The Witcher 3 served as a final farewell to Geralt of Rivia, but with talk of The Witcher 4, is there a need for the monster slayer to return?
Ever since The Witcher 3's release back in May 2015 fans have speculated on a possible fourth entry in the series, but there are several good reasons why protagonist Geralt should not return for it. Geralt has been the main character of all three of The Witcher's games, which follow on from him also being the main character in the series of books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski upon which the games follow on from. Players of all three games will doubtless have built up quite a connection with Geralt over the course of these games, so it might be surprising to some fans to learn that Geralt almost wasn't in The Witcher 3.
The Witcher 3's story was more closely tied to the books than either of the previous two games, featuring many characters not yet encountered in the games such as Ciri and Yennifer, whilst also including the familiar faces from the previous games, as well as the impacts from some of the major decisions, particularly from The Witcher 2. The Witcher 4 has often been discussed by fans, with Polish developers CD Projekt Red all but confirming its existence over the course of the last 7 years, although there has been no official confirmation as of yet. That won't be a worry for many players though, given the time it takes to complete The Witcher 3.
The Witcher 3's Blood & Wine expansion served to all but explicitly tie up Geralt's story, with the DLC culminating in Geralt owning a vineyard of his own, accompanied by either his romantic partner of choice or, depending on the player's choices, another of his companions. Regardless of what the player chooses exactly, it's clear that CD Projekt Red wanted to have Geralt hang up his boots and retire from the life of monster-slaying for good. The Witcher 4 should instead focus its energies on another protagonist, and let him get some rest, especially given some of the weird quests Geralt endured in The Witcher 3.
The Witcher 4 has a few options when it comes to setting and main character, but all of the most interesting options don't need Geralt to succeed. CD Projekt Red could opt to set The Witcher 4 in the centuries before the events of the first three games when witchers were more commonplace. This could potentially give players the ability to create their own characters whilst still remaining friendly to the established lore. There would also be potential to explore the different witcher schools in greater detail than was possible in The Witcher 3, with even the possibility of having the choice of several different starting lifepaths similar to Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red's other big title.
There is even the option of having the player not be a witcher at all, although admittedly on paper this does sound like a strange choice, The Witcher 3 showed that in addition to witchers, sorceresses are formidable fighters, and could well be worthy of crafting a story around. There are also the options of some of the non-human races, such as the elves or dwarves that could be explored, with factions such as the Scoia'tael ripe for further examination. It does seem unlikely that CD Projekt Red will want to make such a big departure for a mainline Witcher entry, however, especially given the importance of Alchemy in The Witcher 3 and the preparation and use of witcher brews and oils are seen by many as a key part of the games.
