Reminder! This is a ✨book✨ channel NOT a Witcher channel. The Witcher is definitely the most important series in my life so it does get a larger focus than any other book/series, but the Witcher videos are spread out. Seeing lots of people saying that I think Geralt and Yen should choose for Ciri whether she does the trial or not. I DO NOT SAY THAT. **i say that she's an adult and can make her own choices.** in my interpretation of her character i think she would ask them for ADVICE. We don't know why she wants to take the mutations. If she just randomly decides one day that she wants to be real witcher just because I don't see G&Y saying the Trial is a good idea and I don't see her going rogue in that case. If it's for a reason like Neon Knight proposes to protect herself from people wanting to use her as a pawn again bc of the prophecy/Elder Blood (which would be a really compelling idea!!!), then i totally see it going a different way. The point that I'm trying to make is that we don't know anything about this game substantial enough to make a judgment either way. All i want is a compelling story behind it all and the devs have been nothing but reassuring! I am not trying to infantilize her or take away her agency. I don't think asking your parents for advice is either of those. And i definitely DO NOT think that Geralt/Yen should make her choices for her. I am relatively new to this. I'm still learning how to formulate my thoughts. Please be kind. Also, an article has since come out that only reassures me more: www.eurogamer.net/the-witcher-4-dev-cd-projekt-red-talks-ciri-fan-reaction-playable-geralt-coyness-and-if-the-game-will-honour-your-previous-choices And this is a great video from a lore perspective: ruclips.net/video/hq-sfefAvFA/видео.html Also also I'm less confident with my claim that the sword is the same one Geralt gives Ciri after rewatching the trailer more times. oopsie. just a girl 🎀 Also also also I made a mistake!! The Polish voice actress IS DIFFERENT! Should've double checked... she really just sounded so so similar to me that i mistook them for the same person.
@valliyarnl i'm kinda jealous of the fact that you speak polish so the polish actress playing her again is a great callback so to speak. It kind of threw me off when I heard her VA in english has changed but so far the new actress sounds promising.
I LOVE that you pointed out the Polish Identity aspect in both the games and Netflix show. It was so much more than missing the story beats.. the show simply failed to acknowledge the cultural influence from Sapkowski’s written narrative.
@@enemystand2981 It feels like a lot of americans think that Europe is just one place with one culture; or something like America but a little different. While in fact Europe is a huge continent with so much diversity between countries and cultures that it's hard to even know all of those cultures. Even countries that share a border are totally different, while in American when you cross a state border, it is not that much different in the next state.
wow David I am really taken aback. Once again I am so grateful and I'm so happy that you think the video was of value. I hope you're having a beautiful day :)
Totally agree with everything except for the part about the Trial of the Grasses and becoming an actual witcher. You captured Ciri's personality perfectly. I think it’s entirely plausible that Ciri would want to undergo the Trial of the Grasses to become a 'full' witcher. Regarding compensation, it seems she may have lost her ability to teleport. As for the School of the Lynx, it makes sense since Geralt wouldn’t initiate it, and Ciri likely wouldn’t ask him. Turning to Lambert and Keira feels like a logical choice.
I love when people have nuanced opinions about adaptation. faithfulness can be good, but changes are necessary and most of the time, they make things better. I can't wait to see where they take the story and I can't wait to hear what you think about it!
Thanks a lot for this video and the passion!!! I can't reveal any spoilers, but we definitely won't take the trial lightly - it's a huge deal, and how this could even work for Ciri, and how others react to this happening, is definitely a huge part of the story we're going to tell!
Thank you for this! Not gonna' lie, this is the thing that might be a deal breaker for me (which won't be a huge surprise to you, I think that a lot of players and fans in general feel the same way). Wishing you the best of luck in creating great new stories in this incredible world.
That's good to hear, it would be nice if you could reveal something more about the endings of w3, e.g. the political situation on which we had influence. Will w4 take our choices into account? Or at least he didn't deny it?
Just a friendly reminder, in case it's not too late. Looking through the Americanized "freedom of choice" lens is not the only lens through which to look at freedom from oppression. The choice is not the important part, it's the oppression, and being free from it.
gosh that's an embarrassing mistake on my part! Should've double checked. It sounded really similar to me so I just believed the comment I saw. Thank you so much for the correction!
Anna Cieslak has a very youthful voice. She often dubbed children's voices. She wouldn't suit the more mature Ciri. And on top of that, the trailer foreshadows her dark moments during what I think are Ciri's struggles to reverse her destiny (what destiny?).
She’s also bringing the head back as proof that the contract was completed. With the monster head being brought back and the *“Witcher, whose coin did you take?”* _[camera cuts to the father, father looks down in shame]_ my instinct is telling me the father hired her in secret. When we’re in the game, I think the right decision will be to tell her to run away and never go back, or maybe wait for us outside the cave. It’s definitely not telling her to go back to the village without us, lol.
@@Pårchmēntôswhat makes you so sure that this is gonna be an in-game quest? I’m assuming it’s gonna be more like the Witcher 3 ‘killing monsters’ (and other) trailers where they take place before the events of the game, and the player has no control over them.
I love your take on Ciri and the Wichter (4) ; I also have to say that "Neon Knight" did an awesome job on this topic, lets all be patient and w8 for the Wichter 4 to surprise us all:); unfortunately everybody has to screem out loud, before researching and beig rational; so thank you for putting weight into your arguments by referering to the actual source material:)! Merry Christmas and a happy new year 🎉
Thank you so much! And I am glad that what you said comes across! When I make mistakes I write them in the pinned comment. We are all fallible after all :) and yeah I love Neon Knight! His video was amazing 🤩
My reaction was pretty much the same as yours, initially I had a huge problem with Ciri's eyes because I thought it meant we would start the game with her after the trial. But after a few dev interviews they put emphasis on the game representing the "way of becoming a witcher". So I really hope we get to experience her decision, because as you said her whole witcher family is basically against creating more witchers and also lacks the mutagens to do it, so undergoing a probably deadly experiment done by people you don't know (lynx school) sounds quite a stretch. That being said, my suspicion would be that it's a school in Kovir - since (if I remember this correctly) originally mages performed the trial in Kaer Morhen and a lot of them went to Kovir. Also in the end sequence of W3 the narrator said the "ashen haired witcher was known from the Yaruga to Kovir" .. and lastly I simply would like to see Esterad Tyssen and Suleika ^^
oh my gosh Kovir and especially Lan Exeter have been my dream Witcher locations ever since i read the books so i am hooooopppinngggg that we see some of it
I hope that will be done by playing Geralt in the intro to the story part, making Ciri a Witcher and personally handing over the swords.. or something like that.. :) If they go at all in the direction TLOU 2 did i will come personally to Poland to meet some dev's..
My guess is we'll start after she took the trial (important gameplay wise as new players need to learn the mechanics) and then go back to see what happened later in the game.
Appreciate all your videos about the Witcher! Haven’t seen anyone on RUclips with better expertise on the Witcher universe! Looking forward to more videos!
When the guy asks "who's coin did ye take" the camera pans to the Father who looks down in shame, classic body language if you've done something you're not suppose to. Also as a side note, unreal 5 and meta human will make for some phenomenal facial expresions.
OH yeah, it is amazing... Especially in STALKER 2 which is UE5 too! (sarcasm) Don't assume they'll implement every tech libraries that UE5 comes with. It's quite probable, yes, but not guaranteed. I just hope they'll not assume everyone has raytracing capable graphics card and at least 10th gen cpu (dunno what equavelent for AMD) as the minimal requirements for this game.
@@Hiddenus1 Witcher 3 was really well optimised as evidenced by the fact that I was able to play it on my utter potato of a PC I had back in 2015, with variable settings. And I expect the same thing with this next game. I expect them to apply everything they learned from the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk and not repeat any of the mistakes.
@@mujexzilla Well yes. It was extremely well optimized...REDEngine. Not Unreal Engine. Switching engines can cause challenges (not that the RED team failed on learning and improving, as ie. Witcher 3). As for optimalisation. STALKER 2 alone (which is UE5 as we know) runs in 40-288 for my friend with far better PC than mine, while I run it on 13-78 on semi-minimal requirements (while running on high-epic xD). STALKER barely used benefits of Nanite, which was supposed to be the gamechanger of this engine, but isn't well used yet. Lumen is used in game, but it is... Well... it requires improvements otherwise it's like relying on AO maps but instead of instant switch depending on scenario it tries to blend them along with calculating htem on the fly. It failed in all games I had chance to use it in them (which isn't many... Satisfactory and Stalker only :| ). Meta Human is yet another in-engine tech. You need meshes designed to be used with said Meta Human. Or made with it. I do 3D stuff that isn't SFW so I know how expecting the engine being able to handle some rig stuff isn't equal to making everything in that engine looking perfect. Another reference example can be Source engine and it's own expression system and models that weren't designed for this engine, merely ported to it. So if you port it from different engine, it's gonna be a problem. (something I suspect that occured to Stalker 2 development in those 15 years). You can modify a bicycle to look like a car, but it will never be a car. Also "fuck you". I'm going now to get stuck on Velen quests now... again. xD On a side note. I think current games are made in UE4 first then they switch to UE5 and that's why it sucks harder than Sasha Gray did for her whole carrier combined.
absolutely loved this take, nuanced and not too extreme on either side, acknowledging some concerns without just dismissing them but without being a doomsayer either
The problem is the fact that any company goes to the EU or US it becomes a left feminist company I love ciri and knew we’d play as her but I’m sick of Americans and Europeans ruining these stories to fit their own politics
@@GnasherGear Geralt's story was done and the previous game set up ciri as the most likely candidate for the next games. Female protagonists have always been a thing and their existence isn't automatically political. Also CDPR cannot be a "leftist company" when their main goal is to make money for their shareholders, while making their employees work crazy hours to release games by a specific deadline.
Lowkey one of the coolest part of Ciri being the protagonist is we can finally explore a lot of elements the games never went over. Like Kelpie as the horse instead of Roach; or meeting the Unicorn again. Also maybe she can use magic better than most witchers since she was trained by the Lodge
Honestly one of the first thoughts I had was: Ciri as the protagonist. Means we will be riding a horse named Kelpie. And we had better get a blood and wine sort of mission, Where we get to talk to Kelpie. (Talking to roach was one of my top 3 moments in Witcher 3).
@@motocross_cooperI hope we get a mission where we visit toussaint and have a father daughter monster hunt with Geralt. See yen on the vinyard. Catch up on what Ciri has been up to.
I like that Geralt is using a longsword, as it is the closest in length to what would be a period-accurate hunting tool a boar spear. Which was one of the main points of critique of his tools for work. The useful range of a longsword 120mm held in one hand (presuming you have enough strength to do so) is similar to 210m when held with botwo hands.
@@HanSolo__ "presuming you have enough strength to do so" Have you ever had such a sword in your hand? Weight is about 2-3 kg. Weight is not a problem, just the length of the sword and the balance point to fence effectively with one hand
@@HanSolo__ holding a sword in two hands shortens the effective reach of the user, not lengthen it, due to how body mechanics work. Wielding a sword one handed gives the user more reach, due to being able to tilt your body sideways and reach out fully with the arm. I have no idea where this "120mm becomes 210mm when two handing" is coming from. How the hell does the swors suddenly grow by 90cm just because you hold it in two hands!? And actual longswords aren't heavy either.
13:29 the problem of Ciri as main protagonist is solely with 'anti-woke' part of gaming community. It's not that she's bad looking or not fitting the setting( because objectively she's looking modest-to-good, just regular slavic woman), it's just we're in dawn of 2024, where whole western gamedevs proven that "correctness and inclusivity" is main focus of game's design. So woman as main protagonist in fourth settlement of so far male protagonist' franchise does this neuron activation. Especially when you dive a bit deeper to find that CD Projekt is kinda-woke developer and simply fans don't want to get hurt as fans of Dragon Age got. Unfortunately being "just" a reader doesn't give you whole picture of "Ciri as the new witcher" problemacy, but don't get me wrong: your insight as a one who've eaten up all of books many times reader is more than of value :)
if ciri would look the same but older (30-40 y old women can still look great) as in witcher 3 ppl would not complain about her and be more optimistic about ciri-mutant retcon, don't sell me that "she is older" she looks like after cheap face plastic surgeries. AI imidiatly proven that you can make 50 y old looking ciri more attractive all that is still NOT a solid indicator that cdpr "gone woke" or whatever, but based on witch ppl left company and witch ppl joined, we can be CERTAIN that this company is being hayjacked by ppl who are ready to downgrade game to push they ideology in the end whatever witcher 4 will be good or not, the game will release in 4 years at least, and by that time gamers will be EXHOUSTED by "woman swinging a sword" type games
The fact that female witchers dont exist, doesn't mean that it is not possible. It is said that the first magician that mad eexperiments in witchers also tested womans in first glance, but for lack of positive feedbacks from the pacients, he stoped and just kept with men, it is NEVER said once that woman witcher are not possible to be created.
