The recently announced remake of the first The Witcher game from developer CD Projekt RED will retell an early adventure featuring Geralt of Rivia. The original Witcher shows Geralt fighting to save the Continent from a magical threat while simultaneously suffering from amnesia and trying to recover his memories. Because the developer did not want to overwhelm players with too many characters from the books by Andrzej Sapkowski, Geralt's adopted daughter Cirilla "Ciri" Riannon did not appear in the game. However, due to Ciri's popularity in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt RED might find a way to incorporate her into the remake despite her previous absence.
Ciri possesses a unique type of magic that allows her to travel between dimensions. During the events of The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, her absence is explained as hiding out in various alternate dimensions to escape the Wild Hunt. She returns to the Continent in Wild Hunt to seek Geralt's assistance and defeat the Wild Hunt for good. Ciri's adorable father-daughter bond with Geralt, feisty personality, and unique play style endeared her to players, meaning that many will miss her presence in the Witcher remake. Luckily, it is possible to include her in some way. Ciri's exploits between the end of the novel series and her appearance in Wild Hunt could be easily slotted into the Witcher remake in a number of ways.
Ciri's Arthurian Adventures Could Serve as a Framing Narrative
In the final chronological book in the Witcher series, Lady of the Lake, Ciri's travels ultimately take her to the realm of King Arthur and his Round Table, where she becomes known as the titular "Lady of the Lake" for her magical abilities and mysterious appearance. Much of the last book is framed as Ciri relating the story of Geralt's adventures to Sir Galahad, a Knight of the Round Table. This framing narrative could return as Ciri telling Galahad or one of the other knights about what Geralt is up to during the game. Perhaps she could even teach the knights how to play Gwent.
Alternately, Ciri's adventures in the Arthurian realm and other dimensions, which were covered only briefly in Sapkowski's book and some stories she tells to Geralt in the third game, could appear as separate playable segments appearing between or after major events in Geralt's journey. Geralt could become aware of these adventures via dreams or magic -- in Wild Hunt, he uses oneiromancy to view events through Ciri's eyes. Alternately, they could be told as stories to Geralt via another character he encounters. The bard Dandelion, who tells Geralt many things about his past to help the witcher regain his memories, would be an ideal choice for this role.
Ciri's Book Adventures Could Be Included
Much of the later Witcher books consist of Geralt and Ciri attempting to find one another again after they are separated during an attack. Geralt journeys with a group of companions including Dandelion, the vampire Regis, and the soldier Cahir, while Ciri joins a bandit gang, hides out in an Elven realm, and battles an assassin on a frozen lake while wearing ice skates. While some of these scenes, such as the ice skating battle, were intended to appear in Witcher 3, they were ultimately cut because the game was already quite lengthy. These scenes could be added in the Witcher remake as flashbacks, stories told to Geralt, magical dreams or visions, or an entire second narrative occurring parallel to his.
Currently, CD Projekt RED has released little information regarding the Witcher remake. All fans know is that it will be an open world game similar to Wild Hunt, and it will receive several graphical and quality of life upgrades to make it more suited for modern consoles. Whether Ciri will appear in any capacity will likely not be revealed until the game is further along in development and trailers are shown. However, should CD Projekt RED wish to include her, it has plenty of ways to do so.
The Witcher remake is currently in development.