I'm still not convinced The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past is worth pasting over the perfect ending that was Blood and Wine

The trailer unveiled at the event introduced a new region called Letten, where Geralt battles tree-like monsters amidst rural festivities. The setting is described as an "almost uncannily idyllic place" hiding a dark secret within a cursed garden. However, the presentation did not scream grand finale in the way fans might expect for a beloved character's swansong.

The most intriguing detail revealed so far is that Letten serves as the homeland of Dandelion, Geralt's long-standing best friend and the series' classic odd couple. The narrative appears to focus on filling backstory gaps for the bard while potentially guiding Geralt to contemplate retirement. Despite the Steam description hinting that "the fate of the entire land, and even Geralt's closest friendship" are at risk, Dandelion notably did not appear in the reveal trailer itself.

During the presentation, CD Projekt Red level design lead Miles Tost explained the development process. He noted that while they had ideas for a final story with Geralt for years, scheduling made it difficult until their partners at Fool's Theory stepped in. The team hired veteran developers from the original game, including Tost's mentor Péter Gelencsér, to help bring this vision to life.

The studio openly markets this as "Geralt's last adventure" before Ciri takes over the mantle. However, Warren points out that Blood and Wine remains an ideal way to sign off on Geralt's journey. In that expansion, Geralt retires in Toussaint with a vineyard, enjoying wine, respect, and political stability—a setup that many consider the perfect resting place for his story.

Warren argues that re-opening Pandora's box after such a satisfying conclusion carries significant risk. He questions whether Songs of the Past is simply cynical new content designed to drive sales for the base game on platforms like Battle.net, similar to how Bethesda has been criticized for expanding Skyrim. While there is no shame in monetizing a beloved IP before the next main title arrives, it risks diminishing the impact of Geralt's finale.

Adding to the complexity, CD Projekt Red also announced a remaster update for The Witcher 3 releasing next month. Warren finds this timing slightly bizarre, given that the game received a next-gen update as recently as December 2022. This raises further questions about whether the DLC is a genuine narrative addition or merely a commercial strategy to capitalize on the franchise's enduring popularity.

Ultimately, crossing the bridge from Geralt to Ciri is never easy for developers. Warren hopes that despite his nagging doubts, Songs of the Past will prove to be the ideal plank to cling to as CD Projekt Red navigates this transition. Whether it succeeds or not remains to be seen when the DLC launches.