I think the witcher mutations that she undergo is corrupting the elder blood genetics, that's why she only able to use signs and some kind of magic (the watery then become lightning thing). And the reason why she wanted the mutations is because, in some scene in TW3 in Novigrad, Ciri said to Geralt that she wanted to be "normal" without the Elder Blood powers, well, in my theory the witcher mutations corrupted her genetics, and give her that (the part "without the Elder Blood powers, not the become "normal" part tho). And, how she able to undergo mutations is because, Yennefer still knows the recipe for the Trial of the Grasses (the scene of lifting Uma's curse with the Trial of the Grasses, turning it back to original Avallac'h), and even the mutagens (maybe?) to make a Witcher. But, the reason why Yennefer would agree to that, is still remains a mystery. Also, in the scene of lifting Uma's curse with the Trial of the Grasses, Yennefer able to do stabilizing spells to increase the survival rate of the Trial of the Grasses. This (maybe?) can increase the survival rate from 3/10 to better rate like 9/10. And, in the TW3 B&W DLC, there is a side quest in Toussaint where Geralt receive a letter from Yennefer about Professor Tomas Moreau’s research. The research is about Witcher Mutations and how to reverse it, but instead make the mutations even stronger and more powerful (proven by Geralt that gained new powers). There is should be some detailed informations about Witcher Mutations (that can be used to make new Witchers, maybe even new and more powerful witchers?) in Professor Moreau’s secret lab that Geralt visited. So, based on TW3 lore alone, there's a continuity to the story and lore itself. What’s your opinion about my theory? Pardon my bad english.
yeah tbh i can totally see that being foreshadowing for W4 and a way that the devs tie the two stories together! Definitely would be very interesting. The watery magic I think is part of her Source powers that she has in the books (though she gives them up in a desert, but is able to access them once or twice afterwards if I remember correctly). I could see the mutations reawakening them tho! Thank you for the donations and your English isn't bad at all! Have a lovely day :D
I love your videos! You're obviously very in love with the lore, and your Polish background adds a layer I wouldn't have on my own. I am SO EXCITED for this game and seeing our little girl all grown up 😍
The only reason I can think of why Ciri would want to be a full witcher and go through the trial of grasses is maybe she doesn't want to use her natural elder blood magic. swearing it off as using that magic could only attract the attention of world-ending foes like that of the wild hunt. This would cause her to rely on weaker mutated magic like the witcher's magic.
Great video and great perspective. Three things to add: 1. In the books, Ciri is said to have been fed mushrooms at Kaer Morhen with some mutagenic properties. This was apparently something that young would-be witchers underwent before taking the Trial of the Grasses and could therefore have been a way of boosting their chances of surviving the Trial. 2. Before the fight with Eredin at the end of the Witcher 3, a second Conjunction of the Spheres happens. Monsters of all kinds fall from the sky, and one can surmise that this happened elsewhere in the world too. If a whole host of new monsters were added to the world, this means that witchers suddenly become more useful than they were before, which perhaps is another point of encouragement for the very principled and good-hearted Ciri to go down this path. 3. One sorceress in particular I can think of that would help Ciri become a witcher to try to gain influence over her is Philippa Eilhart. She's known to do literally anything to increase her personal power. I love your channel; keep up the good work!
I think you missed one thing, where ciri uses a falling stream of water as a source to cast a spell when she's held back to the wall. The spell is not a witcher sign, not a heliotrope, not aard and it looks like its Alzur's lightning spell or ball of lightning spell which were mentioned in previous games and books. The trailer doesn't only callback Geralt, it's also Yennefer callback, where she taught Ciri how to get energy from sources and cast spells. It was believed that Ciri renounced magic powers after fire magic on a desert fiasco, but here together with quen signs it seems that she has magic power back different than her elder blood powers. Anyone else noticed that in a trailer? edit: also nice video as always Wera
I noticed, it's confirmed in the trailer breakdown, too "[...]we are showcasing something special about Ciri. Ciri is a powerful Source. She can drain the energy out of the elements in this world and catalyze it into the very powerful spell."
Yes that was my first though as well seeing her draw from the waterfall. Glad to see you mention it, as I was wondering if I was making up it's relevance.
@misiojab yes she's clearly using traditional magic. Which means this version of her is even more removed from her original character, as ciri was unable to use magic because she was a living source. They have removed everything that made ciri unique.
@@patrickkinnear8625 well, original character of ciri was able to cast spells and conjure magic in the books (during stay at melitele monastery she demolished the shed magically) but she had difficult time doing that probably because she was learning the ropes or maybe it was hard because elder blood but that is a largely speculative angle of interpretation. So pretty much the trailer makes sense that ciri could be conjuring spells. The two most controversial things are "she's a woman, so she can't pass trial of the grasses" and "she renounced the magic power" during desert chapter in the book. These two bases are pretty weird in itself if looked at them logically and it would be best to ask the author about them. Cd project took those two loose "rules" and made some excuse for breaking them which we are going to see in 4th game - question is how they approached this as it is not an easy thing to explain really along with the lore. Idea for breaking them is good for the game as it unleashes potentially new way of gameplay and nicely shows both Geralts and Yennefers hand in raising Ciri but how it ties with the lore? We may just wait and see I guess
To be fair, my canon explanation for how she got mutagens to undergo Trial of the Grasses etc. is that she travelled through space and time to contact wizards that created witchers, get mutagens, find out how to safely undergo the mutation, etc. It's not impossible, it just needs careful management, especially her denouncing the powers of Elder Blood, because it should be a given that she won't be teleporting in the game.
I’m so glad I found this channel. This is THE BEST take I have seen on this whole thing yet. Thank you! I’m going to be showing this video to many people. 😅 SECONDLY, if you watch the Witcher 4 trailer, when the peasant man says “Witcher! Whose coin did ye take?!” He looks directly at the father of the girl who is to be sacrificed. And he sort of turns away. Also! When Ciri returns with the beasts head and hears the girl being killed and runs to the commotion, she kneels down with the grieving father and they lock eyes for a moment, and to me, it seems like a look of familiarity. I would like to believe that Ciri took a contract from the father. It was his coin that Ciri took.
This is such a good video. Your passion is obvious and infectious, and you cover all sides of every topic with great thought and depth. I'm glad I discovered this channel and you definitely earned my sub! You are also very beautiful, I hope you don't mind my saying that 🙂
@cya.9700 So...Ciri (a woman) is now head of the witcher series, and y'all have lost your minds to the point of wanting the company that produced the games you loved so much to go under? Y'all are nuts.
12:00 Not so fun fact: It's actually not the same voice actress. They changed the VA to Jagoda Jasnowska. She has a deeper, richer voice and i love it because she kept [ at least in the trailer ] the core elements that made Anna Cieślak's performance so iconic, while also adding new elements. The "NIEEEE" in the trailer was soo reminiscent of Anna Cieślak that i couldn't believe that it's not her. But CDPR confirmed it.
Not read the books but the game seems to stress the idea that undergoing the Trial of the Grasses strips the Witcher of many of their emotions, yet Ciri seems in full possession of all of ‘em! So CD project are gonna have to come up with
Finding your channel has been such an awesome discovery. After watching your plot breakdown and now this I'm absolutely hooked. I'm Polish but born and raised in Canada. Unfortunately despite just about everyone else I'm related to being fluent, my sister and I were never taught(something I've always resented). These videos gave me the kick I needed to say screw it and just start trying to learn on my own so I truly thank you. Gained a new subscriber and lifelong fan🖖
As for your analysis that Ciri would be deterred from taking the Trial, I might argue that she has been on the run from pursuers for ever. They all want to ‘use’ her for her womb, more importantly her placenta. She might have decided that if I can no longer bear children then I am free, and the Trial of the grasses is a way to make her sterile and of no use to the powers that have been pursuing her for most of her life. She is obviously determined to follow the path and I can’t see why she wouldn’t consider it.
Dude, there are bettter ways to sterilize yourself than undergoing a whole-body mutation. Why would she take the risk of dying only to do that what can be done by any skilled sorceress anywhere on the Continent? Wera made a great point.
Except that theres a ton of ways to sterilize yourself that are safer than the trial of grasses. Yenn is aware of that and thus wouldnt let ciri do the trials just to sterilize herself.
Yep. She doesn't want to be party to a prophecy or be physically used by anyone. The only way to make that happen once and for all is to remove her fertility, logically that would be through the Trial. People forget the biggest villain of the book series, Vilgefortz, was a mage who wanted Ciri for nothing but her womb. And even her own biological father was (almost?) willing to sleep with her to fulfill the prophecy. All the major villains of the saga are sick old men wanting to use a girl for their own ends. Go on and tell Sapko how woke he was for writing that in 90s Poland lol
What do you think of the theory that she might have lost a big deal of her powers when she saved the world from the white frost ? And that she would be way less powerful and much closer to a normal defenceless person which as a result has led her to consider witcher mutations ? It would also explain why she hasn't used her special powers during the combat in the trailer
Unrelated but I’m reading the lesser evil and my favorite line is something like “that’s not a good prediction, all good predictions rhyme” 😂😂. Hoping you’re going to continue with the series!!
@@gregorgerzson1767 Well you do have the embarrassment of the choice, with the vast majority of RPGs out there featuring a male lead. Also we women have been playing RPGs with straight male leads for ages, and we've been perfectly fine with it.
@@gregorgerzson1767 Ciri has always been the real main character anyway. In the books, she is the main focus, we only see the events through the eyes of Geralt. It's only natural that she now has a trilogy for herself, she's not a common "fckable" NPC
@valliyarnl I can see why you'd think that if his content is the only thing you watch. But even if you like his "skepticism" there are other youtubers that have the same takes that actually do research. Everything i've ever seen out of him is either surface level, misinformed/lying, or a combination thereof. That and the length is artificially padded (classic 20 minutes of saying nothing). In my eyes he's nothing more than a content mill, and that's overlooking his past. Unfortunately nothing beats doing your own research by using multiple sources
@@banbranmuffinsyeah his content is just clipped from streams of him regurgitating things said online and from his stream chat, changing it into a video format and talking about it long enough to get it past the 10 min mark even if he isn't actually saying anything of note. I found him randomly and subbed but after a few vids you can really tell what he's doing.
to note i dont think ciris sword is the same as the one geralt could give her in one of the endings from at least how i compared it. also thing i picked up on was ciri didnt take coin for the job in the trailer, leads me to believe they wanted to showcase her feeling responsible of new monsters coming in due to conjuncture in the end of witcher3 thus her becoming a real witcher aswell its just my theory.
If you get the good ending in Witcher 3 the Wild Hunt then you know whats up with Ciri. I got the bad ending so i had to load a save from like 20 hours earlier to get the good ending. It was well worth it.
For Ciri to undergo the mutation, she could have a pretty good reason for doing it.. and based on books and games, there are few reasons that could be responsible - First, mutation means, she would become sterile, couldnt have children.. therefore prophecy about her child being "savior/destroyer of the world" becomes a moot point.. together with all the politics surrounding it.. And FYI, there isnt any direct mention only boys underwent the trial of grasses. At the time when they invite Triss to Kaer Morhen, she initially thought they are calling her to help with the trials.. and when she met Ciri, she examined her if she underwent any mutation.. so if those were lethal to women, why would she even considered it??
@@nicechock It's one of the core things both in the books and in the games that Witchers *are said* not to have emotions, but both Geralt and Vesimir clearly do have very strong emotions. The in-world book in which Witchers were said not to have emotions is 'Monstrum, or a Portrayal of Witchers', which is a polemic against Witchers; and most of the things it says we know not to be true. So it's not intended to be understood as a reliable source.
I love how objective you tried to be. One idea I have seen tossed about, alongside what Neon Knight proposed, was that Ciri's nature as a Source, and her Elder Blood power, allowed her to, in one way or another, become a full Witcher, perhaps as a way to prevent her womb being used (as IIRC, in the books its her daughter that deals with the White Frost), as well as not wanting to be bound by that blood anymore. Its possible that her powers are suppressed
Or her trying to prevent the prophecy of her child (even though that was kinda' retconned by CDPR, if I'm not mistaken). But I kinda' like this reasoning.
@@petrsvoboda1895 Yeah it would make sense if she wanted to be rid of it to stop running but also to stop her bloodline from continuing because it seems to cause more harm than good especially if "the prophecy" has been fulfilled.
We need to stop talking about the white frost like this. The white frost is nothing to be stopped. Not even in the prophecy this is what the elder blood is supposed to do. Instead it's function is to make some people survive this cold period or to to be the beginning of a new world somehow. Well allegedly anyway as it isn't clear if it is true in any way.
It's a CGI trailer so I'm not too concerned about Ciri's face. They are also changing engines for this game and they had the exact same issue with going from W1 to W2 - you can look up first screenshots from W2 and how terrible Geralt's face looked. I do think that they made life much more difficult for themselves than they could/should with choosing Ciri as a protagonist and making it a direct sequel overall. They no longer have as much consumer trust as they had in the W3 era. People will (sometimes unfairly) scrutinize this, because the entire AAA gaming industry has been going downhill for several years now, so overall trust in big gaming corporations is down significantly. I do hate the english voice, she sounds more like a Crone than a 20-something woman and I hope that the polish voice actress remains unchanged and doesn't try to be batman. Ciri undergoing mutations will cause lore issues regardless of how they explain it. Mutations are not a risk anybody in the lore has ever taken of their own free will. Ciri's own power was already beyond mutations and potions. I think they were forced to make her undergo them so that gameplay-wise it would stay similar. I do not believe it can be explained sensibly within the lore. This comes back to issues with making a direct sequel to a closed story in general. I don't think that many people care about the gender of a game's protagonist on its own, but there have been plenty of games in the recent past that overly focused on the gender of a protagonist and related issues, rather than on telling a good story. Some people started associating female protagonists with that. I don't think it's fair, but heuristics rarely are. Overall I don't like that they seem to be making the witcheress ending of W3 canon. I got it and I thought it didn't fit the tone of the game or of previous stories at all. I considered it a gimmick created for a game's purpose, because some people will want a "best ending". Incidentally it's an issue I had with CP77 - there is no significant difference in tone or outcome between the endings, so why bother - the Kurt Cobain option is just as valid as the others and less people flatline. P.S. If this is an elseworld story I'm going to slightly exhale from my nose and never care about any Witcher media ever again.
