Who's who in The Witcher's wonderful 10-year anniversary video
"Time is fleeting."
Developer CD Projekt has released a lovely video to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Witcher game series.
The first title in The Witcher video game series was released in 2007. The games are based on a series of books, of the same name, by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
In the video, Geralt reminisces about the adventures he's had over the last decade and breaks the fourth wall by thanking the player for accompanying him on the ride. Throughout his monologue, we can see Geralt is surrounded by a sea of familiar faces - but who is who?
The video begins with Ciri arriving at the famous vineyards of Corvo Bianco. Geralt receives Corvo Bianco as a home from Anna Henrietta, as partial payment for a contract, during the Blood and Wine DLC. As Ciri dismounts her horse, she pulls out a bottle of wine and is greeted at the doors of the estate by Barnabas-Basil Foulty, the majordomo of Corvo Bianco.
Ciri hands the majordomo her wine and is greeted and hugged by Regis, the high vampire you encounter during the Blood and Wine DLC. In the background we see the room is full of familiar characters.
Ciri sneaks up on sorceresses Yennefer and Triss, both of whom are major characters in all three The Witcher games and love interests for Geralt. Ciri then walks around the main table where we see Syanna, Ves and Eskel having a yarn.
Eskel is a fellow Witcher and lifelong friend of Geralt who appears in the first and third games. His distinctive feature is his facial scar. Ves is a member of the elite Blue Stripes special forces group and makes appearances in the second and third games. Syanna, on the other hand, first appears in the Blood and Wine expansion and is the sister of the Duchess of Toussaint. Both women are possible love interests for Geralt during the series, which suggests this round-up should just be a who's who of Geralt's exes.
Further along the table we see Zoltan and Dandelion playing Gwent, while Shani watches and Pricilla plays her lute. Zoltan, Shani and Dandelion are recurring characters and long-time friends of Geralt throughout The Witcher game series. Zoltan is a dwarf with a weakness for gambling, while Dandelion is a bard with a weakness for women. Priscilla is Dandelion's current love interest who makes an appearance in The Witcher 3 for the first time. Shani is another of Geralt's love interests and a talented medic.
As Ciri continues her way round the table she greets the Bloody Baron of Velen, from the Witcher 3, and captain of the Toussaint Ducal Guard, Damien de la Tour who first appeared in the Blood and Wine DLC.
In the background we see the Duchess of Toussaint, Anna Henrietta, speaking with Olgierd von Everec. Both characters first appeared in DLCs, with Olgierd being introduced in Hearts of Stone and Anna in Blood and Wine.
Ciri grabs a bottle of wine off the table and throws it across the room, where it is caught by Witcher Lambert, another character who has been in all three main the Witcher games. As Lambert walks towards Ciri to hug her, we see the back of Keira Metz's head. Keira is a sorceress who has made appearances in all the main games and, you guessed it, is another potential love interest Geralt might have romanced in his decade of adventure.
Finally we come to the beloved Geralt of Rivia. Geralt hugs Ciri, who is then quickly rushed away by Anna. Geralt proceeds to speak directly to the camera while pouring himself some wine. As Geralt holds his wine up for a toast, he is joined by all the characters we've seen so far as well as some extras we hadn't.
Creepy little Godling Johnny, from the Witcher 3, lurks in the corner while valiant steed Roach hovers in the back. The gang is also joined by commander of the Blue Stripes Vernon Roche, who we first meet in The Witcher 2.
Overall, for Witcher fans it's a lovely feel-good video. If you haven't played The Witcher yet, it risks spoiling The Witcher 3's DLC's because one character is very obviously missing.