The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Has A Second Playable Character
Ciri, call Geralt.
Last week CD Projekt Red released a new trailer for The Witcher 3 and teased that one of the characters within it - other than Geralt, obv - would be playable. Is it the cowering man who whimpers and narrates the introduction? Is it one of the Wild Hunt baddies Geralt slays throughout, or one of the horses they dismount from? Is it-- Oh, wait - yeah, it's the lady in the header image of this post. Ciri - a character referenced in The Witcher 1, with a big role in the books and TV series, who can teleport and who is Geralt's Witcheress apprentice.
Here's the trailer, in which you can see the both Ciri and the horse doomed to play Neville Longbottom to Ciri's Harry Potter:
Speaking to IGN, CD Projekt RED's Robert Malinowski confirmed the character's inclusion, and gave some details as to the nature of the role. "Ciri is playable only during certain moments in the game – we introduce her to give gamers another perspective in the story to make it even more engaging. You won’t play as her for long periods of time, but since she’s crucial to the plot, we thought that additional insight will allow gamers to better bond with this cool character."
He goes on to say that Ciri is playable as a supportive narrative tool and "not because of gameplay mechanics", but hopefully we at least get to use her teleportation ability. There's also plenty of other speculation afoot, given Ciri's role as Geralt's apprentice and that CDP have said repeatedly that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be the last Witcher game with Geralt as its main focus. It seems unlikely to me however that she's being setup as a torchbearer for fans of scar-laden protagonists.
This follows news that The Witcher 3 has been delayed until May 2015.