There was a small reference to Ciri visiting a modern setting in the Witcher 3. Unless she lost her "lady of time and space" powers, I could see her popping in Night City for like three seconds during a cutscene
Love this video and the passion behind the breakdown, as someone who's also read (and loved) the books in parallel to the games. I think this is a lovely place to share my thoughts and theories on several ideas (especially why Ciri becoming a proper Witcher is brilliant and actually follows a discussion & fight Geralt & Vilgefortz once share), so something I'd like to add to the overall discussion is: 1. Ciri isn't really supposed to be conventionally beautiful as per the books - and I remember this constantly being observed by characters in the books (even Yennefer keeps referring to her at the start as “my ugly one” - although I think the meaning with which she says it as the books progresses changes - taking on the opposite tonality). So, from that perspective, I think they've got her new look bang on. I still think this Ciri looks pretty - so I was confused by the comments - but I'm definitely glad she doesn't look like she's ready to start ramp walking… 2. I think the Witcher games did the impossible, wherein they took on the impossible task of continuing a story that supposedly ended (the story of Geralt) - and everyone (even without the author's approval) just accepted it, because they did the story so brilliantly, authentically, honoring the source material, and still being original. In 10 out 10 cases, such a project isn't supposed to work. Now they're doing the same thing with Ciri, wherein they are giving us an imagining of what would happen if her story continued, and I'm definitely rooting for them to get it right. For me, the Witcher games are epic because it's like someone took the LOTR ROTK and continued Aragorn's story, and I wasn't mortified and pissed to death (terrible example - because unlike Sapkowski, Tolkien pretty much summarized everything that is meant to happen in his world till kingdom come/judgement day - quite literally) 3. Ciri has always - in the books (as far as I remember) - identified with being a Witcher more than the Child of Elder Blood. While I think it's lore breaking to say that she actually becomes a Witcher - trial of grasses and all - I also think it's pretty ballsy, and it's what I would do as a writer. It's not that complicated, honestly, sciences constantly evolve - so why do the Witcher sciences get the pass to be so eternally fixed? In fact, I always thought that the brutality of the Trials of Grasses was rather backward, and something primitive people came up with and then just didn't try to evolve it, despite how deadly it was (kinda like the primitive ideology of the village folk in the trailer - who think the only way to keep the beast at bay - is to feed someone to the beast). That's how the study of medicine works, you always try to find better formulations with lesser side-effects. So, the answer is simple, Ciri (and maybe Geralt) find a way to make the Witcher Trials less deadly... maybe they chance upon this while trying to revive the Witcher schools... 4. To support my theory, if you simply do a web search of Lynx symbology/mythology - the first Wikipedia line reads - "it often symbolizes the unravelling of hidden truths", so I feel that kinda fits with my theory 5. Witchers always felt like a limited version of Wizards/Witches, in name and ability. In Geralt's fight with Vilgerfortz in the book - it comes out pretty clear which of the two are more powerful. Speaking of which - Vilgerfortz and Geralt have a brilliant philosophical conversation, wherein Vilgerfortz tries convincing Geralt to become a Wizard and says that he can help him become one. I think Ciri being a Witcher, a Witch, and someone with Space/Time abilities - feels like a powerful and epic combination to put in the hands of a gamer - especially with the newer technology. When I saw this Unreal Engine 5 showcase a couple of years ago and with female protagonist flying through the screen - from one end to the other in a matter of seconds, I couldn't help but think of a Witcher Game with Ciri - ruclips.net/video/qC5KtatMcUw/видео.html I don't think people are fully understanding or appreciating how significantly different, dynamic, expansive, and evolved gameplay can be compared to the previous Witcher games - with Ciri and her abilities...
Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty showed me that if nothing else, CDPR can still write. The storytelling is the least of my concerns. The bugs on the other hand…
i think CP77 launch traumatised them enough so i really have hope for the state in which they release the game. they talk about not wanting to repeat that a lot
14:15 As far as I know, it was never said that women *couldn't* become witchers, It was only stated that there weren't any female witchers before, which from the way I understand it is just because they never really tried to make a female witcher.
the trial is made specifically for males that's why witchers are called vedymin, "the witchman", and not "the witchwoman" or smth lol, and iirc it is stated in the books that no female survived any attempt at it, unless CDPR introduces some plot in where they made a new trial for females its just a DEIfication of the Witcher
@xiami11 As far as I know, the reason why there are no female witchers it’s not because it is impossible to survive it. It's because they just didn’t do the trial on women since they got sickly earlier and didn’t do as well later on so they stopped trying to make a female Witcher. As far as I know, it has NEVER been said that it is IMPOSSIBLE for women to become witchers. Edit: Nobody cares about DEI, they care about good media. Edit again: Ciri is referred to as a Witcher in the books and in the Witcher 3, specifically calling her a “Witcher girl” so it doesn’t seem like it’s that strange of an idea to them, plus in the books Ciri goes to Kaer Morhen and receives witcher combat training for a year while being guided by 5 witchers AND she is fed the same fitness accelerating herbs that witchers are given before undergoing their mutations and Ciri had developed the internal fitness of a witcher, Triss even tells the Witchers to stop giving the accelerants to Ciri so often because they may have side effects, if any woman were to be the first witcheress, it would be Ciri
it is never explicitly stated that a girl cannot become a witcher. However, the lack of female witchers in the stories stems more from tradition and the structure of the witcher schools than any outright biological or magical prohibition. given Ciri and how basically Geralt became like a father to her and the training she took at Kaer Morhen I think it was only a matter of time before she would attempt the trial. this is also not something you can really answer with the book says this or that as these event would take place after the book series and her magical time traveling 😂
I have a Theory regarding her going through the Trial of the Grasses. I don't think the only reason she becomes mutated would be presented simply as her choice, CDPR isn't that naive to do that. My Theory is that she might go through a near Death experience, a cataclysm or something dangerous where the only choice is to go through the mutations or something more to urge her supporting characters to take that choice. Maybe by going against a Powerful character? Maybe the Main villain would be introduced that way? There can also be the reason she didn't use her elder blood powers here related to that Danger
Its the only thing that pseudo makes sense. Because ciri being an adult up or not doesnt matter. Yenn would literally bind her in Dimeritium before allowing her to attempt the trial of grasses which is for all intents and purposes a death sentence just bc "she wants to". So if its just "ciri wants to do it" thats bad writing. It would also be bad writing in the sense that Ciri loves yenn and geralt and wouldnt under take a suicide mission to take the trial just "bc she wants to" knowing theres a good chance she would die and theyd be devastated.
The game director, Sebastian Kalemba, posted a coin as a tease on Twitter days after the trailer. The runic alphabet was translated by people and it says "Days and nights pass and the blood remains the same." I've been seeing what others have been theorizing and I agree with them. Ciri wanted to do the trial so that it could depower her elder blood and so that people could stop coming after her just because of it. However, based on the translation, the elder blood is still there and is most likely just dormant, for now. Additionally, in an interview, Kalemba said that the monster in the trailer is called a Bauk and it can "smell your fears" and "play with your traumas." When the Bauk said "fate cannot be changed," I thought it was talking about the fate the girl being sacrificed at first, but now this means it was actually talking about Ciri herself. Ciri tried to change her fate but it can't be changed and the elder blood is still there. I think all of this is very plausible.
Fully agree with your take on this. I am of the same opinion. Also I think a lot of people forgot that shortly after the release of The Witcher 3 CDPR actually said that if they make The Witcher 4, they plan on Ciri being the next protagonist. Then again might have just been a Polish article I read a long time ago. Anyway, great video. Can't wait to see more.
Interesting point about Ciri’s motivation not necessarily being as financially oriented as Geralt. Which makes sense, given her lineage, she should really be fine as far as money goes.
I wish CDPR went in a different direction. Rather than making her a real witcher, they should have made her a symbolic witcher and greatly enhanced her TW3 powerset. Honest I wish they didn't make a sequel. That send off to Geralt was soo good.
I share some of your cautious optimism, but I have to admit I’m deeply concerned about the creative direction under CDPR, especially with people like Cian Maher now involved in shaping the lore. This is someone who has openly defended The Witcher Netflix series and even Blood Origin, productions that most fans agree strayed far from the heart of Sapkowski’s work, not to mention their complete disregard for Slavic roots and authentic storytelling. Cian has a documented history of openly hating gamers, even going so far as to say he would punch them, calling them "manbabies," and mocking the very audience that cares deeply about The Witcher franchise. It's worrying to think someone with so much disdain for the core fanbase, and who has defended lore-breaking adaptations, is now in a position to influence the narrative direction of The Witcher. With the Trial of the Grasses retcon and other questionable creative choices already surfacing, it’s hard not to feel like this game might prioritize catering to modern trends over respecting the integrity of Sapkowski’s universe. I hope CDPR proves me wrong, but the signs are troubling. The Witcher deserves better than to fall into the hands of people who don’t respect its legacy or its fans.
The thing for me is I don’t remember anything explicitly saying a woman CANNOT become a witcher. The Trial of Grasses is essentially an ingestion of herbs that is tailored specifically to men, and is still extremely dangerous with low survivability. They generally don’t do it with women because the survivability is even lower, and women generally don’t bother enough to refine it better or have a better estimate. It’s the same practice as the Joining in Dragon Age, an equally dangerous ‘survival is random and not guaranteed in any way’ trial that gives you a needed advantage to be what you’re trying to become. It feels like because they just don’t really bring them in or there are no notable women as witchers, it’s assumed as a given it’s just not possible. Unlikely is not impossible. No representatives does not mean from now until the future it can never change. It’s like a lot of things, people assume because there’s no evidence of something, it cannot exist. History has shown that to be false too often for people to close off possibilities. Remember when it was a fact that you could literally sail off the edge of the world? It should also bear mentioning that Ciri was not really reliable with using her powers. The endings alone show trying to use them to any real extent could kill her. And outside of that, she may even have a biological advantage in the trials due to her heritage. It’s strange to me that people bring up her power, yet immediately ignore it as a potential hardiness factor when someone mentions the trials.
+ what i remember what was mentioned in game (also herd its in books) is strong elder blood make person immune to the change, so even if she were a guy trials wouldn't work on her
Hello! New Subscriber here. I'm from Hungary and a big fan of the books read them 3 times each and even though Hungary is not a Slavic country we have similar "colours" of our landscapes and our history and overall Polish and Hungarian are friends. Anyway as a book and also a game lover is it somewhere mentioned that a Woman especially and adult Woman can go through the Trial of Grasses? Because for me it feels not lore friendly but please correct me if I'm wrong but that aspect felt a little wrong for me. (only my thoughts and opinion I don't want to hurt anybody).
It’s not said that there CANT be female Witchers but the Trial as it is now it is tailored for young boys. So I’m not at all against the idea (esp since it is Ciri), I just want an explanation ☺️
@valliyarnl YES. I hope they will give us a good explanation because I always wanted to play Ciri as a protagonist to be honest but I thought we will use her "Lady of Space and Time" powers. Anways the trailer looks frickin' amazing now we only have to wait about 1 or 2 years. :D
I think you missed the point of the entire Witcher 3 plot by bringing up that she would agree with Geralt and Yen to not undergo the trials. I mean throughout the entire plot she is basically doing the opposite of what Geralt wants from her, or at least tries to. And we have established already that the burden of being the Hen Ichaer is not received well by Ciri, and i genuinely believe that she would rather be a Witcher than go through the same shit again [ running away, running away, running away.... oh have i mentioned constantly running away? } That's the whole point of Witcher 3. She didn't want to be the chosen one [ for lack of a better word ] anymore.
At the end of the game though she stops running and faces her destiny with Avallac’h. Personally I like the Empress ending the most as that would allow Ciri to have the maximum impact and influence on the continent. I also think this ruins the ending of The Witcher III a little bit as there is now a concrete canonical ending, personally I prefer the openness of choosing your own story and ending.
@@SleeperJoe2024 I believe the developers said they would account for all three endings. I assume it would operate the same way “life paths” operated in Cyberpunk(although, hopefully more in depth).
I think i'm misunderstanding something. I never said she wants to be a chosen one. i know she doesn't. i read the books and its never clearer. i don't see how that relates whether or not she would take Geralt and Yen's advice.
@valliyarnl It's complicated because for me at the same time it relates to it very much but actually not at all. All im saying is that it would be pretty logical [ at least for me ] if they went that way.
Some thoughts about the announcement: 1- Ciri as the main protagonist: After CDPR offered us Cyberpunk 2077 i secretly hoped that i was going to be able to create my own witcher and go wild on a skill tree of my own while navigating a sophisticated built in morality system as i sink +200h in this world but hey... That's a gamer's expectation and a problem i created for myself x) Totally okay to play with Ciri, it comes from a natural progression tbh though i secretly hope that for one reason or another... We get to play with Geralt for some anecdotal bits here and there! 2- The trailer in itself: In my opinion (and please don't insult me): The Witcher 3 killing monsters trailer is one of the best trailers ever made for anything, okay? imo it was lazy to reuse kinda the same theme, situation and dialogue... Yes, i know that it is the core of this universe: There are literal monsters but humans are the real monsters through their cowardice, perversions and ignorance. The rest of the trailer was fire so made me excited because i was not expecting it. 3- Staying cautious: Lots of CDPR OGs went away after the Cyberpunk fiasco. It is going to be a real challenge to match the absolute masterpiece that is The Witcher 3. Cyberpunk's redemption is real, it is now a very good game and a testimony that CDPR are not gods: they can fuckup and they can learn. So for all W3 fans and CDPR lovers: Be hopeful but be mindful of all the variables. Open to the conversation with all you guys!
Yes, the Witcher IV trailer echoes Killing Monsters; it also echoes the opening cinematic to the Witcher 1. I think these echoes are strengths, linking the series together.
