Have you heard? The first season of The Witcher, Netflix’s long-awaited new series adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels is now available, and the reviews are pouring in. Henry Cavill takes on the lead role as Geralt of Rivia, carting his twin swords from grungy village to grungy village, and the trailers have provided some exciting glimpses at the action on offer.
But is it any good? Critics seem widely split over The Witcher, and much seems to depend on familiarity with the source material or the games. Cavill brings the required physicality to the role of Geralt, but his delivery feels a bit “cosplay Doug Cockle,” writes Matt Purslow over at IGN.
PC Gamer’s James Davenport agrees, writing “[i]t’s like Doug Cockle climbed into a Henry mech” and “Cavill swings that [sword] around like he’s carried it since the crib.”
Reviewers from outside the games press have been decidedly less enthusiastic about The Witcher, which Entertainment Weekly sums up as “nakedly terrible” and Vox calls “boring” despite having naked wizards and monsters in it.
Forbes’ Erik Kain pushes back against these criticisms, saying The Witcher is “destined to surprise and delight” in his positive review.
Without further ado, here’s a selection of several critical scores and reviews.
The Witcher: Season 1 review scores
- The A/V Club: B+
- Entertainment Weekly: F
- GameSpot: 4/10
- GamesRadar+: 3/5
- The Guardian: 3/5
- IGN: Episodes scored individually
- Paste: 8.3/10
- Time: 3/10
- TV Guide: 4/5
- Variety: Unscored
The smattering of negative reviews is unlikely to have much effect on the future of The Witcher, which Netflix has already renewed for a second season.
You can head over and watch the whole first season of The Witcher right now. If watching it makes you wonder if there’ll be a Witcher 4, we’ve rustled up everything we can find to answer that, too.