The Witcher universe has seen quite a bit of expansion in the recent past. Since 2019, we have seen Netflix executing all their Witcher plans including the main web series, the anime “Nightmare of the Wolf”, and the spinoff “The Witcher: Blood Origin”. Also, just a few months ago, CDPR also announced a new Witcher game with Witcher 3 next gen update also coming up soon. That aside, a new Witcher anime film called The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep was also leaked. Also, as you may know Witcher Season 3 is all set to debut in Mid 2023 but before that fans are prepping for The Witcher: Blood Origin prequel series. As it happens, the very first reactions and reviews for the spin-off are here and they are not good.
The Witcher: Blood Origin Reviews Roundup – A Wasted Opportunity?
While there was only a little hope for the series since the beginning, it seems like it is worse than what we imagined it to be. As you might know it was supposed to be 6 episodes in length but was later cut down to 4 episodes which itself suggested that Netflix wasn’t confident about it. Now it is pretty clear that the show is a poorly executed and it is being said that “it treats its viewers like idiots”. Anyways, here is a collection or roundup of various reviews from trustworthy media outlets. But before we get into them let us give you an overview of its score on metrics based sites. At the time of writing this article, The Witcher: Blood Origin has a score of 36% on Rotten Tomatoes (11 votes), 54% on Metacritic (4 votes), but surprisingly 7/10 on IGN.
While it has mostly negative reviews, there are a few good ones, so let us begin with them in case that is what you are looking for as a Witcher fan.
- “While the villains and political storylines surrounding the Golden Empire are less interesting, the series is bolstered by its engaging band of misfits as they journey across The Continent kicking butt wherever they go.” – 7/10, IGN
- “The Witcher: Blood Origin accomplishes its goal of setting the stage for a universe and bringing life to a much talked about but rarely explored time in Witcher history, but it’s the characters and their short time together that will stick with me most.” – 4/5, Comicbook.com
- An Entertaining Fantasy Folk Tale That Will Tickle Witcher Fans. It’s an enjoyable fantasy folk story you can get lost in and not think too hard about while watching, which is no bad thing. – SlashFilm
- “Stellar characters, great performances, killer action, and — once again — some of the best costuming work on television can go a long way in covering up structural flaws.” – Decider
Now let us get into the uglier and more prominent side of the story and stuff that hardcore book/games fans enjoy in order to bash the Netflix universe.
- “Blood Origin… feels too far removed from the stuff that actually makes the franchise interesting and too crowded for any one character to carry it.” – The Verge
- “Ultimately, your enjoyment of Blood Origin will depend on how invested you are in The Witcher universe, and how convinced you are by the slapdash storylines it presents.” – D+, Collider
- “The Witcher prequel is a rote fantasy journey that rarely excites. Even when it does, Blood Origin’s Story of the Seven remains burdened with pacing issues and a dull plot that does little to flesh out the world of the series.”– 2/5, Gamesradar
- “It’s a passable, quasi-brutal blur of magic and blood you’ll forget the moment it’s done. Just play The Witcher 3 instead.” – 2/5, Dexerto
- “The Witcher: Blood Origin isn’t a great sign for a post-Henry Cavill future. There are no rules and very little Witcher in this miniseries.” – Polygon
- “Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin tries to imagine the Continent as it has never been seen before, but it forgets the importance of world-building.” – CBR
We’re still waiting for the verdict by trade sources like Deadline, THR, NYT, Variety, Guardian, Indiewire, AV Club and Rolling Stone. We’ll get back to you as soon as they come up with their verdicts. Our personal verdict will arrive once the series releases on Netflix. But the above reviews by popular outlets does give a hint about where the series is headed towards, and it is not good. If you want to know more about The Witcher: Blood Origin and why you should watch, check here.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is all set to release exclusively on Netflix this Christmas aka 25 December 2022.
If you have any questions regarding The Witcher universe, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
