Ambitious The Witcher 3 restoration mod adds yet more cut dialogue to the game, including a new Yennefer romance scene and extra choices for its most famous quest
With nearly half a million words in its script and 950 speaking roles to voice them, one thing The Witcher 3 isn't short of is dialogue. Yet like any properly edited work of fiction, there were originally a lot more words in CD Projekt's brilliant RPG. Hundreds of cut voice lines lurk within The Witcher 3's game files, ranging from simple one-liners to dialogue choices and even entire cutscenes.
Under the forensic eye of PC gaming's modding community, however, nothing remains hidden for long. Over the last few years, The Witcher 3 mega-mod Brothers in Arms has restored hundreds of these cut lines (alongside other features like missing NPCs, restored books and journal entries). Brothers in Arms has been regularly updated since its release in 2021, with a new update reinstating even more missing dialogue from CD Projekt's cutting-room floor.
These newly restored lines and cutscenes were highlighted by YouTuber xLetalis. The most notable is a new romance scene between Geralt and Yennefer that occurs during the quest The Last Wish. It revolves around a dialogue choice for Geralt where he chooses whether to say "I love you" to Yennefer.
In the original version, if he chooses not to say it, it leads to a brief and cordial exchange between the lovers. In the restored version, however, choosing not to say "I love you" not only results in a longer exchange, but it's also more romantic, with Geralt and Yen sharing a kiss before parting ways. This isn't the only additional scene from The Last Wish that the updated mod restores, either. Another choice, made at the end of the quest, has been expanded with a scene where Geralt and Yen hold hands.
Elsewhere, other restored lines include a scene where Ciri talks to the warriors of the Wild Hunt, an additional conversation with fellow Witcher Eskel when Geralt returns to Kaer Morhen, and an expanded list of dialogue choices during the Witcher 3's Bloody Baron quest. Here, the player can more clearly vocalise whether they intend to kill or cure the Botchling while speaking to the Baron, although the choice doesn't force you to pursue either of those approaches—possibly why it was cut.
Indeed, for most of the cut lines, I can see a case both for CD Projekt removing them and the modders restoring them. A few are no-brainers, though. Primarily, the first restored line covered by XLetalis is uttered by the Noonwraith monster when Geralt first encounters it: The Noonwraith's ridiculous cackle undermines the tension of the moment, so it's obvious why it fell victim to the editor's scissors.
If you fancy packing The Witcher 3 with even more words, you can download Brothers in Arms over on NexusMods. There's also an outside chance that CD Projekt might officially expand The Witcher 3 this year. Rumours that the studio is working on new DLC for its fantasy RPG are currently swirling, with IGN Poland claiming that it heard about this expansion years ago. Given The Witcher 4 won't be out before 2027, CD Projekt wanting a stopgap isn't completely implausible, and it would certainly be nice to have one last adventure as Geralt before stepping into Ciri's shoes in CD Projekt's highly anticipated sequel.
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