We comment on first The Witcher 4 trailer. „We're all gonna change our graphics cards”
CDP RED decided to end the year with a bump, sharing the first concrete footage from The Witcher 4. In light of the recent release of Sapkowski's book, it's tempting to say that Santa Claus has already come to Witcher fans twice this year, and before Christmas.
Perhaps there wasn't the iconic "le le le le" in the Witcher 4 trailer shown at the TGA, but the whole thing still had some good vibe. There were Slavic aesthetics, folk songs, embroidery, and sheepskin coats, as well as new monsters and human sacrifices. There was also a witcher who got involved in all of this and messed everything up, proving once again that a monster is not always what it seems.
So many questions - how did Ciri go through the witcher Trials and mutations? Where is the medallion with a lynx from? Will we be riding on Kelpie instead of Roach? Will Kelpie spawn on roofs?
But once the first shock – okay, barely the surprise – of the new witcher's presence wore off, I couldn't help but appreciate how familiar it all was. When I look at Ciri's acrobatics in the fight with the bauk, I see the school of Geralt (and Vesemir); the chain used to bind the monster seems to be a nod to the memorable trailer with the striga for the first Witcher (which trailer itself was, after all, a fairly faithful recreation of a scene from Sapkowski's first short story). It's as if people from CD Projekt wanted to make sure that they remember the origins, that it won't be a completely new "The Witcher" - just different.
Krzysztof "Draug" Mysiak comments.
I have no idea what the game will be like, but the trailer turned out well. As usual for the Witcher series: evoking Slavic heritage, while also being bleak and offering a portrayal of humanity as grim as in Sapkowski's books. I would prefer Geralt in the main role, but it's enough that he returns as an NPC. However, I won't buy The Witcher 4 in preorder – after Cyberpunk, I have some trust issues.
Commented by Hubert "hexx0" Sledziewski
CD Projekt Red studio has redefined the term "Hitchcockian opening." Thanks to the first trailer of The Witcher 4, we received a really big announcement at the beginning of The Game Awards 2024. We would like to say that the tension only grew later, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Even though we have had one of the best gaming showcases in recent years, the presentation of any subsequent game didn't match the fourth "Witcher." I'm surprised that Geoff Keighley didn't make the decision to end the show with a bomb of this caliber (the new Naughty Dog game is impressive, but not that much). There is no doubt that the Witcher hype train has started and will go on for at least several more years since CD Projekt Red is planning a trilogy. I'm getting on it with great eagerness – and the hope that GTA 6 will be released as soon as possible because if I have to choose between one thief of time and another, I'll play The Witcher 4!
Mandatory headline about something ending and something beginning
Choosing Ciri as the new protagonist for the new saga, while dashing the dreams of those who would like to see a character creator, seems to align with what the Santa Monica studio has planned for the God of War series: the current protagonist is taking a well-deserved break, and his son is taking the helm. GoW: Ragnarok spent a lot of time showing us Atreus not only as a sidekick and source of motivation for Kratos but also as a character in his own right who could – arguably – carry the next installment. Atreus not only gained new, cool abilities - including various animal forms - but also a companion and a personal quest to accomplish. Unfortunately, in this mission of convincing players to like Atreus, Ragnarok lost itself a bit. It lost the balance between both characters and at times, we could get the impression that Kratos is an afterthought in his own game. Paradoxically, Atreus seemed stronger, and it was simply more interesting to play as him.
https://www.thewitcher.com/
Fortunately, The Witcher 3 didn't go so far in promoting Ciri (I won't speculate on whether the decision about who the protagonist of The Witcher 4 would be was made while writing the script for the third installment), although even there the young woman was more agile in combat than Geralt. However, we rarely played as her, so it didn't particularly bother us, nor did it suggest that the developers were more interested in her than in the White Wolf itself.
And It might happen because, ultimately, Ciri, both the book version and the game version, is such an important character in the whole Witcher world, with so many powers and connections, that it wouldn't be difficult to unfairly and maliciously label her as a Mary Sue. Ciri is the heir to the throne of not one, but two kingdoms. She is a war orphan raised by witchers and trained by sorceresses. Ciri was a member of a gang and a gladiator in the arena. She spoke with unicorns and met Sir Galahad. Finally, Ciri is the carrier of the Elder Blood gene, which gives her the power to travel in time and space. There are a lot of peculiarities for one person.
Damian "Czarus" Gacek comments.
The trailer for The Witcher 4 didn't disappoint me - it's dripping with the atmosphere of the previous installments. It's worth emphasizing that Ciri won't simply be a female version of Geralt. The trailer clearly shows that becoming a witcher didn't affect her temperament. I am curious about how the Lion Cub of Cintra will perform in the role of the main character, although I believe she will manage.
PS Did you notice the medallion?
I used the word "unfairly" because the book version of Ciri isn't a character who has power and just waves it around. All of these extraordinary experiences had terribly battered the girl. Although she was extremely efficient in combat, she was still just a traumatized child - angry, snappy, and hiding behind a mask of nonchalance and cynical attitude. She is a believable protagonist, excellently portrayed - although not someone I would necessarily want to spend more time with in books if it weren't for the more mature characters of Geralt and Yennefer and the playful nature of Dandelion.
