The Witcher mobile game, called Witcher: Monster Slayer, brings the dark fantasy series to your smartphone.
The Witcher began as a dark fantasy book series before exploding in popularity with the eponymous video games, and the franchise has reached new audiences with the Netflix TV show. Naturally, the time seems ripe for a mobile game to land big with fans – so get ready for a game inspired by… Pokémon Go? Yes, The Witcher: Monster Slayer, a new game developed by Poland-based studio Spokko set for a global launch on July 21, is a location-based mobile game that overlays your surroundings with fantastical environments chock full of monsters and quests. Similar to game developer Niantic’s hit Pokémon Go, you’ll have to wander around IRL to encounter challenging enemies, harvest items, and explore the story. The game is a bit of a blend of Pokémon Go and Elder Scrolls: Blades – instead of capturing monsters, you’ll swipe your finger to slash them with your sword, though you’ll probably want to prepare with oils, potions, bombs, and magic suited for each foe, just like in the main games. But Monster Slayer has something unique that fits its rich literary, interactive, and cinematic origins: story. “It’s not that easy on mobile to make a story-driven game, and it’s even tougher to make a location-based game, but that creates many, many opportunities,” said The Witcher: Monster Slayer Quest Designer and Story Lead Przemek Tarczyński to TechRadar in an interview. “I don’t think anybody else ever tried it, at least at such scale or with such success.” Monster Slayer will have a progression of quests that tell a story fitting the dark, dangerous world of the Witcher. Players will, of course, play one of the titular magic-enhanced warriors, and follow both a main storyline told through 2D-animated cinematics and dialogue between characters using the game’s 3D engine. While the game’s developers didn’t want to spoil the details, they hinted at an epic story worthy of the franchise. But don’t worry, you’ll also stumble upon some familiar Witcher quests requiring some monster-killing dirty work, like getting asked to chase down a villager abducted by Nekkars, Tarczyński told us – you’ll just have to run down the baddies in the real world this time. And along the way, don’t be surprised if you run into some familiar faces from the franchise, but a heads up: Monster Slayer is set 200 years before the games and show begin, so don’t expect to run into Gerald, Yennefer, Ciri, Dandelion (Jaskier to the Netflix watchers) or others who wouldn’t fit such a timeline.
