CD Projekt Red recently revealed that its project Canis Majoris is actually a full-blown Unreal Engine 5 remake ofThe Witcher 1. This title is being worked on by Polish studio Fool’s Theory, which features formerWitcherdevs too, and is supervised by CDPR. This is exciting for many fans because, whileThe Witcher 3is often hailed as the best game of its generation,The Witcher 1has aged poorly.
However, perhaps one of its features has aged more poorly thanThe Witcher 1’s gameplay. Indeed, official lore states that Witchers have an increased sex drive due to the mutagens they are exposed to, and each game deals with this in different ways. This doesn’t mean that Geralt is incapable of love, as players can see inromances with characters like Yennefer and Triss, but the way the first game handled it will no doubt be problematic, if left untouched.
RELATED:CD Projekt Red Has Had One Million Active Players Every Day for 4 Weeks in a Row
The Witcher’s Sex Cards Treat Women Like Objects
There are a lot of things that theWitcher 1 Remakeshouldn’t change, but this is definitely one of them. In the first game, players were rewarded with “romance cards” every time they complete a romance. However, the community has often called these sex cards because that’s the moment they are really and truly received, sometimes with no romance whatsoever. These items are considered as “trophies” in the game, which basically spells it all the problems that come with such a feature. There are 25 of them, more or less, inThe Witcher 1, and sometimes the characters are simply reduced to the “elf woman card” or the “prostitute card” instead of naming the characters.
It’s not certain yet how much CDPR and Fool’s Theory intends to change the upcoming remake, as there is a case for it to be faithful and others more iterative. However, regardless of the approach, it seems pretty clear “sex cards” should not be part of the remake. Truly, it’s a relatively simple fix too: remove them entirely. AllowingWitcherprotagonist Geraltto constantly pursue romance and sex is perfectly in line with his character, and so the relationships he has with these characters within this sphere is perfectly acceptable. He doesn’t abuse them, there’s always consent, and so on.
But to treat these relationships as trophies really isn’t fitting or appropriate. If nothing else, removing sex cards inCDPR and Fool’s Theory’sThe Witcher 1 Remakeis something that must be done, lest the game release in bad taste.
