Witcher (Netflix)

[Ryujin]

I think you can. The Witchers - and certainly Geralt - generally try to stay out of it, but the situation with Ciri makes things more complicated, though.

I think it's really just important to root for Ciri, Geralt or Yennefer. (And typically, that involves rooting for all 3.) But failing that, you can always root for Jaskier.

Soooo many people are never going to root for the Bard

 

[CapnZapp]

I honestly think the show is trying to make the Witcher into a much more blandly one-dimensional hero.

By toning down what the games allow you do do, that is have the Witcher make selfish decisions, chase every skirt in sight, and ignore people that doesn't pay well enough, you lose the unique values that make the Witcherverse worth having.

As portrayed in S2, Henry Cavill is essentially playing a fantasy Superman with the same boring lack of flaws.

I cringed when he turned down Triss for example. While I'm sure many viewers like a valorous shining knight hero straight out of a Harlequin romance, the Witcher I know and like would rip off her dress and sex her right then and there; Ciri and Yen just having to become annoyed but ultimately accept him for what he is.

The way S2 is reducing the Witcher to Super-Dad that can do no wrong is just... rolls eyes

 

[payn]

I like the reluctant father aspect and the Shakespearean type tragedy of Yen and Geralt's relationship. If you just want to see a wticher go around banging chicks and killing things play the game.

 

[Stalker0]

I like the reluctant father aspect and the Shakespearean type tragedy of Yen and Geralt's relationship. If you just want to see a wticher go around banging chicks and killing things play the game.

I'm curious which one is more similar to book Geralt, is he a womanizer and drinker (aka like the video game) or more the guardian hero type (aka the tv show)?

 

[MNblockhead]

I'm curious which one is more similar to book Geralt, is he a womanizer and drinker (aka like the video game) or more the guardian hero type (aka the tv show)?

Andrzej Sapkowski has been much more hands off when it comes to what those who license his work do with it. From what I've read and heard about, all he asks is to be kept informed but has never/rarely demanded or requested changes or that a certain direction be followed.

So you will find inconsistencies and different takes on the characters and lore in the various media. What you read in the books may not track 100% with what you experience in the video games, or what is shown in the TV series.

Personally, I'm fine with that. I want the games to be consistent from game to game. I want the TV series to be consistent. Etc. But I'm fine with the books, games, and TV show having different canon.

I think that the TV show has done a good job capturing the spirit of the story and the world. I'm especially happy with season two. I'm fine with the more responsible, paternal Geralt. Perhaps he was different when younger. You see a similar maturation with Vesemir in the animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I'm curious which one is more similar to book Geralt, is he a womanizer and drinker (aka like the video game) or more the guardian hero type (aka the tv show)?

It has been a while since I read the books. I think Geralt is really both. Yennefer is his big love, but there were women before and in-between, I think. Once Ciri enters his life, she really becoems important to him, and he definitely takes the guardian job seriously.

The Witcher game series underplays his guardian hero type perhaps in the first 2 games, particularly since neither Ciri nor Yennefer are part of it. But they also give him amnesia, so it stands to reason he couldn't act on it.
Witcher 1 has the weird aspect that there is basically a male version of Ciri in the story, but the relationship isn't the same and not worked out as well.
I actually think Witcher 3 did really well in giving us all the sides. Finding and saving Ciri is the primary goal of Geralt in the game, but it's of course a game, so you'll also play lots of gwent, go into brawls, and kill random monsters and bandits.

 

[MarkB]

I really wish I could get into the Witcher games. They're exactly the kind of open-world experience I like, but for some reason I just can't get into the combat system. I own Witcher II and III, and I've tried several times to get into them, but always end up bouncing off after a few hours' play.

 

[TheSword]

I honestly think the show is trying to make the Witcher into a much more blandly one-dimensional hero.

By toning down what the games allow you do do, that is have the Witcher make selfish decisions, chase every skirt in sight, and ignore people that doesn't pay well enough, you lose the unique values that make the Witcherverse worth having.

As portrayed in S2, Henry Cavill is essentially playing a fantasy Superman with the same boring lack of flaws.

I cringed when he turned down Triss for example. While I'm sure many viewers like a valorous shining knight hero straight out of a Harlequin romance, the Witcher I know and like would rip off her dress and sex her right then and there; Ciri and Yen just having to become annoyed but ultimately accept him for what he is.

The way S2 is reducing the Witcher to Super-Dad that can do no wrong is just... rolls eyes

A computer game might let you play the Witcher how you like to play him. Him not being portrayed in the series that way, but in line with the opposite choices to yours (that maybe I would take), doesnt make him 1 dimensional. It just means he isn’t a sex addled, heartless, thug for hire.

To be honest I think the constant sex because ‘his mutations’ make him that way, and a mercenary approach to every deal makes him 1D because it suggests he lacks free will or choice, or a commitment to something more than where the next Oren is coming from.

 

[MNblockhead]

I really wish I could get into the Witcher games. They're exactly the kind of open-world experience I like, but for some reason I just can't get into the combat system. I own Witcher II and III, and I've tried several times to get into them, but always end up bouncing off after a few hours' play.

I only completed Witcher III and really liked it. For me it was more like an interactive story. I played it on an easier mode, because mastering challenging combat mechanics is not why I play the game. I enjoy watching my son play God of War or Ghost of Tsushima, but I just get frustrated trying to play those games. When I want to get really tactical, I play turn-based games.

For me, Witcher III was one of the more immersive games I've played. There was a lot of variety and even taking on monster-hunting contracts never felt grindy to me. I actually cared about the characters and was strongly driven to learn more about the story. After completing the Witcher III, I tried to play Witcher I and II but neither grabbed me in the same way and I didn't get very far into either of them.

 

[pukunui]

I haven't played any of the Witcher games. By the sound of it, they're not a series that take place in chronological order (like, say, the Dragon Age games)? You don't have to have played the first two in order to understand / enjoy the third?