Netflix’s The Witcher show adaptation had a monumental task mostly because of how popular the video game adaptations had become. Suffice to say, comparisons between the two are inevitable despite the games taking place after the books and the show following the plot-by-plot narratives of the books. The glue that keeps it all intact is none other than the main character himself, Geralt of Rivia.
Both the games and the show have their own interpretation of Geralt though both are still faithful to the books one way or another. As such, we’re here to help you weigh down and potentially settle the ongoing debate of which Geralt is better. Is it Henry Cavill’s shiny-eyed and square-jawed monster slayer or CD Projekt RED’s stoic and monotone veteran mutant? Let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
10 GERALT IN THE GAMES: A MORE NEUTRAL FACE
Right off the bat, a lot of fans might have already noticed something off with Cavill’s Geralt– he’s the prettiest man/person in the whole show. No kidding, even the nobles in the banquet in any kingdom look like peasants because of him. When did Geralt ever need such an upgrade? He wasn’t exactly portrayed as a pretty boy in the books nor was he ugly; his most standout feature would be his white hair rather than his face.
This makes the game version of Geralt already a closer representation of the books when it comes to appearance. Coupled with Doug Cockle’s raspy voice acting which we all know and love, CD Projekt RED has given their Geralt a more neutral face making him more like a blank slate which the characters can get themselves into for roleplaying. It is a video game, after all.
9 GERALT IN THE SHOW: A WILDER DISPLAY OF EMOTIONS
For those of you who have played the games first and read the books, you’ll most likely encounter some scenes where you’ll find it difficult to visualize video game Geralt reacting in certain situations. The witcher’s bouts of intense anger or self-hate come into mind as Cockle’s rough Geralt voice likely won’t cover the emotion needed.
This is where Cavill’s Geralt in the Netflix show has a clear advantage. The lesser reliance on a monotone voice and the display of a wider range of emotions made scenes involving the Djinn and Borch Three Jackdaws have more of an emotional impact. For all his mutations, Geralt is still not immune to emotions and the show does well to portray what little emotions the witcher fails to suppress.
8 GERALT IN THE GAMES: COOLER WITCHER GEAR
Witchering is a deadly profession and that’s why a witcher needs his tools to be in top shape and quality. Sadly, regardless of how well the art and props department of Netflix equips Cavill’s Geralt, CD Projekt RED’s Geralt still has the better gear both in appearance and in how deadly they are.
Geralt in video games simply has much better-looking steel and silver swords. More than that, his armor also looks better in the second and third games. As a result, Geralt in the video games looks more believable as a badass and monster slayer than Cavill with his unkempt hair and leather armor.
7 GERALT IN THE SHOW: YOUNGER GERALT
If you’re not aware already, Netflix’s The Witcher is pretty much a prequel to the games, or rather, the games are the sequel to the books where the show is based on. That means the Geralt we have now is considerably younger and lesser experienced than the one in the three video games where he’s almost a century old.
This does make Geralt a lot more impulsive in his decisions and more prone to committing mistakes in judgment and profession. This became more apparent when he decides to keep pursuing Yennefer in the dragon hunt or when he asked for the Law of Surprise in return for saving Duny. Such reckless decisions have resonated well into Geralt’s future and changed his destiny.
6 GERALT IN THE GAMES: MORE POWERFUL
In all three iterations of The Witcher in gaming, Geralt has been an unstoppable killing machine that can take down whole armies and even dragons single-handedly. Of course, the developers of the game took their liberties with how much Geralt is supposed to be able to do in order to make gameplay more fun.
We can easily see to it that Geralt can use witcher signs infinitely and pretty much turn invincible. This makes him stand out more as a mutant and makes him one of the few people in the world who can stand up to monsters and even magic-users in his own unique way.
5 GERALT IN THE SHOW: MORE VULNERABLE
Being regarded as one of the best witchers in the world and showing it is fun and all but Geralt is a bit of a Gary Stu in the games, someone who can suddenly do things and defeat the most powerful foe ever just because the plot wills it. Geralt in the books, however, gets bested by many beings more powerful than him many times.
Speaking of which, there is no shortage of those beings that make Geralt look like an ant: Regis, Vilgefortz, and even some of the monsters he deals with. A glaring weakness and vulnerability is always an appreciated layer of characterization especially for protagonists as overcoming these weaknesses (physical or otherwise) makes for good character development.
4 GERALT IN THE GAMES: MORE STYLISH
Geralt doesn’t exactly have a cooperative hair in Netflix’s The Witcher and the cleanest you can see it in would in the banquet at Cintra (makes sense). Any other time and he’s sporting a bad hair day whether from witchering or the wind howling through his hair. While it adds more medieval fantasy flair to his hairdo, you have to admit that Geralt from the games wore it better.
Having different hairstyle and beard selections make Geralt from The Witcher III: Wild Hunt looks miles ahead of even Henry Cavill when it comes to witcher fashion.
3 GERALT IN THE SHOW: SAPKOWSKI APPROVED IT
Andrzej Sapkowski is the author of the Witcher books and short stories collection and the person responsible for one of the most popular video games today. Even so, Sapkowski didn’t seem to vocal with his appreciation for The Witcher video games. In fact, it would appear that Sapkowski likes the show better as it was a direct adaptation of the books.
It was Sapkoswki himself who gave his seal of approval to the showrunners of The Witcher and even praised Henry Cavill’s Geralt. Sapkowski was more than happy with Cavill’s Geralt and even compared him to The Lord of The Rings’ Viggo Mortensen in his portrayal as Aragorn.
2 GERALT IN THE GAMES: CAVILL’S WAY TOO BUFF
Despite Sapkowski’s praise for Cavill, fans of the books still can’t help but notice one glaring detail with his Geralt: the bulging muscle mass. It would appear that Cavill overworked in the physique aspect of Geralt and resulted in a much heavier witcher than what the books describe Geralt.
According to a dryad in the Brokilon in the books, while Geralt looked like a proper man, he was rather lanky or slim and sinewy. This makes Geralt’s appearance in the games more faithful compared to Cavill’s buff and chunky witcher who sometimes tends to look out-of-place in a feudal fantasy setting.
1 GERALT IN THE SHOW: IT FOLLOWS BOOK CANON
Let’s not discount the most obvious reason why Geralt from the show is still more faithful to the books: it’s a direct adaptation. A lot of fans consider The Witcher canon to be split in two: books and games where the former holds more merit.
Does it make him a better version of Geralt? Well, by following the rules that the book author intended for him, that alone should make him a more compelling character. Hopefully, we get to see more of that unfold in the later seasons of Netflix’s The Witcher.
