The Witcher 4 Seems Like a Possibility

At the beginning of this summer I embarked on a mission to replay my way through the entire Witcher series.  I made it through games one and two fairly quickly and then got distracted by a few new purchases from the Steam summer sale.  Now that I've finished those, I'm back on track for the completion of "Witcherfest 2018!"  The Witcher 3 is my favorite game in the series, and with all the DLC, it's guaranteed to be the a nice, long adventure filled with many of my favorite moments in gaming.  Sadly, I'm already waffling (which is completely ridiculous--I've played through the game at least five times and have seen most of the outcomes) about stupid decisions.  I didn't hesitate to set the difficulty to "death march" and I've been suffering through the early levels of asskickery at the hands of various enemies (usually completely mundane ones too--like wolves).  Now I'm suffering through the toughest decision in the entire game....Triss or Yen?  (Here are my original thoughts on this arduous dilemma--"Triss or Yen?")

(This has nothing to do with The Witcher 4, but I'll get there--I swear)

There's one part of the relationship with Triss that has always bothered me--the rose of remembrance.  In the second game, the rose is a major part of the plot and players can opt to confess their love of Triss and give her the rose.  The elven legend about the rose states that it will bloom as long as love still exists between the two individuals.  In The Witcher 3, Geralt stumbles across the rose while searching through Triss's former home and it's not still blooming...it's wilted and dying.  That's supposed to be a sign that the love that exists between them is gone (any relationship between Triss and Geralt is questioned in the novels--there's a strong indication that Triss is taking advantage of the fact that Geralt loses his memory and can't remember Yennefer.  In the game, Triss does mention this fact in an early conversation with Geralt, but quickly gives up on her train of thought).  Even though I am not a big fan of Yennefer, I feel like the rose is a sign, and that she is the canon romance.  This is literally the dumbest point in the game to spend so much thought on...but I have!

Could a new Witcher game feature Ciri?

Weirdly, as soon as I started replaying TW3, some new Witcher news started rolling out.  The first piece was an interview with the actor who voiced Geralt throughout the series (Doug Cockle).  In this interview he mentions that he felt like if there was a fourth game in the series, that it should focus on Ciri rather than on Geralt (read an article about the interview w/ a link to the interview here).  Yes, this is an actor, not someone who actively works in development, so you could argue that his opinion doesn't carry much weight, but it was interesting to even hear any mention of another Witcher game.  After TW3 it seemed clear that CD Projekt wanted to move on to something new (Cyberpunk 2077--which released an amazing trailer at E3) and that the series was firmly in the rearview mirror.  Fans got a happy ending for Geralt & crew and that should be enough, right?  Wrong!  I think there is a lot of love for Ciri as a character and fans are chomping at the bit to learn more about her.  Having Geralt's VA even mention a game with Ciri lends some credence to this idea.

After this mention another piece came out that does carry more weight than a statement by a VA--the CEO of CD Projekt Red stated that even though a Witcher 4 isn't something that's actively being planned for, the studio does have an interest in eventually revisiting the universe of The Witcher.  (Read it here)  This is an exciting piece of news and one that I'm sure many fans are cheering.  I was quite surprised that after the success of The Witcher 3 that the possibility of another game was shot down very quickly and this seems like at least a positive sign.  If it did happen, it would most likely be many years in the future--Cyberpunk is under heavy development and rumors of it being released in 2019 seem unrealistic.

All of this is good news for fans of The Witcher and I personally would love to see a fourth game featuring Ciri.  We only got to see brief glimpses of Ciri in The Witcher 3, but she is a genuinely interesting character whose abilities and backstory lend themselves to a dazzling array of plot possibilities.  Here are some reasons why I think a fourth game featuring Ciri is the way to go:

1.) Geralt's story has been satisfactorily told through three games.  In Blood and Wine, you even get the ability to give him the ultimate happy ending--settling down in Toussaint with his chosen love interest to live out the rest of his days sipping wine and occasionally slaying some monsters.  It's perfect.  We've had plenty of Geralt, it's time to move on.

