The recent tech demo for The Witcher 4 shown during the State of Unreal demonstrated some interesting features that have the world of gaming talking, just like the first showings of Cyberpunk 2077 did. CD Projekt Red has adopted Unreal Engine 5, showcasing visuals that retain the vibrancy of the world seen in The Witcher 3, with colors that pop and characters that look more realistic than ever. The blurring is a bit too much in places, creating a strong depth of field effect that’s a little disorienting, but the visuals seem groundbreaking.

AI also seems more responsive than ever, with CD Projekt Red putting in a lot of effort to make the world seem alive, from NPCs having their own realistic behavior to crowd sims that surpass even Cyberpunk 2077. There is a lot for potential players to sink their teeth into with The Witcher 4‘s tech demo, and it seems that the game will be a technical marvel at the very least. While there hasn’t been much from a story perspective to get into, the tech demo did see the debut of a book character only mentioned previously: Kelpie, Ciri’s mare.

Kelpie Finally Makes A Debut In The Witcher 4

Ciri’s Steed From The Books Features As A Companion In The Tech Demo

While many might call Kelpie ‘just a horse’, especially when she only received a small mention in The Witcher 3 during the search for Ciri and isn’t mentioned beyond that, Kelpie is strangely prominent in the books and remained Ciri’s loyal companion for several novels. Unlike Roach, which was the name of several horses under Geralt’s care, each given that name so he wouldn’t grow attached to the animal, Kelpie is a name that only belonged to one mare. Although it isn’t confirmed, it is assumed that the Kelpie in The Witcher 4 is the same horse from the books.

Roach is usually a mare, since Geralt has a preference for them, but he can get a Nilfgaardian stallion from Emperor Emhyr in The Witcher 3.

In the books, Kelpie is described as a magnificent mare that Ciri inherits after the death of Hotspurn, who she had previously been traveling with, and could be summoned by rubbing a magical bracelet, something that will probably be a gameplay mechanic. This would make more logical sense than whistling and Roach somehow being able to hear Geralt no matter the distance. With Kelpie being a grand, black mare in the Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo, fitting the book description well, it is likely that this is the same horse from the books.

With Kelpie’s status as an incredible horse, something that The Witcher books beat the reader over the head with, it could open up more traveling options for Ciri. Kelpie has already demonstrated her ability to clear boundaries, able to leap over seven-foot-tall walls, which came in handy when Ciri had to escape the bounty hunter Bonhart, so this could be a new traversal method previously unavailable to Roach. It also helps that Ciri is just as attached to her mare as the player will likely be, unlike Geralt, who can replace Roach during The Witcher 3 with another Roach.

Kelpie Shows That CD Projekt Red Is Still Looking To The Books

The Source Material Hasn’t Been Abandoned Entirely

With Ciri being a proper Witcher, able to use potions and having the famed Witcher eyes, there was a fear that CD Projekt Red had abandoned the source material in favor of going entirely in its own direction. There were signs that there would be some form of acknowledgment of the books, with how Ciri cast magic in the reveal trailer being somewhat of a reference to her lessons with Yennefer, but nothing was as overt until Kelpie made her debut. CD Projekt Red is still using the books, and the hope is that the studio will continue to do so.

While it should be impossible according to the books, CD Projekt Red may be able to conjure an answer that leads to Ciri being a Witcher, making sense with pre-established lore. That’s the hope, anyway, and Kelpie’s inclusion makes me a little more optimistic that this will be the case, although the School of the Lynx’s prominence in this game is a little concerning, given that the school has only appeared in fan fiction previously. Still, The Witcher game series is essentially well-written fan fiction that has made the IP bigger than it ever would have been otherwise.

The School of the Lynx’s first appearance as fan fiction also featured a female Witcher, named Dragonfly.

There are plenty of things that CD Projekt Red changed to make its story work, such as Ciri even being in the games and chased by the Wild Hunt instead of being in King Arthur’s Camelot and relaxing with Sir Galahad. Ciri’s time in the Camelot universe isn’t mentioned too much in the games. It would hamper the story if it lingered for too long, but with Ciri as the protagonist, perhaps characters from King Arthur’s legends could make an appearance. CD Projekt Red is already bringing characters from the books tied to Ciri, anyway.

Kelpie And Roach Show That Ciri And Geralt Are Vastly Different

And This Difference Needs To Be Made Prominent

Ciri needs to be different from Geralt in The Witcher 4, and while giving her similar powers while taking away her Elder Blood abilities might not be the best move for this, her use of more powerful spells should help in this regard. She also needs to act differently, and Ciri has always been a character who wears her heart on her sleeve, at least compared to Geralt, who often pretends to be unfeeling, citing his Witcher mutations as the reason for his lack of care. Kelpie can help show this difference between the protagonists.

While Geralt at least pretends not to care too much about his horses, all of which he calls Roach (so as not to get too attached), Ciri loves Kelpie. She adored the mare the second she saw her, and wanted Kelpie the moment they met. She even gave the mare her name, since her previous owner (Hotspurn) didn’t care to name her. Kelpie is a loyal companion from Ciri’s teenage years, and if the mare seen in The Witcher 4 is the same horse from the books, it could demonstrate how Ciri is less afraid to show her emotions than Geralt is.

Without being a narrative tool, Kelpie can still show off new muscle physics and her magical bracelet could make summoning the mare more logical than whistling for Roach, provided that this is the same Kelpie from the books. It is great to see that CD Projekt Red is still drawing from the book for The Witcher 4 after the controversy of Ciri becoming a proper Witcher, and perhaps Kelpie will be one of many more book characters to make their debut in the games. CD Projekt Red still has a menagerie of unused book characters to use.