Summary
Even with how little is known about it currently,The Witcher 4is already primed and ready to transform the series forever, as it has officially replaced Geralt of Rivia with Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (better known as Ciri) as its new protagonist. It’s not just a new protagonist thatThe Witcher 4is introducing either, as CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the next game in theWitcherseries will be the beginning of a brand-new saga, meaning even more will follow, with Ciri likely persisting in the lead role. Ultimately, this meansThe Witcher 4has some opportunities that its last couple of predecessors didn’t, with one such opportunity offering a much larger audience in exchange for a little bit of compromise.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Huntis not only considered the best game in theWitcherseries, but also one of the best RPGs ever made. Since its release, many other RPGs have gone on tofollow inThe Witcher 3’s footsteps, especially when it comes to open-world design and storytelling. It wasn’t just these elements that allowedThe Witcher 3to soar to success, however, as it also opened a door that the two games before it neglected to open. Even so, that door was only opened ever so slightly, leavingThe Witcher 4, with its status as the beginning of a brand-new saga, in a position to finish what its predecessor started.
The Witcher 4 Needs to Go All In on Accessibility
Before the release ofThe Witcher 3, the first twogames in theWitcherserieswere widely considered inaccessible and unapproachable to a broader demographic than its potential called for. The first game in the series, simply titledThe Witcher, was possibly a bit too niche and clunky for some tastes, with an unintuitive combat system, unpolished mechanics and UI, and complex lore with very little explanation.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kingsimproved thingsa bit, but it was still hard for many newcomers to get into. The combat was better in some respects but still difficult, the story and choices were confusing, and the controls were optimized for the PC and therefore felt clunky on consoles.
Before the release ofThe Witcher 3, the first two games in theWitcherseries were widely considered inaccessible and unapproachable to a broader demographic than its potential called for.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntthen came along with increased accessibility, which ended up being a major contributor to its success and renown. Firstly,The Witcher 3’s open worldimmediately made the game more inviting, especially since it was executed so well. Secondly, combat was refined inThe Witcher 3, with dodging, parrying, and magic use all designed to be more fluid and intuitive than previous entries. There were also better tutorials and a more manageable UI, along with more player-friendly difficulty options and a console-friendly design.
The Witcher 4’s ‘New Saga’ Status Gives a Strong Case for Even Further Accessibility
Despite the improvements thatThe Witcher 3made to the series' accessibility and approachability, however, it was still considered to be a bit too complex and overwhelming for more casual players. Various aspects ofThe Witcher 3— like its inventory management, combat mechanics, story choices, and lore — still proved to be too much in some ways, despite nonetheless being improvements. Now, sinceThe Witcher 4is essentially starting things over for the series, it could open that door all the way and let even more players in by being more flexible and offering more intuitive systems.
Of course, this will require some compromise fromThe Witcher 4— a compromise that could prove to be divisive among longtime fans of the series. At the same time, if CD Projekt Red were to manage to strike the perfect balance between tradition and evolution, perhapsThe Witcher 4would see even more success than its predecessor did. By refining the elements of gameplay thatThe Witcher 3still struggled to make more accessible,The Witcher 4could be a brand-new sagafor the series in more than one way.
