The Witcher 3 Launch Trailer is....wow.

Last night I learned of a recently launched trailer for the upcoming game The Witcher 3.  The trailer is being dubbed the "launch" trailer even though the North American release of the game is another 4 days away.  This new trailer is....freakin' awesome.  I don't say that lightly.  Watch it!  (I wish I could recreate the stupid way I giggled when I watched this.  I'm so excited for this game to come out and this trailer just makes me feel even more antsy for its release)

So it kind of caught me off guard--the intro with the woman singing made me think there was some sort of tragedy going on.  Then, I heard the gravelly voice of Geralt and knew immediately...that's no lady, it's a monster.  What kind of monster though?  The graphics in this video are stunning.  When the woman/monster pulls down her hair...it looks so real.  If the game is anything like this it's going to be amazing.  Geralt also looks so much better than he has in previous games.  I am loving all the little details that they have added--the spurs and the rattling medallion.  If you've read the book you know that the medallion is a really important part of Geralt's attire.  There have been some attempts in the previous games to reference his vibrating medallion, but it's really cool to finally see if fleshed out in this video.

Another little detail that I really liked was Geralt popping a potion and seeing his eyes glow and his blood turn to acid (I can't remember the name of the potion that does this--it's some sort of anti-vampire elixir).  The fight also shows off Geralt's abilities as a witcher--his sword skills as he frantically fights off the monster and then his use of magical skills to shield and then push the monster back.

There's something really sad about Geralt taking out this monster and I think this fact represents a lot of the more difficult decisions that he is forced to make and the whole internal conflict he has about different aspects of his profession and life.  As a witcher it is his destiny to slay monsters...but he doesn't, and often can't bring himself, to slay every monster that he meets.  There are several instances throughout the series of short stories where he actually decided to save or side with the monsters that people expect him to slay.

If you're like me and a big fan of The Witcher series then this trailer is very exciting.  I've already pre-loaded the game and can't wait to start adventuring as Geralt of Rivia.