Generally I agree, but one thing to note is that Witcher 3 also had a lot of performance issues when it launched - not as catastrophic as Cyberpunk, but it was still bad. However, the story was so good that it kept people playing, whereas Cyberpunk's story wasn't as popular (not saying it's good or bad, but statistically speaking it was not as successful as Witcher 3). So it's likely that there will still be significant performance issues when Witcher 4 launches, but everything really depends on the quality of the writing and the core gameplay. I also agree that Witcher 3 was masterful, but I think a lot of that greatness comes from the DLCs. Without them, I don't think the game would be remembered nearly as fondly as it is today. For Witcher 4, succeeding base game Witcher 3 is doable, but throw in the DLCs and that challenge becomes near impossible. I'm also staying cautious, but ultimately I'm inclined to believe that CDPR has learned from their mistakes with Cyberpunk and will hopefully succeed with Witcher 4. At least, I hope so...
The trailer is imo meant to show the differences between ciri and Geralt but also focus on the similarities between them because they are father and daughter essentially with the callback to killing monsters, the chain. But also showing ciri will actively involve herself in the matter of the people if she feels like it unlike geralt who will try not to.
Your third point is odd, most of the senior/lead from TW1/2 are still at CDPR, some left and even rejoined and it's silly to expect every single Witcher 1 dev to stay 17 years at a studio 🤷🏻♂️ If we use TW3 as an example of good CDPR, well most of those people are still at the studio anyway. So your third point feels like fear mongering due to ignorance of the state of the studio. The lead writer, art director, story director, lead character artist, senior quest designers, lead environment artist are all from TW1. I'm not going to list every original dev but feel free to search them up if you're uneasy.
@@dr_diddy The narrative director, Philipp Weber, is also at the company for 10+ years and worked on W3. He's even here in the comment section saying they took the explanations very seriously and it won't be handwaved.
You have amazing passion for the Witcher series. Its good to see this amount of detailed analysis of the trailor. I look forward to more content on this great universe of the Witcher.
To me, it's almost a given that Ciri will lose her elder blood powers somehow. A lot more about this makes sense if that's the case. It's why she'd struggle in the fight, it's why she may take the trial of the grasses, hell it may even be the main thrust of her journey.
I was going to post this also. We didn't see any of the Elder Blood powers she had in W3 in the trailer. I guess her pulling that "life force" or whatever from the stream could be an offshoot of those powers, but everything else she did was Witcher sign-adjacent.
@Zyphent Ooooo that could be interesting. Maybe like in addition to the sign upgrade trees there could be a separate one for Elder Blood or witch powers.
Finally an educated opinion!! I’ve been so annoyed by the political conversation surrounding this announcement. Firstly, I mostly agree with everything you’ve said. I’m very excited, but reserved. For me, making Ciri a "true" Witcher with mutations doesn't just tweak her narrative, it fundamentally undermines her character arc and the themes she embodies in Sapkowski's work. For me, Witchers always reflected the male-centric experience of isolation, survival, and estrangement that defines them in the books. Geralt and others live with the knowledge that they are both indispensable and despised, a tension that defines their existence. To suddenly introduce female Witchers feels like it’s questioning the carefully constructed universe. Like you mentioned with men not becoming sorceresses. There’s a very defined reason for that. And you’re 100% correct on Geralt and Yen never supporting this. Expanding the Trials to include Ciri doesn't feel like progress it feels like a dilution of the tragedy that defines Witchers. But nonetheless, CDPR have always been good writers. Here’s to hoping that Geralt is the final boss in the Gwent Tournament!
They can write around this, Ciri could've perfected the trials with Yen's help and make them no longer have abysmal survival chance. I'm most concerned about the lack of clear direction, devs said they want to do both introducing new fans to the franchise and welcome back old ones and this makes me nervous. Continuing with Ciri makes sense but I'm hoping they'll respect our decisions from previous titles such as Geralt being gone if you get the bad ending.
@@Skyrimkid9800 Yeah I’m aware. All 3 directors and both producers from Witcher 3 are gone. But, many others remain. I’m keeping my expectations tempered. Definitely worrying though.
@@anitaremenarova6662 Firstly, old writers of Witcher 3 had left the company. The new "Lore Writer" guy is a former game journalist and showed a lot of hate toward gamers on his tweets, as well as considered himself the "true gamer". Secondly, during thousands years of witcher history, even in their golden age, they can only manage to have a witcher-creating process with 30-40% chance to success, and only work on young boys. But now, suddenly, a magical formula appears with 100% success, work on adult women, and no side-effect? So convenient. Let's make an army of female witchers with this. Thirdly, Ciri is already stronger than any normal witcher. Why did she need to take the mutation?
@@Skyrimkid9800 I wonder what gives you people so much confidence to spout such obvious bs. Most of the writers and devs are still at the company, you can fact-check this at any point by going to their Linked-in accounts. Also they switched to UE5 because it'll be much less work than trying to improve their now outdated engine. Cyberpunk looks dated outside of its lighting already despite coming out 4 years ago.
I remember in a voice of reason, Geralt told the story of the first thing he did as a witcher was saving a child from grown men (including her father). This shattered Geralt's expectations, and he understood from then on how empty the witcher life is. Ciri on the other hand knows what to expect, has a good support network and chose to be a witcher. The former experience kind of shaped Geralt's cynical view, but Ciri's experience has formed stronger principles.
I feel like witcher in name wouldve been cooler. Having what she already does on top of being a full fledged witcher feels kinda redundant imo, but ill trust the process
I appericate this break down, it gave me some new insights about Ciri from another prospective. The only issue I have with the model is she looks like she's had "work done." Like we are so accustomed to seeing actresses getting cosmetic work done as they age, they did it to Ciri's lips. Her lips look like a 40 year old actress who got a lip injection. That was the first thing that stood out to me about the model. I have the EXACT same reaction to her going through the mutations. I keep saying it, it's like Batman found a young Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) raised her, and she used gold kryptonite (which perminatly takes her powers away) to be Batwoman. I always saw it as Ciri didn't need it, she was more powerful than a witcher. I think that would have had a MUCH more interesting dynamic. Ciri, a witcher who isn't a mutated witcher, but more powerful would make waves. Imagine that dynamic where she's an outcast and other witcher schools are not fond of her for that fact. To me that is a better story than trying to make up some reason as to why a woman in her 20s would go through the trial of grasses. They can always make new mechanics. They can evolve the gameplay, if you're going to retcon, you can retcon or expand on Ciri's powers. I'm kind of disappointed by that.
Regarding Ciri being a witcher and undergoing the Trial: maybe you Wera will be able to verify it, as I've read the Saga quite some time ago, but I remember that there was a conversation, where Vesemir remarks, that it's believed, that if someone is destined to be a witcher, the Trials of Grasses would not be necessary? We also know from Rozdroże Kruków, that the white hair is rare thing that happens to some witchers during the Trials. And When when Geralt and Ciri are leaving the castle they fought Vilgefortz in the last book of the Saga, Geralt notices a white strand in her hair, which were supposed to be 'mysie', and he's hilding his anger, as he does not want this life for her. In W3 we see her with a full head of white hair, which would mean, that her 'natural' transformation to a witcher is more or less complete by then.
I thought Ciri's white hair was more attributed to her family heritage and lineage like with the green eyes as her mother Pavetta had silver hair and Calanthe did too. I know Geralt's white hair is a result of a side effect of the Trial but Ciri always had white hair, I could be wrong though.
Gotta admit, I'm looking forward to playing as Ciri in The Witcher 4. A lot of people who aren't familar with the books think that it is utter madness the game doesn't focus on Geralt. Of course, had they read the books they'd understand the importance of Ciri.
And while CDPR take liberties for the games to happen, they still respect a lot of the lore and canon regardless. I'm probably going to buy TW4 at full price if the performance is good. **CP77 flashbacks**
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the trailer. I wonder if the lynx school is her own and this story will be about her journey as a teacher/parent figure to others.
Also I resonate with wanting a good explanation for Ciri’s Witcher powers. I won’t be upset as long as it’s somewhat thoughtful and handled with respect. I speculate maybe it has to do with her time/space travel powers helping her find some lost knowledge. In my above comment about Ciri taking a teacher role, maybe she will be in the position to subject others to the trial of the grasses and has to make that choice on her own.
@@blackvalio4060i mean … not really. it’s been foreshadowed all throughout the third game that ciri’s story was just starting and that she’d take up the mantle.
This follows the optional ending that Geralt understands that Ciri needed to go to another dimension to save us all. Ciri did this and Geralt thought that she died. Ciri came back and became a Witcher
That was honestly the best ending in the game given its realism. So retconning that as the canon ending would honestly piss off the fewest people if they just chock it up to "she lost her powers and had a long treck to find geralt again" in the meantime he thought she was dead but wasnt imho
Seeing the Stormlight Archives in the background made me feel happy. Love the Cosmere... ^^ Whenever I can see someone's bookshelf it's like a trigger for obsessive analysis. XD
My head canon to fend off negativity -> She had a baby, lost her powers, lost her baby (fell through a portal it made, because she could feel it as such, but also felt a chimming of bells that took on shapes and looked like a tiny stumby pyramid), and decided to push for whatever it took to get power that would help her track down clues. She tells loved ones her plans, but not that where she was going seemed to be the most dangerious, so they split up in helping her to the minor locations she felt the direction and distances of.
I went to bat for CDPR on all my socials 😂. I think it is despicable how quickly people are to turn their backs on a beloved character just because she's the star of the show now. It's not woke, it's not trying to push an agenda, it's the logical direction for a new Witcher saga to go in. I have no doubt CDPR will do her and the entire fanbase justice in this new game. I loved Geralt, he's one of if not, my favorite RPG protagonist ever but his story has concluded. Anyways, the music in the trailer was marvelous and if done right, this could be the greatest RPG of all time. No hyperbole. So excited. Side note, an interview with CDPR confirms we're getting Gwent and Romance. Geralt's two loves will live on!
Happy to know that another fan of the books and games saw the potential in that trailer. I am also a little wary about how they are going to justify Ciri going through the trials, but otherwise that priouette pretty much had me hooked. Gave me vicarious Geralt proud father feels.
Reminder! This is a ✨book✨ channel NOT a Witcher channel. The Witcher is definitely the most important series in my life so it does get a larger focus than any other book/series, but the Witcher videos are spread out.
Seeing lots of people saying that I think Geralt and Yen should choose for Ciri whether she does the trial or not. I DO NOT SAY THAT. **i say that she's an adult and can make her own choices.** in my interpretation of her character i think she would ask them for ADVICE. We don't know why she wants to take the mutations. If she just randomly decides one day that she wants to be real witcher just because I don't see G&Y saying the Trial is a good idea and I don't see her going rogue in that case. If it's for a reason like Neon Knight proposes to protect herself from people wanting to use her as a pawn again bc of the prophecy/Elder Blood (which would be a really compelling idea!!!), then i totally see it going a different way. The point that I'm trying to make is that we don't know anything about this game substantial enough to make a judgment either way. All i want is a compelling story behind it all and the devs have been nothing but reassuring! I am not trying to infantilize her or take away her agency. I don't think asking your parents for advice is either of those. And i definitely DO NOT think that Geralt/Yen should make her choices for her. I am relatively new to this. I'm still learning how to formulate my thoughts. Please be kind.
Also, an article has since come out that only reassures me more: www.eurogamer.net/the-witcher-4-dev-cd-projekt-red-talks-ciri-fan-reaction-playable-geralt-coyness-and-if-the-game-will-honour-your-previous-choices
And this is a great video from a lore perspective: ruclips.net/video/hq-sfefAvFA/видео.html
Also also I'm less confident with my claim that the sword is the same one Geralt gives Ciri after rewatching the trailer more times. oopsie. just a girl 🎀
Also also also I made a mistake!! The Polish voice actress IS DIFFERENT! Should've double checked... she really just sounded so so similar to me that i mistook them for the same person.
@valliyarnl i'm kinda jealous of the fact that you speak polish so the polish actress playing her again is a great callback so to speak. It kind of threw me off when I heard her VA in english has changed but so far the new actress sounds promising.
@valliyarnl but the sword has the same hilt no ?? It could be zerieal
It better be the same sword. I mean they could have changed it a bit because so many years have passed but it cannot not be it.
@TheMrGiannisgr I mean we would probably replace it in game with a generic silver sword with higher stats 🤣
@@anosvoldigoat3351 yeah the hilt looks the same but the blade at the hilt looks different so I'm not too sure. i hope it is tho!
Wind's howling
I don't think there's a single Witcher video on youtube, that doesn't have this comment.
Looks like rain
Place of power must be
So long
thank you for showing up Jerald
I LOVE that you pointed out the Polish Identity aspect in both the games and Netflix show. It was so much more than missing the story beats.. the show simply failed to acknowledge the cultural influence from Sapkowski’s written narrative.
We sure got a lot of Zerrikanian representation in the show…
A hollywood show blatantly disrespecting foreign cultures? I am shocked.
Any American adaptation of any European material seems to totally miss the mark in regards to its cultural roots
@ yep, we couldn’t even accurately copy The Office.
@@enemystand2981 It feels like a lot of americans think that Europe is just one place with one culture; or something like America but a little different. While in fact Europe is a huge continent with so much diversity between countries and cultures that it's hard to even know all of those cultures. Even countries that share a border are totally different, while in American when you cross a state border, it is not that much different in the next state.
Another outstanding video...well done
wow David I am really taken aback. Once again I am so grateful and I'm so happy that you think the video was of value. I hope you're having a beautiful day :)
Totally agree with everything except for the part about the Trial of the Grasses and becoming an actual witcher. You captured Ciri's personality perfectly. I think it’s entirely plausible that Ciri would want to undergo the Trial of the Grasses to become a 'full' witcher. Regarding compensation, it seems she may have lost her ability to teleport. As for the School of the Lynx, it makes sense since Geralt wouldn’t initiate it, and Ciri likely wouldn’t ask him. Turning to Lambert and Keira feels like a logical choice.
