The announcement of the release of The Witcher 4, starring Ciri from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, sparked a compact discussion. One of the reactions is the rage of Internet kids at the thought of a video game in which the main character is a (slightly older!!!) woman, and especially shock, i.e. a video game in a series that so far featured a man. Some of them are people commenting more insightfully on whether Ciri is actually a suitable Witcher heroine, given that she is not the product of the typical Witcher genetic modification regime (which is largely geared towards men), and with that being said, without giving too much away, he has gifts that make ancient Geralt’s sword and magic skill set look rather miserable.
This week we talk to Eurogamergame director Sebastian Kalemba and narrative director Philipp Weber responded to several of these comments, and also talked a little about Ciri’s situation at the beginning of the game.
The specific segment of the interview in question begins with Weber’s remark that in the original Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, Ciri is repeatedly described as a witcher, so you’re out of luck if you’re arguing against her character on the grounds that she disagrees with the source material. He and Kalemba admit that yes, it’s true, Geralt is a good laugh and some would love to have him back, but Ciri is already playable at certain points in The Witcher 3, and CD Projekt wants to see what else they can do with it for her.
Has CD Projekt considered introducing a custom hero for The Witcher 4, Eurogamer asked, similar to Cyberpunk 2077? “Honestly, I think character-driven storytelling has always been in the DNA of our Witcher games,” Weber said. “First with Geralt, and then of course we started setting up Ciri as the second heroine in The Witcher 3, and now we want to continue that with her.”
Weber added that part of what makes Ciri an intriguing choice for a heroine comes from herself is not quite a witcher. He may not be a fully customizable character, but he has room to grow, while grizzly Ger had already established his Eastwood outsider persona before becoming a main character in video games.
“One of the things that makes Ciri a new, interesting heroine for us is, of course, also that she is at the beginning of her witcher journey,” Weber said. “For example, Geralt was already very, very experienced. He’s been through so many things. And you know, he created his own code, his own value of neutrality, he created through so many experiences. And Ciri still has to go through a lot of these things.
“So in a way, while Ciri is obviously a defined character, with her players will have the opportunity to define her even more, to specifically define the path she will take on her path to becoming a witcher and basically also what kind of person it will make her.”
Naturally, Ciri also promises to bring a fresh perspective to the widely misogynistic, alternately sensitive and perverse universe of The Witcher – a video game series that once let you collect porn cards for its female characters and still loves to make a spectacle of its nubile sorceresses.
“I mean, I would say that the world of The Witcher is really dark and obviously inspired by dark fantasy folklore,” Weber commented when asked about the game’s portrayal of gender politics and sexism. “But also the history of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, and that’s a world that was challenging – challenging for many different groups, including women. For example, in The Witcher we also deal with a lot of racism when it comes to non-humans, and that’s something we want to keep up with in The Witcher 4. I think that’s something that’s always been really critical.
“We make games for adults, and that also means that we discuss difficult topics,” he suggested. We deal with them in an engaging way. We deal with them by not giving uncomplicated answers, but often by asking challenging questions that players must answer. I think some of these questions might be heading in that direction as well, because yes, Ciri is a woman, and as a witcher in this world, that’s an unusual state of being, so I don’t think there will be a story like that everywhere, but since it’s part of that world, and we want to address a lot of these different ones. themes, it will definitely appear there as well.”
There’s also the tiniest bit of hand-waving commentary on Ciri’s various supernatural abilities and how they might disrupt the quest design and dodge-dodge combat of The Witcher 3. Will Ciri start The Witcher 4 on low power without the talents she’s shown? at the end of the previous game, Eurogamer asked? CD Projekt has nothing to share at this time.
“No, we can’t tell you exactly how,” Kalemba said. “But we can tell you simply, believe us: this was one of the things, or the first thing, that we solved to make sure – the way we are developing here, we leave nothing without a clear answer.” OK.
The Witcher 4, previously codenamed Polaris, is the first of several up-to-date Witcher games. You can read more about it in our announcement post. If you still miss Geralt, you can read about the Witcher 1 remake in the works at Fool’s Theory. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the ladder elements from the original game were removed.
