A remake of The Witcher has been announced – why the first The Witcher was cool and what awaits us in the future

“His name was Geralt of Rivia…”

It is, of course, worth starting with the plot. Each of the three Geralt games offered a great main story that ran smoothly through the series, as well as plenty of side missions. However, the first part is special in many ways. It felt most strongly the atmosphere and ‘spirit’ of the book series.

The developers did not hope for worldwide success, so they made the project, as they say, “for the fans.” Almost all recognizable features of the original source were immediately guessed in the game. Unfavorable Geralt, universal racism towards elves and dwarves (leprechauns), stupid peasants, court intrigue, humor and most importantly – the same gray morality and the choice of the lesser evil.

Moreover, since the books often referred to “neutrality of the witches”, in the game you could also sometimes not take sides and go your own way. Now this approach is rare for RPGs.

The opening screensaver still looks like a full-fledged short cartoon.The opening screensaver still looks like a full-fledged short cartoon.

Due to technical limitations, the world was not seamless and was divided into several large locations. However, there were many of them: Kaer Morhen, Vizima, the suburbs, swamps – this is only a small part of the places where the witch would visit. At the same time, each area is filled with various side missions, some of which were standard monster hunts, while others were full-fledged stories that developed over several chapters.

The consequences of the election were also very unequivocal and, as a rule, overtook Geralt very quickly. Because of this, until the end, the feeling that the White Wolf really influenced the world around him did not disappear and the decisions took on more meaning.

Sometimes CD Projekt RED didn’t hesitate to quote books, which made the semantic content of the game feel fuller and closer to the literary source. It’s important to note that The Witcher was a continuation of the original Geralt’s story. It won’t be a spoiler to say that at the end of the saga, the white-haired dies in a stupid fight with the peasants. For many, such an ending seemed too bleak, but Andrzej Sapkowski, who wrote the whole series of novels, never distinguished himself by paying attention to the opinions of the fans.

It took a lot of courage to decide to turn the same Geralt of Rivia into a hero, not to rewrite his plot, but to move on from where it seemed that there could be no ellipse. The internet is full of videos where the developers recall how the discussions went. Creating an RPG with a specific character whose character and outlook on life is already formed means depriving the players of a certain freedom, but in the end the risk was justified.

There were almost no screensavers in the game, but there were artThere were almost no screensavers in the game, but there were art

Now we can say for sure that Geralt of Rivia not only became an excellent protagonist, but also loved the fans very much, who were the first buyers of the future hit. It was in the first part that the White Wolf most closely resembled his description from the books.

No mountains of muscles and a perfect body. The monster slayer has always been thin and sickly pale. Exhausted by terrible experiments, as well as constant hunger and lack of sleep, his face did not dare to call him beautiful, although many wizards found in him a special masculinity. It is also important that the witches did not wear heavy armor – this hindered the battle against monsters, where it is of utmost importance to maintain inhuman speed and coordination.

All these details are fully implemented in the game. Changing swords, the hero always remained in the same clothes, and his face looked little like the appearance of a Hollywood actor. In the future, the developers have nevertheless moved away from the canon in favor of the greater popularity of the character, so the White Wolf sharply more beautiful. All the more valuable is the very first part.

Ever since we remembered the swords, the combat system deserves a few words. And she was an amateur. Geralt used different fighting styles, each suited to different situations. An important feature of the two blades has also been preserved: steel for humans and silver for monsters. The attacks were automatic, but it was necessary to follow the rhythm and press the “hit” in time so that Geralt would deal more damage and perform complex combos.

The forest in the remake should look very coolThe forest in the remake should look very cool

Many were not going to fight with one button, but you can’t call it simple or stupid. All the important features of Geralt’s profession have been meticulously recreated. Before combat (and during), he could drink elixirs that strengthen certain indicators and abilities, as well as use signs, of which there were as many as five. As the melee battles progressed, combos also became more difficult. In short, all this opened up an impressive space for diversity and different builds.

“Hey Geralt, what’s the rhyme for the word ‘witch’?”

Unfortunately, few people remember the first part today. The time difference between the beginning of history and its end was a long eight years. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has become so successful that many gamers started their introduction to the world of Geralt on their own.

Today, The Witcher is irrevocably obsolete. Of course, you can discover the plot of the conflict resolved in the Wild Hunt, but not everyone will want to endure the old graphics, which did not particularly shine at release, and wooden animations.

This is where a remake comes in handy. Recent Reimagining Announcements Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 4 sparked great interest in the gaming community. Good luck Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake proves that people are willing to buy and replay really good old games. The main thing is not to spoil what once earned them their popularity: the atmosphere and gameplay features.

Where without utopiansWhere without utopians

Obviously Geralt’s appearance will change. The easiest way is to upgrade the model to the Witcher from the third part, although the hero will certainly not become exactly the same. In any case, the famous wavy hair, and not the fashionable ponytail, should remain. We think we’re waiting for something in between, between the fragile witch from the original and the sex machine from the Wild Hunt.

The size of the map will also increase and the world will become completely seamless. This was officially confirmed by CD Projekt RED when they announced during their presentation that a certain third-party studio is working on an open world game, codenamed Canis Majoris. Now we know for sure that this was a remake of The Witcher.

However large, the history of the first part develops within the same city and area in the neighbourhood. Vizima doesn’t even come close to Novigrad, but this will probably be corrected. Many players didn’t like that quests forced them to run back and forth. With a high degree of probability, the White Wolf will have the famous Roach. If the tasks do not change significantly, the horse will save time moving.

The combat system – a point of contention and the main point of contention – will definitely be reworked. I would like something more original than a simple phone call with weak and firm blows, but it is better not to create unnecessary expectations. It is very likely that the fight will be copied completely from the third part.

As for the main thing – the plot – everything is ambiguous here. The main story probably won’t change as it is closely related to the two sequels, but it can be expanded and supplemented with new scenes and details. But there will certainly be more side effects. The remake will be taken by the Polish studio Fool’s Theory, which is rumored to employ many people from CD Projekt RED. New developers will certainly not miss the opportunity to create an open world no worse than in the third part, well, we are only happy with the content of The Witcher.

***

The Witcher remake promises to be an event no less ambitious than the Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 4 rethink. graphics, of course. We really hope that all will be well, that the modern generation of gamers can experience the wonderful beginnings of Geralt of Rivia’s gaming history, and that fans will finally start playing something other than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Curious about the remake of The Witcher?

All screenshots from The Witcher can be viewed here.