The Witcher video game series grew from a niche game experience with the first installment into the all-out hit that the third game became. This came thanks to the compelling storyline, strong characters, and fascinating world. And on top of this, the IP is set to become a huge undertaking thanks to Netflix investing heavily into series and films based on the story.
Related: 10 Memes That Sum Up The Witcher 3 Game
The game is often ranked as having the best storylines in gaming history and now, with CD Projekt RED announcing their plans to move forward with a 4th installment of the Witcherfranchise, it is set to develop even further. And, fans across the internet have begun discussing their expectations, desires, and needs for what the game will be.
A Set Character, Rather Than Player Built
Many players are split on what path they want the Witcher series to take. After the very compelling and emotional story of Geralt and Ciri, some players want the option of making their own witcher and build their own journey - but others disagree.
Redditor hamedam has this to say: "it makes it too much RPG rather than a more story-focused game which we loved about witcher 3." The original threeWitcher games grew to such popularity thanks to their fantastic storylines which gave players an emotional journey. This is much harder to do with a player-created character since that narrative power and control aren't as strong.
A Flexible Story Narrative
Perhaps counter to the last point, UndeathlyKnight is interested in the possibility of a more player-reactive storyline: "Easing up on the world design means more resources can be devoted to creating a narrative more capable of reacting to your choices and altering the plot in potentially enormous ways."
The current Witcher games have earned numerous awards and accolades for their storytelling, providing a complex and emotional storyline that is grounded in the world provided. With CD Projekt RED's recent adventure into sci-fi in Cyberpunk 2077, they have shown they are just as capable with original and less strict storylines as well.
More Of Their Favorite Characters
The Witcheris well known for providing depth to every character, even small side-quest characters. Most players are eager to see more of their favorite characters that they grew attached to in past games. While Ciri and Geralt are obvious choices, many are eager to see characters like the bard Dandelion.
Related: 6 Quests To Revisit In The Witcher 3 After Watching Season 2
solitaryviking97 says they want to see the witcher Eskel's journey, saying "I feel like it would have great potential for a sequel." Eskel is a character who made an appearance on the Netflix show, but fans of the game were disappointed with his arc and adaption. Seeing his and others'return would be a great way to bridge the gap between a new and old story.
A Time Before Witchers Died Out
PunisherKills wants to see a time long before the current age thatplayers have seen in the Witcher universe. "It would give CDPR a fresh start away from the books and allow them to check out an underexplored time period." There is a great deal of potential for this as well.
Geralt's story starts at the very end of the age of witchers when they have been all but wiped out by monsters, men, and mages. Witchers were once a veritable army of monster-hunters, with many orders within their ranks, but Geralt is one of the last witchers in existence, and there is little chance that more can be made. More witchers would also provide opportunities for multiplayer play, should CD Projekt RED decide to attempt it.
See The Origins Of The Witchers
Reddit User NPCnr348592 wants to go even further back in the history of the Witcher's universe: "I'd love to roam the world and learn things about the monsters, creating the bestiary from the scratch, getting in touch with Mahakkam dwarves and have them craft silver swords for the first time... Sounds pretty amazing."
There is plenty of history to be found in the various books and lore of the Witcher games, much of it exploring how earlier generations of witchers discovered how to fight the monsters that were populating their world. Exploring this, or even a world that had only just undergone the conjunction - the apocalyptic merging of the human and monster universes - would provide an epic world to explore.
More Of The World
truthisscarier wants to build on the world gamers already seen and open up the borders to more exploration. "I'd also like all the areas in W3 too be unlocked in addition too Zerrikania, Kovir, The Amell Mountains, Mahakam and more of Vizima." This would be an excellent route to go, considering how well regarded the world-building and setting of the games has been.
Related: The 10 Saddest Side Quests In The Witcher
With more than 6 novels and 15 short stories from The Witcher's author Andrzej Sapkowski, there is a monumental amount of backstory to build upon. Additionally, CD Projekt RED has shown themselves to be skilled at building original characters and settings within their own games, providing new and exciting territories to explore.
More In-Depth Combat System
Xpelie25 is a player focused on the gameplay itself thatthey want: "Combat needs to be engaging and different for every school and build." The Witcher game series is notable for its storylines, but the gameplay itself has often fallen flat compared to the depth and care given to the writing.
Because of how witchers perform their work in the lore, much of the player's time is spent preparing and planning out how they will fight the scariest monsters of the Witcher world. It can be very rewarding to see the time and effort put in preparations pay off, but with very simplistic attacks and choices in combat, gameplay can be a repetitive cycle of potions and poisons.
A More Immersive World
Redditor Rich_Plastic says that one major improvement could be a more immersive world, with more in-depth changes from day-to-day. "One of the nights could be a full moon and the map will fill up with werewolves." While Witcher 3 had some small time-dependent monsters, like noon-wraiths and vampires, this could be built upon further.
Monsters in the Witcher world often have very realistic explanations for their behaviors, and adding to this aspect could make the hunting that much more immersive. The monthly werewolf cycle is an obvious addition, butincorporating things like migration patterns or breeding seasons could add opportunities to add to the creature's challenges.
Fewer Bugs And Technical Issues
Reddit user AwakenMirror has concerns, but they are fair ones. Awaken only asks that CD Projekt RED avoid the launch-day issues that Cyberpunk 2077 had, voicing concern by saying: "Another huge bugfest and they might just be over and out." As CD Projekt RED is a smaller developer, this is a fair concern, but they also have built a huge following thanks to their games.
Cyberpunk 2077 did have many issues on launch day, and many games and developers have reputations for having a lot of bugs. This complaint is understandable when placed alongside the growingdesire among gamers for their games to run more smoothly, even at the cost of some graphics.
More Geralt... Maybe
While this is another request that divides the fanbase, SkippingTheDots asks for one thing: More Geralt. Of Geralt's story, Skipping says "There’s so much book material, it’s kind of sad that it’s already being summed up with only 3 games." And there are dozens more storylines that could be explored.
This said, many fans also say that Geralt deserves his well-earned rest. UndeathlyKnight voices the concern many have very succinctly: "Don't turn him into a comic book character who exists only to be recycled endlessly because he's easy to market." The easy answer is to feature Geralt as a retired witcher who can provide guidance to the new character, but the fact remains that many aren't ready to give up Geralt just yet.
Next: 10 Things To Know Before Starting The Witcher 3 Game
