CD Projekt RED has revealed The Witcher 4 again, this time at the State of Unreal, demonstrating its use of Unreal Engine 5.6. There’s considerable hype for understandable reasons – the fidelity on display, running on a PS5 at 60 frames per second with ray tracing? “No PS5 Pro required!” some proclaim (forgetting for a second that its platforms were never officially announced).
Nanite Foliage showcases extensively dense environments teeming with green, meticulously crafted for maximum immersion. Valdrest, with its numerous NPCs and nuanced behaviours and reactivity, feels incredibly alive – did you see how bumping into that one person caused their fruit to fall, with each object animating separately?
It was gorgeous, no doubt. From the sheer scale of the environments to the asset streaming and animation touches courtesy of ML Deformer – everything looked fantastic. And when CD Projekt RED says it’s aiming to create the “most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date” – all made possible with Unreal Engine 5, lest you forget – you want to believe them.
However, and there is a big “however,” it was only a tech demo. Yes, an in-engine tech demo, one that demonstrated the transitions between cinematics and exploration, highlighting the incredible multi-character motion matching that made interactions with Ciri’s steed Kelpie much more realistic. And yes, it revealed not one but two major areas with Lan Exeter, the Winter capital of Kovic, teased at the end alongside a potential showdown against the terrifying Manticore from the cinematic trailer. But a tech demo.
Which is perfectly fine, but there’s something to be said about managing expectations. The conversation has already begun about being wary of the developer’s words. “Remember Cyberpunk 2077?” some will say. “And the state it launched in?” Some wonder how CD Projekt RED can be taken seriously after that game’s initial subject-to-change demo and the final product, which was rife with bugs and nearly unplayable on PS4 and Xbox One. Such was the outrage for its technical state that Sony went ahead and pulled it from the PlayStation Store, then offered refunds.
Of course, there was backlash for other reasons – the Life Paths not feeling significant, the role-playing aspects feeling under-cooked, the sheer number of bugs, crashes and missing quality-of-life features, the list goes on. Even PC players, who praised its gorgeous visuals (which necessitated some hefty requirements, mind), complained about its shoddy technical state.
You wouldn’t think that one of the most beloved developers of all time could receive backlash akin to Hello Games when No Man’s Sky launched, but it happened. What resulted afterwards was a complete structural change to how the developer functioned, like eliminating crunch as much as possible. The redemption story can’t be understated, though, as CD Projekt RED cancelled a standalone Cyberpunk multiplayer project to focus on fixing 2077 and ensuring that Phantom Liberty, the first and only expansion, was a worthwhile experience. Slowly but surely, it transformed in pretty much every single way into one of the most beloved role-playing games ever made.
However, the messaging back then was clear – don’t believe everything you see or hear, even if someone is on stage with a controller, moving things about in real time. Of course, CD Projekt RED isn’t splitting hairs with this showcase. It quickly clarified to VGC that it’s a tech demo, “a first look at the cutting-edge technology powering The Witcher 4 – but not The Witcher 4 itself.
“It showcases the powerful foundation we’re building in close collaboration with Epic Games to push open-world design further than ever before and the core systems and features we’re developing using Unreal Engine 5.” Considering how it all segued into a deeper dive by Epic into Unreal Engine 5.6, which went live during the presentation, it made sense to lead with one of the biggest games utilizing its engine.
If anything, you should take this as a “sneak peek” at what such features will be capable of in The Witcher 4. Will they eventually look like this in real-time gameplay? That’s still up in the air, but for now, this statement is a disclaimer, a safety net of sorts in case it doesn’t end up looking exactly one-to-one.
As much righteous ire as there was over Cyberpunk 2077 and how it didn’t deliver the kind of experience hyped up so heavily before launch, there was the exact opposite reaction to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Go back to its “gameplay” trailer from E3 2013. Look at the fire effects, lighting, shadows, texture quality – heck, even Geralt’s overall look. Then watch some gameplay of it running on Xbox One in 2015, dynamically scaling from 900p to 1080p.
And despite numerous bugs at launch – some of which persisted for years (Wolf School Gear bug. Never forget) – it’s one of the most beloved games of all time. Many considered it to have raised the bar for open-world games with its design, while the quest design, writing, and characterization were considered new benchmarks for gaming in general. It’s the game that put CD Projekt RED on the global map as one of the premier developers, granting this reputation for being infallible (which naturally didn’t last).
You could argue it’s a question of perception and how much benefit of the doubt one is willing to invest. If you played Cyberpunk 2077 recently or even finished The Witcher 3’s Complete Edition, then this showcase was incredibly hype. As someone who finished the base game back in 2015, I’ll admit to feeling joy at Ciri’s appearance, the mannerisms feeling familiar but even more influenced by Geralt than ever. I find that good.
However, if you were there in the months leading up to and after Cyberpunk’s launch, then the skepticism is warranted. You would pay more attention to that bit about CD Projekt RED wanting to make the “most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date,” and reflect on Cyberpunk’s broken promises. The skepticism is warranted, even if this is a tech demo because it made bold claims. It’s as simple as that, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Regardless, CD Projekt RED is 1-1 on surpassing expectations vs. falling short over the past decade. Everything we’ve seen and heard about The Witcher 4 before this showcase sounds enticing – how Ciri will play differently from Geralt, the emphasis on player choice, how the team is pushing the boundaries of NPC quality to ensure every single one looks like they’re “living with their own story,” per director Sebastian Kalemba. If this tech demo never debuted, that cinematic trailer alone, with the in-engine closing shot, would have been more than enough to continue building on the excitement.
Ultimately, it’s for the development team to deliver. Even if it’s a tech demo, you can bet this will be used as a measuring stick for whatever the final game ends up looking like or even playing, despite the complete lack of combat, minimal exploration, quests, etc. Some skepticism is healthy and encouraged – as Geralt would say, “Anxiety is never irrational. Aside from psychological disturbances. It’s good to feel fear.”
However, not allowing yourself to get excited for a sequel to one of the greatest games ever made from a resurgent studio coming off an incredible redemption story feels too extreme. As the rest of the quote goes, “If you feel fear, it means there’s something to be feared, so be vigilant. Fear doesn’t have to be overcome. Just don’t yield to it.”
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
