasoned warrior.

 

[randyrhoads]

TW4 to me so far is already off on shaky ground since conceptually, it's a fan service title, in service more to the fans of Ciri, and not so much fans of the Witcher series as a whole. Fan service is great for marketing, but not a good foundation for a great game.

Very good point. I myself don't like Ciri in the books and TW3 managed to somewhat redeem her in my eyes but never in a million years would I see her as a viable lead for a witcher title. I consider myself a huge fan of what sapkowski created and what cdpr expanded on and see this move as driven by the current ideological winds that have been killing western games the last few years. To top it off they made her an actual witcher too, not just someone who practices the profession, a move that goes against everything in the books or video games (so far), a move out of season 2 of the netflix series. Don't imagine this will sit well with die hard fans. I expect to see a significant dip in sales compared to TW3. I myself have almost 0 interest in this title and that is something I couldn't have imagined ever saying...

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

I expect to see a significant dip in sales compared to TW3.

Cyberpunk 2077 was a new franchise with a completely abysmal launch, to the point where it was taken off PS store for half a year - this game sells faster than Witcher 3 and is in the list of best selling games of all time.
Ciri is a beloved character in an established franchise and a protagonist to one of the most anticipated video games - I'm not a prophet, but I think it will sell at the very least as good as Witcher 3.

 

[Princess_Ciri]

This made me laugh. Cuz it's exactly how these [...] look when they complain about how women look in video games

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

This made me laugh. Cuz it's exactly how these [...] look when they complain about how women look in video games
View attachment 11406640

My man got hit with a PS 1 stick

 

[GrimReaper801]

This made me laugh. Cuz it's exactly how these [...] look when they complain about how women look in video games
View attachment 11406640

I love this.

Almost makes me want to make a Twitter account just to go read the angry responses.

 

[Princess_Ciri]

I love this.

Almost makes me want to make a Twitter account just to go read the angry responses.

It's actually from Bluesky, so you don't even have to go to that other terrible place..........

 

[TeamLucy]

It's actually from Bluesky, so you don't even have to go to that other terrible place..........

Xwitter truly is the Crones' swamp

 

[GrimReaper801]

It's actually from Bluesky, so you don't even have to go to that other terrible place..........

Heh, still says I need to log on to see the post.

Seems like I won't get to enjoy them trying to rationalize how "CiRi iS a DiFfErEnT sItUaTioN!".

Then again, from what I know of Bluesky, the kind of people who complain Ciri is ugly now, don't hang out on Bluesky so I wouldn't get to enjoy the irony of their complaining.

 

[Tangsta]

Very good point. I myself don't like Ciri in the books and TW3 managed to somewhat redeem her in my eyes but never in a million years would I see her as a viable lead for a witcher title. I consider myself a huge fan of what sapkowski created and what cdpr expanded on and see this move as driven by the current ideological winds that have been killing western games the last few years. To top it off they made her an actual witcher too, not just someone who practices the profession, a move that goes against everything in the books or video games (so far), a move out of season 2 of the netflix series. Don't imagine this will sit well with die hard fans. I expect to see a significant dip in sales compared to TW3. I myself have almost 0 interest in this title and that is something I couldn't have imagined ever saying...

Yeah, it's a rather painful transition I'm currently going through with CDPR and their announcement here with TW4. I still consider TW3 to be the greatest RPG ever made, which is not a statement I make lightly. It's a serious contender for that title if not the outright champion. My heart sank when I saw the trailer for TW4, because not only was there no hype but deep disappointment started to set in.

Throughout my years of gaming, I've seen far too many of favourite gaming studios go downhill (Bioware, Blizzard, Bethesda, Rockstar, and recently Naughty Dog). I thought I was numb to the pain, but if CDPR falls as well, I think I might have to take a serious break from gaming for awhile, for the sake of my sanity. The one paragon left, Larian Studios, still stands strong, but at this rate I wouldn't be shocked if their next game features all manner of idiotic creative decisions that will ostracize them from their original fanbase - it seems to be the trend nowadays.

 

[Domhnallaich]

Yeah, it's a rather painful transition I'm currently going through with CDPR and their announcement here with TW4. I still consider TW3 to be the greatest RPG ever made, which is not a statement I make lightly. It's a serious contender for that title if not the outright champion. My heart sank when I saw the trailer for TW4, because not only was there no hype but deep disappointment started to set in.

Throughout my years of gaming, I've seen far too many of favourite gaming studios go downhill (Bioware, Blizzard, Bethesda, Rockstar, and recently Naughty Dog). I thought I was numb to the pain, but if CDPR falls as well, I think I might have to take a serious break from gaming for awhile, for the sake of my sanity. The one paragon left, Larian Studios, still stands strong, but at this rate I wouldn't be shocked if their next game features all manner of idiotic creative decisions that will ostracize them from their original fanbase - it seems to be the trend nowadays.

TW1 is actually my favourite Witcher game. Technically inferior in every way to TW3 but has the heart and soul of CDPR in it - and it shows. I feel your pain on this one.

 

[Tangsta]

TW1 is actually my favourite Witcher game. Technically inferior in every way to TW3 but has the heart and soul of CDPR in it - and it shows. I feel your pain on this one.

I would've been happier had they just remade TW1 and TW2 as their next Witcher titles. TW4 can wait until 2035, it seems they need that much time to figure out that a character creator would be a better choice than letting fan service corrupt their creative process.

Ciri is a beloved character

Which Ciri are you referring to? The Ciri from the books? The Ciri from TW3? Because neither of those Ciris are being adapted here. They're not adapting any Ciri actually, this is a brand new Ciri they've created out of thin air.