Every good story-driven game requires characters that players can like and hate in equal measure. This is especially true in the case of epic fantasy stories that try to tell emotional, high-stakes narratives with heroes and villains, and The Witcher is no exception.
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As Geralt, players will meet old friends, new acquaintances, and heinous characters who hammer in just how cruel and unfair this dark fantasy world is. This makes it easy to start harboring a deep dislike of certain characters who can be a royal pain for the heroes.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead!
1 Sigismund Dijkstra
A Conniving Snake Who Isn't Even That Smart At The End
- Worst Act: Thinking that Geralt would be okay with his friends being murdered
Dijkstra is a conniving fiend who looks out for himself and was born to be a sly spymaster. He finagles information from Geralt and is clearly devoted to serving his own rise to power, something that can be seen at the end of "Reason of State."
For some reason, Dijkstra thinks that he and his armed guards can stop Geralt if he has problems with seeing his closest friends being cut down in front of him. This makes it an easy decision to cut Dijkstra down, cementing him as a heinous and scheming villain who faltered at the very last step of his rise to power.
2 Leo Bonhart
A Sadistic Bounty Hunter Who Serves As A Thorn In Ciri's Side
- Worst Act: Mutilating Ciri and forcing himself on Yennefer
Leo Bonhart is a relentless bounty hunter who relishes in his cruelty. He doesn't just capture Ciri, but tortures her by making her watch as he decapitates every member of the Rats in front of her. She'd formed a close bond with this group, making it clear that Bonhart was as evil as can be.
Even after Ciri manages to free himself from his clutches, he leaves her with a gift to remember by slinging an orion that hits her in the eye. All of this was enough to make readers hate this character, only for him to unleash an unwarranted assault on Yennefer that showed fans just how pathetic this sicko was.
3 Eredin Breacc Glas
A Horrible Antagonist Who Wants To Use Ciri Like A Toy
- Worst Act: Treating Ciri like a breeding tool
Eredin in the books is a conniving villain who wants to force Ciri into becoming his bride so that he can use the power of the Elder Blood. This leads to him becoming infatuated with Ciri as she struggles to escape his grasp.
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He chases her down between worlds and is hell-bent on using her as his tool. Since players will form a bond with Geralt, Ciri, and the other heroes, it's easy to see why they wouldn't let him get his way.
4 King Radovid V
A Mad King Who Encourages Hatred Against Mages And Nonhumans
- Worst Act: Turning Novigrad into a hub of hatred towards the marginalized sections of society
A king who's a tyrant is always going to be as evil as can be in a dark fantasy game. King Radovid the Stern is no exception, who uses his trauma from Philippa's presence in his life as an excuse to unleash an inhumane campaign to hunt down and kill all the mages in Novigrad.
To make things worse, players who don't assassinate him will see this hatred rise to the point where even innocent nonhumans are being targeted. He truly is a depraved king, and fans will love to see the light go out of his eyes when they participate in the assassination plot.
5 Philippa Eilhart
A Self-Serving Mage Who Does Everything In Her Power To Achieve Her Ambitions
- Worst Act: Trying to manipulate Ciri into becoming a puppet for her ambitions
Philippa is a character that fans love to hate. She may be calm, cool, and collected, but she's also ruthlessly ambitious and will do everything she can to attain power beyond the realms of the metaphysical that she already harbors.
She was relentless in her goal to manipulate Ciri into serving as a puppet ruler, with her pulling the strings behind. In the second game, she manipulates Geralt and Iorveth into letting her brainwash Saskia, making it hard to feel sorry for her when she's blinded after she's captured and interrogated.
6 Caleb Menge
As Expected, The Leader Of The Witch Hunters Is A Terrible Human Being
- Worst Act: Torturing mages and leading a witch hunt
Caleb Menge doesn't stick around for too long but makes no effort to make himself even remotely likable. The only time players can tolerate having a conversation with him is when he's torturing Triss, which will cause players to rage and bisect this man for even thinking of doing such a heinous act.
Players can decide to let Triss scream in agony as they get their information, which is one of the most heartbreaking things to do in The Witcher 3. It turns Caleb Menge into a horrible human being, who was already on their bad side since he led the horrible Witch Hunters.
7 Emhyr var Emreis
A Man Who Treats His Daughter Like A Tool To Gain Power
- Worst Act: Using her daughter for political leverage
In their quest for power, it's amazing to see how easily royalty can forgo their morals. Such is the case with Emhyr, who doesn't care about his daughter but wants her rescued just so that she can follow him as the Empress and continue the family's reign on the throne.
Treating his daughter like an object is bad enough as is, but there's a certain plot line missing from the books that will turn him into one of the most hated characters in the series. The fact that he wanted to marry Ciri just so the Child of Prophecy would have his blood is just sick.
8 Cyprian Wiley, AKA Whoreson Junior
A Sadistic Criminal Who Deserves A Fate Worse Than Death
- Worst Act: Torturing innocent people for his amusement
Whoreson Junior makes a horrible impression before players even meet him. He's a sadist who enjoys torturing innocent women, which is why Geralt is incensed to find out that Ciri interacted with him when she was in Novigrad.
Most players would prefer to kill him just because he only dreamed of harming Ciri. That's not even mentioning the many poor girls who had no idea about the sadism of a man who'd paid them a bit of coin.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 93 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- May 19, 2015
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Engine
- REDengine 3
- Cross-Platform Play
- yes
- Cross Save
- yes
