The Witcher 4: What Can We Expect from the New Game

The Witcher 4 had its first trailer revealed during The Game Awards 2024. With Ciri as the protagonist, the game should tell the story of the events following the ending of The Witcher 3.

In the trailer, we see Ciri on a mission, where she tries to save a young girl who’s about to be sacrificed to a creature. Ciri carries two swords on her back, in addition to other equipment and objects from a witcher's arsenal. We can also see her using the witcher's signs, which is a strong indicator that she has become a full-fledged witcher and passed the Trial of the Herbs.

In one of the possible endings for the third game, Ciri may become a witcher after receiving a silver sword from Geralt and, from what we see in the trailer, the game should continue this ending’s timeline. Also, it’s clear from the trailer that her eyes are identical to Geralt's, and she also wears a wolf medallion, just like the other witchers.

Ciri saves the girl in the trailer, but she ends up being killed by the villagers for running away from her sacrifice, and this scene reinforces the conflicts which were so striking throughout the entire game series in which the protagonist, who is effectively a monster hunter, sees the monstrosity in the same humanity that he’s supposed to save, and this time it’s Ciri who will face these conflicts.

Elder Blood

A curious fact about the trailer is that we don’t see Ciri using her powers. This could indicate that she lost her abilities in some way, and we can theorize that, when she underwent the mutation to become a witcher, her elf blood was altered, causing her to lose her powers and now needs to depend exclusively on her abilities as a witcher. Of course, there could be another reason, such as her not wanting to expose herself after the events of The Witcher 3.

What Happened to Geralt?

This is, most likely, the first question everyone asked themselves when watching this trailer: where is Geralt of Rivia? We can hear his voice at a certain point and the actor who voices the character in the previous games confirmed the presence of the witcher, but also that it’ll be a more restrained participation, which could indicate that Geralt will have a role similar to that of Vasemir in the previous games, or that he only appears in flashbacks.

School of the Lynx?

In the trailer, we can notice Ciri's witcher amulet, but despite being very similar to the wolf amulet we’re familiar with, it looks a bit different. This could indicate that a new school of witchers was created, perhaps by Geralt or perhaps by Ciri herself, following a new path for witchers, abandoning old customs and opening up new possibilities.

A True Heroine

Geralt is a captivating and extremely human character, but the games have always made it clear: despite his benevolence, the witcher worked killing monsters and that was his livelihood. Ciri is very different from Geralt, and it’s very likely that we’ll see more of her personal traits in the new game, with a protagonist who has a strong desire to help people. However, we know that the world of The Witcher is cruel and sadistic and choices play a fundamental role in the gameplay. So, we need to see how this will be implemented with Ciri and what dilemmas she will face on her journey.

A New World to Explore

The game will feature a map similar in size and complexity to that of The Witcher 3, but the world created by Andrzej Sapkowski is vast and rich, and it’s very likely that we’ll have new regions to explore in the fourth game, bringing new elements to the adventure.

New Mechanics and Gameplay

The Witcher is a franchise marked by important mechanics, such as potion and item crafting, movement, weather, and environment. All of this should return in the new game, but it’ll need to bring something new within what has already worked and been consolidated. In the trailer, we can see Ciri preparing for combat and also the moment when she uses a witcher potion to face the monster. We can expect even more complex combats in the new game, and potion crafting will certainly play a fundamental role in this.

The trailer also shows us a glimpse of what combat in the game could be like. Ciri uses a chain and applies her witcher magic to the weapon to attack the creature in the trailer. Combat is one of the strong points of The Witcher 3, and is still remembered today as the highlight of the gameplay. The Witcher 4 can’t be left behind and should bring even more complex and striking combat. Perhaps even greater interaction with the environment, making Ciri capable of using her surroundings strategically and wielding new weapons besides swords, such as the chain shown in the trailer.

New Monsters

The monster Ciri faces off against in the trailer is called a Bauk, a creature from Serbian folklore described as having an animalistic appearance that hides in dark places and whose name was used as a translation for Troll in the Serbian editions of J.R.R. Tolkien's works. It’s a monstrous creature that can use the fear and trauma of its victims to weaken and torment them.

We can expect new enemies like Bauk in The Witcher 4 and this leads us to the question: Who will be Ciri's antagonist?

The Witcher 4 still doesn't have a release date, and considering that the third game was first announced in 2011 and released only four years later, it's hard to think that we'll have Ciri in 2026. So, for now, we can only wait for more news.

I conclude here another article. Leave your questions, suggestions, criticisms and/or compliments in the comments. Thank you for reading and see you next time.