I love when people have nuanced opinions about adaptation. faithfulness can be good, but changes are necessary and most of the time, they make things better. I can't wait to see where they take the story and I can't wait to hear what you think about it!
Thanks a lot for this video and the passion!!! I can't reveal any spoilers, but we definitely won't take the trial lightly - it's a huge deal, and how this could even work for Ciri, and how others react to this happening, is definitely a huge part of the story we're going to tell!
nice to know !
Thank you for this! Not gonna' lie, this is the thing that might be a deal breaker for me (which won't be a huge surprise to you, I think that a lot of players and fans in general feel the same way). Wishing you the best of luck in creating great new stories in this incredible world.
That's good to hear, it would be nice if you could reveal something more about the endings of w3, e.g. the political situation on which we had influence. Will w4 take our choices into account? Or at least he didn't deny it?
Just a friendly reminder, in case it's not too late. Looking through the Americanized "freedom of choice" lens is not the only lens through which to look at freedom from oppression. The choice is not the important part, it's the oppression, and being free from it.
You made the best choice for this game. Happy cooking!
12:15 - That's not correct, there is a new voice actress for Polish dubbing - It used to be Anna Cieślak, and now it's Jagoda Jasnowska
It sounds very close tho.
Really? That sad but still very simillar
true
gosh that's an embarrassing mistake on my part! Should've double checked. It sounded really similar to me so I just believed the comment I saw. Thank you so much for the correction!
Anna Cieslak has a very youthful voice. She often dubbed children's voices. She wouldn't suit the more mature Ciri. And on top of that, the trailer foreshadows her dark moments during what I think are Ciri's struggles to reverse her destiny (what destiny?).
8:18 ... when Ciri is asked about who's money she took, the "camera" abruptly pans over to the Father who has a guilty look on his face.
idk im not too sure if it is "guilty" esp given the voice over
@valliyarnl fearful is the right word
It can be either way. He also could have guilty face anyway.
She’s also bringing the head back as proof that the contract was completed.
With the monster head being brought back and the *“Witcher, whose coin did you take?”* _[camera cuts to the father, father looks down in shame]_ my instinct is telling me the father hired her in secret.
When we’re in the game, I think the right decision will be to tell her to run away and never go back, or maybe wait for us outside the cave. It’s definitely not telling her to go back to the village without us, lol.
@@Pårchmēntôswhat makes you so sure that this is gonna be an in-game quest? I’m assuming it’s gonna be more like the Witcher 3 ‘killing monsters’ (and other) trailers where they take place before the events of the game, and the player has no control over them.
I love your take on Ciri and the Wichter (4) ; I also have to say that "Neon Knight" did an awesome job on this topic, lets all be patient and w8 for the Wichter 4 to surprise us all:); unfortunately everybody has to screem out loud, before researching and beig rational; so thank you for putting weight into your arguments by referering to the actual source material:)!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year 🎉
Thank you so much! And I am glad that what you said comes across! When I make mistakes I write them in the pinned comment. We are all fallible after all :) and yeah I love Neon Knight! His video was amazing 🤩
@valliyarnl
Glad to see this channel getting the attention it’s long deserved 🇵🇱📚
Thank you for the donation 💞💞💞
My reaction was pretty much the same as yours, initially I had a huge problem with Ciri's eyes because I thought it meant we would start the game with her after the trial. But after a few dev interviews they put emphasis on the game representing the "way of becoming a witcher". So I really hope we get to experience her decision, because as you said her whole witcher family is basically against creating more witchers and also lacks the mutagens to do it, so undergoing a probably deadly experiment done by people you don't know (lynx school) sounds quite a stretch. That being said, my suspicion would be that it's a school in Kovir - since (if I remember this correctly) originally mages performed the trial in Kaer Morhen and a lot of them went to Kovir. Also in the end sequence of W3 the narrator said the "ashen haired witcher was known from the Yaruga to Kovir" .. and lastly I simply would like to see Esterad Tyssen and Suleika ^^
oh my gosh Kovir and especially Lan Exeter have been my dream Witcher locations ever since i read the books so i am hooooopppinngggg that we see some of it
@valliyarnl Kovir means we get more Queen Triss content ;)
I hope that will be done by playing Geralt in the intro to the story part, making Ciri a Witcher and personally handing over the swords.. or something like that.. :)
If they go at all in the direction TLOU 2 did i will come personally to Poland to meet some dev's..
@@gingerbaker_toad696isn't CDPR in California now?
My guess is we'll start after she took the trial (important gameplay wise as new players need to learn the mechanics) and then go back to see what happened later in the game.
Thanks Wera, good stuff!! 😊
wow troszkę mnie zatkało haha! 🤩
dziękuję, że Pan obejrzał filmik no i że skomentował. Wesołych Świąt!
mówmy sobie po imieniu :)
świetnie prowadzisz kanał, pozdrawiam i Wesołych Świąt 😊
Appreciate all your videos about the Witcher! Haven’t seen anyone on RUclips with better expertise on the Witcher universe!
Looking forward to more videos!
When the guy asks "who's coin did ye take" the camera pans to the Father who looks down in shame, classic body language if you've done something you're not suppose to. Also as a side note, unreal 5 and meta human will make for some phenomenal facial expresions.
OH yeah, it is amazing... Especially in STALKER 2 which is UE5 too! (sarcasm)
Don't assume they'll implement every tech libraries that UE5 comes with. It's quite probable, yes, but not guaranteed.
I just hope they'll not assume everyone has raytracing capable graphics card and at least 10th gen cpu (dunno what equavelent for AMD) as the minimal requirements for this game.
@@Hiddenus1 Witcher 3 was really well optimised as evidenced by the fact that I was able to play it on my utter potato of a PC I had back in 2015, with variable settings.
And I expect the same thing with this next game. I expect them to apply everything they learned from the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk and not repeat any of the mistakes.
@@mujexzilla Well yes. It was extremely well optimized...REDEngine. Not Unreal Engine. Switching engines can cause challenges (not that the RED team failed on learning and improving, as ie. Witcher 3).
As for optimalisation. STALKER 2 alone (which is UE5 as we know) runs in 40-288 for my friend with far better PC than mine, while I run it on 13-78 on semi-minimal requirements (while running on high-epic xD).
STALKER barely used benefits of Nanite, which was supposed to be the gamechanger of this engine, but isn't well used yet.
Lumen is used in game, but it is... Well... it requires improvements otherwise it's like relying on AO maps but instead of instant switch depending on scenario it tries to blend them along with calculating htem on the fly. It failed in all games I had chance to use it in them (which isn't many... Satisfactory and Stalker only :| ).
Meta Human is yet another in-engine tech. You need meshes designed to be used with said Meta Human. Or made with it. I do 3D stuff that isn't SFW so I know how expecting the engine being able to handle some rig stuff isn't equal to making everything in that engine looking perfect.
Another reference example can be Source engine and it's own expression system and models that weren't designed for this engine, merely ported to it. So if you port it from different engine, it's gonna be a problem. (something I suspect that occured to Stalker 2 development in those 15 years). You can modify a bicycle to look like a car, but it will never be a car.
Also "fuck you". I'm going now to get stuck on Velen quests now... again. xD
On a side note. I think current games are made in UE4 first then they switch to UE5 and that's why it sucks harder than Sasha Gray did for her whole carrier combined.
absolutely loved this take, nuanced and not too extreme on either side, acknowledging some concerns without just dismissing them but without being a doomsayer either
that's exactly what i was aiming for! glad it came across :)
The problem is the fact that any company goes to the EU or US it becomes a left feminist company I love ciri and knew we’d play as her but I’m sick of Americans and Europeans ruining these stories to fit their own politics
@@GnasherGeartake it up with Sapkowski for writing the Witcher books that way 😊
@@GnasherGear Geralt's story was done and the previous game set up ciri as the most likely candidate for the next games. Female protagonists have always been a thing and their existence isn't automatically political. Also CDPR cannot be a "leftist company" when their main goal is to make money for their shareholders, while making their employees work crazy hours to release games by a specific deadline.
Lowkey one of the coolest part of Ciri being the protagonist is we can finally explore a lot of elements the games never went over. Like Kelpie as the horse instead of Roach; or meeting the Unicorn again. Also maybe she can use magic better than most witchers since she was trained by the Lodge
yes yes yes!
Honestly one of the first thoughts I had was: Ciri as the protagonist. Means we will be riding a horse named Kelpie. And we had better get a blood and wine sort of mission, Where we get to talk to Kelpie. (Talking to roach was one of my top 3 moments in Witcher 3).
@@motocross_cooperI hope we get a mission where we visit toussaint and have a father daughter monster hunt with Geralt. See yen on the vinyard. Catch up on what Ciri has been up to.
I love that Ciri is using the Manticore gears, which is my favorite set in witcher3
I like that Geralt is using a longsword, as it is the closest in length to what would be a period-accurate hunting tool a boar spear. Which was one of the main points of critique of his tools for work. The useful range of a longsword 120mm held in one hand (presuming you have enough strength to do so) is similar to 210m when held with botwo hands.
@@HanSolo__ "presuming you have enough strength to do so" Have you ever had such a sword in your hand? Weight is about 2-3 kg. Weight is not a problem, just the length of the sword and the balance point to fence effectively with one hand
@@HanSolo__ holding a sword in two hands shortens the effective reach of the user, not lengthen it, due to how body mechanics work.
Wielding a sword one handed gives the user more reach, due to being able to tilt your body sideways and reach out fully with the arm.
I have no idea where this "120mm becomes 210mm when two handing" is coming from. How the hell does the swors suddenly grow by 90cm just because you hold it in two hands!?
And actual longswords aren't heavy either.
I don’t think it is, but it’s a nice mix of several sets
@@HanSolo__wtf is this comment
13:29 the problem of Ciri as main protagonist is solely with 'anti-woke' part of gaming community. It's not that she's bad looking or not fitting the setting( because objectively she's looking modest-to-good, just regular slavic woman), it's just we're in dawn of 2024, where whole western gamedevs proven that "correctness and inclusivity" is main focus of game's design. So woman as main protagonist in fourth settlement of so far male protagonist' franchise does this neuron activation. Especially when you dive a bit deeper to find that CD Projekt is kinda-woke developer and simply fans don't want to get hurt as fans of Dragon Age got. Unfortunately being "just" a reader doesn't give you whole picture of "Ciri as the new witcher" problemacy, but don't get me wrong: your insight as a one who've eaten up all of books many times reader is more than of value :)
Thank you for the donation!
@valliyarnl Uczynić coś dla kogoś. A może dla siebie? Bo tak naprawdę, to zawsze płacimy sobie, nie komuś; zatem cała przyjemność po mojej stronie ;)
if ciri would look the same but older (30-40 y old women can still look great) as in witcher 3 ppl would not complain about her and be more optimistic about ciri-mutant retcon, don't sell me that "she is older" she looks like after cheap face plastic surgeries. AI imidiatly proven that you can make 50 y old looking ciri more attractive
all that is still NOT a solid indicator that cdpr "gone woke" or whatever,
but based on witch ppl left company and witch ppl joined, we can be CERTAIN that this company is being hayjacked by ppl who are ready to downgrade game to push they ideology
in the end whatever witcher 4 will be good or not, the game will release in 4 years at least, and by that time gamers will be EXHOUSTED by "woman swinging a sword" type games
The fact that female witchers dont exist, doesn't mean that it is not possible. It is said that the first magician that mad eexperiments in witchers also tested womans in first glance, but for lack of positive feedbacks from the pacients, he stoped and just kept with men, it is NEVER said once that woman witcher are not possible to be created.
I think the witcher mutations that she undergo is corrupting the elder blood genetics, that's why she only able to use signs and some kind of magic (the watery then become lightning thing).
And the reason why she wanted the mutations is because, in some scene in TW3 in Novigrad, Ciri said to Geralt that she wanted to be "normal" without the Elder Blood powers, well, in my theory the witcher mutations corrupted her genetics, and give her that (the part "without the Elder Blood powers, not the become "normal" part tho).
And, how she able to undergo mutations is because, Yennefer still knows the recipe for the Trial of the Grasses (the scene of lifting Uma's curse with the Trial of the Grasses, turning it back to original Avallac'h), and even the mutagens (maybe?) to make a Witcher. But, the reason why Yennefer would agree to that, is still remains a mystery.
Also, in the scene of lifting Uma's curse with the Trial of the Grasses, Yennefer able to do stabilizing spells to increase the survival rate of the Trial of the Grasses. This (maybe?) can increase the survival rate from 3/10 to better rate like 9/10.
And, in the TW3 B&W DLC, there is a side quest in Toussaint where Geralt receive a letter from Yennefer about Professor Tomas Moreau’s research. The research is about Witcher Mutations and how to reverse it, but instead make the mutations even stronger and more powerful (proven by Geralt that gained new powers). There is should be some detailed informations about Witcher Mutations (that can be used to make new Witchers, maybe even new and more powerful witchers?) in Professor Moreau’s secret lab that Geralt visited.
So, based on TW3 lore alone, there's a continuity to the story and lore itself. What’s your opinion about my theory?
Pardon my bad english.
yeah tbh i can totally see that being foreshadowing for W4 and a way that the devs tie the two stories together! Definitely would be very interesting. The watery magic I think is part of her Source powers that she has in the books (though she gives them up in a desert, but is able to access them once or twice afterwards if I remember correctly). I could see the mutations reawakening them tho!
Thank you for the donations and your English isn't bad at all!
Have a lovely day :D
I love your videos! You're obviously very in love with the lore, and your Polish background adds a layer I wouldn't have on my own. I am SO EXCITED for this game and seeing our little girl all grown up 😍
thank you!
the witcher 4 trailer brings me to tears every time😭 ciri is going to be amazing
The only reason I can think of why Ciri would want to be a full witcher and go through the trial of grasses is maybe she doesn't want to use her natural elder blood magic. swearing it off as using that magic could only attract the attention of world-ending foes like that of the wild hunt. This would cause her to rely on weaker mutated magic like the witcher's magic.
