CD Projekt Red is officially working onThe Witcher 4, and fans of the fantasy RPG inspired by the novels of Andrzej Sapkowski have been buzzing ever since it was announced. While details are scarce and there’s no release date just yet, players know that the next chapter inThe Witcherfranchise will kick off a new saga. Gamers may be sad to leave behind some of the most beloved elements ofThe Witcherfranchise such as main character Geralt, but there might still be plenty of features that make a return too.
There’s already been lots of speculation from the player community about whatThe Witcher 4might focus on, with potential time jumps or a whole host of new characters on the table. Fans do know that the next game will feature a brand-new witcher school –the School of the Lynx– which offers lots of exciting opportunities for new storylines, but players will still want some elements from previous games to make a return. One that could be carried forward intoThe Witcher 4is the gameplay mechanic Witcher Senses, but this time it doesn’t necessarily need an explanation or a framing device.
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Introducing Witcher Senses
As many players will know, Geralt and his fellow witchers aren’t ordinary humans. Thanks to his superhuman attributes, Geralt is able to use something called Witcher Senses which was a mechanicfirst introduced inThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntto help players see different clues and things like creature tracks. Not only is this a cool addition to the series, but it’s also really helpful when completing various tasks and missions.
This became a prettycommon aspect inThe Witcher 3, like in one mission where Geralt had to hunt down a werewolf and was able to follow its tracks thanks to Witcher Senses, but it’s also become a mechanic used in many other AAA titles. In recent games likeHogwarts Legacy, its version of Witcher Senses is the Revelio spell. This highlights useful elements in the immediate world around the player and also has a very clear in-game explanation as all the students at Hogwarts are magic users. However, other titles make use of a very similar feature to help gamers locate things but don’t always bother to give them a reason for this seemingly superhuman power.
Witcher Senses In The Witcher 4
Geralt’s ability to see details in his environment that other characters would miss makes sense, and it seems likeThe Witcher 3took a page out ofBatman: Arkham Asylum’s playbookwhich had its own Detective Mode. This mechanic has only become more popular in the years since, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it make a return inThe Witcher 4. Players don’t know what the next game will focus on or who might pick upthe leading character mantle from Geralt, but it will almost certainly be another witcher. Whether this is a witcher that gamers will be able to make themselves in a character creator mode or an established character in their own right, they’ll most likely have the powers that Geralt had such as Witcher Senses.
The precedent for this has already been established in the previous game, and even for players new to the franchise it would make sense from a story perspective. However, most games that have a version of this power either don’t bother to explain why protagonists might have it and trust that players will understand it simply as part of the gameplay, or explain it in a roundabout way that barely makes sense. An example of this is inthe recentThe Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which introduced a bunch of abilities that seemed completely out of place for Gollum’s character. Thankfully,The Witcher 4should be able to avoid this issue, no matter who the protagonist ends up being.
The Witcher 4is in development.
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