It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussionThe Witcher 15th Anniversary: claim the game for FREE and prepare for its REMAKE!(137 posts)(137 posts)
(137 posts)
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
This is my favourite topic
Posted October 26, 2022
If I have to choose between one evil or another, I'd rather not choose at all – Geralt of Rivia

15 years ago, on October 26th, 2007, CD PROJEKT RED released the first part of The Witcher series, the beginning of the incredible adventures of Geralt of Rivia and his companions. Although it was the developer's first game, this story-rich, atmospheric, fantasy RPG received critical praise around the world and started to gather crowds of fans whose love for The Witcher’s world was either reignited or started anew.

And it is 2007’s The Witcher that allowed the series to later bloom on an absolutely massive scale with both The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and now already legendary The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.

In celebration of the birth of The Witcher, CD PROJEKT RED announced the REMAKE of the original title!

The project, previously referred to by the codename "Canis Majoris" during the studio’s Strategy Update earlier in October, will be a modern reimagining of the first part of The Witcher Trilogy. It will be built from the ground up using Unreal Engine 5 technology, and will use the toolset CDPR is creating for the new Witcher saga. The project is currently in the early stages of development at Fool’s Theory — a game development studio specializing in role-playing games. The team employs numerous veteran developers who previously worked on The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. In addition, CD PROJEKT RED is providing full creative supervision. You can find the original announcement HERE.



It is impossible to express how excited we are hearing that news! But then again, incredible titles deserve incredible anniversary gifts! We would also like to pitch our part to this and remind you that you can claim The Witcher: Enhanced Edition for FREE!

In order to do so visit our GWENT Welcome Bonus which by subscribing to the GOG Newsletter allows you not only to claim The Witcher: Enhanced Edition but also a free GWENT Card Keg! Remember that in order to do so you must have GWENT in your game library.

But that’s not all! We’ve also prepared a Special Sale for all CD PROJEKT RED titles with discounts as high as 85%! This sale lasts until November 3rd, 11 PM UTC. Check out some examples:

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition - 85% off
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition - 80% off
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales - 70% off
GWENT: Rogue Mage - Deluxe Edition - 30% off
Cyberpunk 2077 - 50% off

Let’s remind ourselves how The Witcher Trilogy started, while we await both new and remade chapters in our favourite dark, grim, fantasy world.
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
foad01: I like how people judge the remake before they have seen or played anything of it. LOL.

If it is similar to the Mafia 1 Remake it will be a good remake.
We have seen many instances of games being "remade" in one of two ways:
- either as a way of pushing some group's ideology to customers who used to love the game without it, now having "political correctness"/ "pseudo inclusivism" shoved down our throats;
OR
- as a quick cash grab done with almost zero effort, prices raised and the originals removed.

We can provide plenty of examples if you don't believe me.

So too bad if you feel we're preemptively judging a remake we know nothing of, but the game industry has earned it.

avatar
Swedrami: There's an opportunity here to redefine "modern reimagining" or at least mitigate its current meaning by providing an example of a "modern reimagining done right" (as in just a purely visual/graphical update while leaving the story, narrative, characters & characterisation, as well as its late 2000s idiosyncracies untouched and intact).
Mostly I agree with you, but seeing as this remake replaces the engine it supposedly could lead to improvements in:
smaller memory footprint, less and more organized code, less time needed to create the game, fewer bugs, optimization in loading and handling assets. None of those would taint the remake IMHO.
Post edited October 26, 2022 by joppo
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
Timboli: I don't like jumping on the negative bandwagon, but why not just put all your effort into The Witcher 4
Something like this could help the company get in to UE5 better and faster. They have the "design work" done, the story, and a boatload of assets (including from the newer iterations) they can use to do rapid work. Depending on the kind of remake anyway...

Of course, it's outsourced and not the team actually working on TW4; so maybe they're just looking to get that other development team experienced to farm them for new talent.

As for why: I (as someone who played plenty of games in the 90s even) found The Witcher to be completely unapproachable. I'd already largely been moving away from wCRPGs by the time it came to me, but I found it more obtuse than others. It was a very unapproachable game every time I've tried. And there are a not-small number of people who won't jump in to a game series on #4, etc, and may be turned off by #1.
Post edited October 26, 2022 by mqstout
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
supplementscene: Many of us didn't find the combat to be perfect and new detailed textures would be nice
avatar
blotunga: I really liked the combat, it's actually a lot better than the new hype of souls like hit dodge, roll crap. In TW1 you could actually learn your timings quite easily.
Fair enough, I managed to eventually pick it up after many hours of frustration. Then after not playing for a while I forgot the technique. It was frustrating all the time I didn't get it and didn't seem to fit with the genre. Other than that it's one of my favourite ever games. The story is incredible.

The original also plays in 1440p Ultrawide if anyone is interested. Where as the sequal does not.
Post edited October 26, 2022 by supplementscene
Posted October 26, 2022
I am confused by the remake. My first thought is a simplye one. "Why?"

