The Game Awards 2024 (TGA 2024) was a grand celebration of the best video games of this year. However, many gamers awaited the exciting world premiers and announcements. Among many grand titles such as Borderlands, Elden Ring: Nightreign, Mafia: The Old Country, Dying Light: The Beast, and several others, one particular announcement caught everyone’s eyes.
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A Long-Awaited Reveal
CD Projekt Red stunned the audience by revealing their newest title The Witcher 4 today, through a pre-rendered cinematic trailer. The trailer presented us with our new but familiar protagonist Ciri. The trailer showcased her as a novice Witcher battling an arachnid creature known as the Bauk. Although no gameplay nor release date has been given, we can come up with some assumptions about what CD Projekt Red’s newest title may have in store for us.
Passing the Torch to Ciri
The newest and most important change in the new Witcher game is the shift of its main character. While Geralt has always been “the Witcher”, the passing of the mantle to Ciri feels like a natural step forward. With the death of Vesemir, the Old Wolf, in The Witcher 3, the School of the Wolf has lost its mentor, and with Geralt’s story concluding after defeating the Wild Hunt, Castle Kaer Mohen and the School of the Wolf needs a mentor.
Enhanced Magic Mechanics
Ciri’s deep connection with magic compared to Geralt also opens up new possibilities for the game, which we might see implemented in the next title. The trailer hints at this, showcasing Ciri using elemental shock and fire magic to gain an advantage over the Bauk. This suggests that magic might play a more significant role in combat, potentially leading to an overhaul of the combat system to incorporate more magical elements.
A Fresh Narrative Perspective
Following Ciri as the new protagonist also unlocks more opportunities to create a different narrative appraoch. Unlike Geralt, who had always been a kind of stoic, and thoughtful about his actions, Ciri is more reactive to her surroundings. Ciri’s lack of experience with the often cruel and morally grey nature of society, which Geralt is more accustomed to may lead her into situations that test her resolve. This contrast in characters can be well observed if one compares the two trailers of The Witcher 3 and 4, with Geralt’s actions in The Witcher 3 being more different from Ciri’s justified yet explosive and reactive action in The Witcher 4.
Future Speculations and Development
While these are but speculations, what we know for sure is that the game is being built on the Unreal Engine 5. We might not receive any updates on the game until CD Projekt Red is sure about the state of the game. The studio has emphasised that the game will be the biggest project they have worked on and has begun full-scale production.
