The Witcher has come a long way ever since its troublesome release back in 2007. Heck, even the book’s author, Andrej Sapkowski, didn’t believe much in the potential of his creation as a video game. He sold the rights to CD Projekt RED for a relatively low sum. CD Projekt RED then turned the whole thing into a billion-dollar franchise. Still, The Witcher‘s start was somewhat embarrassing, and it wasn’t always the pop culture standard it is today.
This comes from a longtime Witcher fan whose intro to the series was 2008’s The Witcher Enhanced Edition back in 2010 as soon as I got my first desktop PC. And reflecting back on that game, I can safely say that it had problems deeper than the janky gameplay issues and bugs.
The Witcher 1’s Geralt Made Commander Shepard Look Like a Boy Scout
If you think of romance in video games, the usual “Casanova” icon that would pop up in your mental image would be the Mass Effect trilogy’s Commander Shepard. Shepard’s steamy bisexual (or bi-curious) escapades with any alien that’s remotely humanoid is nothing short of legendary.
It was easy for Shepard to dwarf someone like Geralt of Rivia, being that the former’s erotic adventures were galactic. But in terms of technicality and the sheer weirdness of partners and encounters, Geralt still comes out on top (no pun intended).
Seriously, Geralt Couldn’t Keep It in His Pants
Soon after he wakes up in-game, one of the first few things Geralt does is cheat on Yennefer with Triss. Granted, Geralt had amnesia, and Triss took advantage of this affliction. That moment was in the game’s tutorial, by the way.
Shortly after you’re chucked into the next open-world area, the game will present you with further options. Act 1 typically has Geralt (under your control) performing prolonged side quests just to get rewarded with coitus. It doesn’t matter if the woman is a witch, possessed, or a princess who turns into a monster at night (someone Geralt knew as a child in the books).
The subsequent Acts get even freakier, where the Witcher could pursue a fling with a nymph. And this was no ordinary nymph; it was the Lady of the Lake. So after she gave a magic sword to Geralt, Geralt then gave her his sword (well-played CD Projekt RED). In another instance, the game even allows Geralt to be ‘pushy’ with an Elven warrior woman in the middle of a battle.
Geralt could pursue and get it on with any decent-looking woman in The Witcher 1. Even Commander Shepard (male or female) wasn’t this ‘busy’. It was rather comedic how nearly every woman in The Witcher 1 was throwing herself at Geralt despite everyone considering him a mutant.
Looking Back, It Was Kind of Problematic
Geralt’s trysts, flings, and hookups– as well as his cheating spree were no doubt a power fantasy. However, it sometimes goes too far into problematic territory. Women in The Witcher 1 are either there as poor children, Geralt’s options, or as manipulative or bitter individuals. Even Ciri was seemingly replaced with a boy.
There’s also something unsettling about a 100-year-old man having a fling with a young woman whom he has known since her childhood. Last time that happened in mass media, it was with a vampire played by Robert Pattinson, and even he didn’t like that role.
To add to the list of questionable things is how The Witcher 1 rewards you with pinup and Playboy art of every woman with whom Geralt has had a sexual encounter. Most women in the game are practically trophies for Geralt to collect, regardless of whether it’s a peasant girl in a bakery or a vampire countess.
Hopefully, The Witcher Remake Will Addresses These
Geralt being a trophy-seeking frat boy is optional, thankfully. Though I, being a pubescent boy back then, didn’t know any better, so I just went with it. Looking back, I’d say what CD Projekt RED did with The Witcher 1‘s Geralt back then didn’t exactly give his book version the justice it deserved. The first game didn’t capture Geralt’s depression about being an orphan or an outcast– something that made him so attached to Yennefer even though it got toxic.
Hence, I also believe that The Witcher Remake‘s devs have their work cut out for them. They would have to fix not just the janky combat but also its rather accidental misogyny and objectification. Each of Geralt’s erotic encounters is literally turned into an object– a card or image, to hang onto a wall or collect.
The Witcher Remake has to keep up with the current sensible standard of The Witcher 4. Thankfully, The Witcher trilogy has evolved more positively and with more self-awareness over time.
The series has grown to give more respect to its female characters and even Geralt’s personality had a major overhaul. By the time Witcher 3 was released, Geralt had become a more responsible and fatherly man who doesn’t see most women as some kind of potential trophy to pursue. More importantly, Ciri is being given more spotlight in the story. After all, Geralt took three games to become a model hero.
