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AIPROPX ReportKotaku · 2h ago
50 Minutes Behind Closed Doors With The Witcher 3: Songs Of The Past Shows An Expansion Trying To Give Fans Exactly What They Want
At Gamescom 2026 in a bustling Cologne convention center, Kotaku was invited to see a behind-closed-doors, hands-off demo of The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past . While players know they’ll be exploring the Continent as Ciri in The Witcher 4 , this surprise new expansion for the beloved 2015 role-playing game sees Geralt of Rivia picking up his blade once again. Arriving alongside September’s massive free remastered upgrade to The Witcher 3 , which improves combat alongside a plethora of visual upgrades, Songs of the Past tells an all-new story. Here’s our best look yet at what players can expect from Geralt of Rivia’s first new adventure in over a decade when it arrives next year.
This expansion picks up on Letten, a secluded, prosperous island shielded from the continent's wider wars. Blending the lush landscapes of both the Polish and English countryside, the island evokes a distinctly Fable 2 charm, oozing with a fairy tale allure. Yet in typically Witcher fashion, this twee town soon reveals a lingering darkness.
As Geralt awakes on the isle’s shores following a Midsommar-esque local festival, I find the legendary hero looking a bit worse for wear. Swapping his trademark armor for comically drab, Jesus-esque robes, we join Geralt on a rare night off from adventuring as he swaps slaying monsters for swigging mead. As the island collectively groans with a hangover and its partied-out denizens wretch through their flowered headbands, the Witcher is soon drawn to a familiar sound—the lute of his old friend, Dandelion the bard. As he walks over the passed-out bodies, the out-of-tune melody leads him to find a swaying drunk mashing away at the lute’s strings. In no mood for games, Geralt demands the lute be surrendered to him. The boozed-up brute scoffs, lunging at Geralt and triggering a fistfight. After Geralt swiftly pummels the thief and retrieves the instrument, the brute’s left with an even worse hangover, and the Witcher hops on a boat and heads to a nearby village.
As he steps into a bustling, twee-looking town, Geralt is greeted by a familiar face—that of his noble steed, Roach. After the developer steering the demo gives the horse an affectionate greeting, CD Projekt Red explains that Roach isn’t the only animal that Geralt can now pet, as he strokes a nearby dog. Galloping past market stalls and a cacophony of conversation, Geralt spies plenty of people who can challenge him to a game of Gwent. Yet despite the hubbub, Dandelion himself is nowhere to be found.
So, in a bid to track down his old friend, Geralt leaves the main square and trots along the road until he reaches the sprawling, opulent manor of Dandelion's wealthy family. Greeted by the family's aging matriarch, her granddaughter, and Dandelion’s sister, Lilla—a key companion throughout the expansion—Geralt is invited in. During a tense dinner, as the family learns of Dandelion’s abandoned lute and realizes that he may be missing, Geralt mentions haunting visions he’s been having of a place called the "Garden of Thorns." Upon hearing of the garden the matriarch loses her cool, storming out of the dinner. Something is very clearly amiss in this seemingly idyllic village.
Undeterred by her grandmother's hostility, Lilla resolves to help find her brother. As Geralt readies for the challenge ahead, our demo skips forward, showing him meeting Lilla at the stables after sundown, and their quest begins.
As Geralt and Lilla ride into the forest beneath an ominous full moon, Letten’s once-idyllic countryside takes an eerie turn. They soon arrive at the branch-tangled entrance of the legendary Garden of Thorns from Geralt’s dream, where deer carcasses lie drained at the roots of bloodthirsty flora, and human skulls hang wrapped in tree roots like macabre decorations.
Legend tells of a cursed well hidden deep within the garden, the same that appeared to Geralt in his unsettling dream. One of Dandelion's relatives was previously driven insane by the garden, earning him the moniker “the mad count.”
Before they can enter, however, thrashing thorned branches seal off their escape, dragging Lilla off into the darkness. Geralt is forced to fight through two terrifying new enemy types, giving us our first glimpse at the remaster’s new and improved combat. Geralt’s movement is noticeably smoother, targeting in combat appears far more precise, and the entire ability system has been completely revamped into a deeper, highly customizable skill tree. As Geralt faces a giant centipede, the massive burrowing insect dives beneath the earth to avoid his sword strikes. Using his Witcher signs, he manages to hold the creature in place, carving it up with smooth slashes that turn it into a sea of green goo.
As sentient mandrakes meet a swift end from Geralt’s fire magic, he soon finds himself facing another fun new enemy, the Swarmions. These reanimated cadavers are enveloped in clouds of furiously buzzing hornets. To deal with the Swarmions, Geralt unleashes his newest weapon: the Chain. Long-term Witcher players will recognize this from its iconic cutscene appearance in the first game, and now it’s finally usable in action. As the steel-chained links tear through the air, itl decapitates the cadavers in a torrent of blood. This, I’m told, is just one of many new kill animations, with the team promising a slew of gruesome new executions.
As our hero delves deeper into the depths of the disturbing forest, he uncovers the truth behind the visions that have haunted him. Dandelion’s uncle, Humbert, is the infamous “mad count” who fell in love with a witch long ago. With his spell-casting lover hunted by villagers, Humbert slew the Letten dwellers who harmed her, casting the villagers' bodies into the local well, birthing the Garden of Thorns—a macabre grave that has thirsted for blood ever since. Maybe a garden worth avoiding, we reckon.
Reuniting deep within the forest, Geralt and Lilla finally stumble upon the cursed well from the legend....
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