While 2024 is already proving to be another great year for video game releases, many gamers may find themselves longing for those titles that might be a little further away. Though games likeHellblade 2,Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, andStar Wars Outlawsare all highly anticipated titles, they pale in comparison to the likes ofGrand Theft Auto 6,Hollow Knight: Silksong, andThe Witcher 4.
ThoughThe Witcher 4’s release is still probably a while away - with the game apparently not entering full production until later this year - it’s still got a lot of hype surrounding it already. After the immense success ofThe Witcher 3and CD Projekt Red’s recent efforts to raiseCyberpunk 2077from its ashes, a lot is riding on the next mainlineWitcherentry. Many fans will expect the sequel to have learned a great deal from its predecessor, and there’s one lesson in particular that could putThe Witcher 4in the same boat as a potentialHogwarts Legacy 2.
The Witcher 4 and Hogwarts Legacy 2 Might Need to Learn the Same Lesson
The Witcher 3 and Hogwarts Legacy Shared an Overabundance of One Type of Side Mission
Generally speaking,The Witcher 3features an excellent, applauded open-world design.The Witcher 3pushed the limits of emergent narrative and gameplay, delivering a genuinely immersive world filled with realistic characters and compelling storylines, but that doesn’t mean that everything inThe Witcher 3’s open-worldwas perfect.
While the vast majority of quests and important events are marked clearly onThe Witcher 3’s world map with distinct icons, many points of interest are simply all categorized under one simple icon, an infamous white question mark. The content hidden behind these question marks can vary quite wildly, ranging from exciting side missions such as the hunt for the Witcher School gear and mini-boss fights to abandoned villages and Places of Power that increase the effectiveness ofGeralt’s magical Signs. However, the vast majority of these question marks are just hiding simple treasures.
The problem withThe Witcher 3’s question marksisn’t necessarily what’s contained behind them, but how these question marks are implemented intoThe Witcher 3’s open world. Simply put, there are just way too many question marks onThe Witcher 3’s world map. Not only can this be overwhelming for newcomers, but this overabundance of question marks inThe Witcher 3can immediately put players off from engaging in the game’s side content at all, with it seeming like an impossible task to complete everything upon first inspection of the map.
Last year’sHogwarts Legacyfeatured a very similar problem.Hogwarts Legacyhas a total of 95 Merlin Trialsscattered across its open world, ranging from some surprisingly challenging brain-teasers to some mind-numbing environmental puzzles. Much likeThe Witcher 3’s question marks, it’s not necessarily the content of these Merlin Trials that’s the issue; it’s that there are far too many of them in the game, with them feeling like content just for the sake of content.
The Witcher 4 and Hogwarts Legacy 2 Have a Tough Choice to Make
When it comes to creating side content,The Witcher 4andthe inevitableHogwarts Legacy 2are going to need to make a tough decision. These games either need to cut down on these question marks and Merlin Trials significantly or improve them drastically so that each one feels worthwhile to visit and complete. In the case ofThe Witcher 4’s question marks, that should mean fewer treasure chests and more secret questlines, and forHogwarts Legacy 2, that should mean less repetitive environmental puzzles and more engaging riddles and conundrums.
The Witcher
The Witcher is a 3D action RPG series developed by CD Projekt Red featuring the exploits of Geralt of Rivia. Steeped in fantasy, The Witcher series is based on the books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
