The Witcher Remake With Open World
The Witcher Remake is to receive an open world. This is surprising, since the original was a heavily linear game.
As you already you know, CD Projekt Group published the financial report for the third quarter of 2022. The document contained an interesting mention of the recently announced remake of the first installment of The Witcher. It turns out that The Witcher Remake will be set in an open world.
CD Project.
This information is all the more surprising, since the areas we moved around in the original game can at best be called semi-open. The developers cleverly circumvented the limitations of the Aurora engine by making one of the story elements the Catriona plague, due to which the full game area was never available.
- After a short prologue in Kaer Morhen, Geralt would end up in the outskirts of Wyzima - the capital of Temeria, which was his destination, as it was impossible to enter without a pass (incidentally, the White Wolf didn't need one, since as a witcher he is immune to diseases).
- In the second act of the game, on the other hand, Geralt was limited to the Monastery District of Wyzima and the forest in the swamps, to which he could be transported by a boat ferryman.
- The third act added the Wyzima trade quarter.
- Act Four threw the White Wolf outside of Wyzima, to the village of Murky Waters and the areas surrounding it (this was strongly related to the plot).
- It wasn't until the final chapter that Geralt was able to visit Old Wyzima (and a few locations learned earlier).
This raises the question of what approach the developers will take in The Witcher Remake. Will the game world gradually open up to the protagonist, without depriving him of the opportunity to return to locations where he has already completed the main storyline? Or will Geralt gain the ability to visit all available areas in any order?
The former scenario would enable the developers at Fool's Theory to remain as faithful to the original as possible. Anyway the letter of safe conduct, which the Witcher eventually acquires, entitles him to freely cross the gates of Wyzima at any time of day or night.
As for the second approach, it is possible that the creators would have to modify the plot of the original a bit and make use of Geralt's immunity, which would enable him to go anywhere at basically any stage of the adventure. The question is how far-reaching changes to the story this decision would entail.
In practice, we will find out soon enough. CD Projekt Group had already cooled players' enthusiasm at the announcement, declaring that the remake of the first Witcher will be released after The Witcher 4, which is expected to debut not earlier than in 2025 (it will probably happen even later). It remains to be hoped that CDP will reveal the secret long before that date.