Of course, Ciri in The Witcher 3 was already older and not as angry; one might expect that time had healed at least some of the wounds. Now, however, a bit more time has passed; you can see it in the trailer, in her face, and hear in her voice.
I'm killing... monsters.
The trailer is, in true Witcher fashion, subversive and pessimistic – although there are no gods, only monsters, killing a monster will not change anything for the better. Ciri managed to kill the monster before it ate another person, but this didn't help much. The girl destined to be a sacrifice had to die, period. If not from claws and fangs, then at least from the knife of a neighbor convinced that the ritual was necessary, because after all, "it's tradition". Echoes of the equally memorable trailer for The Witcher 3 resonate in all of this. In that trailer, Geralt creatively stretched the definition of the word "monster" - because Ciri's last words suggest that she too sees at least one such monster in front of her. Even if she doesn't reach for a sword like her father, she'll probably smack someone in the face soon. You can see it in her eyes.
And even that makes me happy, because Ciri needs this fury and readiness for fight to stand out against the usually stoic Geralt. I would like her to be a more explosive character, less inclined to neutrality, to retain some of that youthful disagreement with the way the world works. Also because it will give us more freedom in playing as her.
Mateusz "Smoczy" Popielak comments
I didn't have the same feelings as I did when watching the trailers for the second or third The Witcher or when they announced Cyberpunk 2077. Maybe because of the late hour, too high expectations, or perhaps because of showing this trailer at the beginning of TGA? It's hard for me to determine. However, I'm certainly not disappointed with choosing Ciri as the protagonist of the new installment of the series. I believe that CD Projekt has chosen a less convenient and more risky option. It would be safer to give players a character creator and allow them full freedom. Now the developers must remember that their actions will be closely watched by purists. Any plot inconsistencies or attempts to take shortcuts may face criticism from a significant portion of the audience. Putting oneself in a more difficult situation is always more interesting - and that has intrigued me.
The trailer, as always, looks very cinematic. What particularly caught my attention was the sound design - this is exactly how trailers should sound, and not just for games. I also like the fact that I could watch the trailer even fully blurred, and I would still immediately recognize the universe it comes from. The use of colors here is the same as in previous parts: the trail is divided by gray, faded tones, and the night is torn by the intense light of fire. The world wants to devour us with colors, and these fade away as soon as we clash with evil. I deliberately avoid focusing on characters featured in the trailer. This is just a fragment of a history still unknown to us, just like the appearance of the Swallow, transformed by... what, exactly?
In all this confusion, I'm sure of one thing - if the trailer raises more questions than answers, it means it has done its job.
https://www.thewitcher.com/
So what's next?
You can analyze this trailer frame by frame, catching hidden details - I'm sure that plenty of people are already doing this as I write these words. Perhaps one of them will dig up, for example, information about what's going on with Ciri's swords or decipher the words of the song mumbled by the would-be victim. You can board the hype train now – although I don't recommend it, because it's always better to be cautious than to build a vision of the game in your head based on the beautiful words of marketing experts that reality would never be able to match. Though CDP RED ultimately completed their redemption arc with the laborious fixing of Cyberpunk 2077, the memory of that launch lingers. All the more so, since today we were only shown a cinematic.
At the same time, the first comments on this trailer clearly show how the times we live in have changed - information about a new game from a beloved series often meet with reluctance and discouragement. For me personally, it wasn't a trailer after which I would pre-order the game for each platform I have - even if those pre-orders could already be placed. However, 2024 was such a hard, poor and boring year for gaming in general that I gratefully accept anything that will unite us, even for a moment, in discussions about what to expect and what to hope for.
What are you hyped for?
Mikolaj "mikos" Laszkiewicz comments
I've watched The Witcher 4 trailer a few times, and while I know it's just a cinematic, I know it's not gameplay yet, if even a little of what I saw transfers to the game engine, then I already know we'll all have to upgrade our graphics cards. I absolutely love the development of Ciri's storyline, the world presented hasn't lost any of its atmosphere and I already know that I will make a pre-order as soon as possible. With this trailer, CD Projekt RED has jumped into the same league as Rockstar Games, their games are simply worth waiting for, they are mandatory.
Szymon "Rusnar" Rusnarczyk comments
In "The Witcher 3", Ciri stood out strongly by teleporting during fights. The fact that she doesn't do it here clearly indicates a lack of her power or a strong limitation of it. I would bet that the conjunction of spheres at the end of The Witcher 3 caused Ciri (directly related to Ithlinne's prophecy, etc.) to start losing her unique powers of time and space travel. This would also explain why she is weaker in general, after all, she needs to be weakened for gameplay progression's sake. It could also be that, as with Uma/Avallac'h, the Trial of the Grasses was the only way to strengthen and save her. But of course, these are just speculations. The last hours of "The Witcher 3" explain very nicely the need for the return of the witchers, because evidently there may be more monsters now and they may be more diverse.
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