Why change Geralt?

[HenryBukowski]

Why change Geralt?

I'll start by saying I played and loved the game in the majority of aspects and want to applaud CDPR - but there's a couple of things which really frustrated me:

The Geralt of the first two games was absolute bl**dy hilarious. He was so dry, so self-mocking and some of the time laugh out loud funny.
Sure he was created to be without emotion but he was anything but emotionless, and very charismatic.

Why, then, is he so different in the Witcher 3? His voice is down to a whole new level of Gravelly and rasping and he doesn't joke so much.He also looks quite different. No longer is he slim and athletic but big, hulking, mean and macho. WHY!?

Anyone agree or disagree?
I'd like to hear from CDPR in whether there was a change of focus away from dialogue? New writers? or was it just a result of recording so many lines of dialogue.

Yours,
Spoilt-rotten Witcher fan-man.

 

[WolvenGear]

I never played the first two so IMO he's funny and macho.
Let's face it. The way Geralt is now sells. These days video-games need a strong but fair man in the lead. Like Joel in tlou. I think its works perfectly.

 

[Dread_Reaper]

Are we playing the same game? Geralt is far more humorous and lax in this game.

 

[blackfox7]

Geralt is older than the first two games. He is probably more focused on finding Ciri than larking about quite so much, he is maturing like any man does with age. (Still we get that drinking session with Lambert which is bloody hilarious so there's that, he still has it in him in much about) even thinking of settling down with someone he cant be the same Geralt as W1 or there would have been no progression with his character.

As for his body shape that all depends on what you wear, he didnt look all that "pumped" in a Gears of War sort of way, so not sure about that.

 

[Death132]

Some of the things people come up with on here absolutely baffle me at times....

I played the first two games and he's exactly the same here if just a little bit more aged. Also big and hulking? Take his clothing off. That is the definition of lean and athletic. Certain armors make him look bigger because....it's armor.

 

[blackfox7]

"Crimson ***hole" - I literally died

 

[CrunchyNapkin]

To begin with, mutations strip emotions, in order to make it realistic, they had to design his character in a way that he's both funny and serious. And trust me, if you watch closely, he makes some stupid jokes, I've laughed more than 10 times already with this game, trust me man, Geralt IS funny. You just haven't figured it out yet.

Besides, something could seem funny to me, but not to you.

When it comes to the voice, the voice actor himself in an interview claimed that his voice had changed a bit, so he was having a hard time.

 

[HenryBukowski]

Some of the things people come up with on here absolutely baffle me at times....

I played the first two games and he's exactly the same here if just a little bit more aged. Also big and hulking? Take his clothing off. That is the definition of lean and athletic. Certain armors make him look bigger because....it's armor.

There's no doubt that Geralt is physically different from in the first game. Images perhaps? Perhaps theres a reason - I don't know, maybe he signed up to virgin active, fine. But to deny any change is pretty ludicrous imo.

Also, I don't see what age explains given the pretty short passage of time in the context of a witchers lifespan..

EDIT: To be clear, I'm not saying I never laughed.... 'emmantaler' was just really witty and yes as mentioned, the drinking scene at kaer morhen was genius. Yep, I cracked up a number of times, but there was a LOT of dialogue.
I'm not even sure it's only about humour... perhaps I felt the depth of geralts dialogue was compromised?

But perhaps this was just he wasn super focused in a way he wasn't previously. I can see that to an extent, definitely..

 

[Death132]

There's no doubt that Geralt is physically different from in the first game. Images perhaps? Perhaps theres a reason - I don't know, maybe he signed up to virgin active, fine. But to deny any change is pretty ludicrous imo.

Also, I don't see what age explains given the pretty short passage of time in the context of a witchers lifespan..

His physique is the same. His face changed because faces need to be recreated in sequels with brand new engines/technology. It happens to every sequel as time goes on. All 3 Witcher games have different faces.

 

[Tuco]

Are we playing the same game? Geralt is far more humorous and lax in this game.

