CD Projekt Red recently announced that a new Witcher video game title is in development, and that coincides with the success of the live-action adaptation. Gamers can soon look forward to more of the enhancements and goodness introduced in The Witcher III.
That being said, the next Witcher title should focus heavily on refining a few core gameplay elements while simultaneously introducing new mechanics. Doing so will guarantee the best Witcher game of all time, with a level of balance, refinement and sophistication worthy of the franchise's name.
Combat got a major update in The Witcher 3, which was good news given how archaic and formulaic it was in the first two titles. Gamers are living in the age of Dark Souls, Ghost of Tsushima and Elden Ring, which boasts some amazing weaponry. That means combat needs to be stepped up for the next Witcher title.
A big part of the third game's combat system was how focused it was on open environments. Once the fight was taken indoors, things got less glitzy, and a lot worse. A refined battle system that properly takes space into account is the right approach here.
Modding fantasy titles on a PC platform is one of the most enjoyable things gamers can do, and Skyrim proved this beyond the shadow of a doubt. Many mods exist for Witcher games, but there's room for open it up for even more. CD Projekt Red made the process a bit easier with their open world city game Cyberpunk 2077, which means the next Witcher game should embrace modding even more.
The use of mods can have a dramatic impact on a playthrough. Mods can upgrade and enhance visuals and sounds, or they can change gameplay. The best part about modding is how much it extends the lifespan of a game, and maintains its relevance as the years tick on.
Survival games have become all the rage, and it's fun to marry these mechanics into a fantasy RPG game like The Witcher. Indeed, Skyrim's immersion mods proved just how popular wildlife survival techniques could be, with mods like Frostfall and Campire. The recently released Anniversary Edition took inspiration from those mods, and created its own survival system.
The Witcher already requires players to interact heavily with their environment, but it should definitely go further. Cold areas should require proper clothing and the use of a campfire, players should need to eat and drink regularly, and sleep deprivation should cause ill side effects.
The Witcher requires players to know how to properly utilize magic, oils and bombs in order to succeed, and this goes double for monster fights. Those who do not understand these mechanics will soon find themselves completely overwhelmed, which can lead to frustration.
A big part of the problem is the process of gathering ingredients, which can be a painstaking affair. For instance, the individual ingredients required for a potion can be littered across the entire landscape, which means a lot of backtracking just to secure one or two items at a time. Tightening up the ingredient gathering process will lead to less wasted time, less frustration, and more time spent enjoying the game world.
The inventory system in Witcher titles is a bit superfluous, to say the least. There are so many items in the game that it becomes hard to track them down, but the real problem arises when the player's inventory gets saddled with too many things. The result is a messy inventory that is hard to navigate and work with.
Too many menus and too little info is a bad combination when it comes to a game with this many items. This can force players to accumulate almost everything they find, just in case they might need it later. That's not good for anybody.
Witcher games are third person in nature, and this is standard fare with many fantasy action RPGs of this ilk. However, the Elder Scrolls games, and great first-person titles like Fallout really set the bar high when it came to player preferences, including the use of a first-person perspective. It's time The Witcher adopted the same formula.
Modders have already shown just how amazing first-person Witcher gaming can be with this amazing mod. It should be a standard thing in the next Witcher title, giving players the ability to swap between 1st and 3rd person perspectives with a simple tap of a button.
The UI in The Witcher III was probably the best of the original three titles, but there's still a ways to go. This encompasses everything from viewing the map, to trading with NPCs throughout the game world. Confirmation screens and better use of fonts could go a long way to alleviating these headaches.
For instance, comparing gear is a bit of a nuisance, and requires players to spend an unnecessary amount of time gathering details on their own. A complete rework of the user interface should be a main priority as the series moves forward.
Horses tend to be hit and miss in fantasy titles. For instance, Skyrim's horses defy the laws of physics and reality at the same time, and are capable of running casually up the sides of mountains. By contrast, the horse mechanics in The Witcher 3 felt a bit heavy and cumbersome.
Witcher horses were also quite problematic, getting in the way of the player during a fight, or stumbling around in tight spaces and cities to find the player. Time for a touchup to the way horses operate in the Witcher gaming universe.
Witcher games have always focused heavily on segmented maps that players can explore, but it would feel a lot more cohesive and structured if everything took place in one freely traversable world. That might require the use of caching and preloading technology, which has already been implemented even in great free open-world RPGs influenced by games like Skyrim.
Compartmentalizing various areas has always been something of a miss when it comes to Witcher games, so now's the chance for CD Projekt Red to ditch the formula, and start something new. This would be a massive benefit for players who love immersion, and would prefer it remain consistent throughout the game.
Ray-traced lighting works wonders on fantasy adventure games, and the next Witcher title needs to take full advantage of that technology. CD Projekt Red has already implemented ray-tracing on their last release, Cyberpunk 2077, and it was glorious to behold on systems that could support it.
With Nvidia DLSS enabled, ray-tracing becomes less costly when it comes to performance, but it remains to be seen if the undoubtedly lush world of the next Witcher game can handle it. If so, it could make for one of the most gorgeous and realistic worlds ever glimpsed in a game.
