The Witcher 3 Shows What It Means To Kill Monsters

[ryo02]

when he said he would rather not choose I kinda expected him to just kill everyone including the woman.

 

[Hawkeye21]

He's sort of training a young witcher and that young witcher asks him why he has a steel sword, too if he's only supposed to kill monsters.

"- Steel sword for humans, silver - for monsters, right?
- Both are for monsters."

 

[Syntax Error]

Witchers have two swords: A steel sword for humans and non-magical beasts and a silver sword for monsters. Defining what exactly is a 'monster' is a running theme in the games. If you listen to the dialogue, when the soldier asks "What are you doing?" Geralt responds "Killing monsters". Also, the line about "Not choosing at all" can actually be made in the game. You can stay Neutral while everyone on either side tries to recruit you.

These kinds of decisions are commonplace in the games, and some of them have consequences lore-wise. For example

Spoiler: Witcher 1 spoilers

In chapter 1, Abigail offers you sex to explain what happened to the outskirts and the circumstances around the crimes of the three men. It's not made entirely clear that she had a hand in it being a witch and all. If you choose to let her burn at the stake, come chapter 4, you will be informed that you "sacrificed an innocent" by the town healer. Should you spare Abigail, she'll be grateful to you in Chapter 4.

Malena though, she's just a bizzatch. Shame there's no opportunity to gut her in the chaos of battle. You don't jsut screw people like that! People die when they get stabbed in the chest!

As for the trailer, if it is in the game, it will be interesting to see the aftermath of saving the woman or not.

 

[gibboss28]

Wow. A reply about as edgy as the trailer itself. Way to raise the bar.

I felt like ranting. When I become pretentious enough to attempt raising bars with any of my posts, I'll let you know.

I guess it's easy to overlook he stopped to intervene because of the needles cruelty. It is a trait you can enhance Geralt with in the games.

Eh, it's more about how the trailer seems to want to ask complex questions on the surface yet fails at bringing a message across that isn't a 14 year old teenager's idea of justice.

Saw where you were coming from, and I somewhat agree for a game that is going on about choices the teaser didn't really give us much, so thats why I'm betting there'll be another one soon of the same scene but stuff going differently...i bloody hope so anyway. but I'll give em the benefit of the doubt this time.

 

[Doom972]

I was sure I was going to see that woman to devour that guy after Geralt left. I'm very surprised.

Bearded Geralt is awesome.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

God damn. I was already excited for this game. Now it just made it worse. I want this game now.

 

[the December King]

Wonderfully rendered. Love the faces- they are getting better and better all the time (CG animated faces, that is).

As to the story, I would rather have seen him push all of them down like he did, and then pass the girl his sword, and let her fight them. Even if she got killed, it would have been a fight for her freedom that she could have made- she obviously wanted to live and was fighting tooth and nail- hell, it would have been cooler if she had died like that, in a way, because it would have reflected on the whole "good is a struggling but dying presence in these lands" aspect, while still making that dude- is it Geralt? seem like a real bad-ass.

And then he could have mopped the floor with them after they tried to take it out on him for interfering, and themn made an obligatory statement that was dark and broody.

Oh boy, I'm a big ol' director now, aren't I?

Sorry, Escapist. I thought it was a cool animation. Just my two cents, is all.

 

[Erttheking]

Guys, the Witcher is a very dark series. However we don't like just because it happens to be dark. We like it because it happens to be a very interesting dark story.

OT: No man's land? That looks dark. Did Nilfguard invade again? I only ask because I haven't finished the second Witcher yet.

 

[gibboss28]

Guys, the Witcher is a very dark series. However we don't like just because it happens to be dark. We like it because it happens to be a very interesting dark story.

OT: No man's land? That looks dark. Did Nilfguard invade again? I only ask because I haven't finished the second Witcher yet.

Yeah, they start their invasion at the end of the game pretty much. So that'll be fun.

 

[Ferisar]

Guys, the Witcher is a very dark series. However we don't like just because it happens to be dark. We like it because it happens to be a very interesting dark story.

OT: No man's land? That looks dark. Did Nilfguard invade again? I only ask because I haven't finished the second Witcher yet.

