Witcher 4: A Missed Opportunity

[Cyberdude]

Let me explain.

We've already played witcher games where you drink potions, grind your sword, and do all the witcher things. We played 3 of these games. While preparing for each and every battle is true to the lore, it's also a bit of a slog for the current gaming atmosphere.

The Witcher 4 trailer shows a bunch of stuff Ciri is doing (which she shouldn't even be a witcher), that we've seen and done before.

Ciri HAS amazing abilities, and one of those abilities is time dialation like from Witcher 3. Basically she has a Sandevistan. It would have been 1000% times cooler to see the trailer of her using HER abilities, slow time, first-person etc. That's something never been done in a Fantasy game and would appeal to current high-expecations for something new.

Furthermore, Witcher 4 could be the FIRST EVER cyberpunk/fantasy cross-over genre. Ciri could have returned from cyberpunk realm with actual cyberware. This would be a totally new experience and GENRE and fits with existing anecdotes and clues dropped in Witcher 3.

BUT NO. We get plain old trailer, with plain old witcher potions, in plain old village, with plain old people doing nothing.

Such a HUGE missed opportunity to think outside the box, make something NEW. Not just-another-witcher game. Very sad CDPR has lost its creativity here.

The trailer was the ONE CHANCE to set expectations and build excitement and it's failed.

 

[Draconifors]

Furthermore, Witcher 4 could be the FIRST EVER cyberpunk/fantasy cross-over genre. Ciri could have returned from cyberpunk realm with actual cyberware.

That would have been truly awful, and sure to alienate some Witcher fans.

 

[Balinux]

I know Ciri can jump between worlds, but bringing high tech into the witcher games would be a really bad idea.

 

[TeamLucy]

I prefer The Witcher being 100% medieval fantasy. I never tire of this world.

 

[0248991]

Hey,
I would've also probably preferred Ciri not to become a witcher.
I see it as her giving up on who she is - queen, leader, child of the elder blood; positive, looking into the future,...
...Or perhaps not giving up, but being misled by witchers and her impulsive thinking.

Instead, she has become a universal killing machine, reaching into distant villages's affairs, seeking...what exactly?
Truth? Piece? Right?
Why?
Aren't out there plenty of kings willing to do that...?

She may resolve things faster and better in the short term, true, but that's not what will bring long-term security to an area.
A new monster will settle in eventually and she may not be there the next time...

 

[devivre]

After so many years I just want a new Witcher game and not play even more Cyberpunk in a fantasy setting…

I totally get that a lot of people already have ideas for the next game which is great, but if you cling on to that too much you will always be disappointed.

And I don’t mind crossovers in general, but Ciri bringing Cyberware to a fantasy world… now that could really mess up the whole fantasy setting and probably not in a good way. So you need to be super careful. Besides, Sapkowski would likely not approve cyberware on Ciri. So there are a lot of things to consider and respect.

Still, I wouldn’t mind Ciri appearing in the next Cyberpunk game, as it’s much easier to do without changing the status quo. Preferably only for a side quest.

 

[GrimReaper801]

Hard no.

Borg Ciri is one of the few things that would actively make me want to not play this game.

The Witcher 3 easter eggs within CP2077 were nice but that's all they should ever be.

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

Furthermore, Witcher 4 could be the FIRST EVER cyberpunk/fantasy cross-over genre. Ciri could have returned from cyberpunk realm with actual cyberware. This would be a totally new experience and GENRE and fits with existing anecdotes and clues dropped in Witcher 3.

BUT NO. We get plain old trailer, with plain old witcher potions, in plain old village, with plain old people doing nothing.

No offence, but I'm sometimes glad that fans aren't writing video games.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Bad idea, I wouldn't like that, at all. So Nope
Just a guess, but maybe only organic matter can travel through time, metal can't

Spoiler

 

[AvarageEnjoyer]

Bad idea, I wouldn't like that, at all. So Nope
Just a guess, but maybe only organic matter can travel through time, metal can't

Spoiler

View attachment 11406619

You mean to say that there was going to be a shot like this, but with Ciri?
I take my words back, it's a good idea.

 

[TeamLucy]

You mean to say that there was going to be a shot like this, but with Ciri?
I take my words back, it's a good idea.

Given that this is none other than The Witcher series, we might still get that

 

[Domhnallaich]

No offence, but I'm sometimes glad that fans aren't writing video games.

I think they basically are for TW4

 

[eLmeFist0]

I do not like the direction at all. Making Ciri a Witcher does not make sense. Lore wise.
What were they(CDPR) thinking?

They should have made the game a spin off game if they really wanted to have Ciri as protagonist. Have all her Elder Blood powers.

And then make Witcher 4 a new game in the main series with a male witcher: maybe use Gerald again or another male witcher(young Vesemir or a new one).

Pitty.

And what's with the look and voice? Does not look and sound like Cir.

 

[SMiki55]

A short adventure in a modern world, like in "The Lady of the Lake" novel, would be fine, but bringing cyberware and futuristic weapons back to The Witcher world would destroy the balance.

MAYBE as a DLC for the final game of the new trilogy, when we are fed up with standard fantasy and want something new and wacky, but not now.

 

[John_Russell]

I think making Ciri become a Witcher can make perfect sense. To me it would make perfect sense for Ciri to lose her Elder Blood abilities when she destroyed the White Frost. In the two Epilogues that Ciri appears in there is no hint of Elder Blood powers anymore, especially the one where she decides to become empress and was completely unaware she was about to be attacked by a Forktail.

