The quest design developer behind The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt has recently revealed why CD Projekt Red decided to kill off Vesemir. Geralt’s mentor and trainer was a very popular character in The Witcher 3 but died an early death that served the narrative.
The Witcher 3 was hailed as one of the best RPGs of the last decade with its emotional, epic story and solid gameplay. Despite being a single-player game, The Witcher 3 had an enduring legacy, and it lives on today. Proof of this is that CD Projekt Red launched a next-gen port for the title in December 2022, allowing even more gamers to experience one of the best story-heavy games ever made with even better graphics.
During a recent talk at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, The Witcher 3’s quest director Pawel Sasko finally talked more about the hard decision to kill Vesemir at the start of the game. According to Sasko’s interview with IGN, Vesemir was a central character in the books and games, but his demise was necessary as a way to motivate Ciri to move forward with the plot. He affirmed that she needed to decide that she would not be hunted anymore, and would become the hunter instead. This tragic decision drives the whole narrative of the game as Geralt is looking for Ciri, and it helped to pave the way for some of the best of The Witcher 3’s story arcs.
However, the decision was not easy. Sasko knew that Vesemir was a very important character in the books, and some people would not accept his death lightly. So, it took several discussions to finally decide on his death. It’s a very impactful moment, as it happens after the players get to know him very well, and shapes both Geralt and Ciri in many ways. Essentially, his death is the cornerstone of the saga’s story, which makes it a game worth sinking hundreds of hours into.
The Witcher 3 players who miss Vesemir can fortunately still get a chance to see him in action. The Netflix animation The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, for example, tells the story of a young Vesemir as a witcher and shows a different side of this character. Overall, it has a pretty engaging story, that will satisfy gamers who wanted to know more about Geralt’s old mentor, learning about how the became a witcher, and some of his early adventures.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN