The Witcher IV — Cinematic Reveal Trailer | The Game Awards 2024

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Oh, piss off, Google.
https://www.ign.com/videos/the-witcher-4-official-cinematic-reveal-trailer-the-game-awards-2024
https://www.youtube.com/embed/54dabgZJ5YA
- How do you get around YouTube sign in prompts?
  
  In this case, replace /watch?v= with /embed/, but I don't know if it works in every situation.
  
  @remindme@mstdn.social 1 day

REALLY annoyed that Ciri is quaffing potions since I thought a big deal was that she never had the witcher mutations since Triss (?) realized it was a really bad idea to give a menstruating young girl all those mutagens. So those should basically leave her in horrific pain on the ground after she chugs them.
One of the things that made her segments Work so well in TW3 was that she very clearly was NOT Geralt... she was something simultaneously less and massively more powerful. Which is why her wandering off to become a Witcher in all the good endings was so powerful. She is not a Witcher but she IS someone who can fight like one and who can do some good in the world.
But very excited. I think there is a LOT of room for Ciri to call out the misogynistic bullshit of the average medieval-ish fantasy culture (and we saw shades of that). Not entirely sure I trust CDPR for this though. Sometimes they do real good and sometimes it feels like the joke is that that woman has a dick. Time will tell.
But a few people noticed that Bluesky has Austin Walker listed as part of CDPR Boston (?). I suspect that is just an anomaly or maybe some contract work but... I trust Austin to speak Truth and convince people just how much power they have to write a ridiculously powerful female character in medieval-ish Europe.
Also, I assume CDPR is reading this because of course they are. So here is something free. Ciri is not the Butcher of Blavikan like her father. She is the "Butcher of whatever fucking town this is" if people don't get out of her way and let her help people.
- We’ll just have to see what explanation they give. Did she get herself mutated eventually? Are the potions diluted/weaker? (I remember a quest where Geralt feeds a normal human a small dose of one of his potions.)
  Would it be more interesting to have a Ciri that specifically doesn’t have most of the Witcher powers? Maybe, but I can understand them wanting to keep most of the gameplay staples. It looks like they are trying to keep most of Geralt’s moves and then adding some new ones.
  Whatever happens, it should be interesting! I think what I’m most excited about is Ciri has a different morality and worldview - I’m excited to see how that ends up affecting the writing.
  Of course I’m not taking it for granted it will be good, but I am hopeful.
  
  (I remember a quest where Geralt feeds a normal human a small dose of one of his potions.
  https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/On_Death%27s_Bed
  Sadly, none of this denoted a happy ending. Though the wounds on Lena's body healed, the toxins in the witcher's brew had melted her mind. This was not the first time a cure had proven worse than the disease
  The witcher potions are RIDICULOUSLY toxic
- Or they wanted to play off that kneejerk reaction to get you engaged. Ciri studied under Triss, Yen, and Avala'ch and knows actual magic. They could just be the more powerful actual versions of what witchers try and emulate.
- Regarding the potions, I haven't read the books, but the wiki alludes to "Children of Destiny" not needing the trials, of which Ciri is part of. Even if that's not it, I don't think a grown woman choosing to undergo the trials is comparable to forcing it on a child. Pretty badass, tbh.
  
  Not sure if it was optional (I THINK I missed it my first playthrough at launch?) but as part of TW3 you put someone through the trials as an adult. And it basically liquifies their body and causes immense suffering so that magic can be used to turn a pile of Clarence Boddicker back into the person's real form.
  It wouldn't be the first retcon or outright ignoring of lore in the CDPR series (or the author's books for that matter...) but it just feels particularly egregious because Ciri very specifically is NOT a Witcher and her choosing to live that life was her rejecting destiny and taking control of herself. But also? She can never truly escape that destiny.
- Are they witcher potions though? Or are they the kind the sorcerers use?
  
  I think they’re Witcher potions. Based on her eyes, I’d guess she underwent the mutations.
  I agree the “women cannot be witchers” thing always seemed sexist, but making her a witcher is a nerf more than anything. She didn’t teleport once in the teaser. A weird but welcome flip from ‘the female character didn’t earn it’ to ‘they took away everything she earned’ that we’re seeing in the social media reactions.
- I always imagined a Ciri game as a more action-oriented and somewhat more over-the-top spin-off based on how she played in Witcher 3. But honestly I’ll be content as long as it’s a good game

Ciri hyyyyypppppeeeeee
- This trailer is why I can't really get into the Netflix series version of Ciri. She just doesn't have this.

Have they even written a line of code yet?
Guess neither people nor they learned that infinite hype is a disgustingly fake practice.
- They’ve been working on it full-time for two years, so yeah. They’ve probably written one or two lines.
- It was already reported entering full production some time ago
- Even if they'd take a decade from now to release it, I wouldn't mind. If I've learnt anything from CDPR it's that masterpieces take time, and I'd much rather have a masterpiece in a decade than something half finished now.
  
  a decade, and than multiple years to make them playable with broken promises and lies.
  Masterpieces alright.

I sure hope CDPR is up to the task. Witcher 3 is one of the greatest games ever made, but I've been burned by Blizzard into knowing that a great trailer doesn't portend a great game.
- I need to actually start on 3. I’ve had it for several years, just never got around to playing it.
  
  I booted it up recently, and it holds up really well. It hits a perfect balance of narrative and action while largely avoiding repetitive fetch quests and the like. And both of the DLC are excellent - Hearts of Stone has the best plot line in the game while Blood and Wine has the most beautiful locations.
  
  I played the second late and then the third. I think it simplified too much some parts of the gameplay to please the mass, but the atmosphere and writing are still really good.

AHHH this raises so many questions. So ready for this.

Was that an electric Aard variation? I think there are some modified signs going on that look pretty cool.
- Pretty sure she will not be limited to signs. Signs are the most basic magic, Ciri will most likely have actual spells in her arsenal.
  
  Badass
- They tried a hydrogen one first, but it just wasn't practical..

Who's that ugly fucker that took the Leshen's place?
Anyway, let's wait and see in what state it releases.

Seems a bit early.
- They’ve been working on it since they finished the next gen update for 3. That’s about two years now.
  They’ve also said they learned their lesson with CP2077, so they aren’t going to give release dates or spend massive amounts on marketing this time around.
  
  I will believe it when I see it because I don't believe their words at all. CDPR have good PR, but it's still all corpo bs underneath.
  This is already an early trailer, so it seems they are following in CP2077's footsteps so far.

So we’ll see this game in 2033 yeah?

Holy shit i didn't even know this was a thing.

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