CD Projekt Red talks about Ciri, a character that will bring more options to the gameplay of The Witcher IV

At The Game Awards 2024 CD Projekt Red presented The Witcher IV and can now talk freely about the game, a project that until now we knew as Polaris. The cinematics revealed to us that Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Ciri to her friends, is the protagonist of the new trilogy, a choice that will mark both the narrative and the gameplay, as commented by the game director Sebastian Kalemba in an interview with IGN. In the same medium, the developer has also confirmed that Geralt will be present, but it is unknown for now what role he will have or what his importance will be in the plot.

For CD Projekt Red, the choice of Ciri as the protagonist of The Witcher IV is something natural and organic, since the studio considers that the title The Witcher refers to both Geralt and her. The company even believes that Ciri is more important to the plot than Geralt himself, something that some players and readers will possibly agree with. Within The Witcher trilogy, the last we know about Ciri is that she was a young woman facing her destiny, while in the presentation cinematic of The Witcher IV it is clear that she has passed the Herbal Test and is a witch that hunts monsters.

Sebastian Kalemba, director of The Witcher IV, says that Ciri “deserves her own journey.” Kalemba talks about Ciri as a less calculating character who lets herself be guided by her instincts, a trait that contrasts with Geralt’s way of being. This difference, coupled with the fact that Ciri is a witch just taking her first steps, means that there is room for players to create their own version of Ciri. Consequently, making her the protagonist of the story will mark the title both on a narrative and playable level.

Kalemba comments that Ciri is about to create her own code. “The way he faces monsters, how he approaches missions or adventures is his own,” says the director. This means that in The Witcher IV players will have more tools at their disposal to define both their gameplay and narrative experience. In this sense, CD Projekt Red has the experience of Cyberpunk 2077, a game where the gameplay can be very varied depending on the player’s choices. “We want to improve the gameplay of The Witcher 3 and also the way you will be able to explore the world,” adds Kalemba.

“We make more tools available to players, not only to play and take on narrative consequences, but also those related to gameplay,” Kalemba says. “We want to give more opportunities to players to feel like they define their experience.”

The cinematic with which The Witcher IV was presented is a good example of what Kalemba says. To begin with, when Ciri discovers the first thing they say to her is “Who paid you?” Everyone knows that witches work for money, but does Ciri do it this time? She does not respond, but simply rejects that a young woman has been chosen by the gods to be sacrificed and decides to help her. During the fight we see that he has difficulties and his own tools like a chain. Finally, when he returns to town he discovers that his decision has consequences that perhaps he had not contemplated.

eleven years ago The Witcher III was presented with a cinematic that begins with Geralt getting paid for a job. Then make a moral decision. In The Witcher IV’s cutscene, Ciri steps forward through the crowd to save a young girl, a decision that doesn’t seem motivated by a contract. In both cases, Geralt and Ciri end up fighting a monster.