Witcher series earned numerous accolades and brought in significant revenue. Perhaps it still is a revenue source.

Cyberpunk 2077 was, to put it kindly, a disappointment in undelivered pre release promises, game day release excessive bugs, and not much post game development, save bug fixes.

Many press releaseds hinted at two high level games to be released in a few years. What those are, is anyone's guess.

So now I try to look at the business perspective of remaking a successful game.

1: Be like the movies. Do not release anything original. Remake. Release. Remake/Sequel. Release. Take in money.

2: Remake the game for today's systems and enhanced graphics. Minimal cost compared to new game, brings in revenue, brings in newer fans of the game. Potentially expands csutomer base for the future.

3: No new ideas on the table. Some countries in a very bad recession or just starting one, and by doing this, it keeps costs low to keep afloat for the future.

4: No new games on the horizon at all. development teams are not producing fast enough, time tables pushed out longer than industry standard. Re-release a game to keep on customer's radar.

If I had to guess, it is number 2.

I am hoping the company will be around for quite some time. The Witcher series was amazing with fascinating story lines, great characters, very good graphics, and an open world for exploration. It was incrediby well done, and the accolades received were well deserved. Whatever their decision or reasoning, I do hope they will continue to offer great games and keep gog going too.
Posted October 26, 2022
It won't let me download it for free, is asking for payment? I went from the link in my email
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
GOG.com: We would also like to pitch our part to this and remind you that you can claim The Witcher: Enhanced Edition for FREE!
Well, thank you GOG, but truth be told, I still have four unclaimed gift codes for "TW:EE" sitting in my account (tbh: I'm not even sure, if they're still viable after all those years)...and that's AFTER I bought the game for myself, AND gifted it to everyone I know.
But thanks, nonetheless!

:)
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
joppo: We have seen many instances of games being "remade" in one of two ways:
- either as a way of pushing some group's ideology to customers who used to love the game without it, now having "political correctness"/ "pseudo inclusivism" shoved down our throats;
OR
- as a quick cash grab done with almost zero effort, prices raised and the originals removed.

We can provide plenty of examples if you don't believe me.

So too bad if you feel we're preemptively judging a remake we know nothing of, but the game industry has earned it.
These examples don't matter because they don't say anything about The Witcher 1 Remake. All we know about this remake is the announcement, which studio is working on it, the engine, and an image with "The Witcher Remake" on a fire background. This is practically nothing. There should be at least a trailer and some screenshots to say something about it. Otherwise, it feels pointless to speculate.

And if it is indeed a bad remake as some people here predict, then it won't be a huge problem to simply ignore this remake and play the original version.
Post edited October 27, 2022 by foad01
Posted October 26, 2022
Regarding the remake of the first Witcher game:

modern reimagining
yuck

Unreal Engine 5
yuck
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
Enchanted_Blue: It won't let me download it for free, is asking for payment? I went from the link in my email
Same here
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
Enchanted_Blue: It won't let me download it for free, is asking for payment? I went from the link in my email
avatar
alexmello2022: Same here
Is it asking you to buy as a gift? If so, is the game already in your library?
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
Enchanted_Blue: It won't let me download it for free, is asking for payment? I went from the link in my email
Same for me.
Posted October 26, 2022
Just recently I told one girl, who only played the third instalment, to also try the first and second game. Although the first Witcher aged a bit, the atmosphere and story still holds even today.

Having said that you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.

As for the free Witcher, thanks, I started gog because of the first Witcher, but the thought is still nice. =)
Posted October 26, 2022
The first Witcher game is one of the few games where I'd actually consider buying a remake - it's a great game but VERY janky (and I say this as one of the few people who actually quite liked the combat system). However I can't deny that the words 'modern reimagining' fill me with dread... Let's hope it mainly refers to better translations, gameplay systems etc. rather than the story, which is fine.
Posted October 26, 2022
Very happy to read this news. Will be a delight to see Shani back, take your time to tweak the game and please do not change the music.
Posted October 26, 2022
avatar
Timboli: I don't like jumping on the negative bandwagon, but why not just put all your effort into The Witcher 4
avatar
mqstout: Something like this could help the company get in to UE5 better and faster. They have the "design work" done, the story, and a boatload of assets (including from the newer iterations) they can use to do rapid work. Depending on the kind of remake anyway...

Of course, it's outsourced and not the team actually working on TW4; so maybe they're just looking to get that other development team experienced to farm them for new talent.
I was guessing something like this as well. Especially since the story is already there, so all attention can go to mechanics, assets, tools, ...

On a side note, some modders remade The Witcher prologue as a mod for The Witcher 3 5 years ago:
https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/2767
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQIpczaV0ag
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionThe Witcher 15th Anniversary: claim the game for FREE and prepare for its REMAKE!(137 posts)(137 posts)
(137 posts)