Geralt of Rivia is a sorcerer , an outcast subjected to mutagens that gave him extraordinary abilities and trained from childhood in combat to become an expert monster hunter. His life is a constant journey and wandering in which he makes a living by facing what no other man can face and trying not to get involved in the machinations of a world that is lost in darkness. With this classic character with touches of antihero, the so-called Saga del Brujo is born , a series of fantasy novels written by the Polish Andrzej Sapkowski that has given rise to series, comics, video games and a fandom increasingly focused on following the adventures of the Wolf White.
Although Sapkowski’s books were very well received in Poland and Eastern Europe, they did not have a huge impact at the time (even though they did have their own television series in 2001). The turning point came in 2007, when video game developer CD Projekt Red released the first The Witcher title, which would usher in a trilogy in which each installment was more successful than the last. The most recent product is the blockbuster that the Netflix streaming platform has created and which has been released worldwide on December 20, 2019.
With so many different media and formats through which to meet Geralt de Rivia and company, one may have doubts about where to start. Are books, video games or series better? We intend to clarify that in this article (and without spoilers) .
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‘The saga of the witcher’, by Andrzej Sapkowski
Let’s start by talking about what should be considered as the original material from which the rest of the products come : the books.
Sapkowski’s Witcher Saga consists of seven main books ( The Last Wish , The Sword of Destiny , The Blood of the Elves , A Time of Hate , Baptism by Fire , The Tower of the Swallow and The Lady of the Lake ) and a prequel ( Storm season ) that tells independent stories within the same universe as the rest of the books and with some related or common characters.
The author begins his story as a compilation of short stories in which we follow Geralt de Rivia during his travels as a sorcerer and we get to know the characters who will become essential, but as the plot progresses the books gain cohesion and become a more traditional narrative that focuses on Geralt’s struggle to fulfill his destiny. This first structure divided into independent stories made, for years, it was believed that Sapkowski was building his saga on the fly and that he did not plan to create a single central branch in the story (which has been denied by the author himself ).
It is precisely this way of linking stories without an apparent order and how the settings, characters and conflicts change from one to another that makes the first books a frenetic narrative that easily engages and establishes the most important pillars of the saga and the protagonist. Geralt’s vagabond and mercenary side and his predisposition to take sides in disputes and issues that only affect him tangentially become almost palpable in these stories, which work especially well in The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny . Once Cirilla, the co-protagonist , is introduced, all the trails begin to redirect into a single path and the story begins to have ups and downs depending on the moment in the books it passes through. Although the plot is complete and satisfactory and Sapkowski gives us some unforgettable moments in the journey of Ciri or the tireless search for Geralt, the saga loses steam from the fourth installment and a certain deviation from the rhythm at which we begin to notice. he was accustomed in the first volumes.
Even with this detail, which is more noticeable if we look at each installment individually, the saga is still a round literary product that works and is worth finishing to see it with some perspective. Sapkowski’s style is marvelous, with his detailed descriptions and metaphors that are as witty and enjoyable , his sparkling dialogue, and his use of tension and action in which crescendos arrive the moment they are supposed to arrive. In his own way, he is somewhat reminiscent of Tolkien to an excessive extent in some of the descriptions, his adaptation of the European landscape to his world, and in his clear references to European mythologies, folk tales, and mythical tales (such as Arthurian legends). For his part, one of Sapkowski’s strong points is that the chapters are read from very different points of view and that they are not always those of the protagonists, providing agility to the reading and adding an interesting social aspect since it is not the same know what a duke thinks than a peasant.
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The ‘The Witcher’ trilogy by CD Projekt Red
As we mentioned before, Sapkowski’s stories were quite well known in and around Poland but not so much in the rest of the world. This made CD Projekt Red, a Polish company founded in 1994, interested in adapting Geralt de Rivia’s universe to the world of videogames. Thus arose The Witcher (2007) and, after its success, The Witcher II: Assassins of Kings (2011) and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015); a trilogy of RPG games that we are going to analyze from the perspective of their respect for books and their value as a video game .
We want to acknowledge the fact that when they came up with the games, CD Projekt was very smart to place them after the books . The ending that Sapkowski grants to his saga is open enough that there can be a continuation and thus the developers achieved the world, the characters and the charm of the original story but with almost total creative freedom and without having to subordinate the development from the game to the books . In addition, in the first game Geralt has amnesia so those who had not read anything before could enjoy the experience without any problem.