Great video and great perspective. Three things to add:
1. In the books, Ciri is said to have been fed mushrooms at Kaer Morhen with some mutagenic properties. This was apparently something that young would-be witchers underwent before taking the Trial of the Grasses and could therefore have been a way of boosting their chances of surviving the Trial.
2. Before the fight with Eredin at the end of the Witcher 3, a second Conjunction of the Spheres happens. Monsters of all kinds fall from the sky, and one can surmise that this happened elsewhere in the world too. If a whole host of new monsters were added to the world, this means that witchers suddenly become more useful than they were before, which perhaps is another point of encouragement for the very principled and good-hearted Ciri to go down this path.
3. One sorceress in particular I can think of that would help Ciri become a witcher to try to gain influence over her is Philippa Eilhart. She's known to do literally anything to increase her personal power.
I love your channel; keep up the good work!
great points!
I think you missed one thing, where ciri uses a falling stream of water as a source to cast a spell when she's held back to the wall. The spell is not a witcher sign, not a heliotrope, not aard and it looks like its Alzur's lightning spell or ball of lightning spell which were mentioned in previous games and books. The trailer doesn't only callback Geralt, it's also Yennefer callback, where she taught Ciri how to get energy from sources and cast spells. It was believed that Ciri renounced magic powers after fire magic on a desert fiasco, but here together with quen signs it seems that she has magic power back different than her elder blood powers. Anyone else noticed that in a trailer?
edit: also nice video as always Wera
I noticed, it's confirmed in the trailer breakdown, too "[...]we are showcasing something special about Ciri. Ciri is a powerful Source. She can drain the energy out of the elements in this world and catalyze it into the very powerful spell."
Yes that was my first though as well seeing her draw from the waterfall. Glad to see you mention it, as I was wondering if I was making up it's relevance.
I assumed she lost the magical powers of the elder blood at the end of Witcher 3. So she doesn’t have all her busted teleportation powers.
@misiojab yes she's clearly using traditional magic.
Which means this version of her is even more removed from her original character, as ciri was unable to use magic because she was a living source.
They have removed everything that made ciri unique.
@@patrickkinnear8625 well, original character of ciri was able to cast spells and conjure magic in the books (during stay at melitele monastery she demolished the shed magically) but she had difficult time doing that probably because she was learning the ropes or maybe it was hard because elder blood but that is a largely speculative angle of interpretation. So pretty much the trailer makes sense that ciri could be conjuring spells. The two most controversial things are "she's a woman, so she can't pass trial of the grasses" and "she renounced the magic power" during desert chapter in the book. These two bases are pretty weird in itself if looked at them logically and it would be best to ask the author about them. Cd project took those two loose "rules" and made some excuse for breaking them which we are going to see in 4th game - question is how they approached this as it is not an easy thing to explain really along with the lore. Idea for breaking them is good for the game as it unleashes potentially new way of gameplay and nicely shows both Geralts and Yennefers hand in raising Ciri but how it ties with the lore? We may just wait and see I guess
To be fair, my canon explanation for how she got mutagens to undergo Trial of the Grasses etc. is that she travelled through space and time to contact wizards that created witchers, get mutagens, find out how to safely undergo the mutation, etc. It's not impossible, it just needs careful management, especially her denouncing the powers of Elder Blood, because it should be a given that she won't be teleporting in the game.
I’m so glad I found this channel. This is THE BEST take I have seen on this whole thing yet. Thank you! I’m going to be showing this video to many people. 😅
SECONDLY, if you watch the Witcher 4 trailer, when the peasant man says “Witcher! Whose coin did ye take?!” He looks directly at the father of the girl who is to be sacrificed. And he sort of turns away. Also! When Ciri returns with the beasts head and hears the girl being killed and runs to the commotion, she kneels down with the grieving father and they lock eyes for a moment, and to me, it seems like a look of familiarity. I would like to believe that Ciri took a contract from the father. It was his coin that Ciri took.
Just wanted to say: I love all your videos and your takes on books and shows.
:)
This is such a good video. Your passion is obvious and infectious, and you cover all sides of every topic with great thought and depth. I'm glad I discovered this channel and you definitely earned my sub!
You are also very beautiful, I hope you don't mind my saying that 🙂
This last week has seperated casual witcher fans from competitive ones
lmao, indeed!
And normal ppl from the “woke” grifting morons who can’t conceptualize playing a game as a woman
yes
"Competitive" ones? You're not competing against anyone. Do you mean maybe diehard lore fans? That's not competitive.
@cya.9700 So...Ciri (a woman) is now head of the witcher series, and y'all have lost your minds to the point of wanting the company that produced the games you loved so much to go under? Y'all are nuts.
12:00 Not so fun fact: It's actually not the same voice actress. They changed the VA to Jagoda Jasnowska. She has a deeper, richer voice and i love it because she kept [ at least in the trailer ] the core elements that made Anna Cieślak's performance so iconic, while also adding new elements. The "NIEEEE" in the trailer was soo reminiscent of Anna Cieślak that i couldn't believe that it's not her. But CDPR confirmed it.
yeah i made a mistake, really sorry. kind of embarassing on my part. I edited my pinned comment to point out my mistake. thank you!
deep voice women.....
@valliyarnl It's totally okay and understandable. I had to do a lot of digging to actually find the info myself.
One of VERY few people who's opinion on this I was waiting for, thank you!
Great video and analysis :) inspiring passion! Thanks!
Thank you for watching 💞
And thank you for the amazing cinematic!!
Not read the books but the game seems to stress the idea that undergoing the Trial of the Grasses strips the Witcher of many of their emotions, yet Ciri seems in full possession of all of ‘em! So CD project are gonna have to come up with
Finding your channel has been such an awesome discovery. After watching your plot breakdown and now this I'm absolutely hooked. I'm Polish but born and raised in Canada. Unfortunately despite just about everyone else I'm related to being fluent, my sister and I were never taught(something I've always resented). These videos gave me the kick I needed to say screw it and just start trying to learn on my own so I truly thank you. Gained a new subscriber and lifelong fan🖖
I think we gotta wait and see, the devs have said Ciri undergoing the trial is pivotal to the story and wasn't a decision taken lightly.
Eyes never shut
As for your analysis that Ciri would be deterred from taking the Trial, I might argue that she has been on the run from pursuers for ever. They all want to ‘use’ her for her womb, more importantly her placenta. She might have decided that if I can no longer bear children then I am free, and the Trial of the grasses is a way to make her sterile and of no use to the powers that have been pursuing her for most of her life. She is obviously determined to follow the path and I can’t see why she wouldn’t consider it.
This! Thank you! I’m surprised so many people are not considering this! It seems so obvious to me!
Dude, there are bettter ways to sterilize yourself than undergoing a whole-body mutation. Why would she take the risk of dying only to do that what can be done by any skilled sorceress anywhere on the Continent? Wera made a great point.
Except that theres a ton of ways to sterilize yourself that are safer than the trial of grasses. Yenn is aware of that and thus wouldnt let ciri do the trials just to sterilize herself.
Yep. She doesn't want to be party to a prophecy or be physically used by anyone. The only way to make that happen once and for all is to remove her fertility, logically that would be through the Trial. People forget the biggest villain of the book series, Vilgefortz, was a mage who wanted Ciri for nothing but her womb. And even her own biological father was (almost?) willing to sleep with her to fulfill the prophecy. All the major villains of the saga are sick old men wanting to use a girl for their own ends. Go on and tell Sapko how woke he was for writing that in 90s Poland lol
Do we know if the mutagens affect women the same way they affect men?
What do you think of the theory that she might have lost a big deal of her powers when she saved the world from the white frost ? And that she would be way less powerful and much closer to a normal defenceless person which as a result has led her to consider witcher mutations ? It would also explain why she hasn't used her special powers during the combat in the trailer
It's really nice to see this channel grow
Here before comment section turns to a batterfield.
ngl batterfield should 100% have been the title for Great British Bake Off
@@tenou213YES
for my mental health and sanity i hope it doesnt :)
😂😂😂
Batterfield, huh.
Unrelated but I’m reading the lesser evil and my favorite line is something like “that’s not a good prediction, all good predictions rhyme” 😂😂. Hoping you’re going to continue with the series!!
I dont want a rpg female main character. I dont want to romance a guy, but i dont want to play with a lesbian either.
@ why do I give a fuck lol
@@gregorgerzson1767 Well you do have the embarrassment of the choice, with the vast majority of RPGs out there featuring a male lead. Also we women have been playing RPGs with straight male leads for ages, and we've been perfectly fine with it.
@@talvituhkat5099 how about let us create our own character and make Ciri a fckable companion?
@@gregorgerzson1767 Ciri has always been the real main character anyway. In the books, she is the main focus, we only see the events through the eyes of Geralt. It's only natural that she now has a trilogy for herself, she's not a common "fckable" NPC
considering Luke Stephens a good source of info for... anything is lowkey kinda sad
i recoiled
i like his healthy skepticism. i think he gives really balanced takes.
@valliyarnl I can see why you'd think that if his content is the only thing you watch.
But even if you like his "skepticism" there are other youtubers that have the same takes that actually do research. Everything i've ever seen out of him is either surface level, misinformed/lying, or a combination thereof. That and the length is artificially padded (classic 20 minutes of saying nothing).
In my eyes he's nothing more than a content mill, and that's overlooking his past. Unfortunately nothing beats doing your own research by using multiple sources
@@banbranmuffinsyeah his content is just clipped from streams of him regurgitating things said online and from his stream chat, changing it into a video format and talking about it long enough to get it past the 10 min mark even if he isn't actually saying anything of note. I found him randomly and subbed but after a few vids you can really tell what he's doing.
@@banbranmuffins exactly, well put my friend
Man, I love how passionate you are over this series and how excited you get over these characters and lore.
How good it is to be able to hear someone with exact same opinion about trailer etc, good video, keep it up!
to note i dont think ciris sword is the same as the one geralt could give her in one of the endings from at least how i compared it.
also thing i picked up on was ciri didnt take coin for the job in the trailer, leads me to believe they wanted to showcase her feeling responsible of new monsters coming in due to conjuncture in the end of witcher3 thus her becoming a real witcher aswell its just my theory.
Interesting POV, I never thought about that in that way
If you get the good ending in Witcher 3 the Wild Hunt then you know whats up with Ciri. I got the bad ending so i had to load a save from like 20 hours earlier to get the good ending. It was well worth it.
For Ciri to undergo the mutation, she could have a pretty good reason for doing it.. and based on books and games, there are few reasons that could be responsible - First, mutation means, she would become sterile, couldnt have children.. therefore prophecy about her child being "savior/destroyer of the world" becomes a moot point.. together with all the politics surrounding it.. And FYI, there isnt any direct mention only boys underwent the trial of grasses. At the time when they invite Triss to Kaer Morhen, she initially thought they are calling her to help with the trials.. and when she met Ciri, she examined her if she underwent any mutation.. so if those were lethal to women, why would she even considered it??
@@nicechock witchers not having emotions is a lie.
@@nicechock It's one of the core things both in the books and in the games that Witchers *are said* not to have emotions, but both Geralt and Vesimir clearly do have very strong emotions.
The in-world book in which Witchers were said not to have emotions is 'Monstrum, or a Portrayal of Witchers', which is a polemic against Witchers; and most of the things it says we know not to be true. So it's not intended to be understood as a reliable source.
That's lazy
@@simonbrooke4065 People falling for fictional propaganda and bigotry is very funny
@anitaremenarova6662 agreed 💀
I love how objective you tried to be. One idea I have seen tossed about, alongside what Neon Knight proposed, was that Ciri's nature as a Source, and her Elder Blood power, allowed her to, in one way or another, become a full Witcher, perhaps as a way to prevent her womb being used (as IIRC, in the books its her daughter that deals with the White Frost), as well as not wanting to be bound by that blood anymore. Its possible that her powers are suppressed
Love how the creators are responding to your concerns! Love your channel
I think Ciri lost most of her powers when she stopped the white frost. That would explain the trials.
Or her trying to prevent the prophecy of her child (even though that was kinda' retconned by CDPR, if I'm not mistaken). But I kinda' like this reasoning.
Think its more likely she wants to sterilize herself so people can finally stop chasing her for her Elder Blood.
@@petrsvoboda1895 Yeah it would make sense if she wanted to be rid of it to stop running but also to stop her bloodline from continuing because it seems to cause more harm than good especially if "the prophecy" has been fulfilled.
We need to stop talking about the white frost like this. The white frost is nothing to be stopped. Not even in the prophecy this is what the elder blood is supposed to do. Instead it's function is to make some people survive this cold period or to to be the beginning of a new world somehow. Well allegedly anyway as it isn't clear if it is true in any way.
@@brosky8744there’s a lot easier ways for ciri to become sterile than the trial of grasses
It's a CGI trailer so I'm not too concerned about Ciri's face. They are also changing engines for this game and they had the exact same issue with going from W1 to W2 - you can look up first screenshots from W2 and how terrible Geralt's face looked.
I do think that they made life much more difficult for themselves than they could/should with choosing Ciri as a protagonist and making it a direct sequel overall. They no longer have as much consumer trust as they had in the W3 era.
People will (sometimes unfairly) scrutinize this, because the entire AAA gaming industry has been going downhill for several years now, so overall trust in big gaming corporations is down significantly.
I do hate the english voice, she sounds more like a Crone than a 20-something woman and I hope that the polish voice actress remains unchanged and doesn't try to be batman.
