The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis by far the most popular game featuring Geralt of Rivia. Earning dozens of awards in 2015, including multiple Game of the Year awards,The Witcher 3is still fondly remembered by many as a great open-world RPG. For those who enjoyedThe Witcher 3and went back to playThe WitcherandThe Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, it can be quite jarring to experience how the older games play, especially regarding the first title. It seems that CD Projekt Red is looking to remedy this, though, as it has announced anUnreal Engine 5 remake ofThe Witcher.
There are a lot of elements about thefirstWitchergame that prove to be extremely datedin 2022. The graphical fidelity of the game and its combat specifically mark areas that definitely need some improvement. However, even withThe Witcher 1remake looking to change a lot, it shouldn’t sacrifice what makes Geralt’s first video game adventure unique. The game should also avoid looking too much like a clone ofThe Witcher 3, even though it should take a lot of influence from the 2015 phenomenon.
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The Witcher Remake is Already Making Some Big Changes
The Witcherremake shouldn’t take too much influence fromThe Witcher 3, but there is no harm in following in the footsteps of what has worked tremendously well for CD Projekt Red. Already, a big change is coming to the firstWitchergame as the remake will be open-world, marking a significant difference from the way the original title is played. It has Geralt move along a much more linear trail, where the player could explore some large areas but not the entire game space as a whole.
This signifies that rather thanThe Witcher 1remake just giving the old title a fresh coat of paint, Fool’s Theory and CD Projekt Red is fully reimagining the first game to keep up with modern gaming trends. WithThe Witcher 1remake set to come outafter the first entry in the newWitchersaga as well, this only further implies that fans are getting a vastly different experience from what they got in 2009. This leaves plenty of space for improvement on the dated experience ofThe Witcher, and Fool’s Theory can follow the example ofThe Witcher 3.
The clunky combat and look ofThe Witchercould do with some influence fromThe Witcher 3. While combat wasn’t the most outstanding aspect of the game, players inThe Witcher 3could flow seamlessly between different opponents, feeling much more like a monster killer who is faster and stronger than the average human. Graphically, it also makes a lot of sense to bringThe Witchercloser toThe Witcher 3,as this would provide a greater sense of continuity over the trilogy. Character models could do with a visual update, as comparing the original Geralt toWitcher 3’s version shows just how far graphics have come.
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The Witcher Remake Needs to Maintain the Game’s Originality
While it makes sense to bring Geralt’s first adventure closer to the quality of his final outing,The Witcher 1is a game that still has a lot going for it, and plenty of features that shouldn’t be sacrificed in the upcoming reimagining. Firstly, there’s the narrative of the firstWitchergame, which sees Geralt of Rivia lose his memory following the end ofThe Witcherbook series and find himself at Kaer Morhen. From there, the Witcher fortress is attacked, sending Geralt on a quest to hunt down the Order of the Flaming Rose and face off against Jacques de Aldesberg.
The Witcher’snarrative gives players an entirely different experience from that ofThe Witcher 3. Following the amnesiac Geralt, the first game acts as an odd introduction to the character that still manages to be an interesting tale. InThe Witcher 3,choices matter, and Geralt does face some moral dilemmas, but even if the player follows a negative path, this can be excused by the Witcher doing whatever he must in order to save Ciri. InThe Witcher, the overarching goal is much less defined, and so it places more emphasis on who the player decides Geralt is. There is a level of importance attributed to each settlement Geralt enters in a way that isn’t matched inThe Witcher 3, due to even huge cities like Novigrad just being places that the Witcher explores to find Ciri.
Beyond its narrative, there are also some interesting gameplay features that should be kept inThe Witcherremake. Alchemy is a part of eachWitchertitle, but inThe Witcherthere’s a lot more emphasis on creating potions, even allowing Geralt to mix an unknown concoction and drink it to learn its effects. This system shows another strong link between the first game andThe Witcherbooks, where Geralt drinks a potion or two before each battle and isn’t as powerful without them. InThe Witcher 3, potions are powerful, but they’re not seen as a necessity.
The Witcherremake should also keep Geralt’s fighting styles. There are three fighting styles players can use against different opponents and situations inThe Witcher: the fast style opting for quick, less powerful attacks, the strong style dealing more damage with slower swings, and the group style involving sweeping strikes to deal with more than one opponent at once. WhileThe Witcher’scombat isn’t its strongest point, it would be interesting to see a modern take on this system of attack styles, showing how Geralt takes different approaches to fights. With the three camera options also available in the first game, this could make for incredibly engaging combat.
With theoverwhelming success ofThe Witcher 3that has lasted over half a decade, it is highly likelyThe Witcherin Unreal Engine 5 remake will borrow a few things from it. This could include a lot of features, from the return of Gwent as a minigame to overhauled visuals, but the firstWitchertitle shouldn’t throw away what made it unique for the sake of modernity, and fans should get an experience that improves upon the original without taking too much from it.
The Witcher Remakeis currently in development.
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