If CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher franchise had ended with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, there may not have been many fans who kept it around in their memory. However, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is celebrated as an open-world action-RPG with extensive dialogue branches, elaborate alchemy and crafting mechanics, and seemingly infinite points of interest signified by question marks on the map. These features are comprehensive, but if there is one that does not excel quite as greatly, it is The Witcher 3’s combat. Instead, The Witcher 4 could consider Soulslike combat.
It does not seem like fans have gotten tired of the Soulslike genre yet, and its popularity may increase with each new FromSoftware game that demonstrates how superb the genre's principles are. Many new contenders in the genre have been released lately, such as Thymesia and Steelrising, with others announced and releasing in the future, such as Lies of P and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Making a leap to Soulslike combat might sound jarring or alienating if fans have gotten used to The Witcher's style, but it already leaves itself open to a rather simple transition in gameplay.
The Witcher 4 Could Use a FromSoftware Combat Overhaul
No details have been shared thus far about what fans should expect from The Witcher 4, nor CD Projekt Red’s planned trilogy of The Witcher games. It is therefore unknown what changes or improvements are planned for the franchise’s future, but its combat could use a bit of tweaking that would give it a definitive style on current-gen platforms.
As it stands, the current hack-and-slash model lacks weighted impact unless mods like The Witcher 3’s Brutal Blood are installed. Of course, oils and concoctions can be created and purchased to better the player’s defensive and offensive strategies in a hunt. Likewise, Geralt’s one-handed magical signs are useful in different situations, such as Quen casting a quick shield bubble or Igni firing a pyrokinetic burst.
That said, when it gets down to basic swordplay, Geralt engages in elaborate pirouettes that seem to barely make a mark before the enemy’s health depletes, and they collapse. The Witcher 3’s combat arguably looks better than it feels to play, and refined Soulslike mechanics could rectify that.
Soulslike Mechanics Could Be Implemented Seamlessly to The Witcher
The transition to Soulslike combat could be incredibly straightforward. Instead of standing firmly in front of opponents and trading ineffective blows, players could lock-on and maneuver around enemies for swift ripostes. Parries, which The Witcher 3 already technically has with counterattacks, could open enemies up to visceral attacks, and attacks could either be side-stepped or somersaulted away from. Having The Witcher’s next protagonist—be it Geralt, Ciri, or another Witcher entirely—land significant strikes and be able to lock-onto different enemies would be all it needs to improve combat.
Soulslikes that are not developed by FromSoftware often try to iterate on combat systems to make themselves stand apart from the pack, and The Witcher 4 could already have those mechanics in place. More than combat itself, FromSoftware games such as Elden Ring have fantastic boss designs. Telegraphing Soulslike bosses often has less to do with what strategies players can bring to the table, and more to do with learning how to evade enemy attack patterns or use a unique stage environment to their advantage. The Witcher 4 would surely need to take after Soulslike combat seen in Elden Ring as an open-world game, and the more it could take as inspiration from FromSoftware the more favorable its end product may be.
The Witcher 4 is expected to release in late 2025.