Ciri undergoing mutations will cause lore issues regardless of how they explain it. Mutations are not a risk anybody in the lore has ever taken of their own free will. Ciri's own power was already beyond mutations and potions. I think they were forced to make her undergo them so that gameplay-wise it would stay similar. I do not believe it can be explained sensibly within the lore. This comes back to issues with making a direct sequel to a closed story in general.
I don't think that many people care about the gender of a game's protagonist on its own, but there have been plenty of games in the recent past that overly focused on the gender of a protagonist and related issues, rather than on telling a good story. Some people started associating female protagonists with that. I don't think it's fair, but heuristics rarely are.
Overall I don't like that they seem to be making the witcheress ending of W3 canon. I got it and I thought it didn't fit the tone of the game or of previous stories at all. I considered it a gimmick created for a game's purpose, because some people will want a "best ending". Incidentally it's an issue I had with CP77 - there is no significant difference in tone or outcome between the endings, so why bother - the Kurt Cobain option is just as valid as the others and less people flatline.
P.S. If this is an elseworld story I'm going to slightly exhale from my nose and never care about any Witcher media ever again.
with CD Project working on both Cyberpunk sequel and now Witcher 4 at the same time i wonder how much they’ll crossover easter egg wise
There was a small reference to Ciri visiting a modern setting in the Witcher 3. Unless she lost her "lady of time and space" powers, I could see her popping in Night City for like three seconds during a cutscene
This is the best channel to come to for witcher opinions as this channel respects and understands the lore, characters and themes the best imo
Cautiously optimistic is the perfect expression for how I’m feeling.
Love this video and the passion behind the breakdown, as someone who's also read (and loved) the books in parallel to the games. I think this is a lovely place to share my thoughts and theories on several ideas (especially why Ciri becoming a proper Witcher is brilliant and actually follows a discussion & fight Geralt & Vilgefortz once share), so something I'd like to add to the overall discussion is:
1. Ciri isn't really supposed to be conventionally beautiful as per the books - and I remember this constantly being observed by characters in the books (even Yennefer keeps referring to her at the start as “my ugly one” - although I think the meaning with which she says it as the books progresses changes - taking on the opposite tonality). So, from that perspective, I think they've got her new look bang on. I still think this Ciri looks pretty - so I was confused by the comments - but I'm definitely glad she doesn't look like she's ready to start ramp walking…
2. I think the Witcher games did the impossible, wherein they took on the impossible task of continuing a story that supposedly ended (the story of Geralt) - and everyone (even without the author's approval) just accepted it, because they did the story so brilliantly, authentically, honoring the source material, and still being original. In 10 out 10 cases, such a project isn't supposed to work. Now they're doing the same thing with Ciri, wherein they are giving us an imagining of what would happen if her story continued, and I'm definitely rooting for them to get it right. For me, the Witcher games are epic because it's like someone took the LOTR ROTK and continued Aragorn's story, and I wasn't mortified and pissed to death (terrible example - because unlike Sapkowski, Tolkien pretty much summarized everything that is meant to happen in his world till kingdom come/judgement day - quite literally)
3. Ciri has always - in the books (as far as I remember) - identified with being a Witcher more than the Child of Elder Blood. While I think it's lore breaking to say that she actually becomes a Witcher - trial of grasses and all - I also think it's pretty ballsy, and it's what I would do as a writer. It's not that complicated, honestly, sciences constantly evolve - so why do the Witcher sciences get the pass to be so eternally fixed? In fact, I always thought that the brutality of the Trials of Grasses was rather backward, and something primitive people came up with and then just didn't try to evolve it, despite how deadly it was (kinda like the primitive ideology of the village folk in the trailer - who think the only way to keep the beast at bay - is to feed someone to the beast). That's how the study of medicine works, you always try to find better formulations with lesser side-effects. So, the answer is simple, Ciri (and maybe Geralt) find a way to make the Witcher Trials less deadly... maybe they chance upon this while trying to revive the Witcher schools...
4. To support my theory, if you simply do a web search of Lynx symbology/mythology - the first Wikipedia line reads - "it often symbolizes the unravelling of hidden truths", so I feel that kinda fits with my theory
5. Witchers always felt like a limited version of Wizards/Witches, in name and ability. In Geralt's fight with Vilgerfortz in the book - it comes out pretty clear which of the two are more powerful. Speaking of which - Vilgerfortz and Geralt have a brilliant philosophical conversation, wherein Vilgerfortz tries convincing Geralt to become a Wizard and says that he can help him become one. I think Ciri being a Witcher, a Witch, and someone with Space/Time abilities - feels like a powerful and epic combination to put in the hands of a gamer - especially with the newer technology. When I saw this Unreal Engine 5 showcase a couple of years ago and with female protagonist flying through the screen - from one end to the other in a matter of seconds, I couldn't help but think of a Witcher Game with Ciri - ruclips.net/video/qC5KtatMcUw/видео.html
I don't think people are fully understanding or appreciating how significantly different, dynamic, expansive, and evolved gameplay can be compared to the previous Witcher games - with Ciri and her abilities...
Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty showed me that if nothing else, CDPR can still write.
The storytelling is the least of my concerns. The bugs on the other hand…
i think CP77 launch traumatised them enough so i really have hope for the state in which they release the game. they talk about not wanting to repeat that a lot
14:15 As far as I know, it was never said that women *couldn't* become witchers, It was only stated that there weren't any female witchers before, which from the way I understand it is just because they never really tried to make a female witcher.
the trial is made specifically for males that's why witchers are called vedymin, "the witchman", and not "the witchwoman" or smth lol, and iirc it is stated in the books that no female survived any attempt at it, unless CDPR introduces some plot in where they made a new trial for females its just a DEIfication of the Witcher
@xiami11 As far as I know, the reason why there are no female witchers it’s not because it is impossible to survive it. It's because they just didn’t do the trial on women since they got sickly earlier and didn’t do as well later on so they stopped trying to make a female Witcher. As far as I know, it has NEVER been said that it is IMPOSSIBLE for women to become witchers.
Edit: Nobody cares about DEI, they care about good media.
Edit again: Ciri is referred to as a Witcher in the books and in the Witcher 3, specifically calling her a “Witcher girl” so it doesn’t seem like it’s that strange of an idea to them, plus in the books Ciri goes to Kaer Morhen and receives witcher combat training for a year while being guided by 5 witchers AND she is fed the same fitness accelerating herbs that witchers are given before undergoing their mutations and Ciri had developed the internal fitness of a witcher, Triss even tells the Witchers to stop giving the accelerants to Ciri so often because they may have side effects, if any woman were to be the first witcheress, it would be Ciri
I think that they tried to make female Witchers but the all died in the process.
@@maen7674 lol I know you watched that neon Knight video
it is never explicitly stated that a girl cannot become a witcher. However, the lack of female witchers in the stories stems more from tradition and the structure of the witcher schools than any outright biological or magical prohibition. given Ciri and how basically Geralt became like a father to her and the training she took at Kaer Morhen I think it was only a matter of time before she would attempt the trial.
this is also not something you can really answer with the book says this or that as these event would take place after the book series and her magical time traveling 😂
Good Take, glad I found you, you give me hope for the game. Look forward to your review.
this video is perfect, you managed to adress 100% of the thing I tough about the trailer, plus providing background info. 10/10
I have a Theory regarding her going through the Trial of the Grasses.
I don't think the only reason she becomes mutated would be presented simply as her choice, CDPR isn't that naive to do that. My Theory is that she might go through a near Death experience, a cataclysm or something dangerous where the only choice is to go through the mutations or something more to urge her supporting characters to take that choice. Maybe by going against a Powerful character? Maybe the Main villain would be introduced that way?
There can also be the reason she didn't use her elder blood powers here related to that Danger
Its the only thing that pseudo makes sense. Because ciri being an adult up or not doesnt matter. Yenn would literally bind her in Dimeritium before allowing her to attempt the trial of grasses which is for all intents and purposes a death sentence just bc "she wants to". So if its just "ciri wants to do it" thats bad writing. It would also be bad writing in the sense that Ciri loves yenn and geralt and wouldnt under take a suicide mission to take the trial just "bc she wants to" knowing theres a good chance she would die and theyd be devastated.
The game director, Sebastian Kalemba, posted a coin as a tease on Twitter days after the trailer. The runic alphabet was translated by people and it says "Days and nights pass and the blood remains the same." I've been seeing what others have been theorizing and I agree with them. Ciri wanted to do the trial so that it could depower her elder blood and so that people could stop coming after her just because of it. However, based on the translation, the elder blood is still there and is most likely just dormant, for now. Additionally, in an interview, Kalemba said that the monster in the trailer is called a Bauk and it can "smell your fears" and "play with your traumas." When the Bauk said "fate cannot be changed," I thought it was talking about the fate the girl being sacrificed at first, but now this means it was actually talking about Ciri herself. Ciri tried to change her fate but it can't be changed and the elder blood is still there. I think all of this is very plausible.
17:17 "It's not a phase, Mom"
Fully agree with your take on this. I am of the same opinion. Also I think a lot of people forgot that shortly after the release of The Witcher 3 CDPR actually said that if they make The Witcher 4, they plan on Ciri being the next protagonist. Then again might have just been a Polish article I read a long time ago.
Anyway, great video. Can't wait to see more.
Interesting point about Ciri’s motivation not necessarily being as financially oriented as Geralt. Which makes sense, given her lineage, she should really be fine as far as money goes.
I wish CDPR went in a different direction. Rather than making her a real witcher, they should have made her a symbolic witcher and greatly enhanced her TW3 powerset. Honest I wish they didn't make a sequel. That send off to Geralt was soo good.
are you doing the part 2 of the last video?
probably in February.
I share some of your cautious optimism, but I have to admit I’m deeply concerned about the creative direction under CDPR, especially with people like Cian Maher now involved in shaping the lore. This is someone who has openly defended The Witcher Netflix series and even Blood Origin, productions that most fans agree strayed far from the heart of Sapkowski’s work, not to mention their complete disregard for Slavic roots and authentic storytelling.
Cian has a documented history of openly hating gamers, even going so far as to say he would punch them, calling them "manbabies," and mocking the very audience that cares deeply about The Witcher franchise. It's worrying to think someone with so much disdain for the core fanbase, and who has defended lore-breaking adaptations, is now in a position to influence the narrative direction of The Witcher.
With the Trial of the Grasses retcon and other questionable creative choices already surfacing, it’s hard not to feel like this game might prioritize catering to modern trends over respecting the integrity of Sapkowski’s universe. I hope CDPR proves me wrong, but the signs are troubling. The Witcher deserves better than to fall into the hands of people who don’t respect its legacy or its fans.
Amazing passion with this series, this makes me want to read the books 👍
Good analysis. Your excitment is so cute because it's so sincere. I'll for sure be here in the future for more Witcher videos
The thing for me is I don’t remember anything explicitly saying a woman CANNOT become a witcher. The Trial of Grasses is essentially an ingestion of herbs that is tailored specifically to men, and is still extremely dangerous with low survivability. They generally don’t do it with women because the survivability is even lower, and women generally don’t bother enough to refine it better or have a better estimate. It’s the same practice as the Joining in Dragon Age, an equally dangerous ‘survival is random and not guaranteed in any way’ trial that gives you a needed advantage to be what you’re trying to become.
It feels like because they just don’t really bring them in or there are no notable women as witchers, it’s assumed as a given it’s just not possible. Unlikely is not impossible. No representatives does not mean from now until the future it can never change. It’s like a lot of things, people assume because there’s no evidence of something, it cannot exist. History has shown that to be false too often for people to close off possibilities. Remember when it was a fact that you could literally sail off the edge of the world?
It should also bear mentioning that Ciri was not really reliable with using her powers. The endings alone show trying to use them to any real extent could kill her. And outside of that, she may even have a biological advantage in the trials due to her heritage. It’s strange to me that people bring up her power, yet immediately ignore it as a potential hardiness factor when someone mentions the trials.
+ what i remember what was mentioned in game (also herd its in books) is strong elder blood make person immune to the change, so even if she were a guy trials wouldn't work on her
@@ShadowWizardliterally where does it say that? Or is that just a line you interpreted that way?
@@NBAdux i just remember it was in the game that's all
Hello! New Subscriber here. I'm from Hungary and a big fan of the books read them 3 times each and even though Hungary is not a Slavic country we have similar "colours" of our landscapes and our history and overall Polish and Hungarian are friends. Anyway as a book and also a game lover is it somewhere mentioned that a Woman especially and adult Woman can go through the Trial of Grasses? Because for me it feels not lore friendly but please correct me if I'm wrong but that aspect felt a little wrong for me. (only my thoughts and opinion I don't want to hurt anybody).
It’s not said that there CANT be female Witchers but the Trial as it is now it is tailored for young boys. So I’m not at all against the idea (esp since it is Ciri), I just want an explanation ☺️
@valliyarnl YES. I hope they will give us a good explanation because I always wanted to play Ciri as a protagonist to be honest but I thought we will use her "Lady of Space and Time" powers. Anways the trailer looks frickin' amazing now we only have to wait about 1 or 2 years. :D
See you on the path again, Wiedziminka! 🐺 ⚔️
#NoGodsOnlyMonsters
This is exactly how I feel. Thanks for relaying this in such an eloquent way! Great video.
I discovered your channel right after the trailer dropped. Perfect timing. I think i'll enjoy watching your vids leading up to the game.
I think you missed the point of the entire Witcher 3 plot by bringing up that she would agree with Geralt and Yen to not undergo the trials. I mean throughout the entire plot she is basically doing the opposite of what Geralt wants from her, or at least tries to. And we have established already that the burden of being the Hen Ichaer is not received well by Ciri, and i genuinely believe that she would rather be a Witcher than go through the same shit again [ running away, running away, running away.... oh have i mentioned constantly running away? } That's the whole point of Witcher 3. She didn't want to be the chosen one [ for lack of a better word ] anymore.
