Something wicked this way comes - an open-world Witcher title with scale and style to spare. Designed by CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been hot on our radars ever since it was announced back in February of 2013. Positioned as a direct competitor to the likes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dragon Age: Inquisition, this mammoth-sized slash-em-up aims to lay siege to the next generation of RPGs when it arrives at some point in 2014.

For now however, fans must make do with the simple scraps of information being tossed out by the game's development team-turned-dungeon masters. Following on from December's VGX gameplay trailer, little news of note has been breaking regarding the title, an entry that we here at Game Rant consider to be one of the most exciting titles of 2014. Luckily, CD Projekt Red has heeded the call for content, unveiling 3 new screenshots just this week.

Screenshot #1 finds Geralt navigating a sleepy woodland swamp, as a sortie of unknown riders departs a local village. Given the familiarity of the locale — similar to the setting of Wild Hunt's 'Killing Monsters' trailer — and the prospect of smoke rising in the distance, it's possible that these men form some sort of raiding party.

The very next image - featuring the Witcher amid a scene of bloody carnage suggest the men involved earned a swift and brutal comeuppance. The third and final shot transplants the action onto the cobbled stones of an unknown city, as a gang of thieves sets to work on a hapless citizen. Unsurprisingly, Geralt is shown heading straight into the fray, sword half-drawn, catching both men by surprise.

All three screenshots appear by virtue of the new CD Projekt Red forums, which reemerged online this Tuesday, following a period of extensive tweaking. Divided between Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher-specific boards, the new layouts feature neon-drenched futurescapes and candle-lit parchments respectively.

In other Witcher 3 news, CD Projekt Red has recently announced a range of prospective completion times for Geralt's open-world adventure. Speaking with IGN last week, Red's own Marcin Iwinski revealed a main campaign length of "roughly 50 hours," with side quests and other, non-essential activities taking up an additional 50 to 70 hours' to complete.

Iwinski also took the time out to emphasize Wild Hunt's impressive replayability, with more than 36 disparate endings currently in development. Whether any of these finales actually receive fleshed out and/or unique endgame content remains unknown, though common sense would seem to suggest Red sticking with two or three major plotlines, each featuring a set of interchangeable character-centric endings.

Will you be signing up for the new and improved CD Projekt Red forums? How much influence does the average discussion board have over developers? Which studio boasts the best overall fan community? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check in with all of the latest Witcher news, right here on Game Rant.

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will appear on PC, PS4 and Xbox One systems at some point in 2014.

Follow Sam on Twitter @GamingGoo.

Source: IGN, CD Projekt Red Forums