The world of The Witcher is filled with all forms of monsters, from towering Chorts to small but equally terrifying Botchlings. These beasts roam all across the Continent, only to be slain by Witchers should they be deemed threats to human settlements. This practice has gone on for centuries, wiping out hordes and hordes of monsters – so much so that the people of The Witcher 3 regard the mutated monster slayers as relics of a bygone age.
However, these animalistic beasts only make up a fraction of The Witcher’s bestiary. While it’s easy to point a finger at hostile monsters and pay a few crowns in exchange for their death, the same cannot be said of so-called “sentient” monsters. These thinking creatures pose a much more complicated problem, and that’s something the upcoming entry to The Witcher saga could lean into.
The Sentient Monsters of The Witcher World
In many of The Witcher 3’s monster contracts, Geralt refers to certain creatures as “sentient.” This means they’re capable of reason and thought. As much as possible, these are the monsters that Geralt would rather not hunt down, unless they pose a threat to mankind. Some notable examples from the game include trolls, dopplers (primarily Dudu), and higher vampires.
Often, when Geralt comes across such sentient beasts, the player has the option to hear them out before deciding how to deal with them. This adds another layer to otherwise straightforward monster contracts, making them more nuanced. In fact, some of the most interesting quests in The Witcher 3 involve sentient monsters – “Carnal Sins,” “The Whispering Hillock,” and the entirety of the Blood and Wine DLC’s main questline.
Given this, then the first entry to the new Witcher saga could very well benefit from having new sentient monsters introduced to the Continent. That goes regardless of whether the game is set before or after Geralt’s time. While there’s no replacing the hostile monsters of The Witcher world, adding more rational beasts to the mix would allow for more complex quests.
Interesting Monsters Make for Interesting Witcher Contracts
The Witcher 4 could spotlight sentient monsters that were already introduced in past games but weren’t given the spotlight. So, while higher vampires and dopplers got plenty of screen time in The Witcher 3, the next entry could focus more on creatures like djinns, wraiths, or even demon-like beings similar to Gaunter O’Dimm from the Hearts of Stone DLC.
Alternatively, The Witcher 4 could introduce new species of sentient monsters. Merpeople are one option as they’ve been mentioned in the books but have yet to appear in the game series. Somewhat similar to the vodyanoi or the “fish people,” the merpeople are half-human, half-fish entities more hospitable than the likes of sirens and echidnae. The same goes with unicorns, which are intelligent creatures that played a central role in Ciri’s story in The Witcher books. And since unicorns are capable of traveling across dimensions, they open plenty of possibilities for the upcoming title’s quests.
And there are even more options outside The Witcher source material. Western mythology is a goldmine of intelligent, often cunning monsters – from seemingly dainty pixies to mischievous goblins. Thus, the creatures cited in the article are just a few possible creatures that the community might encounter in the upcoming Witcher game. Should they become the subject of a monster contract, they’ll no doubt present the player with an ethical dilemma or two. After all, there are moral issues linked to the killing of sentient monsters – at least, for Geralt. In the end, it’s up to the player to decide their fate.
A new Witcher game is currently in development.