The Witcher 4 showed in the first trailer how the story continues 9 years after the third part. Not only is the new protagonist introduced, but also a new monster. We will explain where the monster comes from and what it is in this article.
What can be seen in the new trailer? The first trailer for The Witcher 4 was released at the Game Awards 2024. The new protagonist is introduced right away. Fans of the third part are already familiar with Ciri. In the trailer, a village is shown that wants to sacrifice a young woman to appease the gods.
The woman is to be presented to a monster. Ciri saves the woman just before the monster appears and then fights it. The monster is called a Bauk, as explained by Cian Maher and Marcin Batylda, the lore designers of the game, in an interview with IGN.
You can watch the monster in the new trailer:
The Boogeyman of Serbian Mythology
Where does the Bauk come from? Like most monsters in the Witcher series, the Bauk comes from European folklore. The Bauk originates from Serbian mythology and is a kind of Boogeyman from children’s stories. It was meant to scare children so they would not go alone to dark, unknown places.
The Bauk is a creature that usually hides in the dark and waits for prey. It is said to paralyze its victims with great fear before devouring them. This is also seen in the Witcher trailer. There, the Bauk only reveals itself when a potential victim stands in its darkness.
According to mythlok.com, the Bauk is not often seen due to its behavior in the dark. It is usually depicted as a bear-like creature. In some depictions, it also has horns. In the trailer, the Bauk has several long limbs with spikes that it uses to attack.
Its head has a pointed beak at the nose, and its face and hair resemble that of creepy humans. Under the beak, it has a terrifying mouth with sharp teeth.
In the trailer, the Bauk can also speak, but it sounds more like a voice imitation to lure potential prey. In mythology, it should also be recognized by croaking sounds.
Does the Bauk have weaknesses? Since the Bauk is meant to deter against the darkness, light is its natural enemy. Even in The Witcher 4, it seems to have an issue with it as it hides in shadows and fog. Ultimately, Ciri also weakens it with a fire chain before giving it the final blow.
In the trailer, Ciri unfortunately cannot save the girl; she is ultimately killed by the people. As in the predecessors, players will probably explore the dynamics of monsters and humans here again. You can find more trailers from the Game Awards here: Game Awards 2024: All trailers you shouldn’t miss
