Gerry from the River rides up to a noticeboard for the second time this week. Between contracts, he scans the pinned scraps for a fresh job to take on, only for his eyes to rest on another particularly peculiar bit of prose. ‘There’s a mysterious extra DLC for The Witcher 3 in the works’, this bit of paper claims. ‘Oh yeah, I heard about that,’ Gerry’s brain responds. ‘Also, it reportedly might be set in Zerrikania,’ says the paper. ‘Ooh, that’s new,’ the Witcherman’s noggin thinks.
The bit of paper, this time symbolising reporting from Ian Games Network Poland, explains that it’s heard CD Projekt’s developers have previously been interested in exploring Zerrikania. For those who’ve not stuck their heads deep into the big bucket of witchery lore, that’s a region located to the east of the locations throughout The Continent which have served as settings for Witcher games to this point.
If my memory serves correctly, the province has thus far been mentioned as an exotic locale of rainforests, deserts and steppes, ruled by a dragon-worshipping matriarchal society taking cues from the likes of ancient Scythia or Africa. So, a big change of pace from the generally medieval European-inspired climes Geralt’s typically seen roaming. One of the bits of the Witcher books which has stuck with me in the long-term is a short story from Sword of Destiny in which Gerry meets a knight called Borch Three Jackdaws, who’s accompanied by a pair of female Zerrikanian warriors called Téa and Véa, which has since featured in the Witcher Netflix series. I’ll not spoil it here, but there are some dragon-hunting shenanigans.
While IGN Poland’s bit of paper makes clear the info it’s reporting now dates back several years, with the other recent reporting hinting at an extra Witcher 3 DLC being the reason it’s being revisited now, if even a short trip to Zerrikania does turn out to be on the cards, I’d be up for it. I’ve generally been sceptical of what purpose this alleged extra might serve once the initial excitement at having more of a good game subsides, but offering a first taste of a place in the series’ universe folks usually only hear whispers about or seen card art of would fill that blank.
I still struggle to see such a thing being pulled of in anywhere near as expansive fashion as the game-sized Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine DLCs, but much more contained add-ons can always be plenty of fun.
Or they could just stick to my previously outlined wish and put out a DLC in which Geralt becomes a goofy centaur. Oop, speaking of Gerry, he’s galloped away from the noticeboard in a huff again.