"You're the Witcher? The monster slayer they're talking about in the village?"
Instead of an answer, the first thing that came out was a rough and deep "hmm" from Geralt of Rivia.
Taj sound He lets it out often - when he's frustrated with people he meets on his travels, when he's thinking or when someone makes him angry, which isn't exactly a smart thing to do.
It is usually accompanied by a cynical or sarcastic comment.
"Now you're going to ask me for help, aren't you? I can help... But I don't do anything for free," replied the gray-haired Witcher, his face streaked with scars.
Although he appears in multiple forms - in books, live-action and animated series - one of his most praised versions is that of the video game Witcher 3, often on lists of the best video games in history, which is just has completed a decade of existence.
In terms of gaming age, that makes it quite old, but many around the world still play it with the same enthusiasm.
It has won a number of awards and is also one of the best-selling (50 million copies) in history.
"It's a combination of a phenomenally written story, full of unforgettable characters, morally complex dilemmas, and various details that make the world alive, yet reactive to your choices within the game itself."
"It absolutely stands to reason that he's among the best of all time," says 27-year-old Luka Rajn, a video game fan from Belgrade, in an interview with BBC Serbian.
- GTA III - the video game that changed everything
- Super Mario: The famous plumber and the world's first video game star
- How to choose safe video games for children
The story of Geralt
It began in the mind of Andrzej Sapkowski, a Polish fantasy writer.
The first short story The Witcher (Expert), published at the end of the 1980s.
After a few years, he had enough for three collections, followed by five novels.
The main character is Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter, who encounters various obstacles, creatures, and enemies on his adventures in a world inspired by Slavic mythology and folklore.
However, when he is hired to get rid of a creature, it often turns out that the monster is not the biggest problem - it's the people.
It was precisely this dark atmosphere that appealed to many.
Polish company CD Project Red In 2002, she purchased the rights to Sapkowski's stories - for just under $10.000 - with the intention of making a video game, which is what happened: The first part was released in 2007, the second in 2011, and the third in 2015.
They all attracted a lot of attention and enthusiasm, especially Witcher 3.
And while the world was infected with Geralt and his adventures, Luka Reyn wasn't exactly.
"I didn't like her at first play, I didn't understand why that hajp", but after convincing enthusiastic friends, I gave her another chance," he recalls.
"It took me a while to get into the story."
"Somewhere around the third, I realized that I liked it so much that I just had to respect the whole sequence."
He put down the joystick and picked up the books to read them all in order.
When he did that, he finished the first two parts of the video game and only then tackled the last one.
"I have no regrets, it was worth much more than I expected," he says.
So much foreknowledge, I should note, although certainly useful, is not necessary - I only played the iconic third part, without reading the books or playing the first two.
And I had a great time.
The Witcher 3 and its secrets
So, in the game you are Geralt.
In the main part of the story (in gamer terms: play quests), something that is the core of the game and the main plot, you search for your adopted daughter Siri, who has disappeared, in a war-torn world.
On the way you encounter a series of troubles and adventures (gaming: side quests, that is, side stories and plots), through which you get to know numerous characters of a large and complex world, its characteristics and secrets.
At the same time, you play at a pace that suits you (gaming: open world, that is, a world in which you move wherever you want and do whatever you want - wander, explore, fight monsters, people, or solve parts of the main or side plots).
The first thing that catches the eye is the graphics, which, "despite being ten years old, easily stand shoulder to shoulder with all modern games," says Rhine.
But that's just the outer layer.
What's inside is actually the key, and that's the story, which develops as you choose what happens next through conversations with other characters in the game.
"The attention to detail, the development of characters through the story, and the entire world that changes based on your choices throughout the game, really gives meaning to the whole experience and makes you think carefully about how you're going to handle certain situations," says Rhine.
I can confirm that.
Several times I put down the joystick until I had a good idea of exactly what I was going to answer to a question, having to choose the lesser of two evils.
And it's all full of pretty serious themes and difficult moral dilemmas.
"The rich story and Geralt's relationships with other characters are his greatest strength." Witcher 3 games.
"Even the bad guys have an explanation for why they are the way they are, so you care about them too." it says gamer Shane Monroe in an article about "the best video game of the last 20 years."
In the end, it depends on your choices, behavior, and relationships with other characters, which of several different epilogues you will reach.
And not every ending is happy.
"Witcher 3 "set the standard for what a game of this type should look like," says Rhine.
"Once you step into that world, you won't want to leave, and it will know how to reward your attention in the end."
Watch: Three things you need to know about the GTA 6 video game trailer
"I'm in a thick fog"
The stories about Geralt are full of Slavic folklore, mythological and various other creatures, such as vampires and lesoviks (forest demons), but also numerous other things.
For example, one of the cities is called Novigrad, and among the music playing in the background there are traditional melodies from the Balkans.
The most famous example is "I'm in a thick fog", in the instrumental version.
"How can a gamer born in this area not like it when they hear a familiar melody in a world-famous game, and at what moment," says Rijn with a smile.
Bend Persival, who recorded the music for Witcher 3 he still tours playing songs and covers from the game.
Part four is coming
Due to the popularity of the games and books, the franchise also received a television version, which further increased interest in the game.
Series The Witcher It came out in 2019, starring Henry Cavill, who was later replaced by Liam Hemsworth, and many were delighted.
She was expected to fill the void after Game of Thrones, but it seems that the audience's enthusiasm has been declining year after year.
The last, fifth season, was released in 2024 and it is unknown whether there will be new ones, although one has arrived in the meantime. animated film.
Therefore, it should be of different content, from which much is expected.
Andrzej Sapkowski's new book from the world of The Witcher is coming in September 2025, which may satisfy fans' hunger for the fourth installment of the game.
First trailer for Witcher 4 It has thrilled many gamers, but it will take quite a while to arrive - according to the latest announcements, until 2027.
Just enough to cross nicely, neatly Witcher 3.
Why should I struggle with moral dilemmas and creatures of all shapes and sizes who want to eat me?
"Thank you for 10 years of monster slaying," they wrote at the end of a recent celebratory video, but they missed the most important thing.
They didn't point out that the worst monsters generally walk on two legs and have two arms.
"Hmm," a gray-haired figure would now grumble.
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us HERE.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube i Viber. If you have a topic suggestion for us, please contact bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
- Tetris: The "Perfect" Video Game
- Peck-Man: 40 years since the most "addictive" game of all time
- A 'weird and unpleasant' feeling: When video games are transferred to the real world
- Sonic in his thirties: "I've never seen anything like it"
- Female power in the world of video games in Serbia
- Beat Tetris and became the first in the world to achieve "rebirth"
Bonus video:
