The Witcher series

A femme looking person wearing armour and holding a sword, standing in front of a masc looking person wearing armour with two swords on his back. Stormy sky with winged creatures flying in the background.
  • Developer: CD Projekt RED
  • Publisher: Atari CD Projekt
  • Year: 2007 – 2015
  • Genre: RPG
  • Platform/s: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

The Witcher is one of those series that is gradually improving, perpetually trying to represent Geralt as the less-than-perfect man he is while simulatenously trying to give women agency.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features references to Ciri being interested in women, which reflects the Witcher novels where Ciri is bisexual and is intimate with women. In the quest, 'The Calm Before the Storm', the player is given the option of telling those in the spa that Ciri 'prefers women'. You can find out more about the quest here, but spoilers for those who wish to reach this point in the game themselves.

Mislav is a hunter in The Witcher 3 who worked for the lord until he was driven away for loving the lord's son, Florian. In dialogue during the Beast of White Orchard sidequest, Mislav can reveal that Florian hanged himself after they were walked in on together in the stables. This dialogue only occurs if Geralt empathises with Mislav about being 'a freak'.

The Witcher 3 also features Elihal, a character of ambiguous gender. When first encountered, Elihal is shown wearing masculine clothing and has quite a low voice; when Geralt enquires as to whether Elihal is one of Dandelion's girlfriends, they briefly leave, returning with typically feminine clothing. Geralt wonders aloud as to their gender identity, but they simply respond that they are Elihal, leaving their gender identity ambiguous.

Philippa Eilhart is a character in both the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3. In The Witcher 2, Philippa has an apprentice and lover named Cynthia with whom she lives. There are two possible cutscenes between the pair: in one, Cynthia gives Philippa a massage and Philippa responds with moans; in the second, Philippa strikes a topless Cynthia's buttocks with a riding crop. In the same title, Skalen Burdon refers to Philippa's sexuality by referring to her magic as 'lesbomancy'.

The first game in the series has clear faults in its representation of women and relationships. Many respondents to the Queer Representation (2016) survey mentioned the mechanic that turned dating women into a collectible, with cards associated with each woman that you sleep with that you can obtain. Obviously, there are issues with this, and the level of entitlement suggested by this has been reduced somewhat in later games, with women having more choice in their relations with Geralt.