The Witcher: Why The Lack Of Worldbuilding Reminds Fans Of The Game

Despite the loss of star Henry Cavill, "The Witcher" continues to be the jewel of Netflix's fantasy programming slate. If everything pans out after Liam Hemsworth assumes the role of Geralt of Rivia in Season 4, Netflix will likely look to keep the magic going for the foreseeable future. And if that is the case, series creatives might want to adjust the way they go about building the world of the Continent, because some fans of the series feel "The Witcher" is seriously lacking in that arena.

Those dissenters have gotten quite vocal about their issues with the series' perceived worldbuilding issues. Indeed, Redditor u/TreMorNZ opened a recent thread by taking the show to task for that very issue, claiming "The Witcher" suffers many of the same shortcomings as the video game that helped inspire it. "It's exactly the same as relying on the fast travel in the 'Witcher' games, allowing me to jump from one quest to another across the map, mixing up multiple clashing storylines ..." they stated. "We need the in between moments to build a cohesive world, and feel like the characters are actually alive."

They were far from the only one boasting that opinion, with u/springpojke dropping in to comment, "It's called world building and it hasn't been the show's strongest suit unfortunately." Said user went on to admit the show's video gamey worldbuilding makes it hard to remain invested in the various narratives.

The Reddit conversation thereafter was about as lively as one might expect from the historically vocal fanbase of "The Witcher," with u/TheKingofLobsters chiming in with the comment, "The worldbuilding and pacing of the show is really bad." In particular, they thought the lack of worldbuilding has made certain aspects of the narrative increasingly problematic, adding, "The characters all seem to be a 30 minute walk between each other, making the world feel small and claustrophobic."

Later in the chat, u/Maximum_AD_3576 pulled zero punches in their assessment, commenting, "They're too busy trying to make their own nonsensical narrative then just simply copy and pasting the stories and dialogue from the books so they can just focus on the nuances of putting it on screen." 

Elsewhere, u/va11ghern also cited Andrzej Sapkowski's beloved source material, noting that the books themselves aren't exactly worldbuilding marvels. "You write it as if [Sapkowski]'s books don't have this problem," they posted. "He devotes very little time to worldbuilding and he himself says that he is not particularly interested in doing this."

Some fans were also quick to point out that the worldbuilding shortcomings are more glaring in lieu of more celebrated works of adapted fantasy, like "The Lord of the Rings" and "Game of Thrones." That included u/Justic1ar, who further noted the series could take a page from LOTR in particular regarding how to handle multiple characters and narratives unfolding in numerous locations. In agreeing, u/tylerthe-theatre pointed out "Game of Thrones" found a brilliant fix for that issue, posting, "GOT nailed it with maps in the intro, tracking characters travelling and that should be a standard for fantasy shows." And it's hard to argue that point.