Last week we saw the big screen debut of The Witcher IVthe latest installment in CD Projekt Red's legendary dark fantasy series. In this new chapter we won't be following Geralt; Instead, his adopted daughter Ciri takes center stage as our witcher protagonist.
Following the announcement, we spoke to CD Projekt Red's main cast to delve deeper into this trailer and learn how the studio is preparing to introduce Ciri as the lead in a brand new Witcher saga that will explore the series' past (and the… Players) respect their decisions and boldly lead the series into a new era.
A new feature
In the reveal trailer we get to know the village of Stromford, a remote settlement deep in the north of the continent. In this scene, a young woman, Mioni, is chosen as a sacrifice to ward off a local monster. Here we see Ciri for the first time – older, stronger and with the iconic swords of steel and silver.
The Witcher IV takes place “several years” after the end The Witcher 3said Narrative Director on The Witcher IVPhilip Weber. While the details of what brought Ciri to this particular place and time are still secret for now, we are shown that Ciri has mutated eyes, a hint that she has completed the Trial of the Grasses to become a sorcerer herself to become.
During the events of both The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – not to mention Andrzej Sapkowski's witcher novel saga on which the games are based – Ciri is featured as a secondary protagonist and her personality is very established. In the end, she is by no means just an extension of Geralt, but a full-fledged character ready to embark on a new journey.
This journey could have gone in several directions depending on which final game the players were placed in The Witcher 3. While CD Projekt Red is keeping the details secret, Weber assures us The Witcher IV will tackle the multiple endings of its predecessor, and they want to honor that personal choice in this next game.
Differences between Geralt and Ciri
The studio wants to emphasize that while Geralt is a skilled sorcerer who usually prefers to remain impartial, Ciri is a character who often takes a more aggressive stance due to personal motivation.
“Geralt has already created a code for himself and has gone through a lot of experience to get to this point,” explains Weber. “With Ciri, we now have the opportunity to show many of these experiences as she finds her own code and her own way of dealing with these difficult things.”
We see this in the trailer's reveal when Ciri ventures into the forest and tells Mioni to flee back to the village in the hope that it will save her. What's interesting is that the people of Stromford don't react positively to the sight of a sorcerer, even though Ciri is there to do good.
“She is super passionate, super determined and very committed to this story,” explains game director Sebastian Kalemba. “She will never hesitate; She cares deeply about the other girl here.”
Unfortunately, despite Ciri's best intentions and a grueling battle with a brand new monster named Bauk, Mioni still meets a quick end, making the dark world of Mioni even more apparent The Witcher IV will continue to be and how, despite a well-meaning approach, its characters will continue to find ways to denigrate Ciri's decisions (and your own).
“Ciri is someone who doesn’t accept that fate is just given to you, you always have to defend yourself, and sometimes that’s the right thing,” says Weber. “In this trailer we also wanted to show some parallels that Mioni's fate could have once been that of Ciri, but she fought against that fate.”
The nuances of Ciri's character also come from her backstory – making her a great character for a complex, mature story about choices and consequences in the dark and often troubling world of The Witcher.
“Ciri is definitely a flawed character; She has a lot of darkness within her, she has been abandoned and she has made terrible mistakes in the past,” explains Weber. “But she also has some amazing strengths and I think it's that balance that makes her such a great character for us. We want to tell these character-driven stories, and I think if we want to have real characters with real emotions, that also means they have to have some flaws.”
However, Geralt's influence on Ciri is by no means overwritten; The Witcher IVThe emphasis on choice and consequences often results in Ciri grappling with the decision she believes is right, and perhaps a different direction taken by Geralt in the same scenario.
“She’s Geralt’s daughter, so she learned a lot of values from him,” Weber notes. “There will be decisions that are close to what Geralt would do.”
Kalemba adds: “Geralt also learned a lot from Ciri during their journey The Witcher 3, and that will be reflected in these decisions.”
Looking ahead
The Witcher IV is of course a natural evolution of this series; And fans who have been around for a long time will find deeper connections and plenty of backstory when they join Ciri. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Geralt will return as a character, but his place in the story remains a secret for now.
However, this will also serve as a new beginning for the franchise. Almost 10 years and countless development lessons since the release of The Witcher 3CD Projekt Red recognizes and embraces the fact that a new generation of gamers want to experience this world for the first time The Witcher IV.
“This is a new character and the origin story of Ciri [as a playable main character]and we believe it will be a great starting point for newcomers,” says Kalemba. “There will be new regions and areas to explore, but it's still the dark fantasy world and story that Witcher fans know and love.”
