It’s been more than a decade since CD Projekt Red returned to the Path, but the wind hasn’t stopped howling. After two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt seemed to wrap up Geralt’s adventures, until a bombshell announcement at this year’s Gamescom turned matters around.
Songs of the Past, the game’s third upcoming DLC, comes 11 years after the base game and will introduce the brand-new region of Letten – an idyllic land of bountiful harvests and lavish festivals that, in pure Witcher fashion, is more than meets the eye. Ahead of its 2027 release, a 45-minute hands-off preview at Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2026 offered a sneak peek into the central “A Bed of Thorns” quest, involving an all-too-familiar face: Dandelion.
After establishing that filming and photography of gameplay is prohibited, a developer played the demo live for invited media, opening with the White Wolf waking up in the morning, post-fertility festival (those who’ve read Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels would recognise it as Belleteyn). The first hint of uneasiness surfaces as Geralt recalls a dream with trees and blood before setting off to find Dandelion, who has vanished after a night of partying.
It isn’t until he arrives at Dandelion’s estate that the bard’s disappearance takes a serious turn. While Dandelion’s grandmother initially dismisses it as nothing out of the ordinary, his cousin Lilla becomes concerned upon receiving his lute at the doorstep, noting that the poet would never leave it behind. Here, players can choose between two dialogue options – one of which lets Geralt spend more time with Lilla – and depart for the Garden of Thorns, a place of haunted legends that may hold the answers.
The shift in atmosphere is immediately prominent. Where Letten teems with life, pastoral comfort, and European-style architecture, the brambly vines and a blanket of fog in the dark forest ooze ominous disquiet. Lilla’s horse gets spooked and flees, leaving the duo to continue their journey on foot and encounter their first new enemy: the Thornbloom.
Keeping to the theme of menacing, aggressive flora, the immobile plant spits purple acid and summons detonating bulbs, with Geralt’s movement, from sword-swinging to dodging, appearing more fluid to the eye. The new adaptive camera feels less tight, and coupled with a cleaner user interface (UI), refreshed animation, and crisper strikes, brings elevated dynamism to the combat experience. The revamped skill tree also makes its debut, featuring colour-coded branching paths instead of flat point totals.
After dispatching the Thornbloom, Geralt and Lilla stumble upon a deer carcass and the scent of violets in the air, mirroring the sights in Geralt’s dream. The entrance, wrapped in spiky thorns, lies at the end of the road, and players can either muscle their way in or find another way to open it. Sticking to the former, the preview shows the White Wolf slashing through the vines, losing sight of Lilla, and ending up in a labyrinthine wood.
It’s unclear how much choice will influence the narrative, but CD Projekt Red confirmed each approach carries consequences, which, from previous experience, should unfold subtly. A Giant Centipede then pops up from the ground to attack Geralt, who retaliates with his silver sword and a new chain weapon, used to pull foes close, chain combos, and target specific weak spots. It also unlocks a new tug-and-behead finisher move executed on the Swarmion, a zombie-like fighter protected by a shield of hornets, in the preview of Songs of the Past.
The quest culminates in a boss fight against the Slumbering Knight, an unsightly amalgamation of vines and flowers that strings three consecutive hits and can stun or daze Geralt, with its rapier attacks reminiscent of fencing techniques. After defeating it with a mix of magic, close-range blows and chain strikes, players are offered two options as Lilla despairs over Dandelion’s disappearance: embrace her or hold her hand. The demo opted for the platonic route, with accompanying commentary reminding event attendees that she is Dandelion’s cousin. It then ends on a cliffhanger, after the pair jumps into a well and a vine-covered creature reaches out for Geralt.
Despite the brief showing, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past seems to have a lot going for it. The graphical improvements breathe new life into familiar stylings, and the refined combat elements smooth out the flow of battle, topped off with a slew of other quality-of-life updates. As for the storytelling focus, a deeper exploration of Geralt and Dandelion’s relationship is a clever move, considering their long-time, opposite-attract friendship, and it’d be interesting to see how the game fleshes out their dynamics even more. To tide fans over during the highly anticipated wait, CD Projekt Red has rolled out The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered as a free upgrade for existing owners, with the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions included at no additional cost.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past is scheduled for release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2027.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
