I loved Geralt, but Ciri actually makes a lot of sense for The Witcher 4

I remember the cinematic reveal of The Witcher 4 at the Game Awards 2024 like it was yesterday. I had loved the Witcher games for so long, and The Witcher 3 has done so much for my mental health, friendships, and gaming interests, that learning the news of the next game that night felt momentous.

When Ciri appeared on-screen, I yelled out, "YESSSS!", spooking my husband and my then-infant daughter. That scream was one of delight and amazement. There was no place for disappointment — and there still isn't.

I didn't care much for Ciri in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I never particularly enjoyed the sections of the game where you have to play as her — they make sense to me narratively, but not gameplay-wise. I immensely disliked being yanked out of controlling Geralt and using his familiar mechanics to zoom around as Ciri.

I never thought of her as a likeable or even relatable character either. She is very important to the story, but not central to my enjoyment of the game. My perception of her had been further colored by Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher novels, where she is arguably even less pleasant (for very good, very traumatic reasons) than the CD Projekt Red game version.

When Ciri was revealed as the protagonist for the upcoming game, I knew people would be unhappy, but the intensity of disappointment of some about Ciri leading The Witcher 4 still surprised me. I expected some usual misogynistic hate, but the arguments I've been seeing have more range than that. From source material purism to the brain-dead "she ugly" comments, the complaints boil down to these four:

1. Ciri is not a good protagonist because girls can't be witchers (source material argument)
2. Ciri is not a good protagonist because Ciri isn't a witcher (erroneous source material argument)
3. Ciri is not a good protagonist because her and Geralt's story is over (game writing argument)
4. Ciri is not a good protagonist because she is a woman (fuck off)

I will entertain no complaints about Ciri's wrinkles, but other points are worth delving into because they have some merit, yet still fail to address that Ciri is a perfectly reasonable choice of protagonist, both for the game itself and for its sales and marketing. It's also not as lore-breaking or, at the very least, not as clear-cut as people claim.