The trilogy embraces Sapkowski’s literary style and transfers it to the video game, taking care of the situations and dialogues presented to build three titles in which the care and care that has been put into them can easily be seen. CD Projekt captures the attitude and way of being of the main characters and makes a photographic portrait of Geralt de Rivia that ranges from his feline fighting style to his short temper, his moral compass, his life as a vagabond or his contracts as a witch. The trilogy of games becomes a perfect continuation of the books by Andrzej Sapkowski, that product in which some fans decide to continue the story that has already ended and that turns out to fit as well as a new piece of the puzzle.
If we now look at it from a gamer’s point of view, CD Projekt Red’s games offer a very complete RPG experience . Each installment maintains the same spirit intact (the one that it takes directly from the books) but is updated with more complete mechanics, better graphics and everything that the technology of the moment allowed. Each game spins properly with the previous and the next , creating a well-structured story that is enjoyed as a good narrative with lots of lore for those who do not know the books and a last big adventure for those who have read them.
The block and feint-based combat system and the importance of preparing before a battle with potions and bombs come straight out of warlock training and are an essential part of getting through some of the toughest parts of the titles. If The Witcher prepared the ground and Assassins of Kings put it under the spotlight, The Wild Hunt was the pinnacle of the trilogy with an immense open world and an end to a quality story that took up very important elements from the books, closing the uroboros and letting the snake bite its own tail.
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La serie ‘The Witcher’, de Netflix
The last case that concerns us is also the most recent and perhaps the most complicated , since the number of followers of the sorcerer Geralt has increased both in his paper version and in video games. The public knows the story and can be much more critical of the results achieved by the streaming platform. We can only comment on the first season (consisting of 8 chapters) , so we will try to be cautious and leaving room for the future of the series.
Netflix has wanted to bet on an adaptation of the books and, taking into account that the first books are made up of independent stories, it seems a very good option, since it is much easier to adapt a short story to a 50-minute chapter than to divide a story linear in eight parts and all of them are interesting. Focusing on the first two books (the first focused on Geralt and the second with Ciri’s presentation), Netflix has made a very good selection of which stories to tell to introduce the characters and that are varied enough so that the viewer can meet Geralt and his particular vision of duty and justice. In addition, we will closely follow the sorceress Yennefer and the young princess Cirilla , whose childhood is barely outlined in the books (which is used by the scriptwriters to delve deeper into them).
This “holy trinity” ends quite well both for its plot arcs and for the actors who play them. Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan shine as Yennefer and Ciri respectively and although Henry Cavill is a bit shocking at first due to his imposing physique and size, he ends up adapting to the character’s skin and convinces as White Wolf. Of the rest of the cast, we must highlight Joey Batey and his funny interpretation of the bard Dandelion (in addition to the great song ‘Toss a coin to your witcher’) .
The series, until the last two chapters, develops with a very good rhythm that always leaves you wanting to see the next chapter , the setting is careful and manages to put the viewer on the screen and both the digitally created creatures and the fighting and Sword duels are impressive , with very good quality and a style that tries to separate from what is shown by other recent fantasy series. On the other side of the scale, as the main complaint, we have the Nilfgaardians ; that kind of Holy Roman Empire that tries to conquer the kingdoms of the north and that are represented as too obvious antagonists that are out of tune even in the design of the weapons and armor they carry.
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“The sword of destiny has two edges …”
Andrzej Sapkowski started something extraordinary in 1992 by creating a world so attractive that it can be taken to different formats and still achieve good results. A story with classic overtones that draws on the greats of the fantasy genre but adapts to the author’s style and an adult and stark tone.
The Witcher Saga should be the starting point for any fan , since both the series and the video games are based on it and are more enjoyed if they are seen as a sequel or an adaptation. In addition, if one decides to stay in the books and not go further, one will find a quality saga that, seen as a whole, is worth reading and rereading.
Video games are a 100% recommended entertainment product that, as much as we can say about them, there is no better way to enjoy them than by playing them and losing yourself in the virtual world they create.
The series is just beginning but for the moment it has gotten off on the right foot . When it was announced it was said that it would be the new Game of Thrones and considering how the books progress and what happened to the HBO production, that may not be a good thing. Like Game of Thrones and the Sapkowski books, the Witcher series may lose its agility and freshness as it progresses , having to be even more selective about the content they show and how they do it. But we can only know that once we know what paths it takes.
The sword of fate is double-edged, and no one wields them better than the warlock Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf . Whether on the pages, with a controller in hand or through a screen, let’s enjoy his story and sing about his exploits.
