The Mandalorian has been one of the biggest hits for Disney+ and is considered by many fans to be one of the best entries in the Star Wars franchise to come out in recent years. From the meme-making factory that is Baby Yoda to high profile stars like Werner Herzog and Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito appearing as villains, the show's entry into popular culture has been almost unavoidable, even for people who haven't seen it.
Now, a reliable video game leaker known as Shpeshal Ed has claimed a game based on The Mandalorian is in development, and he has been reliable in the past, including proven-correct information regarding the May 2021 PS Plus games. If the Mandalorian game is going to live up to the TV show's immense success, it needs to learn five lessons from another hugely popular series about a bounty-hunting hero: The Witcher.
Avoiding Overlap
One of the best moves the Witcher trilogy made was removing its timeline entirely from the rest of the franchise, which at the time of the first game's release was still just the original books by Andrzej Sapkowski. Although Geralt died at the end of the stories, CD Projekt Red brought him back with amnesia and told a story set after the events of the novels entirely.
If a Mandalorian game is going to find its own success, it should be set entirely before or after the TV show. Setting the game before the TV show may prevent some character development, though it's the most logical choice right now. Unlike The Witcher books when CD Projekt Red began developing the games, however, The Mandalorian's main story has still not finished. Another option would be to focus on an extended period of time between canonical events, as the nature of the show shows Mando's tendency to get around and involved regardless. Either way, it should be as removed as possible to prevent overlap.
Side Bounties
One of the best aspects of The Witcher is the way it handles its Witcher contracts. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, for example, the main plotline is centered on Geralt's search for Ciri. However, Ciri is often already long-gone when Geralt reaches the next step on her journey. As he makes slow progress through his journey, Geralt has to pick up Witcher contracts to pay for his bed and board along the way. The results are some of the most immersive side quests in gaming.
Some open-world games present the player with a pressing main quest and then allow them to go wandering off while the fate of the world is at stake. CD Projekt Red, on the other hand, seamlessly integrates Geralt's contracts into its overarching narrative in a way the Mandalorian game's bounty missions should take note of.
The Protagonist
Geralt is a great video game protagonist for some deceptively simple reasons. Open-world games like Skyrim encourage the player to immerse themself by making them entirely responsible for their character's backstory, motivations, and appearance. Despite being an RPG series, The Witcher does not do this. Geralt's life so far is spelled out in the books, and though the player has plenty of dialogue options, Geralt's unique personality and sense of humor shines through all of them.
Geralt's stoicism - supposedly a side effect of his mutations - ironically makes him a particularly immersive player character by giving him same slight detachment from his world that players themselves have. The Mandalorian is a similarly stoic but humorous character in the show, and the developer of the game shouldn't shy away from giving its protagonist a distinct personality even if the game is an RPG. Geralt shows that players can immerse themselves in strong personalities just as well as blank slates.
Integrated Relationships
One of The Witcher's best moves is deeply integrating Geralt's romance options into the story. Some RPG series like Mass Effect have romance plotlines that are almost entirely disconnected from the main plot, but Geralt's opportunities for romance spring up more naturally in the story rather than feeling tagged on.
It remains to be seen, of course, if love is even in the books for Mando. Romance without removing the helmet would certainly be complicated, but any sort of relationship, whether romantic in nature or platonic and endearing, should be fully realized like Geralt's.
Get Silly With It
The Witcher may be a series about hunting down and slaying terrifying monsters dropped into the world from another dimension, but it still has a great sense of humor. Geralt's dry wit aside, there are some hilarious quests in The Witcher. Highlights include Geralt's attempts to talk to a pig, getting drunk and trying on Yennefer's clothes, and the hero's brief stint as a model for a painter in Beauclair.
These aren't the only examples of levity from recent open-world games. Getting drunk with Lenny in Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the most memorable moments in modern gaming. The Mandalorian show has a sense of humor that needs to make it through to any game adaptation. Just like the jokes in The Witcher and other open-world games, that humor will need to be adjusted for the new medium, but will be necessary to truly bring the world to life. The Mandalorian game has yet to be confirmed. However, with EA losing the exclusive rights to the Star Wars games, it could be more likely than ever.
A Mandalorian game is rumored to be in development.