It's... weird. I actually blanked on the ending since my last playthrough was so long ago, but Nilfgerddd definitely interfered. Besides, think of how much regicide is in the second game. Who could that benefit, even if it's not being set up by Milfblard? I mean, erm, sorry.

Wonderfully rendered. Love the faces- they are getting better and better all the time (CG animated faces, that is).

As to the story, I would rather have seen him push all of them down like he did, and then pass the girl his sword, and let her fight them. Even if she got killed, it would have been a fight for her freedom that she could have made- she obviously wanted to live and was fighting tooth and nail- hell, it would have been cooler if she had died like that, in a way, because it would have reflected on the whole "good is a struggling but dying presence in these lands" aspect, while still making that dude- is it Geralt? seem like a real bad-ass.

And then he could have mopped the floor with them after they tried to take it out on him for interfering, and themn made an obligatory statement that was dark and broody.

Oh boy, I'm a big ol' director now, aren't I?

Sorry, Escapist. I thought it was a cool animation. Just my two cents, is all.

Whoa.

That's actually.

Huh.
... Huh...
I mean.

I don't know.

(and yes that's Geralt, he forgot to shave for filming so they rolled with it)

Guys, the Witcher is a very dark series. However we don't like just because it happens to be dark. We like it because it happens to be a very interesting dark story.

OT: No man's land? That looks dark. Did Nilfguard invade again? I only ask because I haven't finished the second Witcher yet.

Yeah, they start their invasion at the end of the game pretty much. So that'll be fun.

WHAT THIS GUY SAID. DISREGARD PRIOR COMMENT.

God I have the memory of an amnesiac gopher.

 

[barbzilla]

This entire concept is basically the equivalent of the Emo kid you see cutting himself and makes bad poetry about how "Life is paaaain."

Please stop.

If you can't enjoy grimdark, then don't. Better yet, let yourself go back in time and live in feudal Europe. Come back with roses and we'll see how you do with "fun" and "rainbows".

By grimdark standards, Witcher isn't even high on the scale. It's just a shitty, old, world. 40K is grimdark, where everything is testosterone. In that game I can laugh at the game's premise and enjoy it because it's just so scoff-worthy. Witcher made me cringe at times playing it because I hated some of the characters, but not because of them being badly written, because they were fucking detestable. Most good stories aren't about happiness and enlightenment, get used to it.

If you think I'm going to just stop believing in my own opinion just because you said so, you're the one who needs to stop. You're still missing the point if you think I believe that idealistic of a story as you put it is something I want. What I want is a balance between light-hearted and depressing. Humorous and dark.

And yeah, 40k is stupid too with it's premise. I don't get why anyone, ANYONE likes that crap.

Most good stories aren't about being dark and depressing. YOU get used to it.

So this is primarily a case of don't like what I don't like? I really don't understand what you are fighting against here. There are plenty of happy games with bunnies and rainbows out there (well not as many lately, but they do still come out), and there are games that are dark, broody, and chocolatey, why should one be inherently better than the other? Understand that there are plenty of people out there with different tastes than you have, and that isn't wrong or right, it just is. If you can grasp that, then give some actual critique instead of just spewing venom on the things you don't like. It really is just that simple.

 

[1337mokro]

Snip

Damn your picture. The bug had me fooled completely, there's too many fruitflies around in summer and they always walk around on my monitor.

Anyway the trailer gives us a nice insight into the definition of Monster. That is it's intention and it succeeds in it. The thing I am most interested in though is the companion. Who was that bloke?

 

[The Madman]

Anyway the trailer gives us a nice insight into the definition of Monster. That is it's intention and it succeeds in it. The thing I am most interested in though is the companion. Who was that bloke?

Almost without doubt Vesemir, he's an old fellow Witcher and was Geralts teacher and trainer growing up. You meet him briefly in the first Witcher game and he's also a character in the books.

 

[Chaos Marine]

This entire concept is basically the equivalent of the Emo kid you see cutting himself and makes bad poetry about how "Life is paaaain."

Please stop.

If you can't enjoy grimdark, then don't. Better yet, let yourself go back in time and live in feudal Europe. Come back with roses and we'll see how you do with "fun" and "rainbows".

