Several long-time fans of the Witcher series are clamoring for a full-blown remake of the first two games, and they're not shy at making their desires known.
witcher 1 and 2
This was made clear in a recent post on the Witcher subreddit, which has already earned over 2,600 upvotesand over 250 comments at the time of this writing. According to a report by GamingBible, Redditor Moon_Devonshire (who we can assume is a PlayStation owner) is not too satisfied that PlayStation users really only have acces to The Witcher 3 and not the first two games, which were excellent as well:
For the uninitiated, 2009's The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings only came out on the PC, Xbox 360, Linux, and macOS - never on the PS3. As for the original Witcher game from 2007, it was only ever a PC/Mac exclusive. So one might understand Moon_Devonshire's frustration upon knowing they can never play the first two games of the franchise.
Other commenters were quick to agree that Witcher 1 and 2 both deserve a full remake for modern consoles. They say that since a remastered, next-gen version of The Witcher 3 is already being worked on by developer CD Projekt Red, there's no reason that the first two games should be left behind.
As for how they'd want a remake of the first Witcher game to go, they mentioned what FromSoftware did with their PS5-exclusive remake of Demon's Souls, which was pretty well-received when it first came out. Now, that one was quite the upgrade considering how the original PS3 version looked very aged by comparison.
Remaking The Witcher 1 would also account for an insane leap in graphical fidelity - far beyond what its original Enhanced Edition brought. The 2007-era game was built on Bioware's old Aurora Engine, and while some fans still like the original game, it has definitely showed its age as said in this 2021 review:
Read also: The Next Big PlayStation Showcase Might Not Come Until September - Rumors
There's Already A Remade Version Of Witcher 1 - Sort Of
If you're really itching to know what CD Projekt Red's first Witcher game would look like on a modern engine, there is already a remake of sorts that's already out and is playable. However, it only covers the original game's prologue and is only available as a mod for The Witcher 3 on PC.
Here's a gameplay video showing the mod in action:
As you can see there, the entire prologue of the game (which was set in Kaer Morhen) was remade within The Witcher 3. It comes complete with all the original dialog and is more or less faithful to the original - just not in terms of graphics. The mod was so well-made that according to Destructoid, it's like you're watching a flashback scene that you missed during your first few playthroughs of The Witcher 3.
When it comes to an official, full-blown remake, though, that thing remains up in the air. CD Projekt Red is deep in the development of the next-gen version of Witcher 3, as well as the Unreal Engine 5-powered Witcher 4. So they're going to have their hands full.
Related: 'The Witcher 4' Director Was Also The Director Of The 'Gwent' Standalone Game
Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce