The Best Characters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher games are now firmly among the staples of the RPG genre. As such, the characters that have transcended their literary representations are worthy of a closer look. PC Gamer obliges, providing their take on who the best characters in the third installment of the series are.

Here are a few examples:

11. Roach

James: Roach is a horse.

There really isn’t much to say about Roach that isn’t already made obvious by the fact that she’s a horse. She’s a horse that does horse things, like get spooked by literally anything that moves or snort and steer off Geralt’s intended path. But Geralt needs her because whenever he’s in trouble or needs a ride or someone to hear his thoughts, Roach is there and Roach is listening. For every canyon she gets Geralt stuck in, she gets him out of five more.

5: Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy

Tom S: You see all sorts of vampires in fiction—angry vamps, sexy vamps, shrivelled vamps. Rarely do you see a very reasonable vamp, but that’s Regis. He’s dignified, articulate and a genuine friend to Geralt during his time in Toussaint in Blood and Wine. It helps that he and Geralt go way back, but they strike a special rapport during a drinking session in a graveyard, and during this conversation Regis becomes one of the few characters to show genuine interest in Geralt’s whole deal. After some preamble he suddenly asks Geralt if he regrets becoming a witcher. I deliberated over my response for a few long minutes, surprised that the game had suddenly given me so much power to shape Geralt’s character.

Regis is one of the few characters in the game able to catch Geralt with his defences down. That’s largely thanks to his charm, enhanced by a great performance from Mark Noble, but it’s also because he and Geralt feel like equals. They’ve lived more, seen more, than anyone else in the kingdom. I really felt that unspoken brotherhood.

4. Yennefer of Vengenberg

Wes: After playing the first two Witcher games, my heart was loyal to Triss. Yenn was the love interest of the old Geralt, before he was reborn with a gaping hole in his memory. Triss was the one who’d been by his side ever since. But there’s a reason Yennefer is higher on this list than Triss: she’s simply the more interesting character. She and Geralt have a fascinating, torturous relationship and history. They love each other, but are often not good for each other—and are they true feelings, or the result of a spell?

Yennefer’s complex relationship with Geralt is great, but she has a personality and motivations that aren’t defined by him, too. She’s abrasive more often than not, but spend enough time with Yenn and you’ll see the vulnerable humanity under the surface.