Today, a trailer was released that provides a glimpse at a brand new Witcher game titled The Witcher: Monster Slayer. It is not the next mainline entry in the successful RPG series, however, but instead will be launching on iOS and Android devices soon. Whether a second mobile game announcement goes over well with Witcher fans remains to be seen, though the trailer does show some promise.
The Witcher: Monster Slayer tasks players with tracking the creatures of the Continent and killing them with a sword within augmented reality. The premise seems similar to Pokemon GO’s gameplay loop, only with players killing what they find instead of capturing it. Monster Slayer will be taking after the popular mobile game with the addition of location-based creatures. That means that different monsters will be found at different areas of the world, a gimmick that could prove incredibly successful and work well with the concept of truly hunting for the monsters.
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How far the game goes with the tracking bit of the monster hunting is unclear, though pulling Witcher Vision from the mainline series could add greatly to the experience. Players discovering tracks and tufts of hair in the AR version of the real-world area they are exploring could prove to be incredibly immersive, and would no doubt be a great addition to the already strong concept of the game. The Witcher: Monster Slayer will be developed by Spokko, “part of the CD Projekt Red family,” and joins the incredibly popular card game Gwent as the second Witcher mobile game.
The game’s description confirms that the tracking process should be immersive, with time of day and weather conditions set to have an impact on which creatures spawn in. Players will also need to use their “Witcher knowledge,” which could either be a throwaway line for a catchy description or hint at a system like The Witcher 3’s bestiary. Regardless, tracking and finding the monsters seems to be the focus of Monster Slayer, so it will be interesting to see how many of the Witcher universe’s monsters make an appearance in the game.
The trailer shows a Leshen in a woodland area, lining up with what is seen in The Witcher 3, with the phone shaking as the monster approaches. The last bit of information provided on the game within the trailer and description is that it will be free-to-play, a smart move on the part of the development team if they want the game to explode in popularity. With the incredible success of the Netflix Witcher show, which just resumed the filming of season 2, this game could not be releasing at a better time.
No release date was provided for the game in the reveal trailer, though fans can expect it to come later rather than sooner. Releasing a game based on going outside and exploring while the world is dealing with a pandemic seems like a bad idea, and a Steam release like the one for Gwent would be impossible given the AR nature of Monster Slayer. For now, holding off on a launch date for The Witcher: Monster Slayer seems like the wisest idea.
The Witcher: Monster Slayer is currently in development for iOS and Android mobile devices.
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