It's also a point in the books, she's literally traveling between worlds constantly just to escape
At the end of the game though she stops running and faces her destiny with Avallac’h. Personally I like the Empress ending the most as that would allow Ciri to have the maximum impact and influence on the continent. I also think this ruins the ending of The Witcher III a little bit as there is now a concrete canonical ending, personally I prefer the openness of choosing your own story and ending.
@@SleeperJoe2024 I believe the developers said they would account for all three endings. I assume it would operate the same way “life paths” operated in Cyberpunk(although, hopefully more in depth).
I think i'm misunderstanding something. I never said she wants to be a chosen one. i know she doesn't. i read the books and its never clearer. i don't see how that relates whether or not she would take Geralt and Yen's advice.
@valliyarnl It's complicated because for me at the same time it relates to it very much but actually not at all. All im saying is that it would be pretty logical [ at least for me ] if they went that way.
Some thoughts about the announcement:
1- Ciri as the main protagonist:
After CDPR offered us Cyberpunk 2077 i secretly hoped that i was going to be able to create my own witcher and go wild on a skill tree of my own while navigating a sophisticated built in morality system as i sink +200h in this world but hey... That's a gamer's expectation and a problem i created for myself x) Totally okay to play with Ciri, it comes from a natural progression tbh though i secretly hope that for one reason or another... We get to play with Geralt for some anecdotal bits here and there!
2- The trailer in itself:
In my opinion (and please don't insult me): The Witcher 3 killing monsters trailer is one of the best trailers ever made for anything, okay? imo it was lazy to reuse kinda the same theme, situation and dialogue... Yes, i know that it is the core of this universe: There are literal monsters but humans are the real monsters through their cowardice, perversions and ignorance. The rest of the trailer was fire so made me excited because i was not expecting it.
3- Staying cautious:
Lots of CDPR OGs went away after the Cyberpunk fiasco. It is going to be a real challenge to match the absolute masterpiece that is The Witcher 3. Cyberpunk's redemption is real, it is now a very good game and a testimony that CDPR are not gods: they can fuckup and they can learn. So for all W3 fans and CDPR lovers: Be hopeful but be mindful of all the variables.
Open to the conversation with all you guys!
Yes, the Witcher IV trailer echoes Killing Monsters; it also echoes the opening cinematic to the Witcher 1. I think these echoes are strengths, linking the series together.
Generally I agree, but one thing to note is that Witcher 3 also had a lot of performance issues when it launched - not as catastrophic as Cyberpunk, but it was still bad. However, the story was so good that it kept people playing, whereas Cyberpunk's story wasn't as popular (not saying it's good or bad, but statistically speaking it was not as successful as Witcher 3). So it's likely that there will still be significant performance issues when Witcher 4 launches, but everything really depends on the quality of the writing and the core gameplay.
I also agree that Witcher 3 was masterful, but I think a lot of that greatness comes from the DLCs. Without them, I don't think the game would be remembered nearly as fondly as it is today. For Witcher 4, succeeding base game Witcher 3 is doable, but throw in the DLCs and that challenge becomes near impossible. I'm also staying cautious, but ultimately I'm inclined to believe that CDPR has learned from their mistakes with Cyberpunk and will hopefully succeed with Witcher 4. At least, I hope so...
The trailer is imo meant to show the differences between ciri and Geralt but also focus on the similarities between them because they are father and daughter essentially with the callback to killing monsters, the chain. But also showing ciri will actively involve herself in the matter of the people if she feels like it unlike geralt who will try not to.
Your third point is odd, most of the senior/lead from TW1/2 are still at CDPR, some left and even rejoined and it's silly to expect every single Witcher 1 dev to stay 17 years at a studio 🤷🏻♂️
If we use TW3 as an example of good CDPR, well most of those people are still at the studio anyway.
So your third point feels like fear mongering due to ignorance of the state of the studio.
The lead writer, art director, story director, lead character artist, senior quest designers, lead environment artist are all from TW1.
I'm not going to list every original dev but feel free to search them up if you're uneasy.
@@dr_diddy The narrative director, Philipp Weber, is also at the company for 10+ years and worked on W3. He's even here in the comment section saying they took the explanations very seriously and it won't be handwaved.
Ciri looks so badass...I'm stoked to play her.
You have amazing passion for the Witcher series. Its good to see this amount of detailed analysis of the trailor. I look forward to more content on this great universe of the Witcher.
Great video, and I enjoyed listening to the breakdown of your thoughts
To me, it's almost a given that Ciri will lose her elder blood powers somehow. A lot more about this makes sense if that's the case.
It's why she'd struggle in the fight, it's why she may take the trial of the grasses, hell it may even be the main thrust of her journey.
I was going to post this also. We didn't see any of the Elder Blood powers she had in W3 in the trailer. I guess her pulling that "life force" or whatever from the stream could be an offshoot of those powers, but everything else she did was Witcher sign-adjacent.
@pribulasaurus Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if you get them back bit by bit as a progression system
@Zyphent Ooooo that could be interesting. Maybe like in addition to the sign upgrade trees there could be a separate one for Elder Blood or witch powers.
Finally an educated opinion!! I’ve been so annoyed by the political conversation surrounding this announcement.
Firstly, I mostly agree with everything you’ve said. I’m very excited, but reserved.
For me, making Ciri a "true" Witcher with mutations doesn't just tweak her narrative, it fundamentally undermines her character arc and the themes she embodies in Sapkowski's work.
For me, Witchers always reflected the male-centric experience of isolation, survival, and estrangement that defines them in the books. Geralt and others live with the knowledge that they are both indispensable and despised, a tension that defines their existence. To suddenly introduce female Witchers feels like it’s questioning the carefully constructed universe. Like you mentioned with men not becoming sorceresses. There’s a very defined reason for that. And you’re 100% correct on Geralt and Yen never supporting this. Expanding the Trials to include Ciri doesn't feel like progress it feels like a dilution of the tragedy that defines Witchers.
But nonetheless, CDPR have always been good writers. Here’s to hoping that Geralt is the final boss in the Gwent Tournament!
They can write around this, Ciri could've perfected the trials with Yen's help and make them no longer have abysmal survival chance. I'm most concerned about the lack of clear direction, devs said they want to do both introducing new fans to the franchise and welcome back old ones and this makes me nervous. Continuing with Ciri makes sense but I'm hoping they'll respect our decisions from previous titles such as Geralt being gone if you get the bad ending.
@@Skyrimkid9800 Yeah I’m aware. All 3 directors and both producers from Witcher 3 are gone. But, many others remain. I’m keeping my expectations tempered. Definitely worrying though.
@@anitaremenarova6662 Firstly, old writers of Witcher 3 had left the company. The new "Lore Writer" guy is a former game journalist and showed a lot of hate toward gamers on his tweets, as well as considered himself the "true gamer".
Secondly, during thousands years of witcher history, even in their golden age, they can only manage to have a witcher-creating process with 30-40% chance to success, and only work on young boys. But now, suddenly, a magical formula appears with 100% success, work on adult women, and no side-effect? So convenient. Let's make an army of female witchers with this.
Thirdly, Ciri is already stronger than any normal witcher. Why did she need to take the mutation?
@@Skyrimkid9800 I wonder what gives you people so much confidence to spout such obvious bs. Most of the writers and devs are still at the company, you can fact-check this at any point by going to their Linked-in accounts. Also they switched to UE5 because it'll be much less work than trying to improve their now outdated engine. Cyberpunk looks dated outside of its lighting already despite coming out 4 years ago.
@@QuangNguyen-zn8vl What? The guy credited as main writer for the game is still there.
I remember in a voice of reason, Geralt told the story of the first thing he did as a witcher was saving a child from grown men (including her father). This shattered Geralt's expectations, and he understood from then on how empty the witcher life is. Ciri on the other hand knows what to expect, has a good support network and chose to be a witcher. The former experience kind of shaped Geralt's cynical view, but Ciri's experience has formed stronger principles.
I feel like witcher in name wouldve been cooler. Having what she already does on top of being a full fledged witcher feels kinda redundant imo, but ill trust the process
I appericate this break down, it gave me some new insights about Ciri from another prospective.
The only issue I have with the model is she looks like she's had "work done." Like we are so accustomed to seeing actresses getting cosmetic work done as they age, they did it to Ciri's lips. Her lips look like a 40 year old actress who got a lip injection. That was the first thing that stood out to me about the model.
I have the EXACT same reaction to her going through the mutations. I keep saying it, it's like Batman found a young Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) raised her, and she used gold kryptonite (which perminatly takes her powers away) to be Batwoman.
I always saw it as Ciri didn't need it, she was more powerful than a witcher.
I think that would have had a MUCH more interesting dynamic. Ciri, a witcher who isn't a mutated witcher, but more powerful would make waves. Imagine that dynamic where she's an outcast and other witcher schools are not fond of her for that fact. To me that is a better story than trying to make up some reason as to why a woman in her 20s would go through the trial of grasses. They can always make new mechanics. They can evolve the gameplay, if you're going to retcon, you can retcon or expand on Ciri's powers.
I'm kind of disappointed by that.
Im so excited for the game!
me too!
+1
Regarding Ciri being a witcher and undergoing the Trial: maybe you Wera will be able to verify it, as I've read the Saga quite some time ago, but I remember that there was a conversation, where Vesemir remarks, that it's believed, that if someone is destined to be a witcher, the Trials of Grasses would not be necessary?
We also know from Rozdroże Kruków, that the white hair is rare thing that happens to some witchers during the Trials. And When when Geralt and Ciri are leaving the castle they fought Vilgefortz in the last book of the Saga, Geralt notices a white strand in her hair, which were supposed to be 'mysie', and he's hilding his anger, as he does not want this life for her. In W3 we see her with a full head of white hair, which would mean, that her 'natural' transformation to a witcher is more or less complete by then.
I thought Ciri's white hair was more attributed to her family heritage and lineage like with the green eyes as her mother Pavetta had silver hair and Calanthe did too. I know Geralt's white hair is a result of a side effect of the Trial but Ciri always had white hair, I could be wrong though.
Gotta admit, I'm looking forward to playing as Ciri in The Witcher 4. A lot of people who aren't familar with the books think that it is utter madness the game doesn't focus on Geralt. Of course, had they read the books they'd understand the importance of Ciri.
And while CDPR take liberties for the games to happen, they still respect a lot of the lore and canon regardless.
I'm probably going to buy TW4 at full price if the performance is good.
**CP77 flashbacks**
Always love to hear your opinions, what a great video!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the trailer.
I wonder if the lynx school is her own and this story will be about her journey as a teacher/parent figure to others.
Also I resonate with wanting a good explanation for Ciri’s Witcher powers.
I won’t be upset as long as it’s somewhat thoughtful and handled with respect. I speculate maybe it has to do with her time/space travel powers helping her find some lost knowledge. In my above comment about Ciri taking a teacher role, maybe she will be in the position to subject others to the trial of the grasses and has to make that choice on her own.
Im gonna gwent so gwenting hard all over this gwame
Same
Choosing Ciri, I think, was the right choice! I'm good with Ciri being a witcher & the main character, it's the only way it could have gone
no they could of just left the series as it is too
@@blackvalio4060i mean … not really. it’s been foreshadowed all throughout the third game that ciri’s story was just starting and that she’d take up the mantle.
@@S0LAVELLANHELL not true at all
@@S0LAVELLANHELL Not even remotely true lol
@@onebuffalo5402 @blackvalio4060
Tell me you didn't read the books without saying you didn't read the books.
This follows the optional ending that Geralt understands that Ciri needed to go to another dimension to save us all. Ciri did this and Geralt thought that she died. Ciri came back and became a Witcher
That was honestly the best ending in the game given its realism. So retconning that as the canon ending would honestly piss off the fewest people if they just chock it up to "she lost her powers and had a long treck to find geralt again" in the meantime he thought she was dead but wasnt imho
Seeing the Stormlight Archives in the background made me feel happy. Love the Cosmere... ^^
Whenever I can see someone's bookshelf it's like a trigger for obsessive analysis. XD
My head canon to fend off negativity -> She had a baby, lost her powers, lost her baby (fell through a portal it made, because she could feel it as such, but also felt a chimming of bells that took on shapes and looked like a tiny stumby pyramid), and decided to push for whatever it took to get power that would help her track down clues. She tells loved ones her plans, but not that where she was going seemed to be the most dangerious, so they split up in helping her to the minor locations she felt the direction and distances of.
"I've grown up reading the Witcher", that's quite a series to be reading while being a wee child
just eastern europe stuff 🤷♂
well i grew up surrounded by it. i first read it at age 13 if i remember correctly
IKR?
I went to bat for CDPR on all my socials 😂. I think it is despicable how quickly people are to turn their backs on a beloved character just because she's the star of the show now. It's not woke, it's not trying to push an agenda, it's the logical direction for a new Witcher saga to go in. I have no doubt CDPR will do her and the entire fanbase justice in this new game. I loved Geralt, he's one of if not, my favorite RPG protagonist ever but his story has concluded. Anyways, the music in the trailer was marvelous and if done right, this could be the greatest RPG of all time. No hyperbole. So excited.
Side note, an interview with CDPR confirms we're getting Gwent and Romance. Geralt's two loves will live on!
It's not about beauty, simply put this is NOT Ciri how much you try justifying the change.
Picture the father-daughter monologue as spoken by Geralt in your head and it makes the same effect in the trailer. Glad someone noticed it too.
Happy to know that another fan of the books and games saw the potential in that trailer. I am also a little wary about how they are going to justify Ciri going through the trials, but otherwise that priouette pretty much had me hooked. Gave me vicarious Geralt proud father feels.