Yep. I'm not sure where the OP is even coming from.
I found his dry humor better than ever before in this third game, and even the voice actor seems to be much more into the character now.

 

[whiplash27]

I thought he was pretty funny in TW3. I mean for a game as long as TW3, maybe there weren't as many comedic bits as you desired, but I found myself laughing a decent amount.

 

[HenryBukowski]

Not sure if the image will work but this is what I had in mind by lean and athletic.

I can see why people would disagree because it's not like there's no humour in the Witcher 3...far from it.
I guess at the heart of it they maybe changed his image a bit. Just my opinion, but he seems more imposing, more no no-nonsense. Perhaps this comes from his sense of determinaton having regained his memory.

 

[DFenz_]

I did find a lot more humor in Witcher 3 than previous games, but you can't deny they did make him look like he started working out after Witcher 2. Not extreme, but he does look like he got bulkier. I replayed both games right before Witcher 3 came out and noticed that immediately when he got out of the tub in the first scene. Now I don't notice it as much though because I have near 300 hours invested into Witcher 3.

 

[Garrison72]

No he's still got his humor, but he does talk different. I'd like the writers to explain why he so assiduously drops pronouns now. As to the body change, simply artistic licence or they're prepping his model for Cyberpunk, which would require a more universally attractive body type, not the lean, lanky killer from TW2.

 

[HenryBukowski]

I thought he was pretty funny in TW3. I mean for a game as long as TW3, maybe there weren't as many comedic bits as you desired, but I found myself laughing a decent amount.

As I signed off in my earlier post... "Spoil-rotten fan"
I'll be the first to admit that post-Witcher 3 has led me and many others to desperately pick on the minutiae.....maybe CDPR need to take this as a reflection of how much they achieved and how successfull they were.

---------- Updated at 01:18 PM ----------

No he's still got his humor, but he does talk different. I'd like the writers to explain why he so assiduously drops pronouns now. As to the body change, simply artistic licence or they're prepping his model for Cyberpunk, which would require a more universally attractive body type, not the lean, lanky killer from TW2.

Thanks for your post. I agree with you on most of this. See I quite liked the lanky killer thing as you well put it - it sort of showed how different Witchers are and how they don't need to be bodybuilders when they have undergone mutations giving them crazy speed, strength, and skills. I think it allowed Geralt to come across as more 'alternative' if that makes sense.

And yes, it was my fear that with the growing popularity of the series they would want to appeal more to the universally attractive body type - that sort of thing is always a shame, though small beer ...

 

[WolvenGear]

Not sure if the image will work but this is what I had in mind by lean and athletic.

I can see why people would disagree because it's not like there's no humour in the Witcher 3...far from it.
I guess at the heart of it they maybe changed his image a bit. Just my opinion, but he seems more imposing, more no no-nonsense. Perhaps this comes from his sense of determinaton having regained his memory.

Looks just the same imo. Just better.
If you think he looks big in w3 just take off his gear and you'll see that he's no body-builder.

 

[centda]

His voice is spot on in my opinion
And he does not seem that big realy . . .

 

[grantlp13]

Not sure if he is much more good looking because of the engine or intentionally to make him better looking. Other than that, he is still the same grumpy, badass, dry joke deadpan kind of dude

 

[Tuco]

His voice is spot on in my opinion
And he does not seem that big realy . . .

He's not.
It's like those complaints about "changing" Vernon Roche's face.
People often tend to mix what's just a general change in art style ad representation (which involves ALL the characters and environments in a game) with a "change of concept" that just isn't there.

 

[Dubya75]

OP, could not disagree with you more, but I will try anyway...

Geralt's voice (English) has been pretty consistent. And I think it is the best in TW3.
Geralt's physique has also been consistent.
Geralt is much funnier with his dry sarcasm in TW3 than the previous 2 games.
Geralt looks WAYYYYY better in TW3 than he did in the previous games. You prefer he looked like he did in Wticher 1? Really?

So yeah....I think you are probably bored and nitpicking, looking for company. Because none of what you say makes any sense at all.