So Ciri lost her Elder Blood powers or the very least they are weaker and limited and then something tragic happens (perhaps Geralt's death) and now feeling powerless to avenge the death or tragedy she now goes in search of a solution which would be finding a way to become a Witcher. You could even tie in Professor Moreau quest Turn and Face the Strange from Blood and Wine in which Geralt discovers a new way to mutate people into Witchers without the Trial of the Grasses by using and modifying Professor Moreau's machine and research.

One thing I would also like to see resolved especially since Ciri is now certified to be the main character is getting back Vesimir's Witcher medallion and killing the remaining Crookback Bog witch

 

[SigilFey]

Going back to the merger of sci-fi with fantasy thing in the OP, I actually love that stuff (really liked the Pern series). I'm not sure how well it would work here, however.

Firstly, Ciri not only has pretty incredible powers and abilities that will already be nuts with added witcher abilities. I don't know if it would mechanically make sense to merge in something purely "high-tech" with what's already there. Plus, if Ciri were to have the proverbial jet-pack and assault rifle...it would wind up being a bit redundant mechanically, as she already has comparable abilities using the Elder Blood powers and witcher abilities.

Secondly, it would almost need to be kept to a minimum, or the entire world is going to wind up losing a lot of its identity. A big part of good fantasy/sci-fi is the element of mystique, something buried in the past or beyond some supernatural barrier that the audience will never fully experience. We know it's there, but we'll never actually engage with it. That creates a depth that, once exposed and explained, vanishes all the mystery and curiosity surrounding it.

I feel like trying something like this would be an extremely thin line to walk, and one that could very well lead to two detriments in one: both gameplay and lore taking a hit.

So Ciri lost her Elder Blood powers or the very least they are weaker and limited and then something tragic happens (perhaps Geralt's death) and now feeling powerless to avenge the death or tragedy she now goes in search of a solution which would be finding a way to become a Witcher.

Why do you say this? In the novels, she works with Yen especially to gain more and more awareness and control of her powers, and pretty steadily grows. In TW3, she's apparently mastered several of them and continues to grow.

True, in the trailer, we don't see her use the powers we were using in TW3 (teleporting and so forth), but she seems to have several additional powers that are apparently augmented versions of witcher signs, like the Elder Blood "Aard" that she uses, or apparently casting "Igni" on the chain. It's curious that she never teleports, though. Perhaps some of what she knew how to do with the Elder Blood magic is now transformed by her becoming a witcher. Gameplay-wise, that might be something that could be used to create a good progression arc. Players get twists on all the known witcher abilities, and they have to work at regaining the Elder Blood abilities that Ciri used to have.

I would've also probably preferred Ciri not to become a witcher.
I see it as her giving up on who she is - queen, leader, child of the elder blood; positive, looking into the future,...
...Or perhaps not giving up, but being misled by witchers and her impulsive thinking.

In a sense, I'm not sure that she is a true "witcher". Because of the Elder Blood, her physical makeup is more than either simply man or woman. I wouldn't be surprised if she's something entirely new. Yes, perhaps she survives the Trial of the Grasses...or maybe she didn't take the mutagens at all. Maybe she found a way, using her innate powers, to simply give herself witcher qualities to augment her training. Either way, she's technically a person, a Source, and mutant. That's quite a combo, and I don't think she could be accurately called simply "a witcher." I'm guessing this will be a major part of the story and the character.

As for her being OP, probably! But for more than just being a killing machine. She's also the Empress of Nilfgaard...so she'll need incredible amounts of power in every facet if she intends to eventually step into that role. If she doesn't have her child, and she doesn't manage to unite the lands...the White Frost will destroy everything. Regardless of her personal desires and goals, she is destined to provide salvation to the world.

I know Ciri can jump between worlds, but bringing high tech into the witcher games would be a really bad idea.

I would imagine it would be relatively impossible, anyway. I think the whole premise of the "other worlds" thing is inherently a multiverse scenario. It is already presented as different worlds having different laws of physics and reality -- hence, the Conjunction of the Spheres bringing magic into the world we know. It didn't exist beforehand, and it was apparently an extremely unique occurance.

If Ciri did bring back some sort of future-tech from another world, I imagine it simply wouldn't function correctly in gameworld.

 

[Rawls]

I feel like mapping both games onto a controller so that both worked well would be really hard.

 

[Yglika]

Honestly, I would love to have a Witcher game with a sorceress protagonist, making all that magic, intrigues and politics. Plus some xxx stuff. But I understand I'm a minority here and always will be.

 

[AlpMara]

Honestly... The complaint that the trailer didnt generate excitement I cannot confirm - exactly the opposite. I was like "whooot?" and now I cant wait to see what they came up with to get to this point. Honestly the only thing that annys me a bit is that Witcher Monster Slayer is not there anymore to bridge the time until release, caus Witcher 3 is played to death^^

 

[DonLuzolvaz]

Furthermore, Witcher 4 could be the FIRST EVER cyberpunk/fantasy cross-over genre. Ciri could have returned from cyberpunk realm with actual cyberware.

Is this a joke?

I think you missed typing a "/s" at the end of the thread.

The trailer was the ONE CHANCE to set expectations and build excitement and it's failed.

Sorry but a hard disagree on this one. TW4 was the most talked about game of TGA 2024.