2.) Fans are intrigued by Ciri and we only got a few brief snippets of her character.  There is so much possibility with Ciri as the main character--her backstory is great (it was briefly explained and hinted at in TW3, but there's a boatload more that wasn't touched in the game)--namely the time where she was absent prior to the events that took place in the third game.  In the novels, she disappears while trying to evade capture by both Nilfgaard and an evil mage named Vilgefortz (not in the games).  Her Elder Blood inadvertently activates a magical mirror which acts as a portal and she winds up being teleported into the middle of a desert.  She barely manages to survive in the desert but is saved when she finds a unicorn (yup, a freakin' unicorn) that helps to carry her out.  Along the way she is captured by a crew of bounty hunters led by a Nilfgaardian named Sweers (you might remember seeing him in the Nilfgaardian Gwent deck).  They have no idea who they've captured and simply want to turn her in for some sort of payment.  While she's in captivity with the Trappers, the group meets up with another group taking captives to be sold.  It's at this point that she meets Kayleigh, another captive, and member of the notorious gang known as The Rats.  Kayleigh convinces Ciri to help him escape and they both are rescued when the rest of the gang turns up.  During the fighting, the gang sees Ciri in action and is very impressed by her abilities.  They decide to let her join up with them and she gives them a false name, Falka, to cover up her true identity.

Ciri's time with The Rats could make for a good story.  As a group, The Rats fall squarely in the grey area that The Witcher loves to wallow in--they are a gang full of teenagers and young adults who get their kicks robbing and murdering the rich.  They are known for their flamboyant dress and decking themselves out in their ill-begotten gains.  When they aren't robbing, they're partying.  It's during her time with The Rats that Ciri ends up in a relationship with Mistle (a human female, who, like all the other Rats, has a tragic backstory).  It's this relationship that leads Ciri to get the tattoo of a rose on her inner thigh (you can see the tattoo briefly in TW3 if you opt for a toweless sauna session).  Ciri's time with The Rats ends when she decides that she wants to return to Cintra to reclaim her throne.  She says goodbye to Mistle and then sneaks off before the rest of the group can find out.  (Things don't turn out well for either Ciri or The Rats.  An extremely talented and dangerous bounty hunter named Leo Bonhart sets a trap to capture the gang.  Ciri, who has left the group, finds out about the trap and attempts to warn them about it.  She's too late though--they've already attempted to attack Bonhart and fallen squarely into his trap, where they've all been slaughtered.  Ciri arrives in time to witness Bonhart kill and decapitate Mistle.  Even with her potent abilities--which, at this point in the story she has little control over--Ciri winds up being captured by Bonhart...)

I think Ciri's time with The Rats could make for a great story.  The Rats have many adventures and they are all filled with many of the same elements that make up the other games--fighting, romance, and drama.

3.) Ciri's abilities lend themselves to so many plot possibilities.  As the Lady of Worlds, Ciri can travel through time and space.  There is a point in the novels where Ciri is first learning her abilities that she has to use them to travel from world to world in order to try to find her way back to her homeworld.  All the worlds she visits are very distinct and each could have its own part in the story.  (There were some Ciri rumors that she would appear in the world of Cyberpunk 2077--those rumors have been dispelled).  How awesome would it be to play as Ciri and travel to a bunch of crazy worlds?

4.) The Lodge of Sorceresses has a vested and somewhat creepy interest in Ciri and her abilities.  In the games, The Lodge is in tatters and is only barely functioning due to the persecution of Radovid.  Toward the end of TW3, it is seemingly reforged and their interest in Ciri is restated--she is pressured to join.  I think that the Lodge could also provide a compelling part of the plot for a game.  There's a new world being led by Nilfgaard and the surviving sorceresses have all been reunited.  What role could they play in the new world?  Could they teach Ciri how to control her powers and better utilize them?  Are they just out to exploit her?  The Lodge and its motives could provide even more plot possibilities.

5.) The ending of TW3 left the door open for a continuation of the story.  (SPOILERS for TW3!)  If a fourth game did feature Ciri, the end of the third game provides ample opportunity for plot.  You either have Ciri striking out to be a Witcher or Ciri falling in with Nilfgaard (which I've always found weird, but it could work).

All of this is conjecture, but I'm excited to see some renewed interest in the world of The Witcher.  As a fan of both the games and the novels, I can't wait to hear about the possible next steps.