By grimdark standards, Witcher isn't even high on the scale. It's just a shitty, old, world. 40K is grimdark, where everything is testosterone. In that game I can laugh at the game's premise and enjoy it because it's just so scoff-worthy. Witcher made me cringe at times playing it because I hated some of the characters, but not because of them being badly written, because they were fucking detestable. Most good stories aren't about happiness and enlightenment, get used to it.

If you think I'm going to just stop believing in my own opinion just because you said so, you're the one who needs to stop. You're still missing the point if you think I believe that idealistic of a story as you put it is something I want. What I want is a balance between light-hearted and depressing. Humorous and dark.

And yeah, 40k is stupid too with it's premise. I don't get why anyone, ANYONE likes that crap.

Most good stories aren't about being dark and depressing. YOU get used to it.

You'll no doubt note from my name that I am a 40K fan and I quite enjoy the series of books because it shows genuinely interesting characters (Yeah there are some author's who are as bland as rice cakes) who, even when they're completely loopy, they're developed enough that the ready can understand if not sympathise with them.

And the other thing about the series is that it's not your typical humanity is the epitome of everything. Fuck, humanity dieing a slow death because of how interesting, fleshed out characters affect the story and the universe around them.

It shows a fascinating look at inspiring characters who, even under the worst of circumstances are able to push on and succeed. Or not. It rarely shows everything coming up roses. Even the best characters are morally dubious or flawed in one or more ways. Not for plot (not to say it doesn't happen) but because of the universe there in and the people they have to deal with in that universe.

From what I understand of your posts on this thread, you're throwing what looks to be a low grade temper tantrum because the game follows close to what a harsh, Dark Ages like era would be. Stuff sucks. Not everything is good or happy. And during a war you can bet that that would be even worse.

Get over yourself.

 

[newwiseman]

Damn Geralt is looking old, put me down for not looking forward to the inevitable sex scene/s... Regardless, I'm looking forward to challenging combat and all that.

 

[Nokturos]

Slaying some -actual- monsters would probably have made for a more interesting trailer.

 

[tzimize]

Fine then, I'll admit I didn't know that Game of Thrones came after. What still strikes me as odd is how apparently stories that make you want to kill yourself are considered "good".

This is not the case, but without true conflict there is nothing to overcome, nothing to learn from, nothing to shape characters. A good character is a good story in and of itself. Take Berserk for example (a manga), the setup of the villain in that series is so elaborate and intimate that....it is beyond words. If you have not read the manga I HIGHLY recommend it (if you are not squeamish about violence or nudity...).

Tragic stories are not good because they are tragic, but because they CAN provide the setup for real growth (or hatred in the case of Berserk).

There are plenty of good "happy" stories too. But they tend to be a bit more boring. I like a happy ending as much as the next guy, but what I like more is balance. In a good story I dont really believe that you can accomplish anything without a bit of sacrifice. If you can, it will be a bland, uninteresting story.

 

[Compatriot Block]

So, some people complaining about how grimdark the trailer is, other people complaining that this shows an "obvious" morally correct choice?

And then we have more people arguing with these first two groups, despite them having already decided how they feel about the trailer and will most likely refuse to change their minds.

Can't we use this gaming forum to discuss the game rather than the merits of dark fantasy as a whole? We can make entirely new threads for that

 

[Ferisar]

So, some people complaining about how grimdark the trailer is, other people complaining that this shows an "obvious" morally correct choice?

And then we have more people arguing with these first two groups, despite them having already decided how they feel about the trailer and will most likely refuse to change their minds.

Can't we use this gaming forum to discuss the game rather than the merits of dark fantasy as a whole? We can make entirely new threads for that

And then there's the third group that refuses to partake in the discussion of merits rooted within conflict and their impact on various mediums, but still talk about everyone else talking to make no real impact with broad-sweeps.



Sometimes things are worth talking about even if they're only so related to the object in question. Come on man. THIS IS A GOOD THING. It might've gotten a bit heated, but... but...

THEY STARTED IT.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

The trailer was epic and it gave me chills when the music started ramping up.

Geralt's reply to the third thug with "What are you doing? ...killing monsters" was sublime.