Final week, we noticed the cinematic debut of The Witcher IV, the most recent instalment in CD Projekt Crimson’s iconic darkish fantasy collection. On this new chapter, we gained’t be following Geralt; as a substitute, his adopted daughter Ciri takes heart stage as our witcher protagonist.
Following the announcement, we spoke with key leads at CD Projekt Crimson to delve deeper into this trailer and find out how the studio is gearing as much as introduce Ciri because the lead in a brand-new Witcher saga that can respect the collection’ previous (and gamers’ selections in it) whereas main the collection boldly into a brand new period.
A New Ciri
Within the reveal trailer, we’re launched to the village of Stromford, an remoted settlement positioned deep within the north of The Continent. On this scene, a younger lady, Mioni, is chosen as a sacrifice to keep at bay a neighborhood monster. That is the place we see Ciri for the primary time – older, stronger, and brandishing these iconic metal and silver swords.
The Witcher IV takes place “just a few years” after the top of The Witcher 3, in keeping with Narrative Director on The Witcher IV, Philipp Weber. Whereas the small print of what introduced Ciri to this explicit place and time are nonetheless below wraps for now, we’re proven that Ciri has mutated eyes, a sign that she’s accomplished the Trial of the Grasses to develop into a witcher in her personal proper.
All through the occasions of each The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – to not point out Andrzej Sapkowski’s saga of Witcher novels, which the video games are based mostly upon – Ciri is ready up as a secondary protagonist, and her character may be very a lot established. By the top, she is certainly not simply an extension of Geralt, however a fully-fledged character able to tackle a brand new journey.
That journey may have gone in a number of instructions relying on the ending gamers obtained in The Witcher 3. Whereas CD Projekt Crimson is maintaining specifics near its chest, Weber assures us that The Witcher IV will deal with its predecessor’s a number of endings, and that private alternative is one thing they purpose to honour on this subsequent recreation.
Variations Between Geralt and Ciri
The studio is eager to emphasize that whereas Geralt is a seasoned witcher who sometimes prefers to stay neutral, Ciri is a personality that can usually take a extra aggressive stance pushed by private motivation.
“Geralt has already created a code for himself, and he’s gone via a ton of experiences to get to that level,” Weber explains. “With Ciri, we now have the chance to point out quite a lot of these experiences as she finds her personal code, and her personal method of dealing with these robust issues.”
We see this within the trailer reveal, as Ciri ventures into the forest and tells Mioni to flee again to the village, within the hopes that it’ll save her. What’s attention-grabbing to notice is that the inhabitants of Stromford don’t react positively to the sight of a witcher, despite the fact that Ciri is there to do good.
“She’s tremendous passionate, tremendous decided and really engaged on this story,” explains Sport Director Sebastian Kalemba. “She is going to by no means hesitate; she deeply cares in regards to the different woman right here.”
Sadly, regardless of Ciri’s finest intentions and a gruelling battle with a brand-new monster referred to as a Bauk, Mioni nonetheless meets a swift finish, accentuating how grim the world of The Witcher IV will proceed to be, and the way its characters could proceed to seek out methods to villainise Ciri’s selections (and your personal) regardless of a well-meaning strategy.
“Ciri is somebody who gained’t settle for that destiny is simply given to you, you all the time need to struggle again, and typically that’s the correct factor to do,” says Weber. “On this trailer, we additionally needed to point out some parallels that Mioni’s destiny may have additionally been Ciri’s as soon as upon a time, however she fought again towards that destiny.”
The nuance in Ciri’s character additionally stems from her backstory – which makes her an important character for a posh, mature story about selections and penalties inside The Witcher’s darkish and sometimes unsettling world.
“Ciri is certainly a flawed character; she has quite a lot of darkness in her, she was deserted, and she or he’s made horrible errors prior to now,” Weber explains. “However she additionally has some wonderful strengths, and I feel that is this stability that for us makes her into this nice character. We wish to inform these character-driven tales, and I feel if we wish to have actual characters with actual feelings, that additionally implies that they should have some flaws.”
That mentioned, the impression of Geralt on Ciri is certainly not being overwritten; The Witcher IV‘s emphasis on alternative and consequence implies that Ciri will usually grapple with the choice she thinks is true and maybe one other route that Geralt could have taken in the identical state of affairs.
“She’s Geralt’s daughter, so she’s discovered quite a lot of values from him,” Weber notes. “There will likely be selections that really feel near what Geralt would do.”
Kalemba provides: “Geralt has additionally discovered some issues from Ciri all through their journey in The Witcher 3, and that will likely be mirrored in these selections.”
Trying Forward
The Witcher IV is after all a pure evolution for this collection; and long-invested followers will discover deeper references and lore galore as they step into the fold with Ciri. CD Projekt Crimson has confirmed that Geralt will return as a personality, however his place within the story stays a secret for now.
Nonetheless, this can even function a brand new starting for the franchise. Nearly 10 years and numerous growth classes on from the discharge of The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Crimson acknowledges and embraces the truth that a brand new technology of gamers will wish to expertise this world for the primary time with The Witcher IV.
“This can be a new character and the origin story of Ciri [as a playable main character], and we consider it’ll be an important start line for newcomers,” Kalemba says. “There will likely be new areas and areas to discover, however it’s nonetheless very a lot the darkish fantasy world and story that Witcher followers know and love.”
